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Ear Pro

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  • SIG_Fiend

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    Peltor Tactical Sport: 3M Peltor Tactical Sport Hearing Protector, MP3 Compatible - Amazon.com

    Cost me $100 new, and it's the best $100 I've ever spent on any hearing/safety products. They've lasted me ~7 years, they have excellent battery life, and they have excellent sound quality. Several other sub $100 electronic muffs work fairly well, like the Howard Leight Impact Sports, and the Peltor Tac6s, but they have really crappy sound quality. For just ~$30-40 more you can have something that is head and shoulders better quality and performance. Buy them. You won't regret it.
     

    London

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    It depends on what/where you are shooting. Indoors you will definitely want two types of protection; usually ear plugs and the larger muff rigs. Outdoors you can get away with a lot less. You'd be surprised how well 9MM cartridges work.

    RLeeErmey1.jpg
     

    London

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    Peltor Tactical Sport: 3M Peltor Tactical Sport Hearing Protector, MP3 Compatible - Amazon.com

    Cost me $100 new, and it's the best $100 I've ever spent on any hearing/safety products. They've lasted me ~7 years, they have excellent battery life, and they have excellent sound quality. Several other sub $100 electronic muffs work fairly well, like the Howard Leight Impact Sports, and the Peltor Tac6s, but they have really crappy sound quality. For just ~$30-40 more you can have something that is head and shoulders better quality and performance. Buy them. You won't regret it.

    Wally World has some similar electronic rigs for $60 which I like. Unlike the cheap Harbor Freight versions, these have a mic and speaker for each ear so you can hear in stereo. Haven't used the Peltors so I can't compare the two.
     

    Shotgun Jeremy

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    At Hicksville last Saturday, I actually saw something I haven't seen in a decade. There was a guy there teaching some woman to shoot a pistol and he had stuffed two cartridge cases in his hears for protection. Ignorance is, apparently, a durable good.

    I've seen earplugs at the store designed to look like cartridges. I don't trust em but that may have been what he had in.
     

    sonuvaTXgun

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    At Hicksville last Saturday, I actually saw something I haven't seen in a decade. There was a guy there teaching some woman to shoot a pistol and he had stuffed two cartridge cases in his hears for protection. Ignorance is, apparently, a durable good.

    Cigarette filter butts.

    Sounds like an easy and free way to get an ear infection.
     

    M. Sage

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    Howard Leight | Impact Sport Electronic Earmuff

    I use these most of the time and I love them. You probably noticed that was what the majority of us were wearing at Hicksville. They do a good job at protecting your hearing while still allowing you to talk to people and stay aware of your surroundings.

    I'm thinking I might try the Surefire Sonic Defenders sometime soon though for work since I have to wear them with a hard hat. I'll probably stick with my Impact Sports for the range though.

    I use the same thing. Don't hold back on this; once you use electronic ear pro, you'll wonder why the hell you waited so long to switch over.

    They do work better at amplifying higher frequencies, like brass falling, gravel crunching and leaves rustling, but overall you can hear better with them on and cranked to 11 than you can without them. At least, I can, but I'll admit that the last hearing test I had (probably 10+ years ago) did show that I was starting to lose some... They're pretty comfortable and low enough profile to run a rifle. Bonus for if you want to use them off-range for stuff like mowing the lawn - they have a patch cord that will plug into a standard headphone jack on a phone or MP3 player. Get your yard work on and rock out without damaging your hearing!
     

    robertc1024

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    Wow. I thought that post get a couple of answers, and I'd be good. The main hunting person I go out with is my father in law. He was a dental professor for 25 years in Houston, opened his own practice. He was an avid quail hunter for years, had a TX state champion shooting dog. Never wore ear-pro next to high speed drills or shotguns. He's pretty deaf and I don't want to wind up like that. I sat in front of the speakers at a Rush concert in the '80's, 4 hour Bruce Springsteen concert too. That kind of schooled me. Ringing in the ears for days isn't much fun. Howard Leight it is. I appreciate it folks.
     

    Big Phil

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    Check out Surefire EP3's, they're about $12 and as good as any other I've used, besides electronic.

