Just when you think you've seen it all...

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When it seemed like everyone smoked, using ciggie filters was very handy.
And they do work pretty good.
The real foolish part is smoking the danged things.
Empty cases work ok, too.
Never tried live ammo, although the shape might fit ears better. :scrutiny:
 
I learned years ago, just about the time I realized I was neither immortal nor indestructible, to carry a few things with me at all times. By that I mean in our vehicles, on our bikes, in the boats when we had them, at work, in the backpacks and etc. We didn't load ourselves down, but ear plugs, important maintenance medications, a little bug bite cream, toilet paper, spare glasses and a few others things didn't make either a large or a heavy package. It all to this day still fits in a Spec-Ops bag that's maybe 8x8x2 inches.

I do this to this day and I've encourage my kids to do the same. People DO forget to take stuff along, the unexpected does happen and a little up front planning can go a long way toward saving an outing. Other than that, time to play MacGyver and do the best with what you have ... cigarette butts notwithstanding.
 
Pockets, I made the thread to share my surprise at seeing this and ask if anyone else had ever seen it. Thanks for your valuable insight, though.
 
something is better than nothing , if it is cool out or at a indoor range I wear muffs ,hot outside shooting I use plugs, if I forget both, I have cut up old rags and used them , when hunting I pull my hat over my ears , again better than nothing ,




oh and , picture this , a guy at the range , head turned right , shooting with right hand and left finger in left ear , when you see that , then you can laugh :D




.
 
Hey, back in the day everyone smoked. If you forgot your earplugs or whatever, you use what you've got... in most cases it was cigarettes. Better than nothing at all.
 
A retired Phoenix PD relayed to me that "men" in those days (70's) didn't put stuff in their ears. At this time he's obviously has significant hearing loss. I'd worked in several manufacturing plants and the machinery noise was ear killing. My first shift I didn't have protection and I hated that ringing. Promptly bought ear plugs and then on have them when the need arises. $20 for a box of 200 pair is easy to stock up. Eyes and ears are precious and risking them is :(.
In an unavoidable situation, some choices have to be made in spite of the lack of gear.
 
I worked construction

as an electrician all my life. I used yellow wire nuts most of the time when things got too loud.
 
Used to see a lot of that.

Weirdos in the Army using cigarette filters rather than GI plugs.

Others:
cartridge cases
rolled up cardboard
bits of foam from the padding of paratrooper helmets
c ration spoon plastic

Got to be others, maybe they'll come to me or someone else.

Todd.
 
6 years ago when I first started shooting I was walking thru the farm to my shooting clearing and decided to see how loud my .45 was. I shot one round into a bank of the creek. The pain in my left ear was like someone had put a knife into it. When I got to the clearing for target practice I realized I had no plugs and my muffs were 1/2 mile back in the car. I had CarMex lip balm. The cap went in one ear, the tube into the other. I've learned to keep plugs in a film canister or medicine bottle. I use earmuffs 99.876% of the time. :)
 
I hate to sound like Diamond Jim here, but I always bust out the 1-2 bucks for a single set of foam plugs from the range office if I forget my muffs and plugs. Missing one or the other (muffs or plugs)is OK most of the time, but I won't improvise hearing protection to save $2.00.
 
In Nam, we did not have earplugs. Tank indirect gunfire caused a lot of hearing loss. I use a set of silicon earplugs that the V.A. doctor made up for me. I also use earmuffs with them---I just have to watch what's going on around me more carefully. with 30% hearing left I am VERY carefull about hearing protection. I, also, carry a large baggie with foam plugs for others. I consider it a courtesy to keep more shooters a'shootin'. God Bless to all and theirs.
Goofy aka Godfrey:)
 
I got tired of "left behind." I was not real happy with paying $2 for 75¢ 19srf foam plugs at the range. Which coincided with wanting to do without on job sites.

So, I took advantage of all the surplus military hearing-pro containers when they flooded the market. So, all the tool boxes have one; the range bags, and a couple of the ammo cans as well. Fill though by ordering 32srf plugs from an industrial supply house. Which means I have spares for gimmes at the range.
 
A long time ago at the Camp Pendelton range that's all we had. Try being a instructor for two weeks while the battalion qualifies before deployment. At night I would hear gun fire in my sleep. Hearing? = 70% loss in R ear, 30% in L ear, never to come back.
 
Those using empty cases, are they stuffed with something, such as cigarette butts, or do they work okay empty?
Click to expand...

I hadn't ever tried putting anything inside them.

The thing to remember about hearing protection is that the most critical aspect is the simplest obstacle to overcome; keeping the sound waves from funneling into the ear canal. NRR ratings and all that are handy, but if you understand acoustics, then you understand that "ambient" noise still has a vector (unless you're inside a sphere). That's why sound proof rooms have those crazy looking walls; they reflect/alter/disrupt/cancel out the waves as much as absorbing them.

Anechoic_chamber.jpg

Similarly, if you take a short .308 with the most obnoxious muzzle brake you can think of and fire it inside a room with no ear pro, you'll probably have blood running down both sides of your neck. Take the same rifle, but fire it outdoors with the muzzle stuck through a tight fitting hole in a 4x8 sheet of OSB, and you won't even get ringing.

That's why cartridge cases and so many other improvised ear plugs actually do work reasonably well. They may not get a total seal, and they may not have much in the way of sound absorbing properties, but they keep the majority of those harmful waves from entering the ear canal in the first place.

So yes, empty cases work to a degree, but are certainly not optimal. While I find them acceptable in a pinch on an outdoor range, I wouldn't bet my hearing on them at an indoor, especially if magnum handguns or centerfire rifles are in use.
 
I agree with Robert and a few others, I have never been to an outdoor range where they sell ear plugs let alone any thing else.

And like Robert implies, Its quite a drive for me to get to a place where I can shoot, and Working 6 days a week does not leave a lot of time to wast, so If I am there, and I happen to be without ear protection, any thing that fits is fair game.

As was said above just blocking the sound waves makes a big difference.
 
I keep a pair of earplugs in my pocket next to my keys. Foamies fell out at a range once and killed most of my hearing in one ear. So now, shooting or not, I have a pair.
 
Yes JCwit, I mentioned earlier in the thread that I'm 22 years old. Which answers Salmoneye's comment, because to me it was unusual. And stupid. I'm not going to save a dollar at the risk of permanently damaging my hearing.

To the person that said "I've never seen outdoor ranges that sell plugs". Geez, you need to read what I said. They have a VENDING machine that has pairs of foam plugs for 50 cents. It's a pretty smart idea.
 
Back in my smoking days, there were several brands I tried that had filters so dense you needed to put a brace on your neck if you wanted to take a drag without sucking your head down into your rib cage. Those filters would have worked just fine.

Woody
 
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