Hotchkiss Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Do you wear ear plugs, muffs, both or something else? When I go to the public range I wear both -- disposable foam plugs and my Howard Leight Impact Sport electronic muffs. When I shoot 22's in competition I use only the plugs as I can't get a good cheek weld while wearing the muffs. Interestingly enough when I go to centerfire pistol matches or 3Gun matches it seems like EVERYONE is wearing at least muffs if not both. I am also amazed to see how much some muffs cost (no pun.) The problem I find is that I can't always tell if I have hit a steel plate if I nail it right on one of the mounting bolts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatsupglock Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I wear both plugs and muffs. I have the cheap muffs from whatever bargain box store I can find and with both devices in place they work great. As you progress you will learn to call your shots as the trigger breaks. Listening for a hit will become a thing of the past. There are drills you can do to practice the skill of calling your shot. Searching this forum would be a great place to start. Once you learn how to call your shots, your times will go down greatly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I wear custom plugs all the time. I add cheapy electronic muffs on top when shooting centerfire indoors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csr556 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Most of the time I wear earmuffs when shooting, whether .22s or centerfire. I have basic muffs that normally cost $20 or less since I've lost at least 3 pair in my life. As for plugs, I normally carry a couple of pair in all of my various range bags, pistol rugs and vehicles. I never know when I might misplace,. or just want another pair, or decide the muffs are just too hot that particular day for shooting. Mostly they are just the cheap foam version. I have seen custom plugs that some people get. They are really nice and the owners swear by them. I just never wanted to spend the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob DuBois Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Advice from an old shooter, take good care of your hearing, it's not fun missing out on conversations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuNerd Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Indoors? BOTH I was on the end Lane indoor range the other day and every time the next guy fired it squashed my brain a little. Had to move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazeops Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I use both Howard Leight SmartFit Plugs and Howard Leight Impact Sport electronic muffs, indoors and outdoors. I prefer to be extra cautious about my ears. I do need a real timer though. I use the surefire timer app on my iphone but I can't hear it indoors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I have molded ear plugs i wear at the range when not shooting. when it my turn to shoot, i put my muffs on over the plugs. help reduce any flinch impluse to an explosion in my hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotchkiss Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 I wear both plugs and muffs. I have the cheap muffs from whatever bargain box store I can find and with both devices in place they work great. As you progress you will learn to call your shots as the trigger breaks. Listening for a hit will become a thing of the past. There are drills you can do to practice the skill of calling your shot. Searching this forum would be a great place to start. Once you learn how to call your shots, your times will go down greatly. Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiDirkona Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I wear Surefire EP4 plugs at the range all day, and if I'm RO'ing a comped gun or along those lines, I'll put muffs on over that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
392heminut Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Advice from an old shooter, take good care of your hearing, it's not fun missing out on conversations. +1 on that! My hearing loss is from childhood ear infections as opposed to loud noise damage, but hearing loss is hearing loss and as Bob said, it really sucks not being able to hear normal conversation! BTW, I use the best electronic muffs I can get and don't use ear plugs. It just drives me nuts to have anything stuck in my ears. My ear doctor has told me that I have very small ear canals and that is probably the reason for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdwilliams Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Depends on what I am shooting, time of year, what mood I am in... I have a pair of MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X muffs but I also use simple foam plugs. In addition to protecting your hearing, the muffs also protect your ears from sunburn and freezing in the winter but sometimes I just kinda like the foamies. If I were smart however, I'd likely use both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael64 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Both the wife and I have custom molded earplugs and we usually use electronic Howard Leight muffs over top for indoors and outdoors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southtexaswoman Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Be safe. Go with both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torogi Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 i for some reason get sensitive with my hearing. with a good muffled sound it helps your shooting a lot. a loud bang will make you flinch and blink. I double plug all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammar Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 (edited) Both the wife and I have custom molded earplugs and we usually use electronic Howard Leight muffs over top for indoors and outdoors. I do the same. Use the custom plugs for the best noise reduction and the electronics to amplifiy so I can hear people and the buzzer. They cut out when the stick goes bang and I get the protection of the plugs and muffs. Edited July 3, 2011 by Hammar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 (edited) I also wear MSA Sordin Supreme Pro X muffs. The volume adjustment is very good on these muffs so I just turn them down or off when shooting my open gun. I can get a good cheek weld wearing them when shooting rifles also. When shooting .22 rimfire I just use throw away foam pl.ugs Edited July 4, 2011 by Jaxshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNSCaster2 Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 After reading this the ringing in my ears seems louder... I'm going to start using both the custom molded plugs and the same big goofy muffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGMorden Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) For indoor ranges, I use both. The closed space really amplifies the sounds and I just need it sometimes. Outdoors, around MOST guns, I'll just use muffs. I only put in plugs under the muffs if someone on the line is shooting something with a muzzle brake. Other exception: when shooting my AR15, it's plugs only. For some reason I can't get close enough to the stock to line up with the sights if I'm wearing muffs. That's the only rifle that gives me that issue though. Edited July 6, 2011 by MGMorden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudman Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) I'm a music lover, so I'm pretty paranoid about damaging my hearing. Plugs and muffs for me - especially when I'm shooting indoors. Edited July 6, 2011 by mudman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvary45 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I have molded ear plugs i wear at the range when not shooting. when it my turn to shoot, i put my muffs on over the plugs. help reduce any flinch impluse to an explosion in my hands +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perlslacker Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I double up indoors with foamies and earmuffs. Outdoors I find that foamies are enough if I put them in properly. There's a youtube video out there (I'm too new to post links!) of a sound engineer showing the proper way to put them in; after I watched it, I realized that I'd been using ear plugs wrong my entire life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanky Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 always plugged, usually muffled. during the summer the muffs come off unless i'm shooting or an open shooter comes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astephenson Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 I wear plugs during the summer. Mack's Ear Seals block more noise than anything else I've tried. You can get them at CVS or Walgreens for around $4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biloxi23 Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Man them open guns are loud! go with both. I spent a few year in an artillery battery (175MM and 8 Inch self propelled) and some of the guys didn't pay attention when they were told about hearing protection. A lot of them are near stone deaf as they near 60 years old. I used teh ear protection and I still have suffered some hearing loss from years of shooting with only cheap muffs or improperly installed earplugs. I'm amazed how many shooters of high powered rifles I can get to improve their shooting by doubling up their ear protectction. As some here have mentioned, it is not just for you shooting, it's for the guys shooting next to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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