I have a T/C Encore .30-30 pistol with a brake and it is very loud, actually is is #$%^& loud! I was not comfortable hunting with this gun without hearing protection, but wearing ear muffs, or plugs eliminated all noise, not just the sound of the shot.

I have found the solution, a set of Walker's Quad Muffs, and can not say enough good things about them. The noise reduction is fantastic, and they allow you to enhance the sounds of the woods around you, not a bad deal.

I'm probably the last to know about these, but in case there is someone else out there with this problem, give them a look. You will not be disappointed.

Happy Thanksgiving and good hunting,

Lee

I have a set of muffs that enhance sound and cut off when shots are fired, but the problem is that I can hear everything seemingly from miles away, but I cannot for the life of me tell from what direction the noise is coming from...... I just can't wear hearing protection when I hunt...... I will take a look at the Walkers.

Lee, I know what you mean, I won't shoot without hearing protection period. I have deer hunted with my Blackhawk 41Mag, and one time I forgot to put my electric (off brand) muffs on and fired that hand cannon and I thought I was going to be permanently deaf.

quote:

Originally posted by Luckyducker:
Lee, I know what you mean, I won't shoot without hearing protection period. I have deer hunted with my Blackhawk 41Mag, and one time I forgot to put my electric (off brand) muffs on and fired that hand cannon and I thought I was going to be permanently deaf.

Huh?????
What????

I thought I heard people saying something????



Ported .375H&H Mag over the empty bed of a K-Series for a rest wasn't a good idea without muffs either. Like standing next to arty and nobody warned you they were going to shoot.

Been thinking about looking into those walker thigamabobs too.

Whitworth, I have the Walker Game ears, they are the quad ones. I can tell direction with them very well, I also have a volume adjustment knob on them so I can turn down the sensitivity on them. I wear them any time I am handgun hunting.

From years of playing drums, rock concerts, being on job sites with saws, hammers and loud equipment I came down with tinnitus (ringing in the ears) that never goes away.
It doesn’t depress me anymore cause I have learned to live with it now but I can’t tell the difference of sounds of moving game to good any more in the woods when I’m hunting.

I put hearing protection on right before the shot. I can’t take chances anymore with anymore damage.

Practice safe hearing guys it’s worth it.

(anymore x 2) got echo too?
lol

Vg

Live sound engineer, gunsmith, hunter, occasional pyro tech, mechanic on heavy equipment, guitarist, machinist, ran grinders, etc here, vinny. Same ringing. But that ported .375H&H over the empty truck bed on a red cow recently cranked it to a new level. I'm doing my best to be more careful now.

Last movie pyro shoot I was on all the intern pyro peoples were plugging their ears and I (and a lot of the other oldish guys) was wondering what the deal was, seemed a lot quieter than dove hunting and we were setting off the equivalent of about 6000lbs of TNT. Not proud or ashamed. Just happened that way in my life.

Trying to be more careful but I still slip. Took my muffs off the other day to answer my cell cos I have the cheaper microphone electronic muffs and I heard it ring just as the guy a ways over let loose a burst of .50BMG. That likely didn't help either.

I use a pair of Peltor electronic muffs and consider them a must-have for handgun hunting. I can't say I ever noticed the shot while rifle hunting, but igniting 36 grains of smokeless in a 7.5 inch tube is quite another thing. On top of protecting your ears, they also help keep them warm.

That's why I would never own a ported gun. When I shot my doe this morning I barely heard the .475. No ringing, nothing, in fact it sounded far away.
Maybe the tree stand makes it better, I don't know but a shot when hunting never bothered me.
If I just touch of one shot with a .44 on my range, it HURTS. I only did that once, forgot to put the muffs on.

i shot a buck once out of an enclosed blind with a 7 waters tc ported. I couldnt hear a thing for two days! My hearing has never been the same since. I just cant bring myself to walk around the woods hunting with something on or in my ear.

It's those ports, you MUST wear something with a ported gun, maybe plugs and muffs together.
I need to hear the deer. I can't stand the muffs with the electronics because there is no way to tell what direction the sound is coming from.
If you are in an enclosed blind, your eyes are all you need, don't have to hear deer walking.

quote:

I don't know but a shot when hunting never bothered me.

They don't bother me either but they do make my ears ring and damage is being done.

I had a pair of form fit ear plugs made up at the Duck Unlimited outdoor show last summer.They hooked them up to a pair of Walkers Digital Game Ears.I just put them in when I go hunting and leave them in all day.They increase my ability to hear game and protect my failing hearing(Too many loud Guns and Motorcycles).

quote:

Originally posted by bfrshooter:
It's those ports, you MUST wear something with a ported gun, maybe plugs and muffs together.
I need to hear the deer. I can't stand the muffs with the electronics because there is no way to tell what direction the sound is coming from.
If you are in an enclosed blind, your eyes are all you need, don't have to hear deer walking.

