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Electronic Headphone Preferences?

shoelessjoe

"I took out a Chihuahua!"
I’ve been perusing the many “Best Electronic Hearing Protection” lists online & I’m no closer to pulling the trigger on a pair of headphones than I was before I commenced with my search.

Peltor, Walker, Howard Leight, etc., etc,...

While I don’t hunt, I do shoot outdoors as well as indoors and need something that would work with both, small & larger rifle/pistol calibers.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated .... thanks!
 

Claudel Xerxes

Staff member
Howard Leight Impact Sport is the set that I use. They work just fine for my needs in an indoor pistol and an outdoor rifle range.
 
I use Walker. No worries. Only problem is making sure the on/off switches don’t accidentally turn on. Kills the AAA batteries quicksmart.
 
I have the Howard Leight and I find they don't react quickly enough to the initial sound from the gun. I leave them turned off and just use them as regular ear muffs.
 
I have an old set of Peltors, probably 15 years old or more, but still going strong. I just used them last Friday, and they worked great, able to hear conversations except when they cut out to dampen the sound of a shot.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
I had an old set of Peltors that worked great for many years, but like most electronics, finally gave up the ghost. Tempted to buy a new set, but I'm no longer competing or regularly attending training classes, so I have made do without electronic muffs, but that may change in the future.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
Just perusing the reviews on Amazon, it seems all of the "budget" electronic muffs leave something to be desired, but it all is very subjective. Depends if you shoot indoors or want to hunt/tactical where directionality is important.
 
Just perusing the reviews on Amazon, it seems all of the "budget" electronic muffs leave something to be desired, but it all is very subjective. Depends if you shoot indoors or want to hunt/tactical where directionality is important.

When my kids were young and still at home, sometimes I would hear voices raised and sounding a bit ornery. Rather than immediately go upstairs to referee, sometimes I would get my Peltors and listen in to see what the issue was, and whether it really needed my attention, or whether it was something they could/should be able to work out themselves. I found it helped me avoid making a lot of situations more serious than they really were!
 

shoelessjoe

"I took out a Chihuahua!"
...Tempted to buy a new set, but I'm no longer competing or regularly attending training classes, so I have made do without electronic muffs, but that may change in the future.
Thank you all for chiming, I do appreciate all the info & suggestions - DocPapi evesdropping on the young ones! :)
nortac, you have me rethinking rethinking everything, as I don’t shoot competetively nor do I find myself in tactical/training settings.
 

Claudel Xerxes

Staff member
nortac, you have me rethinking rethinking everything, as I don’t shoot competetively nor do I find myself in tactical/training settings.

I like electronic hearing protection because I don't have a backyard range. If I'm around other shooters, I want to be as aware of my surroundings as possible. Part of that means being able to hear what's going on around me. Just food for thought.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
I do want to get another pair of electronic muffs, but when I do, it probably will be in the mid to upper price range. If I'm going to pay for electronics, I want them to work well and not be a distraction, but on the other hand, I don't need or want to pay for SWAT team communications abilities.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
I like electronic hearing protection because I don't have a backyard range. If I'm around other shooters, I want to be as aware of my surroundings as possible. Part of that means being able to hear what's going on around me. Just food for thought.
I agree completely. The outdoor range I usually attend is very well regulated, up to a fault. Very observant and knowledgeable ROs, loud speaker system, etc. I say up to a fault in that they don't allow shooting from a holster, have to practice presentation from the holster else where. No "running and gunning". Static square range monotony. But it is cheap basic marksmanship practice. $6.00 a day. Non profit range operated by unpaid volunteers. Unsafe gun handling is not tolerated.

I really, really miss not having a private place to shoot alone where I can do what I want, shoot from unconventional positions, engage targets on uneven terrain, etc.
 
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shoelessjoe

"I took out a Chihuahua!"
I want to be as aware of my surroundings as possible. Part of that means being able to hear what's going on around me. Just food for thought.
That, my friend, is some sage advice!

Okay, so now I’m back in the hunt for some electric muffs...
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
I agree completely. The outdoor range I usually attend is very well regulated, up to a fault. Very observant and knowledgeable ROs, loud speaker system, etc. I say up to a fault in that they don't allow shooting from a holster, have to practice presentation from the holster else where. No "running and gunning". Static square range monotony. But it is cheap basic marksmanship practice. $6.00 a day. Non profit range operated by unpaid volunteers. Unsafe gun handling is not tolerated.

I really, really miss not having a private place to shoot alone where I can do what I want, shoot from unconventional positions, engage targets on uneven terrain, etc.

6 bucks a day even for a static range is a great price! But I agree with you, there does seem like a huge gap out there for civilians who want to get more out of their range time and can't, due solely to the fact, there isn't any "everyday ranges" that will provide an active training environment. Other than a police academy or outside police shooting range, civilians would have to spend hundreds of dollars to sign up for a Gunsite or Thunder Ranch and make a weekend out of it or travel a way to some distant public land like out in the Utah mountain range where they allow civilians to set up their own interactive targets and use all of the backside of the Rockies as a backstop.

There just isn't any resources of this type for city folk. I see a mutual business Adventure/Investment here John?

:)
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
That has certainly crossed my mind, but the "rural" property in this semi-rural area is way out of my price range and in town zoning seems to be a major issue for indoor ranges. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense in this otherwise conservative area. I suppose it's a "NIMBY" issue, dunno. I'm not dialed into the local politics. I'm sure an indoor range could be very popular in the area. It seems others have tried over the years, but couldn't make a go of it.
 

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
There just isn't any resources of this type for city folk. I see a mutual business Adventure/Investment here John?

:)

I'm in! I'll supply the 10 acres of land and y'all supply the heavy equipment to build the berm, and set up a realistic training range course. Heck, we could probably get a couple of junk cars from the salvage and get a little dilapidated house to bring in for building clearing exercises.
 
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