Electronic Ear protection

[leam]

I have good hearing and I'd like to keep it that way. My next big, for me, investment will be in some hearing protection that lets me hear the range discussion while wearing them. I need something that will also let me shoot shoulder arms so the side profile needs to be somewhat slim.

Suggestions?

Leam

[yoshidaex]

Peltor Tactical 6s

These were my first set of electronic hearing protection. I wish I knew about them sooner. They work great. It might be a bit inadequate indoors, but i'll usually double plug. Fairly low profile so it won't be in the way when you shoot rifle or shotgun.

Pro Ears Dimension series

I have a pair of the the plus series and at the moment, i'm not too thrilled with it. they work good but i feel the peltors supress sound better than these when the electronics are off. I bought these thinking the higher noise rating would supress sound better. The regular dimension versus the pro series difference is the padding material. I might pick up the plain dimension replacement pads and see if that works better. The padding on the plus series is nice though. they're like high end headphone material, nice and soft.

Then you have your high end, high dollar in the canal type of noise supressor. They stay out of the way and no worries about sweaty ear muffs. But unfortunately the good units are WAAAYYY expensive. Too expensive for my taste. I don't have any real experience with these so my info is limited. There are quite a few people here that have these and i'm sure they'll chime in.

Edited November 4, 2007 by yoshidaex

[Paul Burtchell]

+1 on the Peltor Tac 6's. Work great for me.

[gunnerBU]

+2 for Peltor Tac 6's. very good for the price

[Greg Bell]

+3 for Peltor Tac 6's. Had mine for about three years now.

[2011_Fan]

Had Peltor ProTac, excellent protection, but heavy to wear and sweaty when was hot, in combination with glasses my ears were in huge pain. Now I am back to ear plugs. More practical for me on every prospective except when you are do a lot of talking on the range.

[HSMITH]

With an Open gun I have to plug and muff, otherwise the noise really bothers me. I use Pro-Ears Plus series muffs so I can hear range commands and talk to others when not shooting, and I am happy with them for the most part. The only downside is as Hiro mentioned, when turned off they don't seem to do much and that has me thinking that there might be a better choice.

I have enough hearing damage already that I need to be really careful with noise levels, so I am sure I will continue to plug and muff but I would like to try a couple different quality electronic muffs to see what works best for me.

[leam]

I'm seeing a trend here.

Midway has them for $65 which is within my price range. I'm looking to start SO'ing and teaching Pistol Intro this spring so I can see a Midway order in my near future unless the trend breaks badly. No issues pluging and muffing when I'm not in charge of the range.

Leam

[maineshootah]

One thing I noticed about the middle of this year is that I was hearing " too much" with my electronic muffs.

I double plug as well, and I used the electronic muffs to allow me to hear conversations around me without having to remove headgear.

The problem was that I was hearing conversations during the 10 seconds between the load and make ready and the buzzer, because the muffs allowed me to. I found that this distracting and my scores showed it. Stuff like, "yeah that swinger on target 4 is fast, or that steel on stage 3 is tricky.. what are you shooting for loads.. etc etc etc." The standard chatter of shooters milling about. I thought I could filter it out, but my brain would shift to think about the comments.

Even thought I didn't know it, my head was thinking about the conversations and not the stage directly in front of me.

I went away from the electronic muffs during matches, (telling the RO that he needs to speak up for me) and my scores jumped up BIG TIME. The only thing I know hear is the RO and my own mental mantra..

" 2 alpha 2 alpha 2 alpha.."

I do wear them in practice as I tend to be a bit more loquacious, however, not in the match.

My 2 cerebral cents.

[rishii]

if you get the pro ears, try on a pair first, the headband is stiff and it didn't seal behind my ears

I've been using the dillon hp1, their light, compact and the only time I've felt their inadequate is when I'm working our covered rifle range, and someone breaks out a ported 300 win mag.

[vluc]

Peltor Tactical Sports with the gel ears. Peltor

[HI5-O]

I have the Pro Ears; Dillon's and now I recently got the MSA electronic earmuffs.

The Pro Ears head band does not provide enough tension to give me a good seal.

The Dillon's are good (I think Peltor makes it for them) but the seals tend to "harden" quickly and I keep losing the foamies that cover the mic

The MSA's have all of the aboves good points plus I don't have to worry about the pins that attach to the headband breaking off. They're metal. The sound quality is very good and they are comfortable. I always double plug as the open guns are really loud.