Like I told Whitworth, the Walker quad game muffs or the Walkers Digital Game Ears work great, If you have not tried them you need to. I can hear the direction the animals are coming from with them on. The old electronics were not good at all for direction of the game.

I forgot to wear my tac-6 muffs while hunting last Monday....three shots with the .264WM and I still have bad ringing and hearing loss. I will not forget them again.

Going to the audiologist next week.

quote:

Originally posted by bfrshooter:
That's why I would never own a ported gun. When I shot my doe this morning I barely heard the .475. No ringing, nothing, in fact it sounded far away.
Maybe the tree stand makes it better, I don't know but a shot when hunting never bothered me.
If I just touch of one shot with a .44 on my range, it HURTS. I only did that once, forgot to put the muffs on.

A friend and I were just talking about this same thing. I use a Raging Bull .454, When I'm hunting I don't even notice the sound of the gun, my ears don't even ring. When I'm practicing, just one shot hurts like hell and rings for ever. My friend says he noticed the same thing. I wonder why that would be? Adrenaline?

It will still affect your hearing.

quote:

Originally posted by Redhawk1:
It will still affect your hearing.

In my college years my sister was studying audiology and tested my ears with the audiology lab gear.
Between the music stuff, shooting, hunting, pyro, and mechanic/machine shop work she said I had the ears of a 75yo man when I was 23 or 24. The permanent ringing didn't set in until I was in my mid 30s.

Nothing I can do about it now but try not to make it worse.

Huh, what did ya'll say?

I have no doubt that every shot takes its toll and that it is cumulative, but how many shots do y'all fire when you hunt? I fired one yesterday (despite the fact that I carry a boatload that I am positive I will need if I leave it at home! ), and normally don't shoot a lot even when there are multiple game animals involved........ Just curious. Yesterday, one of bfrshooter's neighbors sounded like he was in a firefight as he fired 5 shots rapidly in succession......yikes! Talk about needing to practice BEFORE opening day......

Whitworth I am like you, one shot is normally all I need, but I still do not want to take the change of hearing loss, any more than I already have. 10 years on the flight line while in the Air Force and many years of trap and skeet shooting has played a toll on my hearing.
Like Tom, I do no need it to get worse than it already is.

When I first got my 4 inch S&W 500 Mag, I wanted to see how loud it was, boy was that a dumb thing to do, one shot and I could not hear much for about a week. Never again. Adrenalin or not, even one shot is going to cause some damage.

On that 5 shot's you heard, we have a saying, one shot yes, 2 shots maybe, three shots no dead animal. We never got to 4 or 5 shot's.
So every time I am hunting, and I hear 3 shots I stat laughing.

And you are right about the practice before the hunt.

All the years on the flightline has ruined me also!!!!
I never go out hunting without ear pro!
I don't care how much the guys laugh at me!!
My ears ring all the time now and I don't want them to get worse!
I'm only 38yrs old and I HATE asking people to repeat themselves!!!!!

I have a high frequency loss from the army. I worked 42 years for United Airlines and had to get my ears tested every year. It never changed. My ears are still the same and I am 72. I am not going to worry about one shot at a deer.
Police have discovered the same thing about gunshots in an enclosed room when shooting a BG. They do not hear the shot and it doesn't hurt their ears. But just one shot like that in practice will ring and hurt your ears.

Whitworth may be right. I have to join him in saying I can't hear direction either. And it's NOT because the muffs don't afford it, it's MY hearing. I worked jets for 30 years where ear protection and yearly audiograms were mandatory. Yet the firing range had them a no-show. I did wear them often, but I skipped a lot as well. Then I had a severe concussion and the majority of my hearing in the left ear left me. That's the ear the muzzle blast cooks right handed shooters from.

Whitworth, have you had a recent audiogram? If not, get one and you may discover that your right ear is doing most of the hearing but because of that, discerning directions from sound is being jeopardized. I hope not, but it did happen to me.

quote:

Originally posted by bfrshooter:
Police have discovered the same thing about gunshots in an enclosed room when shooting a BG. They do not hear the shot and it doesn't hurt their ears. But just one shot like that in practice will ring and hurt your ears.

That's a popular idea but it makes no sense. We don't perceive the report while concentrating deeply. But the damage caused by loud noises to our hearing is mechanical not psychological. Maybe someone here can ask their audiologist on the next checkup...