Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Holy Crap this thing is loud.

Do you guys who always wear ear pro put it on in the morning when you head up the mountain and wear it all day? Hunting in rough country where a juniper tree may and will rip it from your head as you pass by?

I try to wear it when I can, but it's a bit impractical for many forms of hunting.

I have never been able to wear ear pro all day in the field. Would be great but in the real world I can not get it to work day in and day out.

On the flip side my hearing is still pretty good and I don't have any tinnitus.

Lots of magnum level handgun in the field in addition to the rifle shots. I don't remember ever having ear pro on for a shot at big game. Not recommended but that is my experience.

The inline brakes do mitigate the 16 inch barrel to a degree.

Yep, ear pro is one of those things that seems like a great idea, but is simply impractical for a lot of real world use.

I always keep a set of ears handy when hunting with the kids so the shooter will have protection and the other boys can just plug up their ears. I usually don't wear ear pro unless I'm hunting with an AR with a brake.

It would be great if you were wrong. Wishful thinking. If Formid has some suggestions I am all EARs.



I think kids need some extra protection as they may not really understand the choice.

Side note, even the girls need to be covered. Peltor Comtacs are pretty good,

Bump, because Monday I had a SF brake get me. I was standing about six feet behind the muzzle and had my left ear turned to it. One unexpected shot and it hurt. Not just ringing, but painful.

Don't ever get around these things without earpro.

what did you say?



As much as I want to fire two shots in under a second I just cannot see a brake in my future. The VLTOR A5 kit if it helps would be more something I would waste money on in that regard.

You dont need a brake to fire 2 in just under a second.

We did it quite regularly, AIMED shots at 600 yards, Could get off 40 plus rounds in 50 seconds including a mag change shooting 20 rounders, so thats 2 mag changes.

Only using an A2 solid bottom flash hider and a tight sling prone.

But then shooting without hearing protection isn't smart. We used and still use custom plugs most of the time and in addition slim line muffs at times.

Try shootin' one out the window of a pickup. A Walker's Game Ear comes in REALLY handy at that point. I have a custom molded plug for the Game Ear. Sometimes I have to remember to take it out at lunch time when I'm on the range all day.

With the muzzle out the window on a 16 or 20 inch I find it not nearly as loud as just being out with the gun.

But if you screw up and get the muzzle inside... wow.

I can fire 7 rounds from my Glock 42 in under 2 seconds and hit a pie plate 7 times at 10 feet! I guess I have to try it with my black guns to see what I can hit in under 2 seconds.

if you can do it with a glock, you can do well with an AR.... I was kinda wondering....

My suppressed 10.5 AR is still loud, I won't shoot it without hearing protection.

Black river tactical makes one like the Troy that is a good one for hunting rifles

YOU DO NOT WANT A BAD AND PERMANENT CASE OF TINNITUS.

IT CAN drastically affect your quality of life.

Some cases are just annoying while others are truly disabling.

This past year I have been dealing with a severe case, while at the same time having good hearing in my left ear and some loss of hearing in my right ear-not bad for my age I was told. But the Tinnitus is a whole other issue. First question out of the specialist's mouth was "Firearms?"

Doctors don't talk much about it because there is no cure for over 95 % of the cases. Actually, much higher than that I'm sure as the only fellow I know cured is the one selling the book "How I cured my Tinnitus."

It's more prevalent in men, ages 60 to 70, and of course, men who fired guns w/o protection while hunting. I believe I wore protection during range time almost always for years. Notice I said "almost."

Now, it has be plugs and muffs, if at all, until I decide

which rifles and pistols get suppressors, and what possible new

goodies even my wife cannot complain about me purchasing as in

300 Blackouts with subsonic ammo, ( downloaded 308's, 06's, 44's -any cartridge downloaded to below the speed of sound and a suppressor out front ), new pre-threaded 45 ACP Tacticals, etc.

Many cases of Tinnitus throw your entire Limbic system out of whack meaning you will be sick in more ways than I can recount here.

Diabetes, high blood pressure, poor circulation, ear anatomy degeneration, etc. can all be causes but if you studied how much scientists now know about weapons' noise signatures in decibels, you would be shocked as ALL shots unsuppressed to below a certain level will permanently damage your hearing to some extent-kill a certain number of hearing cells which cannot be replaced and in so many cases produce Tinnitus in it's severest forms.

There are numerous factors that make it worse. Indoors and roofs make it worse. Short barrels are bad, even the standard 16 inch AR's. A 2 inch 357 magnum indoors is really bad. Outdoors with a strong wind blowing the noise away from you can be a really good thing if you are a bystander several yards away. I've been out West where the wind appeared to have acted like a major suppressor but the truth is the blast at the muzzle was doing damage to the shooter.

Unless you are in imminent danger and have absolutely not the time to get to some ear protection, don't do it. You may pay dearly for it even if many years later.

And depending on the particular cartridge, your hearing protection, and even with a particular suppressor, that combination might not be enough to protect your ears from damage.

Sound, advice, pun not intended.

But we've all btdt and shot some without protection.

I am 99% certain that my hearing loss at 49 is due to not using protection with chainsaws, and the like, even lawnmowers. As we were both using a form of protection when shooting, and when shooting competitions often custom formed highly rated plugs. And sometimes muffs over that.

That's an A plus on chain saws, lawn mowers, etc. all the time and even juicers, blenders, vacuum cleaners, etc. once one learns they have a problem.

Scientists know that the duration or length of time one is exposed at one outing to loud noise is a major factor, whether it be gun fire or a lawn mower. The ear can only handle so much each day before even further damage is done.

Another problem shooters develop with hearing loss and Tinnitus is hyperacusis which is extreme sensitivity to sound period. I have that, too, now, and I don't say turn the TV up but rather tell the wife to turn it down and I wear shooting muffs when I run a juicer or blender. They actually hurt.

I'd just advise the average Joe who does not have a problem as yet to double up with the plugs plus muffs.

I been through the AR comp/brake evolution. Brakes and comps are great with hearing protection, but brutal in the field. I would suggest a VAIS brake or Vltor comp and Surefire ear plugs ($12) that allow you to hear conversation and still provide good protection.

Actually, we shot the AR so many years wihtout anything, flashiders were legal but that was it.

Unless I was in 3 gun, I see no need at all for any kind of brake on an AR.

Viagra aint good for your hearing either...