Want hunting handgun, not hearing aid. advice please

[kludge]

You want two guns.

1) .22 LR Browning Buckmark or similar, get standard velocity (subsonic) ammo, also get some Super Colibris.
2) Ruger .45 Colt, subsonic and 255gr LSWC at 950fps = dead deer at any distance that you can hit the lungs.

Also get some of the flanged rubber hearing protectors and hang them on a string around your neck while hunting.

 

[A strange person]

Also get some of the flanged rubber hearing protectors and hang them on a string around your neck while hunting.

That's what I do now. The rubber ones are all I use, foam ones do not seem to fit into my ears.

 

[A strange person]

I rode many many hours on a tractor that had a turbo with my dad as a kid. I never experienced ringing or muffled sounds until early into my adult life. My physician said the damage was almost certainly from exposure to turbo whine for an extended period of time. Couple that with shooting without hearing protection occasionally and I am a 34 yr old with 40% hearing loss.

That would be like shooting a full-auto .22 non-stop for a long period of time, VERY different from one or two shots while hunting. I have read numerous times that your ears can heal overnight from any loud noises not sufficient to cause tinnitus. But like I said before, there is no consistency in what I have found in my research on this. Nobody seems to know what they are talking about, and it is very irritating to me. Not even doctors know what they are talking about. Every single day on the news, there is some story that goes "new research has determined that (insert some bit of medical knowledgeable that everyone believes to be true) is wrong!"

The way all humans ears work is identical

No two humans, except twins, have identical anything.

 

[VA27]

Anything that makes your ears ring has ALREADY caused hearing damage. Buy the electronic earmuffs or a suppressor.

 

[A strange person]

My questions have been answered as best as possible. Suppressor, electronic muffs/plugs, or cheap walmart plugs + skill. Thanks guys.

 

[nonseven]

I've got one handgun I shoot without hearing protection.... A ruger MIII with a integral supressor. It loves Remington standard velocity target 22lr which are subsonic in this gun. Loudest noise is the bullet hitting the target.

 

[jem375]

Listen, I have been shooting since 1945 and I do not use hearing protection when hunting. I have shot magnums, 10 gauge shotguns, and big caliber rifles and can still hear fairly good, as you grow older you lose some hearing anyway.
Another thing, 22 LR has killed plenty of deer by poachers and will get the job done, shot placement is the key.. I think it is stupid to worry about hearing loss when hunting since it is usually only 1 or 2 shots taken anyway.
One of my hunting handguns is a 375JDJ with a muzzle brake and it is a handfull and a super amount of muzzle blast, and also a Savage Striker in 308 and I don't need ear protection for these two pistols at all...
quit worrying about muzzle blast and shoot, you are making a mountain out of a molehill....

 

[Geronimo45]

At subsonic velocities from handguns, no normal bullet will expand accept frangible bullets.

.45 ACP is normally subsonic, and expands quite nicely with the proper ammo. The .45 will cause your ears to ring. BTDT.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Plenty of hunters with hearing damage
and they 'just don't know why'
or they are 'just getting old'

I'm young, I've lost frequencies, not def but, I want to keep what I have, for as long as possible. You are free to do as you will.

 

[ms6852]

It not built what you want. Wake up, the specifications you demand only come true in Hollywood.

 

[jem375]

Plenty of hunters with hearing damage
and they 'just don't know why'
or they are 'just getting old'

I'm young, I've lost frequencies, not def but, I want to keep what I have, for as long as possible. You are free to do as you will.

He's talking about hunting, not target practice... if you are going to the range and shoot many rounds, of course you will use ear muffs or plugs.... a 22LR isn't going to hurt his ears anyway...

 

[Shadow 7D]

No you said that wrong, habitual exposure to intense noise (gun shots) will result in

... a 22LR isn't going to hurt his ears anyMORE...

There, fixed that for you

 

[Prosser]

OK:
My two bits. First, off, suppressors aren't small. I've used suppressed Mac 10's in 45 ACP, with full house loads, and the bolt slamming forward was the biggest noise.

A LONG time ago, when such things used to be only slightly illegal, and WAY outside the statute of limitations, we also used suppressors on 9MM. Likewise silent.

You can get extended barrels for semi-autos that have threads for suppressors.

Now, the maker of Mac 10's used to have a thread on adapter that allowed you to use a 32 oz cola bottle as a suppressor, without the bottle being full of course. It worked VERY well with 45 and 9MM.

In the 9MM tests we used anything NOT subsonic.

That said, 22 short certainly has a place in your discussion... I have a single six, and, I have some 22 shorts, but, probably not a great idea to bang it out in my area to test it. That said, 22 short in a rifle is excellent bird, varmit medicine, and, I think hearing protection probably isn't necessary. On the otherhand, I used to go to rock concerts in the 60's, and, I do have partial hearing loss... For instance I can't hear a mechanical clock ticking...

 

[aryfrosty]

Can't belive my "ears"?...

I am 63 and have fired guns for 50 years and have permanent hearing loss caused by the same attitude I see here; "Don't worry about it....it'll go away...it's only temporary". That's bull fiddle! If you hear it and your ears ring then you ARE damaging your hearing. If it only "lasts a little while", rest assured that is only the part you notice. My late friend Desmond Doss lost all of his hearing due to being close to gunfire in the south Pacific. Just close! He was a conscientous objector who worked as a medic in the army. And before anyone suggests that he couldn't have been too close to guns I will add that he was awarded the MOH for his work.

 

[Dr.Rob]

The idea of wearing electronic earmuffs to hunt just.. well there's just one more darn thing to carry and break.

Wear your earplugs when you practice. Heck even cotton balls or empty shell casings or chewing gum beats nothing. You roll the foam ones in your hand till they are warm and skinny, stick them in your ear canals they expand and fill the space. This is why 'one size fits all/most.' Fitted earplugs are not that expensive.

If and when you ever draw from concealment to shoot a rabbit (if I read this thread right that's what you want) you are concerned you might hurt your hearing.

You might not ever hear the rabbit if you have the muffs on. Or you might be clouded with white noise of a bunch of other stuff that isn't the rabbit. Those muffs might be fine for range work but out in the woods I need to hear what's going on around me.

When you are hunting you rarely 'hear' the shot the way you do at the range. Factor in terrain, wind, shooting up or down and even a 22 can ring your ears, OR seem a lot quieter than you expected. This is why most big game hunters don't wear muffs/plugs but varminters do. You only expect to maybe get one shot vs. you plan on shooting all day.

As for your firearm? Try CCI shot loads in a 44 or 45 revolver. Up close (and I mean like 12-15 feet) you can humanely kill a small rabbit or big squirrel or snake. Beyond that range it's about useless. Larger game could be taken with a jacketed soft point or hardcast bullet used in the same weapon. But you'd need to practice with both loads.

And you need to practice stalking game to get close enough to use a shot load.