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Precision Rifle Gear Electronic hearing protections
- Thread starter Iron Worker
- Start date
Vivacious Stallion
Public Health Authority for the Shadow Gov
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Full Member
Minuteman
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I use a pair of the black 3M Comtac 3s with the gel pads and have been very happy with them for their durability and sound protection. Generally no issues or interference when shouldering/mounting different rifles Plus you can always layer ear plugs underneath. The howard leight electric muffs are solid but I have found that they come apart after a year or 2 or continuous use.
I've got 9 sets of these new in box with single feed coms and hard hat adaptors that I'll sell for $110 shipped each (sorry, had to raise the price from $100 because I forgot how big the box is) if anyone wants a set. Slap on arc adaptors for $50 and you can run them on your ballistic or fast helmet. GREAT protection for the money especially when you consider the comms capability.
+1 for the MSA Sordins, gel cups are the bees knees. Also like the 3Ms mentioned in earlier post.
Ops core amp with NFMI plugs. All the benefits of doubling up with all the abilities that electronics give you by being able to hear better
Howard Leight Impact Sport (w/ foam or Surefire earplugs underneath when shooting stuff that barks loudly). They get used not only at the range but also in the shop and around the property. I bought two pair of these because they're cheap and thus I wouldn't cry if I left them at the range, repeatedly knocked them off a bench, batteries leaked, ran em over with the lawnmower, etc., but now they're now 10+ years old and are still chugging along.
Peltor LEP-200 earplugs from @Andrew1182 for quieter stuff like suppressed rifles, shotguns, rimfire, etc. Just got back from running these for a week at the Boy Scout camp range and am very happy with the hassle-free performance. My only complaint is that they don't fit well under the Impact Sports if I want to quickly add a layer when some dude shows up with a braked .300WM.
Peltor LEP-200 earplugs from @Andrew1182 for quieter stuff like suppressed rifles, shotguns, rimfire, etc. Just got back from running these for a week at the Boy Scout camp range and am very happy with the hassle-free performance. My only complaint is that they don't fit well under the Impact Sports if I want to quickly add a layer when some dude shows up with a braked .300WM.
My MSA Supreme Pro-X dutifully served me the last couple of years, and got stolen out of my car last week...thanks, CA catch and release 
. In the San Francisco, the Walgreens stores have been shutting down one after another due to out of control shoplifting, and then Targets announced they are closing early daily due to the shoplifting. If you look on the web, there is a video of Neiman Marcus being robbed by a mass assault of hoodlums in broad daylight.
Anyhows, I loved the Sordins. I had the gel cups and they were super comfortable. I did double up most of the time out of habit, especially when indoors and next to brakes. Investing in ear pro now is cheaper than blowing out my hearing and using hearing aids down the road. Anyone doubting this should look up how much hearing aids cost.
I went back to SRS tactical to order new ones and ended up ordering the Swatcom Active 8s which are basically Sordin's with upgraded electronics done by their UK distributor. I will use these for the long haul, so I thought, why not pay for the upgrade...my wallet is hurting.
. In the San Francisco, the Walgreens stores have been shutting down one after another due to out of control shoplifting, and then Targets announced they are closing early daily due to the shoplifting. If you look on the web, there is a video of Neiman Marcus being robbed by a mass assault of hoodlums in broad daylight. Anyhows, I loved the Sordins. I had the gel cups and they were super comfortable. I did double up most of the time out of habit, especially when indoors and next to brakes. Investing in ear pro now is cheaper than blowing out my hearing and using hearing aids down the road. Anyone doubting this should look up how much hearing aids cost.
I went back to SRS tactical to order new ones and ended up ordering the Swatcom Active 8s which are basically Sordin's with upgraded electronics done by their UK distributor. I will use these for the long haul, so I thought, why not pay for the upgrade...my wallet is hurting.
Got some Amps with NFMI.
Only two range trips so far.
