Hey guys, so I just picked up a pair of these earmuffs and amazon and tried them at the range today. I go to an indoor range and it feels like these are not working. The sound gets amplified but I can hear every shot going off as if I'm the one shooting it. When I did shoot my 223 my hearing got all messed up and I got a ringing in my ear. Needless to say I can barely hear out of my right ear and most of it is just a ringing sound. So my question is, am I supposed to double up with these earmuffs, or am I just wearing these for the wrong purpose?

-Sincerely,
RetepK

Make sure that they are seated right and sealed that way they work. I have some and work great both indoor and outdoor ranges. Prefer using them outdoor cause the amps in them make things sound weird on the indoor range. You hear all the echos.

They are great but only 22 NRR. You need to double plug indoors. Even when I'm outdoors, I double plug unless I'm only shooting pistol or shotgun.

Were you breaking the seal when the muff was pressed against the stock?
You can put a foam plug in that ear?

How does double plugging work out for you guys? Should I just stick with these or return them to amazon and get something a bit more expensive?
I would pay my left nut not to have to deal with this deafness in my right ear.

Insert plugs.

Then add the muffs..  Turn the volume up.

Done.  

Mine were defective, with a constant speaker "crackle"

I felt that my Peltor 100 were much better built and more comfortable.

The battery door on the HL seemed flimsy too. ymmv

Note that the reason why a lot of folks like them, including me, is that while the NRR is low, the muffs are very low profile so you'll never have an issue with cheekweld for rifles or shotguns.
Using plugs actually makes them work better so there's no reason not to do it, except for comfort.

I am an instructor/RSO and I just bought my second pair  of Howard Leight Inpact's in five years.   My old ones work fine but the ear seals were stiff.  Yes, I could have bought a repair kit but at the low cost, it was more efficient to just replace my old ones.The new ones seal much better because the ear piece rubber is far more flexible.  I always use foam plugs under the electronic muffs.  We have tried every brand up to and including Pro Gold's.  The Howard Leight's win every time for weight, comfort, and size.
My 2¢

For the money, Howard Leights are great. They are low profile, does what its supposed to do and very affordable as well. I have MSA Sordins as well but I got them used and real cheap from my friend, later ended up having to pay $100+ to SRS Tactical to get them repaired. My only complaints with the HLs is the sound quality is not as good as the Sordins and they still don't make gel earcups for them yet!

Since I get 10% disability from the VA for hearing loss, I double up whether indoors or outdoors. Make sure you have a proper seal, especially with whatever eyepro you wear. The gel cups on my Sordins allow me to get away with wearing the standard ear stems on my ESS Crossbows but with the HLs I have to use the thinner suppressor ear stems, which I don't like since they won't stay on my face without ear pro on.

I have a pair but rarely use them.  I use HL ear plugs.  When I do shoot indoors I always use double hearing protection.  

The last time I used the HLs I was at the outdoor pistol range with a lot of people around me and I noticed the crackle in the headset. It was like the electronics could not keep up with multiple rounds.  It was very annoying so I went back to plugs at the cold range time.  

I work around machinery for a living, 58 years old and believe it or not, my hearing is still very good per my annual test, even with my shooting hobby.  

I find them very bulky when rifle shooting, even though th HLs are very slim.

77

For $40 I love them.

That being said, their rating and sound quality suck. But using in conjunction with plugs makes a very respectable level of protection. I don't care about the sound quality so much, as long as I can hear range commands and what not. They do this well. It's quality enough to identify voices I know well.

That being said, I managed to kill a pair in 6 months (don't amplify). My second pair is still going strong about 6 months later, but they have only seen half the use. Either way, for what they offer to me, $40 every 6 months is worth it.

They are still muffs, so shooting a long gun breaks the seal. I wear plugs underneath.

I find their purpose is to hear everything else, and shield my ears from the blast (eg, 5.56 in a shoot house). I also wear them when coaching so my shooters don't have to yell at me. I stay far enough away from most of the shooting to not have to wear plugs in that case.

They are slim enough that I changed the pads around in my kevlar, and can fit them underneath (it's tight).

One hazard of using them, which I've seen multiple times (and done myself) is take them off, and forget to put them back on, because you can't audibly tell the difference. Then you fire a shot and the ringing starts.

ETA: if you wear glasses with muffs, it breaks the seal. So you need plugs anyway if you're in an eye hazard area. Ie, shooting.

Wear your plugs, wear the muffs over them, wear your glasses.

For the $, I love the HL Impact sports. There are nicer ears out there but IMO can't beat them for the cost. They do have a few negatives which already have been touched upon, sometimes they give annoying feedback at max volume, they don't have an option for gel cups, and for prolonged periods of time (in my experience, 3+ hours or so), they aren't the most comfortable. My first pair cost $40, but I have like 5 spares I picked up for $24 a pop on an Amazon sale

I find with some rifles they do in fact cause issues with cheek weld -- my SVT-40 is one -- and have to switch to plugs.

Other than that I do like them though. I just wish the NRR was higher.

They break seal on all the long guns I've tried while wearing them. Ar15 (a2 and m4 stocks), mossberg 500 (full size and youth), mosin, mpx, 10/22, springfield 1903. I'm sure everything else you can find will do it (for me at least) as well.

Usually it's not a complete failure, but enough to ring my ear. The seal was already broken by my safety glasses. More reason to wear plugs anyway.

I can't wear them around power lines. Too much feedback, even at minimum volume.

Never had an issue with mine breaking seal.
They do however crackle a good bit if you're shooting in the rain or super high humidity.

I love mine.  I almost always use plugs & muffs though when shooting.  

They actually get more use when I'm on my lawn mower at home.  I plug my iPhone into the jack and listen to podcasts.

ETA: I get the speaker crackle only when I'm using my iPhone.  Even then it's infrequent and not a dealbreaker. 

This

For me, they are inadequate. The seals do not form fit around safety glasses well. They are too hard. If they made gel seals for them they would be a killer deal. People like them, I do not.

They work great for me, shooting outdoors. I always keep a jug of the orange foam plugs in my truck in case, but I've never had a problem, even with my compensated .308 rifle. Plus the electronic functionality is fantastic.

Howard Leight are fine for pistol. Rifle, not so much due to the necessary cheek weld.
I use the aural "U" shaped when I shoot my rifles. The standard "bullet" ear plugs also work fine.
If you're thirsty, buy the electronic ear buds. My thoughts, why reinvent what already does the job cheaply.

Surefire defender plugs with Impacts over them are perfect. Leave the plugs in for suppressed shooting and just drop on Impacts for the rest of the time.