Ear protection when hunting

[SouthPaw]

No supressors in CA. I wear the foamies around my neck and pop them in before a shot when hunting big game. That being said, I'd be lying if I said I didn't shoot some animals quickly without having a chance to get them in, it has happened. This is also why I refuse to use a muzzle brake. I'm probably going to invest In custom molded electronic ear pro that is in at all times when big game hunting.

My hearing is in rough shape after decades in a duck blind with no ear pro, and I'm still young. I now always have ear pro in when shooting or near someone shooting a firearm.

 

[Mike D Texas]

I do not use hearing protection when hunting, especially since I started buying suppressors. Why pay $1,000+ and deal with the hassle of I’m going to wear hearing pro anyway? Admittedly even before I owned suppressors I rarely, if ever used hearing pro; but I also never used brakes. No doubt I likely have hearing loss because of that.

Also, if I’m shooting suppressed outdoors when practicing I do not wear it except on rare occasions. Maybe I’m damaging my hearing, maybe I’m not. I’m not telling anyone else to do that, just stating what I do.


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[Bluefish]

I could have checked most of the boxes. If hunting sonic I use in ears. They are custom molded and offer about 27db of protection. That gets bird hunting with shotgun (low 150’s) down to 125-130 which is “safe” for 100 shots per day. Rifle it probably gets me under 140, so 1-2 shots per day. With a suppressor, that puts me well into the 110’s.

I have taken 2 subsonic shots hunting no hpe, not too bad, but wouldn’t want to be doing it a lot. I do have tinnitus and my hearing has degraded a lot in the last few years. Knew that was coming as my oae’s from 10 years ago said I had little to no hearing left above 6k. For those who don’t know it’s a test where they provide a signal to the ear and look for a response. It gives a predictor of hearing damage that has not showed up on an audio graham (standard test, ie can you hear the beep) yet.

I have been around stuff most of my life, motorcycles, guns, etc. what really rocked me was stepping out of the car at a local public range as a kid shot off a braked 10” ar-15 in 350l. No ears and it rang them more than hunting with a suppressor.

 

[khuber84]

I wear electronic in ear buds with suppressors at the range, practice and shooting matches. Hunting if we all have cans, I do not wear ear pro.

 

[Dan Carey]

I wear protection at the range because not all shooters are suppressed. I have a 223 AI with a 25 inch barrel and its a lot quieter that a 16" AR, and I mean a lot. Short barrels and hunting, yes.

 

[01Foreman400]

I use hearing protection all the time except for when I’m shoot subsonic.