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To all the guys who say to double up on hearing protection at indoor ranges

GunGrey

GunGrey

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Here's to you guys, I have never realized how loud a .40S&W is inside a gun range. I just got back at about 10 from agawam revolver club with a friend of mine, i was shooting .22s and he was shooting his S&W. after we left my right ear had the feeling like i was underwater. and is still ringing a tad, but it a big improvement. I was wearing regular ear muffs. but dam I had to learn my lesson the hard way, no longer will i just had ear muffs on. from now on its double or nothing.
 
Hell, I even double up at outside ranges. Why? Because I can't find a reason why not to. Some guns are still loud as hell even outside, and I'd rather err on the side of caution. It may be overkill, but I don't care.
 
I usally shoot outside and theres a fair amount of room in between myself and other shooters, hell somtimes im the only one there. but ive also found that when im shooting a rather loud gun, its not as loud when im shooting it but its wicked loud when im close to someone else shooting it. someone mention a while back on another fourm its because your 180 degrees from the muzzle so its different, i dont know if its true or not. ive also heard its because your concentrating on making the shot that you don't notice the difference.
 
I cleared out half of MFL with my Miculek compensated AR when I first got it... it's not much more fun out doors either... Ask anyone who's been at Georgetown with me..

When shooting it extensively I double up in the shooting ear... otherwise it rings for hours.

Your 40 should be fine though outdoors with decent muffs..
 
SteveCase said:
I really don't know what kind they are. my dad had them, all i know is that they are yellow and dampin noise. might pick up some nice ones got about 130$ worth of cabelas gift cards
Click to expand...

There's another thread posted recently here, I have Howard Light electronics and they seem to pretty popular.. under $60 on Amazon. You should always have jar of disposable plugs in your range bag for guests and doubling up when someone like me with an ridiculously loud AR shows up. CVS has some 33dbr ones for $10 or like 200 or so.
 
It's disappointing to see how many folks choose not to wear hearing protection even today. A few months back I was at a public range where a boy and his dad were shooting a .22lr and it was the kid's first time shooting. I was paying attention to my own gear (I was about 10 lanes down) and I heard the kid say, "OUCH! That hurt my ears Dad!" I looked over and realized that neither of them were wearing hearing protection of any kind and we were under a covered port, so it was particularly loud. A few seconds later, I walked over, introduced myself, and gave them both a set of new foam plugs, to which the dad said, "nawwww, it's only a .22." Eeeeshhh...
 
im not gonna lie, I have shot .22s with out hearing protection. but that was because I was coyote hunting. but anyone had a links for good hearing protection thats cheap i found some at cabelas, and since ive got gift cards ill probably shop there
 
SteveCase said:
I usally shoot outside and theres a fair amount of room in between myself and other shooters, hell somtimes im the only one there. but ive also found that when im shooting a rather loud gun, its not as loud when im shooting it but its wicked loud when im close to someone else shooting it. someone mention a while back on another fourm its because your 180 degrees from the muzzle so its different, i dont know if its true or not. ive also heard its because your concentrating on making the shot that you don't notice the difference.
Click to expand...

The venue matters more than the distance to the next shooter IMHO. Indoor does not give the sound much room to dissipate whereas outdoor gives a near infinite space for sound to move.
 
When I stand next to a 50 BMG rifle going off I feel like I have been hit by a linebacker (which means the sound was rather loud as sound is a pressure wave). When I fired one, it was not nearly as bad since I was directly behind it.

I always use ear protection. I have fired each of my hand gun calibers once without ear protection to know what it would be like should I ever have to use them in self defense. Though it is not an accurate representation since when you are in survival mode you usually experience auditory exclusion.
 
I don't double up but my Dave Clark muffs have an NRR of 29. I am appalled to see the muffs on the market with an NRR of 25 or lower. I do have a set of Peltor electronic muffs with an NRR of only 24. I intend to use plugs with them.
 
I also double up on hearing protection. Same reasons as others... why not?


