Hearing Protection?

Lee

Six Pointer
I am looking to buy my first pair of ear muffs that allow normal sounds and block out excessive noise levels. In the past I've used ear plugs and non electronic ear muffs during shooting practice. Now I am thinking about handgun hunting this deer season and have no interest in touching off the 44 magnum revolver without hearing protection. Especially in the box stand.

What should I look for in features and what price point separates junk from usable gear? I have seen them from $20 on CDNN Sports to hundreds of dollars and figure the answer is somewhere in the middle.

Thanks!
 

Bailey Boat

Twelve Pointer
I have Peltor's and I have Walker's, BOTH are horrible when the wind blows across the mic screen.... Find some and have someone blow across the mic while you'r wearing them then decide..
 

appmtnhntr

Twelve Pointer
I've got some walker muffs that I use at the range, they're pretty effective and don't get wind noise too bad.
Also used them in the duck blind which was a delight.

Downside. They're bulky, and I can't mount my O/U "clean" when I wear them, so I wear normal plugs on the clays course.

For hunting, I keep foam plugs with me in the rare times when I actually have time to put them in before I shoot.

My 6.8 is LOUD, but I just got a linear comp for it, so that should help a little bit.

If you wanna get something for hunting, maybe look at some of the electronic ear PLUGS instead of muffs? They're more expensive but you're probably more likely to actually use them.

Any electronic plugs you wear in a box stand is gonna sound like you're sitting in a phone booth. Every little sound is super magnified.
 

nhn2a

Ten Pointer
I use the Walker Razor XV with Blue Tooth headphones. They are great as you can wear them around your neck and have earbuds that retract from them so they dont interfere with your cheek to stock position like normal earmuffs can. As with most of the electronic hearing protection the amplify outside sound, they do become fairly useless with a strong wind but in those conditions, I just turn off the outside and scan more. I use them at the range and when hunting.

Also I dont use the Bluetooth feature as much but it does come in handy if I get a call from the wife at the range so I dont have to remove my hearing protection to see what she wants.
 

ibgreen

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I also have a set of Peltor muffs purchased 25 years ago. Unfortunately I purchased them at Hills in Raleigh so I most likely paid substantially more but it Ended up being cheap protection averaged over 25 plus years.
 

muzzleodor2

Button Buck
I have 2 pairs of the Howard Leight Impact Sport, they are nice and I don't really have problems with wind noise. A friend of mine found a pair of these on the ground in Afghanistan and used them for over 2 years without changing the battery. He saw me change mine and was like "I didn't know if these things were rechargeable or what." Its a good product.
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
I have the Howard Leight Impact Sport as well and they work decently.

There are probably better, more expensive options out there.
 

shurshot

Ten Pointer
I’ve had my Howard Leights for 3 years and still have yet to change the battery. I even dropped them in an impoundment year before last, worked fine after speakers dried out. No issue with wind noise either. Dang good value IMO.
 

Reloader762

Guest
I have a couple sets of the Caldwell Low-Profile E-Max Electronic Earmuffs. They cost about $30 and have worked fine for the past 5 years.
 

Downeast

Twelve Pointer
I've had good use out of Pro Ear Gold muffs. I now have two pair. I guess you have to decide what is your hearing worth and go from there.
 
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