Find them louder than my old solution - ear plugs alone.
Not painful, unplugged loud, but louder than fully plugged up.
I do gain situational awareness.
Wondering if during alone sessions I would be better going fully plugged and in class or when shooting with others use the Amps.
Only two range trips so far.
Find them louder than my old solution - ear plugs alone.
Not painful, unplugged loud, but louder than fully plugged up.
I do gain situational awareness.
Wondering if during alone sessions I would be better going fully plugged and in class or when shooting with others use the Amps.
Harris & Sons (https://harrisandsons.com/)
Looks like they have stopped making the ones that I have. They are rechargeable and Bluetooth. Great hearing protection. Comfortable (made from custom impressions). Highly recommend them.
Looks like they have stopped making the ones that I have. They are rechargeable and Bluetooth. Great hearing protection. Comfortable (made from custom impressions). Highly recommend them.
XCEL 100 DIGITAL ELECTRONIC MUFF w/ VOICE CLARITY - Walker's
Walker's XCEL Muff Series includes four listening modes: Universal, Speech Clarity Mode, Hi Frequency, and Power Boost. Ergonomic headband design for maximum comfort.
www.walkersgameear.com
Everyone wants comtacs so they can larp. I’ve got tac pros which offer comms and comparable hearing protection for $110 shipped. But they aren’t OpERat0r, lol
You need to double up, alone, the DB reduction of electronic is not enough to protect your hearing.
I now wear Sordin passive muffs and foamies for all shooting and the electronic are only for car races.
I use the comm port on the Sordins for external audio or radio communications.
The NFMI option is a sort of ear plug under the muffs so I am doubled up.
Unsure exactly how it works....Im thinking it has something to do with magnetism.
I dont think Im exposed to dangerous levels of noise but certainly louder noise than having foamies and full on muffs.
If you dont need communication and earpro is your only concern good quality foamies and muffs with no elctronics are your best protection.
My opinion.
Currently Peltors Tactical & Tactial 100s.
We had 2 MSA Sordins Sup-X, we did not feel the attenuation was enough, and adding the cost of the comfy gel ear cups... it just wasn't worth it. Good, but not great.
A decent set of Peltors work fine. Have always meant to try the cheapie Howard Leights.
We had 2 MSA Sordins Sup-X, we did not feel the attenuation was enough, and adding the cost of the comfy gel ear cups... it just wasn't worth it. Good, but not great.
A decent set of Peltors work fine. Have always meant to try the cheapie Howard Leights.
MSA Sordins with custom fitted ear plugs to double up.
I got the Noisefighters gel ear cups for them. Pretty happy with it all.
I got the Noisefighters gel ear cups for them. Pretty happy with it all.
I have these as my backup, and the xcel 500 as a primary. They're awesome, and the same exact product as the bluetooth ones (regardless of what the old walkers game ears marketing said), with bluetooth being the only difference. No difference in mics. At one point they said the bluetooth model had 4 mics. That is not accurate.XCEL 100 DIGITAL ELECTRONIC MUFF w/ VOICE CLARITY - Walker's
Walker's XCEL Muff Series includes four listening modes: Universal, Speech Clarity Mode, Hi Frequency, and Power Boost. Ergonomic headband design for maximum comfort.
Do not know, go with Harris & Sons F12's
Win Your Next Game with the FF-12 Competition Football
Experience superior performance with the FF-12 Competition watch, meticulously engineered for champion athletes. Order yours at Harris and Sons today!
harrisandsons.com
Do not know, go with Harris & Sons F12's
Win Your Next Game with the FF-12 Competition Football
Experience superior performance with the FF-12 Competition watch, meticulously engineered for champion athletes. Order yours at Harris and Sons today!
I'm not paying 2-fucking-thousand dollars for ear plugs. I get the same exact NRR from a sub $100 set of Walker's ear muffs.
