Obviously, wearing hearing protection is standard procedure when target shooting, but how many of you wear some form of it when hunting?

[huntfishtrap]

Obviously, wearing hearing protection is standard procedure when target shooting, but how many of you wear some form of it when hunting?

[pineywoods]

Only in situations like dove hunting, and where others may fire near me. In deer and turkey hunting, I need to hear what's going on in the woods. When it comes to turkey hunting, I agree with Tom Kelly's statement about it being easier for a blind man to kill a turkey than a deaf man. (True in these SW Alabama woods, where the spring hunt is pretty much conducted by sound right up until the gobbler steps out of the bushes in range.)

[jhjimbo]

I have never worn any. I am left handed so my right hearing is about
40% gone.

To the younger guys, get those electronic muffs, I hear they really work.

[Live4Bowhunting]

Like Pinywoods, I do not wear hearing protection while deer or turkey hunting, but in the goose blind I have a set on hand that I can pop in real quick. This year I'm going to spring on a good set of the type that you can keep in all the time and activate when the shooting starts. Since I'm getting old(er), I wear hearing protection all the time while cutting the grass, using the weed eater, and chain saw. I do not want to think about the day I cannot hear a gobbler off in the distance on a early spring morning or a deer sneaking through the woods.

[4everAutumn]

I've got a pair of noise cancelling muffs that I use. I don't wear them all the time like I should, but I wear them when I revolver hunt for deer. The thing I don't like about them is they amplify sound so it makes it hard to tell how close something is when you hear it.

[MN Outdoorsman]

I started a couple years ago. One morning in a goose blind my buddies barrel got too close to my ear and they have been ringing ever since. It got better over the last couple years but if I shoot now even just for deer hunting they start ringing again for a few days. I'm 30 and having ear problems is scary (that first year of having them ring horribly as I tried to sleep freaked me out) so I don't take any chances anymore. I have ear muffs that I slip over my ears when I'm about to shoot a deer or turkey. I have found them to be easier and less movement than putting in the plugs. I guess I just have sensitive ears cause no one I know wears them hunting.

[jcarlin]

I haven't while hunting. I do when mowing the lawn, running a chainsaw, shooting at the range. I've made sure my kids have had them along on our hunting trips this year if anything bigger than .22s were involved.

I recently bought a pair of electronic muffs for the range and have been wearing them around. They seem to be pretty good, but I'm not sure how they effect directional hearing yet.
This summer I plan on sitting the backyard stand a few mornings wearing them to see how I feel they perform in that respect. I'll try to remember to post the results.

[huntfishtrap]

I started a couple years ago. One morning in a goose blind my buddies barrel got too close to my ear and they have been ringing ever since. It got better over the last couple years but if I shoot now even just for deer hunting they start ringing again for a few days. I'm 30 and having ear problems is scary (that first year of having them ring horribly as I tried to sleep freaked me out) so I don't take any chances anymore. I have ear muffs that I slip over my ears when I'm about to shoot a deer or turkey. I have found them to be easier and less movement than putting in the plugs. I guess I just have sensitive ears cause no one I know wears them hunting.

I wear ear plugs when waterfowl hunting, but that's about it. The hearing in my left ear (I'm a righty) is noticeably poorer than my right, and I'm 21. To be fair, I'm not sure whether to attribute that to shooting guns though, because I've always worn hearing protection when target shooting with anything larger than .22s. When I was a kid I did wear muffs when deer and turkey hunting, but I dropped that practice as I got older.

[jcarlin]

I've got a pair of noise cancelling muffs that I use. I don't wear them all the time like I should, but I wear them when I revolver hunt for deer. The thing I don't like about them is they amplify sound so it makes it hard to tell how close something is when you hear it.

So distance is difficult.
Can you tell direction?

[4everAutumn]

I've got a pair of noise cancelling muffs that I use. I don't wear them all the time like I should, but I wear them when I revolver hunt for deer. The thing I don't like about them is they amplify sound so it makes it hard to tell how close something is when you hear it.

You can tell direction just fine, but the noise is hard to get used to. Even the slightest breeze sounds like a strong wind and an animal in the distance sounds like it's right on top of you. It gets better with time, but it is a really strange sensation at first.

[4everAutumn]

I haven't while hunting. I do when mowing the lawn, running a chainsaw, shooting at the range. I've made sure my kids have had them along on our hunting trips this year if anything bigger than .22s were involved.

I recently bought a pair of electronic muffs for the range and have been wearing them around. They seem to be pretty good, but I'm not sure how they effect directional hearing yet.
This summer I plan on sitting the backyard stand a few mornings wearing them to see how I feel they perform in that respect. I'll try to remember to post the results.

I just went up and looked at mine. They have a mic (or speaker?) on both the right and left muff. I bet if they were on just one side, direction would be a problem.

[Happy Myles]

During my early years of hunting, range shooting, and while in the Service, I never wore protection. Now, I am almost totally deaf. These days I wear both plugs and muffs at the range, which is a little like closing the barn door after the horse gets out. I do not wear them hunting because I still hunt dangerous game with tracker and PH and we need to attempt to communicate. Though often I feel they might get my attention more readily by throwing rocks at me. Anyone who thinks shooting does not destroy hearing need only attend a hunting convention and watch old timers shout at each other,

[MN Outdoorsman]

Here's a pic of me walking by one of my cameras last year. The date and time are obviously wrong. Hopefully in a few years my ears will be better enough where I don't need them while deer or turkey hunting but that day may also never come I'm fully aware. I'm just trying to prevent further damage. One hand reaches up and can slide them down pretty easily. I may spook a few animals but I gotta do what I gotta do. I'll be looking into electronic ones soon.

[huntfishtrap]

Here's a pic of me walking by one of my cameras last year. The date and time are obviously wrong. Hopefully in a few years my ears will be better enough where I don't need them while deer or turkey hunting but that day may also never come I'm fully aware. I'm just trying to prevent further damage. One hand reaches up and can slide them down pretty easily. I may spook a few animals but I gotta do what I gotta do. I'll be looking into electronic ones soon.

I would never have known that the date was wrong. It is MN after all... Lol

[jcarlin]

I haven't while hunting. I do when mowing the lawn, running a chainsaw, shooting at the range. I've made sure my kids have had them along on our hunting trips this year if anything bigger than .22s were involved.

I recently bought a pair of electronic muffs for the range and have been wearing them around. They seem to be pretty good, but I'm not sure how they effect directional hearing yet.
This summer I plan on sitting the backyard stand a few mornings wearing them to see how I feel they perform in that respect. I'll try to remember to post the results.

Mine do too, and I know from wearing them around that if their volumes are balanced, I can tell right and left. Whether it's in front of or behind me is different though. I don't know the answer but I always thought the in front of or behind aspect was more complicated than left or right. If it's just a direction from 2 sensors, then the overlapping circle diagram has two possible intersections one behind me and one in front of me. But you always know naturally. So I wondered if we somehow registered the route the wave took through our ears, which the muffs would completely negate.