Which countries allow their use for hunting?

If not allowed what is the likelihood of being able to don electronic muffs just before the shot?

Are PHs generally considerate for such eccentricities? There is no way I could hunt without being able to protect my ears - I already have enough of a symphony going on every night!

quote:

Originally posted by 1894mk2:
Which countries allow their use for hunting?

If not allowed what is the likelihood of being able to don electronic muffs just before the shot?

Are PHs generally considerate for such eccentricities? There is no way I could hunt without being able to protect my ears - I already have enough of a symphony going on every night!

I can sympathise with your problem as I've lost 60% of my hearing in one ear and 40 odd % in the other.... mostly due to clients using muzzle braked rifles.

Laws tend to change from time to time in Africa so if you're thinking about a hunt in a couple of years time or even further down the road, what you might be told now, might not be true of when you hunt, so it's a better idea to check when you're ready to book.

As to are PHs considerate of such eccentricities? - That really depends on the PH and how quickly you can get them on and how quickly you can get your shot together.... I had a client a few years ago who lost the chance of what was one of the biggest Selous Buffalo I've ever seen because he was buggering about with his ear plugs...... by the time he got them in, the Buff was long gone and when he asked me where it was, I told him, by now, it's about in Botswana.

I wasn't annoyed he'd lost the chance of a shot but it was a pity he hadn't been quicker.

He didn't think my comment was as funny as I did!

You could try the in ear molded electronic plugs.

like this ...

http://www.djmmusic.com/itemMa...de=ER25&MatrixType=1

They are good, but I've never tried them with gunfire.

I use ESP yes they are costly, but less than a good pair of binos and they do more for your well being.

Unfortunately my ears can no longer cope with unmoderated rifles and electronic plugs for more than a very few shots spread over a year.

It's either moderator and no pfaffing or no moderator and putting muffs on (pretty quick) at the close of the stalk and no taking of sudden unexpected opportunities.

quote:

Are PHs generally considerate for such eccentricities? There is no way I could hunt without being able to protect my ears - I already have enough of a symphony going on every night!

i use custom made earplugs that i can hear through and yet they dull the rifleshot ...i always try and insert them before the action starts , i used to use the ear muffs with batteries that you can hear through but in hot weather they get very sweaty and they are somewhat clumsy on ones head in thick bush.

quote:

Unfortunately my ears can no longer cope with unmoderated rifles and electronic plugs for more than a very few shots spread over a year.

What do you mean by this statement? Are you saying the electronic fitted hearing devices are uncomfortable? I swear by them, and have used them for 15 years, bird hunting, sporting clays, rifle hunting etc. I shoot loud guns and have been known to hand out orange foam earplugs to my team of trackers at the start of the hunt.

Protecting your hearing is part of gun safety. It doesn't get any more basic than that. Too many chaps try to be bad asses when their young and don't use hearing protection. It'll come back to haunt you. There's no "blue pill" you can take to get it back. You can't blame the muzzle brakes. The onus is on the individual to protect his ears.

Just wear the electronic muffs the whole time that you're hunting.

I suggest you take a hard look at ESP electronic plugs. They are custom molded to your ear.

The digital models definitely have superior sound quality over the anolog model, you will need to balance your sound desires with your checkbook. The digital and anolog plugs have the same level of sound protection.

I wear these plugs all day while teaching and competing with comfort. They are FAR superior in comfort to muffs in temperate to hot weather.

Wearing these plugs can increase your hearing ability in special situations by turning the volume up. When set to "normal" volume, you can hear about the same as no protection. Gunshots are muffled to about normal voice level in my opinion.

I have tried several other brands over the years and have had them fail electrically and/or mechanically.

I have also tried the foam plugs with electronics inserted - not good in SO many ways...

ESP's website is http://www.espamerica.com


Hope this helps
MV

...and I opened this thread thinking he was talking about Don or Walter!

I NEVER shoot w/out ear protection. Depending on the situation, I just put in plugs just before I head out/start to set up or keep the earmuffs handy in a stand.

They are OK in Namibia and RSA, not OK in Zim. Don't know about the others. I haven't seen a suppressor on anything bigger than a 223 though, not sure how well they would work on a 30 cal for example. The bigger the ctg, the bigger the can has to be.