EL-OH-fucking-EL
Ops core amp with NFMI plugs is the best hearing protection I’ve ever used. Great protection of doubling up but can still hear, and from my experience hear MUCH better than regular electric muffs. I don’t think I can ever go back to normal stuff after using these for the last year to be honest
The "electronics" don't do anything to reduce the noise that reaches your ear. That is a huge misconception.
All the electronics do is amplify any sound below a certain threshold (typically 85 dB) so that you can hear what's going on around you despite the fact that you have 20 - 30 dB of passive noise reduction over your ears. When the sound passes the amplifier's clipping threshold, the amplifier shuts down and you're left with the passive noise reduction.
Pro Ears stalker gold for me. I am amazed how much faster they shut off then my walkers do. I have been running then for about 5 years now. If I am shooting at a range, or hunting with other people (duck or dove) I use foam plugs underneath.
The MSA offered me the best fit (frequently wear them all day), I liked the quality and the fact that I double plug means that its pretty quiet (certainly more reduction that 18dB).
I have experienced advantages with this approach (ie if your over ear protection get knocked while getting into some awkward position in a timed competition there is still sufficient protection from the fitted plugs).
db NRR is only one piece of the puzzle.
Pro Ears Elite. Best I’ve ever used.
proears.com
Pro Tac Mag Gold
Check out our premium model of earmuffs with an NRR of 30 and made of viscoelastic material for your comfort and hearing protection while hunting.
proears.com
I've been using Walkers for the last year. I got them as a gift and really didn't see the need or use. I had Peltor muffs that worked fine.
Well, I love them. I like the Bluetooth and the charging dock that holds its own charges. Don't have to worry about plugging them in or anything for a while. I use the Bluetooth a ton when I'm mowing, weed trimming, leaf blowing etc. Those can be damaging to your hearing as well. So I can listen to music and protect my ears.
The app doesn't work on my newest phone but not a huge deal. Be nice if it did though...just easier to control via phone.
Well, I love them. I like the Bluetooth and the charging dock that holds its own charges. Don't have to worry about plugging them in or anything for a while. I use the Bluetooth a ton when I'm mowing, weed trimming, leaf blowing etc. Those can be damaging to your hearing as well. So I can listen to music and protect my ears.
The app doesn't work on my newest phone but not a huge deal. Be nice if it did though...just easier to control via phone.
What I don't get, and perhaps I don't really understand the attenuation that electronic muffs can do, manufacturers don't really make it easy because as far as I can tell none of them have any gunshot specific noise reduction ratings, it's just NRR which really don't translate to performance at shooting frequencies/DB from what little I've been able to figure out.
So first you have the unknown of how a rating NRR actually translates to attenuating gunshot frequencies and signal profiles, that probably varies across manufacturers. I'm sure you can probably find 20 different NRR muffs all rated 30db that don't all attenuate gunshots the same. I've seen this myself testing various passive muffs at an indoor range under the same conditions, there was significant difference in how well they dampened perceived shooting noise wearing them, but they were all rated within 1-2 DB of each other. Unfortunately though at the end of the day that's the only spec we get.
So living with that limitation, it seems like to be most electronic muffs fall somewhere between like 18-26db, the lower profile popular ones all appear to be in the 18-21db range. To me that's not nearly enough protection to use them alone, so that means having to double up. At that point really all I'm using the muffs for is to amplify ambient sound/conversation enough that I can hear it past the ear plugs. So it seems like to me, at that point, is there really any advantage to using $300 muffs over $100 muffs, as none of them seem to attenuate enough to use them say at an indoor range or around brakes by themselves.
So first you have the unknown of how a rating NRR actually translates to attenuating gunshot frequencies and signal profiles, that probably varies across manufacturers. I'm sure you can probably find 20 different NRR muffs all rated 30db that don't all attenuate gunshots the same. I've seen this myself testing various passive muffs at an indoor range under the same conditions, there was significant difference in how well they dampened perceived shooting noise wearing them, but they were all rated within 1-2 DB of each other. Unfortunately though at the end of the day that's the only spec we get.
