Higginez: I know the solutions to those two problems - they are simple but have worked for me and I have been shooting "high volume Colony Varmints" for nearly 60 years now.
Quality (but thin style) elbow pads will eliminate the elbow pain from the sustained weight on them.
Then find, buy and use a set of custom fit "ear plugs" - I have had mine so long I forget the brand name - I think I got them fitted to me at the Portland, Oregon gunshow long ago.
Other malady's that have befallen myself and my numerous hosted Varmint guests so far this season are - wind burn, sunburn, cactus punctures, sore neck muscles, eyestrain and eyestrain caused headaches, altitude headaches, sore thumbs from reloading magazines continuously and ticks!
Another malady/condition caused from high volume Colony Varmint shooting is the onset of "jerking" the trigger! This becomes evident when a novice Varminter has come to the "end" of his magazines capacity and he does not know it and the muzzle of his firearm actually is jerked to one side by the "trigger being pulled/jerked" on an empty chamber.
He-he.
One of my "peeps" (brethren Colony Varminters) lives in Sequim, Washington (at sea level - and under cloudy skies most all the time) got a severe case of sunburn/windburn last week - we were Hunting at 6,200'+ elevation and the air/atmosphere is only 85% as dense at that altitude thus letting through more of the bad rays from the sun!
Lesson learned there.
Acquiring a wider rimmed hat and more sunscreen eventually helped a bit.
Real Aspirin helps with many of the malady's that befall us when out for a long days/weeks shooting including the aforementioned sunburn/windburn.
Thankfully the Rattlesnakes are not quite out at that altitude yet.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
