Say, did you pull the trigger on the 340 when that bear tried to poke it's nose through the tent wall? I was picturing that in my mind and thought what a "blast" that would be! When I shot the moose with mine the blast was dissipated in the open clear cut, never noticing it.
But years ago when I shot my first bear with a .458 WIN (Ruger 77) with a 22" barrel, the blast permanently damaged my right ear drum. I fired a shot off before arriving at the site and noticed no effect on my ears. I'm now almost totally deaf in my right ear (the one closest to the muzzle, and swore off ever having another 22" .458 Win). However, the 22" Ruger No.1 in .45-70 LT was never an issue, so I figured another 22", .458 might be acceptable since the .45-70 LT's muzzle was closer still to my right ear not having an action. I enquired at the time (on AR) as to potential causes and I believe you were the only one who responded, suggesting I may have had an infection in the ear. I didn't know you were a medic. But the truth is/was that I did have a throat infection that affected my speech.
So the long and short of that is I'd gladly have another Ruger 77. The current Ruger No.1 in .458 is 40" overall and has the Mag-na-ports, which makes muzzle blast closer still to my right ear than the Ruger bolt action 77. I'm not offended by the No.1 in wooded areas but I do use ear plugs.
Question: I have used muffs both at the range and in hunting with the built-in audio system, permitting good hearing in hunting (In fact, too good as in walking I hear crunching sounds under my feet, and carpenter ants in a tree next to me sounded like a woodsman with a chain saw!) but in shooting at the range they do adequately block muzzle blast. However, for hunting purposes I've stopped using them as they amplify all sounds too much and become uncomfortable.
So, any recommendations as to those electronic ear plugs that seem to work well and yet are unobtrusive?
