Hearing Protection while hunting?

I'll mostly be hunting using my 12 gauge shotgun for small game, upland birds and waterfowl. What do you suggest for ear protection while hunting? The ear muffs I use on the range are too bulky. (Howard Leight Lightning 31 earmuffs).

I've asked this twice before in this forum but my postings never seem to come through. IMHO, this is a valid question for rec.hunting newsgroup. Moderators please explain why this question isn't appropriate, if you delete it too.

Thanks,

#I'll mostly be hunting using my 12 gauge shotgun for small game, upland #birds and waterfowl. What do you suggest for ear protection while hunting? #The ear muffs I use on the range are too bulky. (Howard Leight Lightning 31 #earmuffs).

Some of the electronic muffs might do the job but they look like they would be almost as bulky as regular ones. I have only tried one version of these electronic muffs and was not impressed. They acted like the let the first report through and then would prevent the following shots. This is great on a range where there is a lot of shooting but for hunting applications that first, and often only, shot will be heard.

I also use the HL Leightning muffs. If I am on an indoor range I will also use foam ear plugs. Howard Leight makes different styles of foam plugs including one that is rated at 33 NRR. You should be able to find many brands and styles of foam plugs at businesses that supply industry safety equipment. Some shooting supply catalogs will also carry foam plugs. Dillon Precision carries the HL brands and Midway USA carrys TASCO brands.

#I've asked this twice before in this forum but my postings never seem to #come through. IMHO, this is a valid question for rec.hunting newsgroup. #Moderators please explain why this question isn't appropriate, if you delete #it too.

Just a matter of timing. The moderators cannot be available at all hours of the day and night to approve msgs. We try, but we still have to take some time off to go scouting or to the range or to go hunting.

In the past some people mentioned that their approved posts did not show up in their ISPs newfeeds. Many of these problems have been fixed ove the past month when Earthlink, which handles the newsgroup feeds for about 200 ISPs did some major revamping of their servers.

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Just a suggestion. See if you can get into the company store for one of the airlines and pick up a set of plugs on a headband. For waterfowl, you should have plenty of time to move the plugs into your ears before you shoulder your weapon. JMO.

A guy I shot skeet with a few times had some electronic 'plugs'. The were custom molded to his ears. He said they were great; worked well at noise reduction and were comfortable. Seems they were about $200 and you had to go to a place that would do a mold of your ear.

More like $700 per pair for custom fitted 'electronic earplugs' with adjustable volume and automatic shutoff to protect the ears from the noise of the shot. They have the advantage of allowing a shooter to hear the referee better during serious trap or skeet competition than possible with the 50 cent disposable plugs that block out conversations as well as gunshots. Unfortunately, they also magnify the conversations of inconsiderate loudmouths in the background. They are more comfortable for shotgun shooting than the less expensive electronic muffs that are great for rifle shooting. I use non-amplified muffs at the rifle and pistol range. For hunting the 'electronic plugs' annoyingly also magnify background noises such as leaves rustling and streams gurgling, but are good for hearing distant turkey gobbles on fairly quiet days.