However, dont think doubling up actually doubles the decibel rating reduction. It does not. Although I dont know the exact number, NRR 24 + NRR 29 does not equal NRR 53, its more like 36 NRR.
 
My wife actually thinks I'm just trying to drive her crazy - I can hear her speak, but I can't understand what she says if we're in different rooms. Between guns and 20 years in the military, my most used word is "What?".
 
I lost a lot of hearing in my left ear when I was on active duty over 10 years ago. I worked on the ranges a lot and got in the habit of pulling my left ear plug out a bit so I could hear people talking. Then I started doing my qualify without hearing protection at all. Now my hearing loss is getting much worse. I'm 31 now and I dread to see how bad it is in 10 years. For the last 6-7 years I've consistently used double hearing protection, trying to save what hearing I have left.
 
i always double up. I find that when i put my safety glasses on, the legs on my ears create a gap in the ear muff. This obviously lets some sound get by the protection that was being provided by a good seal. So, i use the ear plugs to help get some of the sound protection back.

Do you guys wear your glasses over your ear muffs(sitting above the seal) or wear them normally like a regular pair of glasses, which breaks the seal?
 
Regarding sound protection, I was reading a book on soundproof rooms, and if ALL gaps, including hairline gaps add up to the equivalent of 1" dia hole, you will lose 30% of your soundproofing. I would think something similar would be true with hearing protection, the more you can seal, the better
 
I usually use a good set of ear plugs at the range most times. I find the earmuff ones I have just don't block as much sound as the plugs do. Plus with the plugs I can get a proper cheek weld on my rifles. I find the muffs always get in the way. I don't use the foam plugs though I usually go for the gel/rubber style.
 
Doubling up is the way to go...I use ear plugs and headphones with at least a NRR 29 (higher if I can find it).
 
daddysuperfly said:
i always double up. I find that when i put my safety glasses on, the legs on my ears create a gap in the ear muff. This obviously lets some sound get by the protection that was being provided by a good seal. So, i use the ear plugs to help get some of the sound protection back.
Click to expand...

I have noticed this as well. Also, when I wear eye protection glasses under the muffs, the part that goes around my ear extends beyond the end of the muff and painfully digs into the side of my head. Anyone have any good eye/ear protection combos that work well?
 
I made the mistake of taking off my muffs at an indoor range. It was just me and my buddy at the time and we both stoped shooting for a sec. Next thing I know he's firing his Nagant. A 7.62 round indoors with no hearing protection is not fun. My ears rang for 3 days.
 
I also learned the hard way, and always double up. I'm thinking about getting some custom molded plugs from an audiologist for more protection.
 
Definitely know the level of protection you're getting from your muffs. There's a noticable difference between NRR 22 and NRR 30. My favorite pair is NRR 23, I believe, but if I'm indoors and people are firing large calibers, I'll upgrade to my NRR 30s for the day.

Also, replace your muffs regularly. If yours are anything like mine, they get banged up pretty good, and after a few years they don't seal around my ears very well. And after a long period of time, the baffling inside breaks down. I know some guys who use the same muffs they've been using since the 70s, and I can't imagine the protection is much more than the plastic frame.
 
Anybody ever stuff cotton into their earmuffs?

Anybody ever use just plain old cotton for shooting?
 
I use the rollup ear plugs plus a set of Winchester branded ear muffs from Walmart. They seem to work well enough.

I have a set of Etymotic ear plugs from my days of playing bagpipes, http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.aspx, and they seem to work really well so I may just give them a try also. I do not that they only stop 20db, so far from the 23 - 29 db noise reduction you all are getting. (especially keeping in mind the db scale is logarithmic)
 
I like the tapered ribbed ear plugs AO Safety makes. Available at Home Depot.

http://www.aearo.com/aosafety.com/shooters/products/ear_05.htm

I think the NRR decibel ratings are misleading because for me the AO plastics make a much better seal in my ears than higher rated plugs. They can also be washed and reused repeatedly. If you wet them a little before you insert they work even better making a suction cup seal in your ear.
 

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