What hearing protection if any does everyone wear and what type for hunting? Hunting from the ground it seems the deer are there before I get a chance to put my earmuffs on.

I wear electronic muffs. Keep'em up on my head till I see or hear the critter; then slip'em over my ears and turn'em on. This way I can still hear right up till and after the shot.

Some of the electronic muffs work well .I wear them most of the time because I can no longer hear a deer walking at any distance without them. When I don't have them on I slide them right above my ears. You could also try the kind that are on a springy rod that goes under or behind the neck. I have always had time to slide them on,even in the tight quarters I hunt in.You really should not shoot without them as the damage is irreparable.

I wear the soft sponge rubber ear plugs. I tried som Peltor amplified earmuffs, but did not care for them. I would like to try some high quality amplified ear plugs, but I am not willing to spent the $600 or more to find out if they are worth it.

BTW I find the best sponge ear plugs are the purple ones in the pharmacy department at Wally World rather the orange ones in the sporting goods department. They are softer and easier to roll up and insert in you ear.

I have been carrying those plugs on a string, and try to use them whenever possible. The only problem is that when moving around a lot one side always seems to get longer than the other. There are some new passive plugs that block loud sounds while letting in normal sounds that are on my wish list. I cannot use the electronic muffs, just can't get used to them.

I also do like KRal, I keep'em on my head till I hear or see and slip them on. Take care of your hearing. After 35 yrs. on the railroad and growing up on a farm around tractors and machinery my ears ring constantly. If muffs bother you they make a set of earplugs that are on a half moon shaped thing that you can hang around your neck. They have tension on them and can be slipped on quietly with minimal movement.

I know I'll catch flak, but I don't use hearing protection when I hunt. I have, but I really feel like I am hindered when I do. Now, that all changes if I am using something with a muzzle brake like the .460 XVR I tested a few years ago. That thing would have deafened a man with one cylinder.

I use pro ears for all my firearm hunting. They work well. This year i broke the headband but had another in a few days

I used to use the plastic rid with the plugs on the end,I would wear it on my hat, and slip them into my ears when I needed them, I can"t be bothered so I don"t wear any ear protection at all when hunting, every once in a while if the air is just right I might get a little ring from my 460, and that is un braked.

I have a pair of the Howard Leight Impact Sport ear muffs I've been trying to use but I haven't been able to leave the on for long periods. I may try the sponge or rubber plugs. My ears ring constantly and I'm trying to save what I have left.

Thanks for all of your replies.

I have a pair of custom molded plugs attached to a string that I had made at a sportsmans show 2 years ago.

I normally keep them tucked into the folded up brim of my ski cap when stalking or on the stand. When I need them I pull them down and they fit very quickly into each ear.

To keep the string from working itself all the way to one side or the other (used to happen to me all of the time), I knotted a small saftey pin in the center of the string. The pin gets connected to the back of my hat and now everything stays centered.

I still do find it a bit inconvenient to put the plugs in before taking a shot, and am considering giving a set of electronic muffs a try.

Whitworth

I wear no hearing protection either, I cannot say that I remember hearing the shot when I shoot at game. One or two shots over the course of a day will do no real damage.

I use the Pro Ears predator gold series electronic ear protection. I love them. When ya have them set correctly, it is almost like wearing nothing at all, plus the added advantage of amplifying small noises like critters walking. My wife used them, and we got her a pair when we got home.

I won't shoot without them.

Raptortrapper I won't shoot without them!
AMEN to that .One or two shots a day will indeed hurt your hearing and it never comes back.The ringing goes on forever and only gets worse with age. Protect what you have while you still have it!!!

I never used to wear protection when hunting but a couple of years ago I shot a deer in heavy willows from the ground and I felt that for days. In the open its not a big deal, but heavy cover traps the sound wave and from now on I will "try" to put them in although there is not always time.

Perhaps I should have qualified my statement, most of my big game hand gun hunting is with standard and just a bit above .45 Colt loads, and those are pretty easy on ones hearing.

And back when I hunted with the .30 Herrett, I always wore some sort of hearing protection.

I use the Walker and Pro Ears muffs. I like them both. They are comfortable enough to wear all day if need be.