They work fine on calibers up to .50 BMG but they get heavy. A .338 Lapua suppressor weighs 23 ounces (surefire) or 20 (AAC). The problem is that the rest of the world is 20 years behind the US in suppressor development.

I agree with Marc: hearing protection is a must and I use E.A.R. custom hearing protection. At my age I have to protect what is left of my hearing.

quote:

Originally posted by SableTrail:
....................

Protecting your hearing is part of gun safety.

............................................

You can't blame the muzzle brakes. The onus is on the individual to protect his ears.

How I now wish that I had you as a mentor in my early hunting days! Like Shakari and others I have lost very significant amount of hearing ability through my own stupidity, when added to the stupidity of guys that use muzzle braked rifles is a sure way to disaster!

Supressors may not be used in South Africa's Mpumulanga Province for "hunting". I cannot make an absolute statement about the rest, but I think they may be used in all other provinces.

Make your own and other's hearing protection a part of firearm safety!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

quote:

Originally posted by SableTrail:

quote:

Unfortunately my ears can no longer cope with unmoderated rifles and electronic plugs for more than a very few shots spread over a year.

What do you mean by this statement? Are you saying the electronic fitted hearing devices are uncomfortable? I swear by them, and have used them for 15 years, bird hunting, sporting clays, rifle hunting etc. I shoot loud guns and have been known to hand out orange foam earplugs to my team of trackers at the start of the hunt.

Protecting your hearing is part of gun safety. It doesn't get any more basic than that. Too many chaps try to be bad asses when their young and don't use hearing protection. It'll come back to haunt you. There's no "blue pill" you can take to get it back. You can't blame the muzzle brakes. The onus is on the individual to protect his ears.

It means that the protection they offer is not enough. Yes they are custom and well fitted and yes they work well but they only offer about 18db attenuation and that is no longer enough for my ears - I get very bad tinnitus with them.

If you shoot a LOT they do not offer enought protection. I've shot about 1200 shots with them which on top of my army career has caused the Tinnitus. I've never deliberately shot without protection but there has been the odd issue. My hearing is above average for my age but tinnitus is an issue.

quote:

It means that the protection they offer is not enough. Yes they are custom and well fitted and yes they work well but they only offer about 18db attenuation and that is no longer enough for my ears - I get very bad tinnitus with them.

Gotcha OK I understand now. I see your point. Sorry to hear that.

Maybe apropos of nothing - but my PH happily pointed to a client who had been hit,very hard, in the nose -and was bleeding, as he came back into camp. shortly before I was to fly out. It seems that the Weatherby (I honestly forget what caliber) had given him what my PH called "the Weatherby kiss")

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:

.....i use custom made earplugs that i can hear through and yet they dull the rifleshot.....

I use the same. I will crack the right one a bit and can hear normally, but a quick nudge and it goes right back into place and blocks out the noise. I leave the left one in place most of the time. Shooting right handed, the left ear is the one that gets most of the abuse.

and then you can get confusion thrown in by our police when they issue a very recent memo signed by a very senior Commissioner AH Lamoer which contains the following erroneous statement about moderators;
(e) “firearm parts” means a slide, bolt or breech block of a firearm or a device designed to be attached to the barrel of a firearm in order to muffle or moderate the report of that firearm;

Nowhere in our current screwed up firearm legislation is there any reference to moderators, but here is an indication of stealth legislation.
I know that in the revised firearms Act(which is not in force because the regulations have not been finalised in 3 to 4 years) that they wanted to licence moderators, but last I read we managed to get the clowns to agree to allow unfettered posession of moderators by firearm owners who had licenced firearms which corresponded to the moderator.
Someone in power had probably been watching too many movies and was paranoid about silencers being used in crime, which when asked, they could not provide any substantiating evidence (suprise, suprise)

Sorry to get in late...

Try these:

Sensgard ZEM

A friend of mine bought some of these a few years ago and they worked great.
I already had two pairs of really good quality lightweight electronic muffs, so I passed.
These don't require batteries and are very light.
You can find them cheaper on line from several suppliers.