You don't really need hearing protection with a 9mm

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I fired my CZ-82 without ear protection at the outdoor range the other day just to remind myself how bad it is. It was sort of a training exercise, as I forget how loud a handgun can be without protection and if you need to use a handgun in an emergency situation, chances are you're not gonna be wearing ear protection. Well, it was pretty darn loud and that exercises should hold me for at least 10 years. :eek:


I lot of soldiers are not using their ear protection over in the Middle-east either and a _lot_ of them are going deaf.
 
I've shot all of my firearms without hearing protection, usually only once, just to familiarize myself with the report in the event I'd need to shoot without ear protection.

The 22 rifles, and suprisingly the shotgun, do not make my ears ring.

Everything else is not something I intend shoot without protection. Especially the 44mag (duh) and the HK91 (louder than an AR-15) Suprisingly, I found the HK91 to be more painful to shoot without hearing protection than the 44mag. :scrutiny:
 
Vets are deaf from riding in Jet turbined Helo's before skull caps where invented. I aughta know I am rated at 30% in my right ear. That and arty makes quite a racket also. We did occassionally get permitted to wear our plugs on the range though, but that was when we where training.
 
Take my word for it: You need hearing protection when shooting any gun. At age 68 my hearing is totally to pot from shooting without hearing protection in the military and as a civilian. You also need hearing protection when blowing up ammo and i did not have that either.

Take care of your hearing. Hearing aids are not the answer. They amplify all the background noise.
 
I've noticed that .30-06 rifles and traditional-length 12-gauge shotguns don't bother me too much when shooting without ear protection. Handguns, now - they are very painful. I've had my ears ring for an hour or more after firing off .45 ACP from a 5" barrel. I've since realized that ear protection takes a good bit of the pain out of shooting, and worn it religiously since. Have had a M44 fired off, and it didn't seem as bad as .45 ACP... though most of my shooting's been outdoors.
 
Man. the only thing I won't use hearing protection is a 22 long rifle in a big open space! Other than that.... headphones ON!!!!!! Even with a 22 pistol! too freaking loud!
 
Even though I always wear earpro I still have a very light ringing in my right ear because my earpro was cheap early on.

It's only noticeable when it's deathly quiet like when I was getting ear molds to get some custom ear plugs done today, or when I use the non-breaker vented side of my better ear plugs (I can't use them at the indoor range because muffs are required and they stick out too far).

Always wear quality earpro and double plug when you can.
 
brickeyee said:
"Even if the sound of 9mm is painful in the beginning, it will get better with time."

That says it all.
Click to expand...

I hope you know I was being sarcastic. I wear hearing protection religiously, and require it for shooting, family helping with firewood, around all machinery, etc.
 
Is that guy deaf?

I shot my 9mm Glock once without hearing protection, and my right ear was ringing all day long. I always use double protection, foam inserts and outer hear, for about -60db protection. 9mm +P is pretty loud.
 
Is that guy deaf?

I shot my 9mm Glock once without hearing protection, and my right ear was ringing all day long. I always use double protection, foam inserts and outer protection, for about -60db protection. 9mm +P is pretty loud.
 
Is that guy deaf?

I shot my 9mm Glock once without hearing protection, and my right ear was ringing all day long. I always use double protection, foam inserts and outer protection, for about -60db protection. 9mm +P is pretty loud.
 
I'm a music lover, so I'm really anal about my hearing.

I was at an indoor range once, and the earmuffs were making me sweaty. I hadn't seen anyone, and I hadn't heard any shots in several minutes, so I took them off.

Just then, the guy I didn't see come in lets off six rounds of .357 fifteen feet away. Turns out, he was doing something on the bench for several minutes.

It felt like someone had gouged my eardrum with a toothpick. I shouted, "HOLY $%&!" The poor guy jumped, saw me not wearing hearing protection, and actually tried to apologize.

I just put my muffs back on as well as I could with my hands shaking and said, "no sir...you have taught me a valuable lesson today."

I was seriously worried for about six hours afterward. Though the ears can take abrupt shocks like that once in a blue moon, regular exposure to anything over ~90db is very harmful. Most gunshots average 140-150db.
 
I wear plugs with everything but the .22lr. Now that i'm shooting it out of a little pistol a lot, I really need to start wearing ear plugs more.
 
I sometimes won't wear hearing protection when shooting a .22LR rifle outdoors and nobody else is at the range- the report is minimal. I also don't wear ears when I hunt- but then I rarely get to shoot...
 
For all who are blaming the clerk, go back and read the post. It was a customer who said that ear protection was not needed. The clerk said it was.
 
Outdoors I've shot .243, 30-06, and a 12 gauge all without protection before. Indoors I always wear ear protection.

I don't shoot outdoors often and haven't shot outdoors without hearing protection in years. Its good to hear them full tilt sometimes though, just as a reminder.
 
Always wear hearing protection. I fired a ported Contender in .35 Rem in the field without hearing protection ... one time ... and my ears rang for a couple of days. I immediately ordered a set of Peltor Tac 7s and now I wear them in the field when handgun hunting. Plugs or muffs as minimum at the range, and double up if shooting a lot. Most of my guns I've never heard unprotected.
 
As the saying goes:

Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear... cause otherwise, you won't be hearing much at all... :evil:
 
Yeah I fell for that once. First time I ever shot a 9mm. "Oh, you don't need plugs."
BLAM! screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee......
 
Yeah I fell for that once. First time I ever shot a 9mm. "Oh, you don't need plugs."
BLAM! screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee......
Click to expand...

I did that exactly ONCE. The only popular caliber louder than 9mm is .357. Both will F up your hearing very quickly. Anyone that says you don't need hearing protection probably doesn't have that much hearing left to protect.
 
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