I use e muffs in the cold a lot. they help keep your ears warm. in hot climates i tend to stick with surefire earplugs. they are only about $20 and work pretty good. i have been an artileryman for almost 18 years so i have to preserve what i still have.

I didn't for more years than I care to admit and often suffered with calibers like the .22mag. .357 mag and many others but, now I wear Walkers digital muffs and can hear better than without them?

Steve

I have some cheap electronic muffs. I can't stand them in a box stand because even me breathing seems loud. I like the plugs on a plastic band but most of the time I wear a headnet so it is back to the muffs. I do put on the electronic muffs the last 15 or so minutes just in case things happen fast. I would like to try the electronic plugs but like many others don't want to spend the cash.

Same here - I use the Walker Quad muffs, regardless of weather or caliber, short gun or long. I would be willing to bet that all of us have some high frequency hearing loss...I know I didn't think I did, that is until I had a hearing screen. And I can still hear turkeys gobble and deer walking in the leaves and wings whistling overhead...and want to to keep it that way.

I used the Midway electronic muffs as much as possible. The buck I shot last week was the first deer in a long time that I did not have them on. From sighting to shot was maybe four seconds.

This question comes up on one forum or another several times a year. To be blunt, I think its nuts to shoot without hearing protection. Every shot counts. Its nice to be able to understand your grandkids ... and I can't about 20-25% of the time ... and that's even after paying attention to hearing protection for many years.

I also use the soft foam plugs on the springy plastic band. I keep them around my neck until I'm in a "hot" area, then I put them just on the outside of my ear canal. When I know that I will be dropping the hammer, I knudge them up into place. This keeps my natural hearing until the last practical moment, and minimizes movement.
That being said, I kinda forgot to do that when bear hunting last May......

[quote/]but heavy cover traps the sound wave and from now on I will "try" to put them in although there is not always time.[/quote]

Yup! shot a deer out of a box blind that had a roof on it with the 45 colt SBHH and boy did that ring my bell... won't make that mistake again. or at least I will try not too

Hearing loss is a function of a number of things, unfortunately one of those is aging. Since life is a "one way" street we can do nothing about that. Also human physiology, is not the same for every one. Some of us are more tolerant to adverse stimuli than others.

If your hearing loss is a result of genetics then you probably cannot do anything about the end result.

At almost 70, my hearing is better than many people, considerably younger. To wear hearing protection with my method of hunting would just not be practical.

I have friends that are in their 50's that have significant hearing loss, that have never fired a gun.

Hearing protection is not 100% effective, if you shoot a lot then is is necessary. The rule used to be when target shooting with heavy loads, ear plugs, and then ear muffs over those. It is up to the individual to decide if they need it when hunting, and the only real way to tell about that is with regular hearing exams.

You are correct some people seem to be less affected by noise probably due to the shape of their ear canal. The only way to know how much you have lost is through regular hearing exams but they are only measuring what you have lost that you can't get back. There's nothing to lose by putting them in. Sure you might get busted one day trying to put them in and a game animal see you. For me that isn't that big a deal. It's just a deer and if times were tough enough I would starve because I didn't get a shot on a deer because of taking time to put ear plugs in I probably wouldn't be worried about it. Until then I am going to enjoy hearing that twig snap behind me. and being able to hear that squirrel digging in the leaves at 50 yards and knowing it's a squirrel because I can hear the difference. I will just do my part to protect what I have and hope the age related hearing loss is minimal.

I've used hearing protection, while hunting, for approximatley 15 years now. I've used all sorts of ear plugs and muffs. I never deployed any of them till right before I was going to shoot. I can't recall any situation where my hearing protection caused me NOT to get the game I was pursuing. Every critter I've killed within the last fifteen years (no matter this size of game or caliber of weapon), I've had hearing protection on. It's just another part of the hunt for me; no different than cocking my handgun. I've raised my son with the same thought process. He's been hunting since he was 5 years old; killed his first critter at 6 years old. He's now 15 and EVERY critter he's killed has been while wearing hearing protection. We've been 1/2 a mile walking into where we were going hunting and realize he'd left his hearing protection in the truck; he dropped all his gear and went back to the truck to get it. He, as well as I, will not hunt without protection. He see's the results of not using it, by observing me. I hunted for years without it and now I'm paying the consequences: high frequency hearing loss(can't hear a conversation if any background noise is present)(usually have to be looking at who ever I'm talking to); constant ringing in my ears...etc. I want to protect what I have left and don't want him to experience what I'm going through now. As for he and I, we'll wear it.

