Any suggestions on what to look for in good set of earmuffs for shooting at the range?

A friend recommend Peltor but is a $100 set twice as good as a 50 dollar set?

Any suggestions on how to judge quality greatly appreciated.

Jim

Seems like you want electronic's? I have used a Peltor Tac 6 set for 15 years. Replaced the pads once. On big kickers, I will wear a plug in my right ear because recoil sometimes lifts the right muff and I get to enjoy all the muzzle blast. My wife has a set of Howard Leight $45-ish muffs and likes them. I have used three brands of electronics and they all worked.

You should be able to go to your local ear specialist and have him fit you for custom earplugs. Around here, they run about 50 per pair.

I use plugs and muffs. I bought a set of Tactical ears last year at DSC which I really like for hunting. These are hearing aids that are molded to your ear. Not cheap but work.

Huh?

OK maybe I didn't say that right. When target shooting I used to use foam plugs and electronic muffs at same time. This gave me good protection plus I could hear. With the Tactical ears I use these along with regular muffs which gives me the same effect. The Tactical ears give me both inhanced hearing plus sound compression. I bought the Tactical ears mainly for hunting so I could have hearing protection without the bulk of the muffs. I had a person shoot right beside me on a hunt that really hurt my ears and I don't wish that to happen again. Hearing is too valuable to lose.

Sam

I'd recommend you go for a pair of Walker's game ears..... they fit into the ear & work brilliantly.

Muffs and plugs for big bores, specially from a covered shooting area.

http://www.asha.org/public/hea...earm-Noise-Exposure/

http://www.keepandbeararms.com...ViewItem.asp?id=2052

What? what? what? Born to early to save my hearing, those 38 Spec. cases in my ears didn't work as well as I thought they did! All shooting curmudgeons are hard of hearing!

A good set of expensive hearing protectors is a damn cheap investment in your future, but I still don't think I would hunt dangerous game with hearing protection, I'd rather be a little deeef than a little mangled or dead.

You can have your cake and eat it too, it just costs more.... I've been using a pair of Sport Ears for years, they were $310 for the pair when I bought em, lots more now tho, but they work for hunting very well, enhanced hearing and they cut off at loud noises.


http://www.sportear.com/

http://www.earinc.com/p1-electronic.php

I was wearing over-the-ear muffs until I noticed I was scarring the stock near where my cheek was due to recoil.

Now it's earplugs.

If you need to get a set of over the ear, ear muffs,
try to get a set that has a scalloped bottom
so it solves the problem of scratching the stock.

I would also concur about using both ear plugs
and ear muffs when shooting big bores. It makes
a difference.

If you don't need to hear people talk, the DIY molded
one's work fine for a bit of added protection.

I prefer a good set of muffs, but have used a couple of cigarette filters as crude but effective earplugs.

While ear plugs help they do not offer near the protection of a good set of muffs. The reason is that the concussion acts on the area around the ear as well as the ear drum. The best is plugs and muffs but practicality dictates that compromises sometimes must be made (like when you are hunting).
So at the range it is plugs and muffs as long as you can still hear range commands. If not just muffs. When hunting the Walker
Game ears or similar.
Of course some firearms are much worse than others like a 300 RUM with a muzzle brake or a 460 S&W. Don't ask me how I know this because I probably wouldn't hear you anyway.

Agree. A lot of people forget that you hear
through the / your bones as well as the ear
canal.

I use the Peltor Pro Tac II at the range and just plugs when out in the field.

It is muffs and plugs for me for anything bigger than a 22 LR while at the range. There is a phenomenon known as “bone conduction hearing loss” which is essentially where your head acts like a drum even though the ear canal may be plugged. Especially with big bores, the concussive force is much greater on the head and causes the small fragile bones of the ear to vibrate and destroy the cilia/hairs and eventually the auditory nerve resulting in loss first at the higher frequencies and then later lower down the frequency scale with eventual deafness the result. Just one shot of a big boomer or one of the high velocity cartridges with protection can result in some loss and it is cumulative.

Don’t skimp on hearing protection. The Peltor’s are good for the money.

I recently bought a set of Peltor Pro Ears Gold and I really like them because I can hear around me while I'm not shooting, even though I double-up with Howard Leight NRR 33 ear plugs.

Earsight preservation is extremely important.

I had the early Peltor Tac 6 ($129)and they worked great untill they quit working. Then bought another pair ($60?) and the audio quality wasn't as good. Left them lay and someone grabbed them. Bought the Howard Leicht($50) to replace them and noticed fans in inddoor ranges roar and the frames of my glasses held the earcup open.
When these quit, or walk off, I'll buy the Peltor Tac 6.

I am deaf in my left ear and wear an aid but for shooting I remove it and use a set of earplugs that the mines issued many years ago when I worked there in conjunction with a set of
Howard Leight Thunder 29's and it works well for me. Mines were free and the muffs are inexpensive but have an excellant rating. Tried 2 different sets of electronics but was dissatisfied with both pair. Supression was good but really couldn't hear very well with them.

I use surefire sonic defender ear plugs. They blot out the gun fire but allow you to hear conversation. I have used them for the last 3 or 4 years they are great. Whether I have a range full of students firing handguns or I am shooting a heavy rifle, the noise is sufficiently muffled. As added value they are $13 and they don't get in the way when using a long gun.

srose:

what brand are "Tactical Ears"?

It seems a lot of products use 'Tac'/'Tactial'/'Ear' in their product lines.

I wear Pro Ears Gold series Stalker model when I am hunting. I love those things, about $300 a pair, but worth it. They amplify hearing and shut off at dangerous levels to protect hearing. I can now hear conversations in the duck blind, wing beats of approaching ducks, squirrels cutting acorns and deer approaching from behind. They are great, very comfortable, a little bit warm on a hot Sept. dove hunt, but otherwise fantastic. Perfect to wear at the range too, you can hear other folks asking to go down range, etc.

As mentioned above sound enters through bones as well as the ears, not to mention through your nose and mouth as well.Not much you can do about the last two but I have heard experts say you should get muffs with good clamping force aka a solid grip on your head around the ears to prevent vibrations. Also wearing some kind of headwear eg cap helps too.

Was at the range Wednesday morning with two friends. They were shooting a .30-06 and a .300 Win mag. A guy to the left of us was shooting a .260 Rem with a large muzzle brake. We all agreed his rifle was the loudest thing on the range. I could feel the resonance and side blast. I had EAR moulded ear plugs in and went and got my muffs to go over them! Whew.

I plan on getting a new pair of muffs like those cited above with the cut out for stocks. Also want a set of those hearing aids with the cut outs for loud noises.

Am wearing hearing aids now from not using the best hearing protection there was in my younger days...and also while hunting.
Max

Very curious that Pro Ears does not state the NRR for their top three models ($340 models). In fact they basically ignore NRR in their "specs" for almost all of their products. I have the Pro Ears Ultra 33 (33 NRR, under $40) and wear them with industrial NRR 33 ear plugs (E-A-R soft FX from earinc.com - $15 for 25 pair). The hearing is not great (i.e., hearing what else is going on) but I have no problem hearing range commands and the protection, per the standard, SHOULD be great.

You can wear all the muffs you want but if you wear shooting glasses while shooting (and you should) they will partially defeat the seal of the muff. Wear both muffs and plugs if you really want to protect both your eyes and ears.
If you are hunting learn to communicate with the hearing protection so you will not get shot from behind by some goof ball.

Plugs and Muffs.