Hearing Protection for Hunters

[Guyon]

I've recently taken up hunting--somewhat late in life. I did a bit of quail hunting with my father and grandfather when I was a kid. And while I have been an avid fisherman all my life, hunting just didn't occupy my attention until the past couple of years. Now, I've been dove hunting, turkey hunting, and deer hunting a few times each of the past couple of seasons. And this year, I've bought more gear and plan to make hunting a bigger part of my time.

What I'm concerned about, however, is my hearing. I already have some diminished hearing in my right ear because of a severe ear infection when I was a child. It's not enough to hinder my day-to-day life, but I don't want to lose any more.

I'm wondering if you deer and turkey hunters wear any kind of hearing protection. I know plugs aren't too practical, but it seems like Wolf Ears or a similar product (Pro Ears, Peltors) might be a decent choice for the woods. Does anybody use 'em?

 

[Art Eatman]

I can see using some sort of hearing protection when dove-hunting. You do a lot of shooting, unless you're really highly skilled.

Other shotgun hunting, there's generally a lot less shooting. Wouldn't hurt to put an ear plug in that bad ear, of course.

When I'm deer hunting, I figure on one shot. I'm just not worried over that rare a noise impact. And, particularly when deer hunting, I depend on hearing Bambi as well as seeing him.

I very rarely try to call in more than one or two coyotes on any given night, and not all that many nights. Heck, we don't have all that many coyotes!

Prairie dogs or some such? Sure, HearGuards are Good Things.

Common sense and circumstance.

, Art

 

[Birdhunter]

I've never used hearing protection while hunting but I thought about it. My own shots don't bother me, but in a duck blind someone else's muzzle a foot away from my ear is quite painful. It's impractical to lose that sense when doing a particular type of hunting though.

 

[Guyon]

Well, I know that most muffs and plugs aren't practical. But these newfangled electronic muffs claim to actually amplify ambient sound until there's a sharp report--at which time they dampen it. You wouldn't even have to wear them all the time. When you hear a deer or turkey, you could just slip them from your neck to your ears.

I notice here that Pro Ears is starting to market toward hunters. http://www.answerrifles.com/hearing.htm

 

[Legionnaire]

I don't wear protection while rifle hunting for deer, or when small game hunting with .22 or shotgun. However, when I anticipate a lot of shooting, or when I'm hunting with a handgun, I wear Peltor Tac 7s.

I bought my first pair of Peltors after touching off a T/C Contender in .35Rem with a muzzle break one time in the field. My ears were ringing for three days. Really scared me. Swore then and there I'd not hunt with a handgun without good protection.

The Tac 7s are stereo, so you can identify the direction from which sound is coming. I don't turn them up, although I suppose you could. I try to set the volume so that the ambient sound is the same whether I am wearing them or not. They work great, and they keep my ears warm as well!

Only "problem" is that on windy days, the wind can sometimes cause them to cut out. They come right back, but it can be a bit annoying. But I figure it is less annoying than not being able to hear.