Hunting and ear protection?

Question

ok deer season is starting and i shoot a 30-06 ruger m77 mark 2 should I wear ear protection? I have these little ear buds that you squeeze into your ear That you'd see in the the firing range shoudl I wear them because it is pretty loud or should I not because it's only one shot? Or none maybe

Answer 1

Their is no black/white answer. If you have the time before your shot than yes but often your shooting window is too small to mess around with ear protection or if the deer is on high alert than goofing around can send them running. My best recommendation is investing in good electronic hearing protection, it lets you hear normals sounds but silence's the gun shot. You can get a decent pair for 50$. But my #1 choice is the electronic ear plugs in the 300$ - 500$ range, they will last you years, protect your ears, and not cause any discomfort etc. You can every get custom molded ones. I've used full to partial ear protection on probably half my hunts.

Answer 2

to be honest i don't use any hearing protection when hunting because i want to hear what's going on around me i shoot a 30-06 it's loud and definitely not good for you but it's really not that bad. one or two shots a year really wont do any damage. It will go BANG then you may get some ringing in your ears witch goes away in about 4 seconds. then everything's back to normal.

Answer 3

I concur with the anonymous respondent (whose identity I recognize due to his style of typing) that it is ridiculous that you asked this anonymously. The "anonymous" button is the refuge of trolls.



But to answer your question, one shot from even a .22LR is adequate to damage your hearing. I would strongly recommend you find and purchase some electronic hearing protectors that amplify soft sounds but cut out loud sounds. Here's an example:



http://www.cabelas.com/product/Howard-Leight-Impact-Sport-Earmuff/708113.uts?productVariantId=1398781&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=44-16188391-2&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=02415465&rid=20

Answer 4

One shot will not damage your hearing TOO much. When deer hunting, you need all of you senses operating at their peak. I have never seen anyone wear hearing protection while deer hunting.

Answer 5

Why are you asking anonymously ? Tell you what, sport...if you have never taken a hunter safety course, then start...because you are ignorant of the basic safety rules.