[redneck]

Well, since I keep gettin more stuff that goes bang, and they seem to be louder all the time I want a good set of earmuffs/hearing protectors.
I looked at the local gun shop and also in the sporting goods section at meijers. They both sell a nice looking set thats rated at 29 for about $30. I can also get a pair rated at 32 (highest possible rating I beleive?) but thats about $100.

For the time being I'm shooting a .54 great plains rifle (lyman) and lots of .22 rimfire. Possibility of other stuff in the future, but no high power stuff for quite awhile. Is the extra 3 decible rating worth it? I'm on a fairly tight budget, but want to get a pair that will make a difference.

Anything you guys/gals recommend? I can't even remember the brand they have locally now:mad: Anything you use and like?

Thanks alot.

[Jim K]

Get the best. Believe me, you won't regret it.

Huh? Did you say something?

Jim

[JShirley]

'Nother good idea is double hearing protection. Ear plugs (CORRECTLY seated) plus muffs. If you choose electronic muffs, you can do this, and still hear until the shots go off.

John

[larryw]

Didn't catch that either Jim, he wasn't facing me when speaking so I couldn't read his lips to fill in the blanks that I couldn't hear...

(my son and wife use the best plugs and muffs money can buy)

[E=MC^2]

'Nother good idea is double hearing protection. Ear plugs (CORRECTLY seated) plus muffs. If you choose electronic muffs, you can do this, and still hear until the shots go off.

I do this exact thing. Double the protection while shooting, yet you can still hear commands on the range. The electronic muffs are amplifying normal voices and allow the sound to get through the earplugs. When a shot if fired you get the protection of both the muffs and plugs, since the muffs are shutting down.

This system even shrunk my handgun competition group sizes. The sound of 9mm or .45acp reports seem nonexistant.

[Jaywalker]

Count me as another vote for double-plugging - foam disposables under electronic muffs.

Jaywalker

[artherd]

I double up as well. I make my living form my ears, I'm not messing around with 'em.

[BenW]

I've been double-plugging for a while now, but just recently got a pair of electronic muffs and do so with them as well. With plugs in and the muffs on full blast, I'm able to hear the conversations of shooters 50 feet away at the outdoor area where I shoot. I can't see any reason (outside of hunting) not to double-plug if you have the electronic muffs. As Tony the Tiger says, "They're Grrrreat!" :)

[BTR]

Howard Leigh makes some that are high rated (31 or 33, I don't remember) and they can be ordered for 20 something, including shipping. Check on the net. They are very comfortable too...

[macavada]

I've got some that say "Leightning" on the side. I guess these are from the maker you are referring to. I think they are rated at 33. Great set of earmuffs for under $30 at Academy in Texas. Comfortable as well.

Marco

[Zark-9]

I have some Howard Leight "Thunder 29" earmuffs and they work very well for me at the range. About $30 at Meijers. As has been said, double up with earplugs. I wouldn't think the extra 3db would be worth another $70 dollars, unless the other earmuffs make some kind of fashion statement you need to express. :D

[Kodiak AK]

3dB is a huge diference if you understand how the dB scale works . I play guitar . My ears are very important to me as a muscian . I never shoot with out being doubled up on plugs and muffs .

[Zark-9]

As I recall the db scale, it takes twice as much power from an Amp to increase the level 3db through your speakers, but that 3 db is not twice as loud ...? Do I need a refresher on the basics? It has been sometime... :rolleyes:

[Kodiak AK]

Zark-9
That sounds;) right.
But I am not talking about the watts to to dB scale I am talking about the dB scale of measuring itself .

[Zark-9]

Kodiak, Thanks.
I don't want to let any bad advice from me to Redneck just lay there though. Is the algorythm such that maybe 3db is worth another $70, or would adding earplugs give you the same protection for less $$? Seems he's trying to decide on a cost benefit and I think "you da man" to tell him.

[sebago]

If money is an issue I'd get the thirty dollar ones and use foam plugs then uprade as soon as you can afford it. When I was 18 I fired the first handgun I'd owned, a .357, I thought my ears would "get used" to the muzzle blast.
That was in 1975 and I only fired half a box. My ears are still ringing. Ahh to be 18 and stupid! I bought hearing protecters after that and wouldn't shoot without them to this day.

[clubsoda22]

I use a set of winchester 32dB muffs...don't think they cost me more than $30

[artherd]

3db is equivlent to TWICE the acoustical contained energy, however it is only percived as 'just discernely perceptibly louder' Ie, 10watts vs 20 watts in a car stereo.

To [b]percive[/]b a sound "hey, that was twice as loud as the other one" requires 10db of additional acoustic energy, or a factor of roughly a 10X increase. Ie 10 watts vs 100watts in a car stereo.

[Kentucky Rifle]

Back in Military School, I fired ...thre's no way to tell. It could have been a hundred thousand shots of .22LR on the inside range. I'm completely deaf on the right side now but strangely, I hear an almost constant "white noise" from my deaf ear. The left ear was pretty good, until my last hearing test. The Audiologist found that I'm loosing the ability to hear high frequency sounds. (She said it naturally happens to men as they age. Women lose the ability to hear low frequency sounds.) I also hear a "whoooosh" or a "wheeeeee" from the left, but not all the tme. I use Mack's silicone plugs and Pro-Ears electronic muffs.

Will