I agree with Maineshootah about the noise and conversations in the peanut gallery, I have to turn the volume down when I shoot.

A lot of times it comes down to what you can afford.

barry

[DonT]

+4 Peltor Tac 6. Lightweight and thin design doesn't get in the way when shooting rifle.

DonT

[TMFAKBFS]

Get the MSA Sordin Pro, perfect earmuffs, they are absolutly superb.

Edited November 4, 2007 by TMFAKBFS

[Kingman]

another tac 6 fan. But I am still not sure of their sound suppression. When not double plugging that open gun is TOO loud still.

[cave_canem]

Check out Howard Leight's. They work well for me and are very affordable...

[Mark K]

30 plus years of shooting, and I double plug for anything over smallbore. I helps concentration (as previously mentioned), and it helps with the added noise you get when your are wearing glasses with muffs.

I just ordered a set to Peltor Tac 6 and a set of the cheap Caldwell electronic muff today. Should be here in a couple days, and I will report.

Mark

[SoCalGlocker]

Add another +1 for the Peltor Tac6 behind the head. Great for those times you need to wear a hat.

[Bigbadaboom]

Check out Howard Leight's. They work well for me and are very affordable...

+1 on the Howard Lights. They work great and are very inexpensive. http://www.reddotshooting.com/index.asp?Pa...&ProdID=257

[Greg Bell]

Add another +1 for the Peltor Tac6 behind the head. Great for those times you need to wear a hat.

I started out with that style and had to convert them to a standard over the head style. They were just flat uncomfortable to me, they made my ears sore from the muffs sagging down and resting on my ears.

[Jeff686]

One thing I noticed about the middle of this year is that I was hearing " too much" with my electronic muffs.

I double plug as well, and I used the electronic muffs to allow me to hear conversations around me without having to remove headgear.

The problem was that I was hearing conversations during the 10 seconds between the load and make ready and the buzzer, because the muffs allowed me to. I found that this distracting and my scores showed it. Stuff like, "yeah that swinger on target 4 is fast, or that steel on stage 3 is tricky.. what are you shooting for loads.. etc etc etc." The standard chatter of shooters milling about. I thought I could filter it out, but my brain would shift to think about the comments.

Dude, just turn them off.

1st part of my 'load and make ready' ritual is to switch them off.

Of course, I'm not one of those guys that plays with their gun for 20 minutes before they start.

[clown]

One thing I noticed about the middle of this year is that I was hearing " too much" with my electronic muffs.

I double plug as well, and I used the electronic muffs to allow me to hear conversations around me without having to remove headgear.

The problem was that I was hearing conversations during the 10 seconds between the load and make ready and the buzzer, because the muffs allowed me to. I found that this distracting and my scores showed it. Stuff like, "yeah that swinger on target 4 is fast, or that steel on stage 3 is tricky.. what are you shooting for loads.. etc etc etc." The standard chatter of shooters milling about. I thought I could filter it out, but my brain would shift to think about the comments.

Dude, just turn them off.

1st part of my 'load and make ready' ritual is to switch them off.

Of course, I'm not one of those guys that plays with their gun for 20 minutes before they start.

HA! Good one.

[DWPatriot]

I chose the Peltor Tactical Pros over the 6s because they have a better noise reduction rating (26db vs 19db). They cost quite a bit more, but for me the extra protection is worth it. So far they have been excellent; both in comfort and function.

[Genghis]

Check out Howard Leight's. They work well for me and are very affordable...

I'm looking at a pair of Howard Leight muffs, and I want to avoid 2 pet peeves. First, is the band across the head made of metal? I bought a set of Radians muffs and the plastic band broke when I tried them on. Second, do the electronics JUST cut out when the loud noise is present? My cheapie pair cuts out for a long time, and I'm afraid it might cause me to miss the beep. At an indoor range last night the volune of shots kept the sound cut off for most of the evening.

[Mark K]

Yesterday I got a set to Peltor Tac 6 ear muffs and a cheap pair of Caldwell electronic ear muffs, both from Midway.

Both work fine, both are at least as quiet as the Peltor Shotgunner muffs, both seem to work fine at letting me hear people, but shutting out the loud noises.

However, the Peltor's ear cups are not deep. I don't have big ears at all, but my ears were pushed up against the foam in front of the speaker. They were fine for me, but if you have big ears, seek something bigger. The Caldwells were better in this respect.

Mark