Need electronic muffs

[Rob P.]

Geez you guys. Just cuz it's gun related doesn't mean you HAVE to shop at the gun stores.

Harbor Freight has a set of electronic ear muffs for $10 which work perfectly.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=92851

[JOEKILLA]

My HL Impact Sports crapped on me. But I will replace them with the same ones. Hopefully Ill find one at the Cow Palace this weekend.

[SFFRONTMAN]

I use the impact sports from HL everyday on the range, they work great and are about half the price of all other competitive brands. It also nice to hook up my ipod once in awhile.

[tlillard23]

read the reviews on the cheap ($19 on sale) midway ones. everyone says they suck....

[Patriot]

Saving a few bucks now only to have to pay for $$$ hearing aids down the road probably isn't a great idea.

Muffs advertised as "absorbing all the noise over 85dB" are dubious. Now I'm not an expert, but I did take the time to do a little research a while back.

The relevant part is the Noise Reduction Rating, meaning that the piece of hearing protection, plugs or muffs, will reduce the noise reaching your ears by X amount of decibels. For doubling up, you add 5 to whichever device has the higher NRR. AFAIK, the highest possible is 33, so a perfect score would be 38 NRR (reducing noise by 38 decibels). Now you have to look at the peak decibels of various firearms with various loads (around 120-170 IIRC), and the OSHA + others data on safe levels of exposure, usually given in max length of time or number of impulses per day before accumulative hearing loss begins. Then you have to figure - at a range - for other impulses besides that of your own gun. You also have to consider that the actual NRR may differ, depending on fit of hearing protection, etc.

Indoor shooting means you have to take sound reflected off various surfaces into account as well.

[Rob P.]

Saving a few bucks now only to have to pay for $$$ hearing aids down the road probably isn't a great idea.

Muffs advertised as "absorbing all the noise over 85dB" are dubious. Now I'm not an expert, but I did take the time to do a little research a while back.

The relevant part is the Noise Reduction Rating, meaning that the piece of hearing protection, plugs or muffs, will reduce the noise reaching your ears by X amount of decibels. For doubling up, you add 5 to whichever device has the higher NRR. AFAIK, the highest possible is 33, so a perfect score would be 38 NRR (reducing noise by 38 decibels). Now you have to look at the peak decibels of various firearms with various loads (around 120-170 IIRC), and the OSHA + others data on safe levels of exposure, usually given in max length of time or number of impulses per day before accumulative hearing loss begins. Then you have to figure - at a range - for other impulses besides that of your own gun. You also have to consider that the actual NRR may differ, depending on fit of hearing protection, etc.

Indoor shooting means you have to take sound reflected off various surfaces into account as well.

I use the ones I linked to. They work. The muff noise reduction is equal to or greater than "gun" muffs you buy elsewhere and certainly equal to my Peltors I wear when working with my woodworking machinery. The electronic feature kills noise over 85 db completely. You can adjust the sound level for the muffs when the mic is open.

Racking the slide will cause the muff to cancel the sound. But, you can easily listen in to conversations going on 3 or 4 lanes away if no one is shooting. Talking or giving lessons is easier since you can just talk normally.

Bottom line is that the HFT muffs work. And they're a ton cheaper which means more $ for ammo.

[-hanko]

Sordin. Not cheap. Definitely worth it.

-hanko

[Patriot]

I use the ones I linked to. They work. The muff noise reduction is equal to or greater than "gun" muffs you buy elsewhere and certainly equal to my Peltors I wear when working with my woodworking machinery. The electronic feature kills noise over 85 db completely. You can adjust the sound level for the muffs when the mic is open.

Racking the slide will cause the muff to cancel the sound. But, you can easily listen in to conversations going on 3 or 4 lanes away if no one is shooting. Talking or giving lessons is easier since you can just talk normally.

Bottom line is that the HFT muffs work. And they're a ton cheaper which means more $ for ammo.

Based on my limited understanding, the effective NRR for electronic muffs is the same whether turned "on" or "off." What these muffs do is allow normal noise below the threshold in through a mic that is turned off when noise exceeds the threshold, allowing the passive protection to work as it would normally by muffling all noises by its NRR.

Basically, the passive NRR is constant; the electronic portion acts as an amplifier or transmitter to negate the passive NRR effect on noises under the threshold. When the threshold is reached, it switches off, ceases amplification/transmitting, thus all noises are muffled equally.

[Patriot]

Sordin. Not cheap. Definitely worth it.

-hanko

The nicest model is something like $300-$350 at Midway I think

[-hanko]

The nicest model is something like $300-$350 at Midway I think

That's probably about right. I bought mine 2-3 years ago after borrowing a friend's set and shooting some very loud rifles at the range over a weekend. Iirc, they were in the mid-$200 range delivered. They use 2 AA's or AAA's, can't remember which.

Fantastic is a pretty good summary

I haven't tried peltor's or any other brand. I wouldn't trust protection gear from Caldwell, or any other Midway house brand; ymmv. I'd consider Harbor Freight a step or 3 below Caldwell. Friends I shoot with who use peltors seem to like them a lot.

-hanko

[pullnshoot25]

Haven't use this for a while now....



Put in "electronic muffs".... yields this thread:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=83273&highlight=electronic+muffs

I'd say, best bang for your bucks -> Howard Leight Impact Sports

Thanks for saving me the time!

[pullnshoot25]

If only there were a way for companies to come up with noise canceling muffs... that would be rad.