So living with that limitation, it seems like to be most electronic muffs fall somewhere between like 18-26db, the lower profile popular ones all appear to be in the 18-21db range. To me that's not nearly enough protection to use them alone, so that means having to double up. At that point really all I'm using the muffs for is to amplify ambient sound/conversation enough that I can hear it past the ear plugs. So it seems like to me, at that point, is there really any advantage to using $300 muffs over $100 muffs, as none of them seem to attenuate enough to use them say at an indoor range or around brakes by themselves.
If you want to throw another curveball into this discussion, go ahead and consider the effects of breaking the muff seal (heh) with the bows of shooting glasses.
I just picked up a couple sets of gel pads to try on my Impact Sports. It felt mildly silly to spend $18 on an accessory for $50 muffs, but the performance is subjectively better (sorry, don't have the gear to mic up my ear canal) and so it feels like money well-spent. I'm still inserting plugs when shooting unsuppressed centerfire, though.
I just picked up a couple sets of gel pads to try on my Impact Sports. It felt mildly silly to spend $18 on an accessory for $50 muffs, but the performance is subjectively better (sorry, don't have the gear to mic up my ear canal) and so it feels like money well-spent. I'm still inserting plugs when shooting unsuppressed centerfire, though.
Got my expensive Ops Core Amps.
Finding I don't use them for general range use.
I use quality foam plugs and that method seems to have highest NRR ratings.
Only thing better would be doubling with standard muffs.
I use the Ops Core when I need to hear range commands.
Finding Im ñot a muffs fan.....they get sweaty.
Finding I don't use them for general range use.
I use quality foam plugs and that method seems to have highest NRR ratings.
Only thing better would be doubling with standard muffs.
I use the Ops Core when I need to hear range commands.
Finding Im ñot a muffs fan.....they get sweaty.
That's also a great point on the glasses and have seen some of the NoiseFighter pads with relief areas for glasses and that seems genius, I haven't tried many of the low profile muffs, but anything approaching the larger "standard" earmuff I have problems with losing seal on the stock side. I also have a small skull so I'm sure that doesn't help.
That said this can happen with custom molded in-ear plugs as well, a trapshooting audiologist turned me onto this, the ear canal shape changes significantly for many people when they put their head on a stock. I used many brands of custom molded plugs for years trap shooting, but started to notice that he was right. I could hear other shooters shots across the range "more" when I had mounted my gun than when I didn't. Not as much as muffs, but enough to easily notice. Tried 3-4 types/brands they all did the same, some fit tight enough they were . Now it could just be my ear shape, having a small skull I also have small ear canals, but for me the only thing that does not unseal so far with my head on a stock has been foamies.
It's pretty easy to simulate at the range just using a knifehand under your cheek. I've always wondered how much better molded plugs would seal if for the 5-10 minutes they "set" up a person simulated having their head on a stock, the problem being they may not seal as well when not on a stock, and they might be uncomfy.
As an eyeglass wearer, I have to agree. I did some research on this matter some time ago and could only turn up one CDC study that indicated pretty huge reductions in earmuff efficacy when used with safety glasses because of the temples of the glasses breaking the muff’s seal.
However, I think (but do not know) that they used the old-style huge safety glasses with the earpieces that bow out quite a bit.
Here’s a quote from p.10:
“The earmuffs with safety glasses had a reduction of 12 (outdoor) to 18 (indoor) dBs. The earmuffs alone reduced the peak energy by 29 (outdoor) and 32 (indoor) dBs.”
The chart is on p.27 and I pasted it below. I’ve edited the quote slightly to better align it to the chart for readers.
The upshot is that outdoors, where we do most of our rifle shooting, the particular safety glasses they used plus earmuffs reduced the earmuff’s protection from 29 down to 12 dBs. And that, as dBs are measured logarithmically, is a gigantic loss of hearing protection.