    Sorry just saw you made your decision. Good choice I like that as well.
     

    benenglish

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    ...you'd be surprised how well 9MM cartridges can work.
    Loaded or not? I can't imagine loaded cartridges staying in my ears; they're too heavy. As for the guy I saw at the range, he was using empty, unprimed brass cases.

    I'm not the only one who thinks cartridge cases or cotton in the ears is pretty useless.
    "Stuffing cotton or empty cartridge cases into your ears gives practically no protection..."
    I think I'll assume pretty solid credibility in a published conclusion from the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. The document is old but the basic physics seem sound. Have a look here: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/35069NCJRS.pdf
     

    Shotgun Jeremy

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    Check out Surefire EP3's, they're about $12 and as good as any other I've used, besides electronic.

    Sorry just saw you made your decision. Good choice I like that as well.

    I've used the same style but different brand earplugs. Those are very comfy and work great...for pistol. When shooting shotgun or rifle under a canopy, I prefer actual ear muffs. Those are comfy enough that I don't mind just slapping on my ear muffs while they are still in.
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    Another thing that gets often overlooked is the fact that sound wave vibration of the outer ear can still cause hearing loss in the long term. A lot of people just use plugs, and I see a lot of people do that at indoor ranges as well, where the vibration is significantly amplified due to sound wave reflection off of solid surfaces. The way I look at it:

    Outdoors - Muffs alone are fine, but double plug where possible

    Indoors - ALWAYS double plug
     

    benenglish

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    ... often overlooked is the fact that sound wave vibration of the outer ear can still cause hearing loss ...
    Vibration conducted via bone from the skull can accomplish the same thing. I spent way too many years shooting pistol silhouette and I know, from unfortunate experience, that lighting off a full-load shortened .284 Win, full-length .308 Win or 6mm BR out of a 14-inch barrel with a brake will rattle your bones and those of every person within a surprisingly large radius.

    Anybody remember when Doug Koenig wore a full-face motorcycle helmet while shooting The Masters long range stage? It's been more than 10 years ago but it seemed eminently sensible to me at the time.

    When the sounds are loud enough you can't have too much ear protection.
     

    London

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    Loaded or not? I can't imagine loaded cartridges staying in my ears; they're too heavy. As for the guy I saw at the range, he was using empty, unprimed brass cases.

    I'm not the only one who thinks cartridge cases or cotton in the ears is pretty useless.

    I think I'll assume pretty solid credibility in a published conclusion from the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. The document is old but the basic physics seem sound. Have a look here: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/35069NCJRS.pdf

    Loaded. I've done it, but then again they were a pretty tight fit. Anyone with larger earholes should naturally not try this.

    They worked just as well as the Hearos I usually use.
     
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    London

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    Another thing that gets often overlooked is the fact that sound wave vibration of the outer ear can still cause hearing loss in the long term.

    Vibration conducted via bone from the skull can accomplish the same thing.

    Now that's interesting. I remember firing .45, .357, and even .44 mag indoors in CA. I could literally see my vision buzzing from the vibrations shaking my skull. I guess it's only outdoor ranges for me from now on.
     
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    shooterfpga

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    Loaded. I've done, but then again they were a pretty tight fit. Anyone with larger earholes should naturally not try this.

    They worked just as well as the Hearos I usually use.

    They do work. 5.56 ia probably the best for that. I was at academy again and almosy bought the muffs recommended here. Once again i was so close yet not sold on it just yet.
     

    London

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    They do work. 5.56 ia probably the best for that. I was at academy again and almosy bought the muffs recommended here. Once again i was so close yet not sold on it just yet.

    I used to keep a pair next to my bed with the hopes I'd have enough time to put them on in a "Dynamic critical incident" to use SigFiend's term (Please don't ban me. :p) Make sure you get a pair with a mic and speaker for each ear, otherwise you can't hear in stereo. Noise direction is determined by the brain subconsciously subtracting the amount of time a noise is heard in one ear and then the other. We're talking a milliseconds here; when you think about it it's almost like everyone with two working ears has a super-power. Pretty amazing.

    Buy those cheap headphones with only one mic and you'll never be able to tell where a noise came from. Okay for the shop, sucky for more important matters.
     
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