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JTarrou  1yr ago (text post)   3224 thread views

I'm a "gun guy", AMA

A couple people had expressed interest in this topic, and I have a bit of extra time for a couple days, so here goes:

Bona fides: I am a former infantry NCO and sniper, hunter, competitive shooter, reloader, hobby gunsmith, sometimes firearms trainer and currently work in a gun shop, mostly on the paperwork/compliance side. Back in the day, was a qualified expert with every standard small arm in the US inventory circa 2003 (M2, 4, 9, 16, 19, 249, 240B, 21, 24, 82 etc.), and today hang around the 75th percentile of USPSA classifications. I've shot Cap-and-Ball, Trap and Sporting Clays badly; Bullseye and PRS somewhat better and IDPA/USPSA/UML/Two-gun with some local success. Been active in the 2A community since the mid-90s, got my first instructor cert in high school, and have held a CPL for almost twenty years now.

I certainly don't claim to be an expert in every aspect of firearms, there's huge areas that escape my knowledge base, but if you've got questions I'll do my best to answer.

Technical questions

Gun control proposals for feasibility

Industry

Training

Wacky opinions

General geekery

Some competition links (not my own) just for the interested.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=U5IhsWamaLY&t=173

https://youtube.com/watch?v=93nEEINflXE

https://youtube.com/watch?v=utcky0zq10E

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xVh4CjbgK7s

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0IK2RUxVq3A

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Tell me everything about hearing protection.

....how about some things?

The most important bit is the NRR (noise reduction rating), which is essentially how much noise (in decibels) they lop off the top. Don't bother with anything less than 25, 30 is better. After that, you're paying for comfort or electronics. Comfort is somewhat important, but moreso if you're wearing them for long periods of time.

Shooting indoors is much louder than shooting outside, consider wearing in-ear foam plugs as well as muffs. This is known as "double plugging", despite there being only one set of plugs, and the term sounding vaguely dirty.

Pro Fo Sho makes some very good ear protection that is reasonably comfortable for twenty bucks a set or so.

Is there a functional difference between hp for sustained sounds (ie lawnmower) vs overpressure? Shooting earmuffs I see tend to be much thinner than earmuffs you see at the hardware store.

Is ANC for that level of protection hokum? I see some electronic earbuds that claim (to me) unbelievable NRRs.

Is there a functional difference between hp for sustained sounds (ie lawnmower) vs overpressure? Shooting earmuffs I see tend to be much thinner than earmuffs you see at the hardware store.

That's mostly to let people get a better cheek weld on long guns without lifting the muffs off the ear. It still doesn't work all that great, and unless they are pricey, the NRR suffers. If you're only shooting handguns, regular safety muffs may be a good option. Overpressure really isn't an issue for firearms usage.

Is ANC for that level of protection hokum? I see some electronic earbuds that claim (to me) unbelievable NRRs.

I'm not really sure. ANC does cancel sound audibly, but the sound is still happening, so I'm not sure if that can still damage hearing.

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