My rx glasses have rather thick temples. This is one reason I’ve moved to using contacts when shooting, as I can use flat-templed safety glasses like these:
3M Flat Temple Safety Eyewear with Scratch Resistant Lens, Frame: Black/Red, Clear Lens - - Amazon.com
3M Flat Temple Safety Eyewear with Scratch Resistant Lens, Frame: Black/Red, Clear Lens - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
Ideally, I suppose, the best temples would be very thin and flexible wire that fit closely. I may go this route for a special shooting pair of rx glasses, as I’m finding my eyes dry out a bit with contacts.
The most logical solution, as noted by the study’s authors, is to integrate the safety glasses to the muffs. I’ve tried these SoundVision safety glasses that do just that, but it’s a work in progress. Not sure I like them. Any movement of the muff then moves the glasses.
@ToddM
Here’s some data on what hz you should be looking at in the NRR specs of a muff: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7761796/
To this layman it seems 900-1500hz is the peak rifle hz. To find this data you’ll have to dig into the documentation included with your muffs or go to the web. I found this for a bunch of 3M products: https://httsafety.com/Images/DataSheet/MMMCANC1/MM1100.pdf
After reading the specs at 900-1500hz I’ve found that it’s not always worth buying a higher NRR rated muff, and sometimes it’s actually worse.
For example, some higher rated muffs got that higher NRR by better attenuating the really high hz (pretty meaningless for rifle shooters) while being similar or worse in the 900-1500hz range than lower NRR muffs.
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Which is why I swapped the gel pads to Noisefighters.
They fit really well with glasses and I can wear them comfortably all day.
This feeds to the point I made previously as to why I double up, sometimes on competition when using long guns the gun will come into contact with the muffs an break the seal so the plugs are invaluable to me (I learned the hard way after a few days of ringing ears from exactly what I described).
As an aside I just tried out a pair of the Peltor Tactical Sport 500's along side the new Walker Firemax. I didn't use the bluetooth features but I much prefer the Peltor. They both basically list the same rating at 1000hz, though the Peltor gets a 26DB overall rating and the Firemax was only 20 DB, the Peltor had a more natural sound and the directionality of it seemed a bit better, seemed to fit my smaller head better, and it's volume went a bit higher. The Firemax headband seemed similar to the Peltor but it was much less flexible and I struggled to get it to sit evenly on my head it also seemed to have a lot of hiss. In addition if you covered the mics on the Firemax say when you are putting them on/off you get really loud mic feedback/whine in your ears, I could not reproduce that with the Peltors. I'd say the only thing the Firemax did better was it seemed like it might do a little better job at how fast it shut down, but they were both so close it was hard to tell, which could be because the Peltor's are 4+ years old now. Also while the peltor looks like the larger muff, I had less problems losing the deal on stocks than I did with the Firemax. I was really hoping the firemax was going to be a good option since it was a brand new model. As an aside Walmart is selling the 500's for under $80 now which looking around seems like a pretty good price.
That said it would be nice if the volume went even higher when doubled up with foamies, but I'm guessing they make them so max volume without doubling up is only so high. I'm actually not opposed to spending more $ on a set, but I'm not really sure what I'd gain, durability perhaps, though it seems like that's the other problem with these electronic muffs, doesn't seem to matter how much spend on them, people seem to have problems with all of them. The only other thing I could see being a nice advantage would be if there was another option that had significantly higher volume for when doubled up.
That said it would be nice if the volume went even higher when doubled up with foamies, but I'm guessing they make them so max volume without doubling up is only so high. I'm actually not opposed to spending more $ on a set, but I'm not really sure what I'd gain, durability perhaps, though it seems like that's the other problem with these electronic muffs, doesn't seem to matter how much spend on them, people seem to have problems with all of them. The only other thing I could see being a nice advantage would be if there was another option that had significantly higher volume for when doubled up.
