Electronic Ear Protection

[hatidua]

I've used a few different ones (albeit not the MSA/Sordin's). While the electronic amplification is nice for conversational purposes, I've not tried any that I felt were adequate, all by themselves, for sustained shooting activity. I double up with plugs under the electronic muffs.

[StagLefty]

HUH !!!
In my early early years I shot trap for hours with out either hearing or eye protection. I'm paying the price now. I use Peltors and the the Surefire plugs now.

[Rucker61]

What model of Etymotics are you looking at? Most of the ones I see on the site only offer 15db of isolation. That's not enough for me to shoot comfortably with.

Those are the ones, but they'd only be used for hunting, not range shooting, so it wouldn't be for multiple shots over a short period of time.

[Rucker61]

I use $60 Howard Leights. Best $60 I ever spent. They amplify speech and normal ambient sounds (and that volume is adjustable), while reducing the report of high-decibel sounds. Do it now.

In ear or over the ear?

[ZERO THEORY]

In ear or over the ear?

Over the ear muffs. I've also got Surefire in-ears, but I don't really double up unless I'm using cheapies.

[Circuits]

I had a pair of Remington-branded electronic muffs and liked them a lot. They fell apart after three years or so, while my regular ear protection still looks and works great after more than a decade, so I'm not sure how great they are as to value for money, but I did like them, and may yet again purchase another set in the future.

[KS63]

Anyone use the MSA Sordins? Been debating getting a pair for awhile now.

[ben4372]

Personally, I'd recommend ear plugs with removable filter plugs (http://www.surefire.com/ep4-sonic-defenders-plus.html) and muffs like the Howard Leight's mentioned above. Plugs in with the filter plugs off and the HL's and you've got enough protection and ability to still hear conversation. Total cost around $65 and much higher dB attenuation than the Etymotics. My wife is an Audiologist and she insists I wear dual level hearing pro when shooting.

This is my setup too. I love the Surefires. Double up you get used to it.

[Brian]

Good thread. I just ordered some EP4s off amazon to try out with my HLs. Only $12 - not bad.

[StagLefty]

FYI-Bowers carries the Surefires