I’ve got some regular ear muffs for the range. So many people have told me to get the electronic ear protection. I have to pick some up before a class I have in July.
This is what I have and love them. Cheapest I found them.
Walker’s Game Ear Walker’s Razor… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZY6GMYD?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Wearing muffs really bothers me with the glasses, so I wear what I wear to motorcycle.
An SNR of 35 is pretty hard to beat. You can cut them to length if they are too long for your ear canals. Cheap and effective, and you can share (new ones) with friends.
I have the Howard Leight by Honeywell, been very happy with them.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/SureFire-Filtered-Earplug/38065287
I like these. They stay put and do a pretty good job. I would like electronic muffs, i just can’t justify the extra cost right now.
I second the Howard Light muffs. They are awesome.
I would second these. I also upgraded the ear cushions to support shooting with glasses. You can wear them all day in any weather with absolute comfort.
John Lovell does a great review of these
I added an SOE gear headband with name tape
I also carry normal ear muffs and a handful of sets of foam earplugs.
Howard Leight are excellent ear protection. Bought these 7 years ago and they are still going strong. I use them, at least twice a week and have only replaced the batteries twice.
Love those ones. They work great plus I can turn up the sound and hear things from further away in between shots. My brother uses them as well, he got his a few years before I got mine, still working great in n the sands of southern AZ
Hi Dawn, years ago I was walking around the SCI show in Reno and noticed the Sport Ear booth. They molded custom electronic ear protection to your individual ear, and were having a show special like 50% off or something. This was before electronic muffs were fully out on the market, so I decided to give them a try. They are like 2 hearing aids in fact utilizing hearing aid batteries, are fully adjustable for ambient sound, completely shut down at report, and fit like a dream. Many times now if shooting 50 BMG I wear both these and muffs. They are quite pricey and take a while to make and are now marketed by Axil Hearing Performance. They now sell a full range of products from digital electronic muffs, to digital (non-custom) plugs, to custom plugs and more. I have had nothing but excellent experience with the company. Here is their product page:
This is what we use as well, mine are black hers are pink. They work great, the volume is easily adjusted. They fit well with eye protection.
Other than forgetting to turn them off once and coming back to dead batteries, I don’t have any complaints.
I keep silicone earplugs for me. Headphones for my son. I also keep a handful or the foam plugs, in case I have a newbie with me. I like the silicone plugs, because I can use them deer hunting, and they fit in a pocket(in their case) when not in use.
I’ve tried a bunch of them and really like the “Pro Ears Gold” and Howard Leight “Impact Pro”.
I would say if shooting indoors you need a minimum of 30-34db reduction and without electronic hearing enhancement it can be extremely difficult to hear range instructions.
Outdoors you can get away with less protection but I still recommend the electronics to help with range command and instruction communications.
These are very good outdoors, I have several of them. I don’t recommend them for indoor work though unless you’re also wearing plugs.
me and my wife both have Howard Leight by Honeywell Impact Pro Sound Amplification Electronic Shooting Earmuff, Black & Grey (R-01902)
They also have an AUX in so you can listen to music while shooting.
LOL! Good point about the new ones. We have people at the range where I sometimes work who want to give them back. No thank you
Thanks for all of the amazing suggestions! Time for me to do some shopping!
just bought a set of these, will likely get them molded this weekend:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Decibullz-Custom-Molded-Earplugs-Orange/102524893
I have a set of Mack’s electronic earmuffs, and they work fine but I think there’s better out there. Sometimes I don’t want the whole earmuff thing, particularly with long guns or shotguns, so I’m going to give the decibullz a try.
The Decibullz are great protection but they really limit your ability to hear. I shoot a lot of heavy banging magnum rifles from the 7mm STW to .300 Rum and .375 Ruger and use them both at the range and when hunting but there is a real downside with the loss of hearing.
If budget isn’t much of a consideration there are some great custom molded electronic plugs available but they can run 300-500.00 or more.
These are great protection but again, severely limit hearing. What I like best about them is that they are cheap enough I don’t feel bad when I lose them.
I’ll buy them two at a time one blue, one red. I’ll use the red for my right ear, blue for my left so it’s easy to get them in the right ear quickly. The lanyard is a big help too to keep you from losing them.
You can fit them in a few minutes just sitting at the computer or doing dishes, just try not to talk or chew while they are setting.