Hearing Protection

[Bravo Whiskey]

What are you guys and what does the military issue for basic hearing protection?
I have good ears but what are you all using?
TIA ,
BW

[dregan]

What are you guys and what does the military issue for basic hearing protection?
I have good ears but what are you all using?
TIA ,
BW

Depends what and where I am shooting, and with whom.

I normally use Howard Leight muffs (ipod attached) but if my daughter and fiance come, I give them up and use decent plugs and give away my 3m muffs to one or the other. More because it is easier for me to pop a plug out to answer a question or them to move the muff. We don't shoot anything bigger than a .40 when out as a group so this is plenty good enough.

[shortthrow50]

im one of those people that likes to hear the gun a little so all i use is some 50 cents ear plugs. Yeah it may not be good for me but neither is my booze, coffee, and cigarettes. Its like an old country song. Old school FTW!

[OM18V]

Outdoors when shooting by myself I usually use foam ear plugs. Indoors and outdoors on the bullseye line I wear foam plugs and muffs together.

[coble]

The attachment is what google showed for mil issue.

im one of those people that likes to hear the gun a little so all i use is some 50 cents ear plugs. Yeah it may not be good for me but neither is my booze, coffee, and cigarettes. Its like an old country song. Old school FTW!

When I go to the range I just use some of shortthrow50's cigarette butts laying around

[mauser]

That's not an easy question to answer, it depends on the situation. On cold windy days I use muffs, sometimes with plugs. When it's hot and humid I use plugs unless I have to double up for the big guns. I also double up when shooting on an indoor range.
I have several of the plain old cheap blue muffs that often have gun shop names or logos on them that I use most of the time, especially when small to medium handguns are the order of the day and there aren't many shooters. When there are several people and I want to be sure I hear what people are saying, especially words like "hot" and "clear" I use my electronic muffs. When I'm shooting rifle I like the foam or silicone plugs. When there are lots of people and I'm shooting rifle, or when someone is shooting large caliber, muzzle brake, .50 cal, etc. I'll use foam or silicone plugs and my electronic muffs.
I always have extra muffs and plugs with me so adapting throughout the day isn't a problem and I always have plenty to share.

[rwb1500]

Electronic Howard Leights usually, supplemented with foam plugs. I just buy a 50 pack and toss them in the range bag, never know when you'll need them.

Now as far as the military I don't know, but I can tell you that one of my best friends just came back from deployment a few weeks ago, and when we went to the range earlier this week he only wore ears maybe half the time. I said "Yo, don't you want ears?" right before touching off his 30-30 sitting right next to him.He shook his head no.

Later he said his ears were ringing a bit, and that for the last 12 months gunfire hadn't really bothered him. Maybe an adrenaline thing, he said. So I dunno, but he's a dumbass, and I'm gonna start making him wear ears of some sort. Otherwise his wife will just have another reason to be mad at me.

[ithinkimamedic]

I use MSA Sordin Supreme Pro X - Neckband's now when I shoot. They are comfy with the gel seals on them and have great response to the sound clip. I have had them in just about all weather conditions and have had no problems so far. Before those I had a cheep set of muff's which did the job were a pain in the ass.

[paulpa21]

I use the orange foam earplugs. When looking at hearing protection pay attention to the NRR. The higher the number the more noise it reduces. Foam plugs are rated at 32db when put in your ears correctly which is higher than any ear muffs. A 3db difference is double so if you had some ear muffs that reduce 29db and then plugs that reduce 32db, the plugs will reduce double the amount. This is in theory.

[Neilthepilot]

im one of those people that likes to hear the gun a little so all i use is some 50 cents ear plugs. Yeah it may not be good for me but neither is my booze, coffee, and cigarettes. Its like an old country song. Old school FTW!

Actually you should look at the decibel rating of those plugs. Most are rated higher than the bulky headphone styles. 29-32 vs 21 and up.

When shooting pistols I use the headphones. When shooting at trap (at because I miss a lot) I use the plugs because the headsets sometimes get in the way.