Don't mess around with ear pro, get good stuff that works for you, these guns are fucking LOUD! ...so loud that there is absolutely nothing none of us can do about the fact that just the concussion alone isn't good, and it alone is likely causing damage over time, so at least protect what you can.
If you're not wearing double ear pro around these things, you are damaging your hearing, period.
So put yourself in a situation where wearing both plugs and muffs 100% of the time is comfortable and can become "normal" to you. You don't have to go broke, but you shouldn't look at price either, you'll use it every single time you shoot these type of rifles, and probably for a long time, so don't sell yourself short, buy once cry once isn't a bad idea.
Main thing: For the long term I'd recommend legit custom plugs, NOT the shitty ones you DIY at home, real ones, where you have an audiologist take impressions for molds and it takes a bit (like ordering a Manners or something). I like/recommend these: https://1of1custom.com/products/total-block or these: https://1of1custom.com/products/pro-impulse-custom-ear-plug
For the short term, the ubiquitous orange foamies actually work great, they're just nowhere near as comfortable as custom plugs, so they're tougher to wear for long periods of time. But, if you can stick with wearing them religiously, when worn correctly they're as good as anything else out there.
On top of the plugs: go with whatever electronic muffs you like and/or can afford, preferably ones that have/accept gel cups. Gel cups are actually kind of a big deal: yes, it's true that they're WAY more comfortable, but what's really special about them is the quality of seal they provide (especially around eye pro/glasses), better seal = better protection.
Impact Sport's and/or Walker Razor's worn over plugs, cranked, will do the trick. Delivers a good level of protection that most anyone can afford, and while the electronic amplification is kind of caveman and isn't quite loud enough for most, it'll get it done. Pretty sure you can get gel cups for either/both these days.
I prefer and use the Sordin Supreme Pro-X's, the amplification is a lot better and not as squashed with all the drop outs, and wearing them (especially for long periods of time), is quite a different experience from the ImpactSport/Razors: the amplification is much louder and far more natural and unadulterated sounding, more "normal"... worn over good plugs they kind of restore one's hearing to what it would sound like without any ear pro on in the first place but hearing safe (I honestly find them obnoxiously loud even at their lowest setting without any plugs underneath). Are they worth 5-6x what the Impact Sports cost? Maybe not for everybody, but they are for me because I can wear them longer, they don't make the world around you sound as screwed up, so it's easier to forget you're wearing them.
The most Gucci of the Gucci is probably the Ops Core AMPs paired with their NFMI ear plugs, their "hear through" tech is a super cool concept, even more sophisticated than bone conduction (also probably why they're $$$). But, without those NFMI plugs they're just a pair of fancy muffs, and comfort-wise their plugs are practically torture compared to custom molds... so, on a door-kicking mission, fuck yeah, for ~12 hours over a 2-day PRS match, or an all-day on-range class, hell no.
If you're uncomfortable or can't hear while wearing both plugs and muffs, you're probably going to eventually do something stupid like take one of the layers of protection off, and then your shit will be ringing on your drive home and before you know it you'll be saying "What?" all the time, so take the time to find what works.
If you're not wearing double ear pro around these things, you are damaging your hearing, period.
So put yourself in a situation where wearing both plugs and muffs 100% of the time is comfortable and can become "normal" to you. You don't have to go broke, but you shouldn't look at price either, you'll use it every single time you shoot these type of rifles, and probably for a long time, so don't sell yourself short, buy once cry once isn't a bad idea.
Main thing: For the long term I'd recommend legit custom plugs, NOT the shitty ones you DIY at home, real ones, where you have an audiologist take impressions for molds and it takes a bit (like ordering a Manners or something). I like/recommend these: https://1of1custom.com/products/total-block or these: https://1of1custom.com/products/pro-impulse-custom-ear-plug
For the short term, the ubiquitous orange foamies actually work great, they're just nowhere near as comfortable as custom plugs, so they're tougher to wear for long periods of time. But, if you can stick with wearing them religiously, when worn correctly they're as good as anything else out there.