Perhaps I need to fall back and qualify some of my comments. I live in a different reality than probably 90+% of the folks on this forum. I live in the mountains of Oregon on the edge of a large wilderness area. I have bears and mountain lions wandering through my yard and I have live stock.

My neighbor is the local federal game agent and he takes 20+ bears and mountain lions annually. By his definition he and I hunt every day. The last three bears I killed, on my property, were very close very quickly, there was no opportunity to call time out while I put in my ear plugs.

As an old retired policeman I have seen the results of "conditioning", dead policemen, with a pocket full of empty brass, back in the days of revolvers, because that was how they trained. Their focus was on their training and not their survival.

Like we used to say back in another era, "smoke em if you got em", use hearing protection if it gives you some comfort, but I hope you haven't conditioned your selves to the point that you think you need to do that before you try to shoot that bear in the alder thicket, or before that big cat springs. It is good to be able to hear, but it is better to be alive to hear...

358429,

I wasn't firing shots at you, just stating my opinion of hearing protection. I would hope if I was being attacked by a fur-rotious critter, I wouldn't worry about the ears....

Personal defense is a little different than hunting....

KRal

"Personal defense is a little different than hunting...."

You obviously have never worked the alder thickets on Kodiak Island, hunting and personal defense are the same things. I have headed into those thickets because I thought I saw, through the foliage, a couple of Sitka Blacktail deer, to have the brown shape turn into a 12" bear. You haven't live until....!

In my reality I spend a lot of every day making sure the big predators are not in proximity to my horses..

Be very careful what you train your self and your young man to do. Just like "flinch" some habits are easier to learn than to unlearn...

You're exactly correct; I've never been to Alaska (Hope to someday). When I'm headed into a thicket, my biggest worries is hanging a briar in my ear or nose.

I also train my son to have a little common sense and I've got a little bit my self (not much though). If I was ever in bear country, I'd have my hearing protection with me and in a normal hunting situation...i.e....see bear grazing on berries 75 yards away and I'm planning on killing it; I'll slip on my hearing protection. If I'm looking for that bear (or what ever)and it suprises me with an attack or defense situation; I prolly won't think about hearing protections....Toilet paper will prolly be my biggest concern

Kral

A tiny piece of advice from an old guy that has been a lot of places and done a lot of things..Life is short, push the envelope whenever you can, if you do not come close to death, you will never know that you lived.

Most people just worry about being comfortable, I am sorry for them.

John

John,
My Father-n-law is also retired law enforcement from the previuos era, and use to be an avid hunter. We spent more then our share of time together in the woods, and I know I have a long ways to go before I even begin to catch up with the rounds he has shot. I love the man, but he can't hear worth a darn, and is convinced that he hears just fine. You are right when you say that years ago you just didn't wear hearing protection. As for me personally the only gun I refuse to shoot without hearing protection is a pistol with a muzzle break. I agree that sometimes there just isn't time to put on hearing protection, so you do what you gotta do and suffer the consiquences.
On the other hand, I've used electronic hearing protection. And if you want to drive yourself nutts, wear them on a windy day.. I personally use the hearing protection during target shooting, and just live with it during hunting...

linebaugh

I guess the best answer is the commom sense approach.

I was on one of my evening patrols through the forest last night, and heard a cow elk, she obviously heard me but I had the "wind", she was just inquiring about what I was.. I ran into her and several of her "sisters" this morning .. It is good to live in the mountains.

When I get to the point that I can no longer hear the elk then I will be in trouble.

I always wear at least one layer of hearing protection when I am practicing or working up a load.

I recall and evening in early October when I was out walking on an old rail road bed, along the Snake River in E. Washington, it was one of those really nice evenings, and time got away from me, it turned full dark before I got started back to my car. That was when I ran into the rattle snakes, I killed three with my 3" GP100, and after that I could not hear much, I would have given anything to have had a device to block the muzzle blast, but that would have allowed me to hear the "buzzing".

John