Recommended eye/ear protection?

LH2

New member
Getting back into shooting, and planning to stop by Sportsmans Warehouse for some good hearing protection.

What can you guys recommend? Should I go with some basic plugs + a good pair of muffs?

Also, as far as eye protection, I wear glasses. Should I get some type of safety glasses with my Rx? Or are there glasses that go over regular glasses?
 
"What can you guys recommend? Should I go with some basic plugs + a good pair of muffs?"

One or the other are good, both are better. Personally, I just use a pair of muffs -- Peltor AOSafety Ultimate 10. Best I remember they aren't expensive, and they do seem to do the job just fine.

"Also, as far as eye protection, I wear glasses. Should I get some type of safety glasses with my Rx? Or are there glasses that go over regular glasses?"

I wear glasses as well. Yes, there are several models of safety glasses that fit right over your regular glasses. And they are cheap, too (cheap is good!:D). I've got several pairs just laying around, the first one I picked up are a pair of Encon/1400. I can't ever recall paying more than $10 for plain ol' clear safety glasses, and the cheap-o's seem to work just fine.
 
+1, Peltor Ultimate 10, has a 29 db rating. Good comfort and fit. Price runs about $20. I sometimes use plugs under them, if someone is shooting something really loud next to me at the range. As for glasses, I use Winchester yellow shooting glasses, makes field of view much brighter.
 
Safety equip.

IMHO, the Peltors are as good as it gets for hearing. (They have an NRR* of 30, the scale only goes to 31, and I've never seen a 31 for sale.) They're not expensive--Harbor Freight has had 'em for about $18 IIRC. For league shooting indoors, where everyone is shooting target loads, they are fine all alone. For practice shooting, where some person may come in to the range to shoot the latest Whoop-te-doo Superific .500 ++PP++ Magnum Dragonslayer Mark IV, which can get a trifle noisy, I use earplugs with the Peltors, which usually suffices.

For eyewear, I have my regular glasses made with high-impact glass, and have always felt that that was enough. Oh, and I wear a baseball cap to keep empties from coming in from above.

Yesterday @ the range there was a shooter who in addition to eyewear and earmuffs, was wearing a dust respirator. You can't be too careful, I guess.

*NRR = Noise Reduction Rating
 
If shooting indoors you should double up, both plugs and muffs. I like the Howard Leight "Leightnings" (NRR 31 $20-$25). I also have glasses and tend to just wear them as safety glasses but if you want a pair of perscription lenses specifically for shooting try one of these online sites that offer cheap (starting under $20 and up) glasses:

http://zennioptical.com/
http://www.39dollarglasses.com/
http://www.goggles4u.com/

Since they're for shooting safety and not style, just buy the ones with the largest and most protective lenses... and wrap-around frames if you're really concerned.
 
"Oh, and I wear a baseball cap to keep empties from coming in from above."

I do the same. I'm really surprised that I'm usually the only one doing that. My wife, however, picked up on it pretty fast, and now she does that as well.
 
I found some AO Safety muffs at harbor freight tools that have a NRR of 30 and are red - I think they're the Ultimate 10 as they look the same, but they don't say "Ultimate 10" on the pkg. $19.95 and they're comfy.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top