Hearing Protection recommendations?

[steve123]

These are widely considered the best electronic earmuffs. A couple of friends have them. I'm jealous.

http://www.srstactical.com/communica...x/75302*x.html

I have these. http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/impact-sport Probably the best for the price.

Both of these are rifle friendly and it's really nice being able to communicate with friends and be able to hear without removing plugs or regular muffs.

[vmthtr in Green Bay]

I am using the Peltor Tac 7. Better protection than the 6. Also have read articles and the in the ear plugs do not stop all hearing damage as the sound is transmitted through the bone and the muffs work better for this.

[Furhunter]

Another vote for the custom molded ear plugs. I need to have another pair made as my last ones have give up the go after more than 10 years of service. I have a pair of the slim behind the head style of e-muffs and they are ok but any muff for me gets in the way of a solid cheek weld on the rifle stock. They always get knocked around on rifles with more recoil too.

[cmatera]

Highly recommend the Howard Leight electronic muffs.

[Bad Wolf]

Originally Posted by kenbro

Splash the cash, get a moderator.
KB.

Mods do nowt for ear splitting bullet crack. Me, I use a mod plus ear muffs. The mod is only for the benefit of the local populace.

[Verminator]

Ken

I believe you have been attending some action pistol events (welcome to the fold). In addition to serving as a range officer for uspsa matches since '92 I also teach numerous types of shooting classes and have bought, borrowed and used the following electronics:

Pro Ears Magnum (my first set) and they were pretty good for about 10 years and I opted to purchase new rather than pay for repairs. Pro Ears predator plus, these have leather "trim" and have been very comfortable for me, but after ten years the leather is showing wear and is about due for replacement. The electronics in the predator plus may not be the very best on the market, but are still very good. I used to hunt with peltor tactical 6 with behind the neck band until I lost them. They provided decent protection for me and were comfortable, but, I think as someone else mentioned above, the cut off or clip did not accomodate good sound input for lower db levels during shooting and for me the recovery was slow, so I wasn't too upset about replacing them. In the interim I tried radians in the ear electronics, I fired one shot and took them back for a refund because they provided me with no significant protection. I also borrowed some howard leight muffs that weren't bad but they don't seem to transmit the full frequency range that others do. I think there's good value for the money with them, just wasn't what I was in the market for. I know several people that use the HL and a couple of them have either changed to a different muff or had warranty exchanges. I now hunt with pro ears 200 behind the neck model. There is no high frequency filter so I hear everything, which is what I prefer in the field. Some people hear that as extra noise and don't like it. I have two sets of custom molded in the ear plugs made with radians kits (i think) and the cost was around $12 ea. I don't like wearing them by themselves because 1) when I turn my head and sometimes when I mount a rifle stock the seal is compromised 2) if there are people around the normal communication problems arrise. I hate the the sensation of having plugs in my ears, but, if I'm going to be around alot of shooting, I will put the custom plugs under either of the pro ears sets and I have great protection and can still hear the outside world.

I have not used, or know anyone who has used the sport ear units, but two of their models appear like the electronic radians units that recommend people avoid.

Good luck
Chuck

[xring]

If you can afford the Electronic type that's fine . I picked the highest rated insert in-the-ear type ......Wallymart has many varieties and I like the sponge material better than the slippery rubber/plastic looking type ..... PLUS low profile earmuffs too ( Peltor I think ) . I have only run into one situation where the next shooter was using some sort of Target Rifle ( can't remember what the dang thing was called but it was something like a Slug Gun , and we were shooting in a fully enclosed structure except for the front side ) ..... anyway , it was a tad bothersome and even the big bore / braked Rifle I was shooting was no problem .

[ksaubier]

Thanks for all of the great suggestions and info!

I'm all geared up to start competing a little in 3gun this summer, and excited about spending more time with my brother at the range too. As long as my wife doesn't figure out how much money I've been spending lately on equipment and guns, it should be a fun summer. I told her that my gun safe is just like my humidor, and they both need to be full to operate correctly! So far so good.

[Oleman]

If it isn't NRR 30 or higher don't bother.

[Yotecallr]

I use these from Silencio. NRR 26 and Howard Leight muffs over these.