On top of the plugs: go with whatever electronic muffs you like and/or can afford, preferably ones that have/accept gel cups. Gel cups are actually kind of a big deal: yes, it's true that they're WAY more comfortable, but what's really special about them is the quality of seal they provide (especially around eye pro/glasses), better seal = better protection.
Impact Sport's and/or Walker Razor's worn over plugs, cranked, will do the trick. Delivers a good level of protection that most anyone can afford, and while the electronic amplification is kind of caveman and isn't quite loud enough for most, it'll get it done. Pretty sure you can get gel cups for either/both these days.
I prefer and use the Sordin Supreme Pro-X's, the amplification is a lot better and not as squashed with all the drop outs, and wearing them (especially for long periods of time), is quite a different experience from the ImpactSport/Razors: the amplification is much louder and far more natural and unadulterated sounding, more "normal"... worn over good plugs they kind of restore one's hearing to what it would sound like without any ear pro on in the first place but hearing safe (I honestly find them obnoxiously loud even at their lowest setting without any plugs underneath). Are they worth 5-6x what the Impact Sports cost? Maybe not for everybody, but they are for me because I can wear them longer, they don't make the world around you sound as screwed up, so it's easier to forget you're wearing them.
The most Gucci of the Gucci is probably the Ops Core AMPs paired with their NFMI ear plugs, their "hear through" tech is a super cool concept, even more sophisticated than bone conduction (also probably why they're $$$). But, without those NFMI plugs they're just a pair of fancy muffs, and comfort-wise their plugs are practically torture compared to custom molds... so, on a door-kicking mission, fuck yeah, for ~12 hours over a 2-day PRS match, or an all-day on-range class, hell no.
If you're uncomfortable or can't hear while wearing both plugs and muffs, you're probably going to eventually do something stupid like take one of the layers of protection off, and then your shit will be ringing on your drive home and before you know it you'll be saying "What?" all the time, so take the time to find what works.
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I've been considering a set of the axil electronic plugs designed for shooting as they'd be lees intrusive than muffs, but haven't heard anyone who doesn't work for them give any real world feedback. Anyone ever try a pair?
It's funny... I'd heard of them but hadn't really checked them out, but now that I did: doesn't it seem a little bit awkward to be looking at ear pro from a company that primarily makes their money selling hearing aids hahaha..?
There is nothing "less intrusive than muffs" other than a different/better/less-intrusive set of muffs different than the ones you've tried so far around these guns... if you want to keep your hearing that is. Those active in-ears are fine for handguns and rimfire outdoors, but they're on the line or even sketchy at best indoors, and are not enough protection around something like a 6mm on top of 30+ grains with a brake.
In-ear electronic ear pro is a a gimmick to a certain degree, they all are pretty much trying to sell "these are so much better than those big huge bulky ear muffs AND they're fancy with Bluetooth" but they pretty much all suck when it comes to actual noise reduction, their NRR ratings are all cherry-picked at their best frequency, and even those numbers are weak... and that's before the fact that nearly nobody is getting the same exact quality of seal with those every time, and that getting a poor seal drops their already hyped/BS NRR ratings into straight up dog shit territory, but hey, Bluetooth
. Honestly, with in-ear plugs it's all about the seal/molds, and the fact that I was able to add their top-shelf ~$700 custom ear buds to my cart and get to the end of the check out process without seeing anything about making an appointment for someone to take impressions tells me everything I need to know.That said, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and electronic in-ears, worn under passive muffs, aren't bad. In fact, that's probably the best way to use them around any bigger centerfire rifle with a brake, under a set of muffs the crummy seal becomes less of a factor. Still: active In-ears + passive muffs < custom/foam plugs + active muffs.
