Posted: 12/27/2016 10:44:04 AM EDT
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Running a 3 bay 18 lane 25yd indoor range. Anything up to 30-06. Its loud. Up until now my electronic Peltors have served me well...anyone out there got a better solution? Next time I am at work I plan on running a set of plugs under the Peltors. Seems like it would help but on the other hand I have to be able to converse with customers outside the bays. Thinking I might need to remove the plugs everytime I need to talk to someone...that will get old.
So whats the ARF opinion on the best muffstyle ear pro with the best sound reduction? Must be somewhat comfortable as its sometimes a 10 hour shift or more. Thanks |
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10 hours at an indoor that allows rifles.... I would definitely wear plugs and some old school 32 db rated muffs. My wife picked up some of the gel pads for her peltors and says they help with all day comfort, they also make some pads you can put in place that help if your in a hot/sweaty environment.
Sure fire makes some nice plugs that have a valve that can be opened to allow for conversation. I picked up a pair at Lowes of all places. I would wear both and pull off your muffs if you need to have a conversation. Be careful, I've ro'd matches all day with just muffs on (outside) and my ears still rang at the end of the day. Indoor all day would be a killer. |
I've never used more than these......they worked well for 105 and 120mm  . The constant echo of an indoor range might be a little much though.
I'd rather be able to hear a little more, than not enough.....especially at a range open to the public. Most phones interfere with my eyewear as well |
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Which peltors?
Yea for 10 hours a day indoors you should definitely be doubling up. The comtac IIIs can amplify pretty loudly and have a boost to go even louder. I wouldn't worry so much about not being able to hear a conversation as having enough protection so you don't fuck up your hearing. |
| I have already had significant hearing loss from prior. Mil/LEO from being Marine PMI, Armorer, Door Gunner 46-53 with .50's, M60 and the Mark 40mm. Years of coaching and range mastery. I just got back into it and can tell a difference already. I want to protect what I have left. I have the older Peltor M6 (?) Like I said have worked great for a long time but on a indoor range with AR Pistols, AK, Magnums and up to 30-06...its friggin loud even outside the bays. Will get a good set of plugs to run inside the Peltors. Read that when you double you add 5db reduction to the highest value. So in theory if my plugs are 26db and my Peltors are 28db I get a theoretical 33db. Anyone know anything different? |
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I've heard that electronic ear pro shouldn't be used indoors, because the pressure wave ricochets off the surfaces before the ear pro can recognize the echoes.
So instead of one impulse you'd get from an outdoor range, you get a series of several impulses. That's the story I've heard, but I haven't seen any hard data backing it up. I just know I always double up indoors. |
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Quoted:
I've heard that electronic ear pro shouldn't be used indoors, because the pressure wave ricochets off the surfaces before the ear pro can recognize the echoes. So instead of one impulse you'd get from an outdoor range, you get a series of several impulses. That's the story I've heard, but I haven't seen any hard data backing it up. I just know I always double up indoors. Doesn't matter if its an echo or whatever, they are not going to amplify loud noises. Nor are they even capable of amplifying said noise to a damaging level. |
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I wear the surefire in-ear plugs (I forget the model, but the ones WITHOUT the sound port, ~$10) under a pair of normal muffs when I'm at my indoor rage. I regularly shoot 5.56 out of a 10.3" barrel and it works great. If you need to hear someone talk more clearly, you just pop the muffs off one ear and you still have -26dB of reduction with the in-ear.
LINK: https://www.amazon.com/SureFire-Defenders-Full-Block-Earplugs-reusable/dp/B007FKY8SI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1482852934&sr=8-4&keywords=surefire&tag=vglnk-c102-20 ear plugs&tag=vglnk-c102-20 |
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There was a recent poll on here and the Peltors beat the Sordins, many guys that had both said recent production Sordins have taken a negative turn in quality. Hearing Defenders were highly spoken of.
I'd get a good set of electronic muffs with gel cups and add some soft foam plugs. I had the cheaper Tac Sports with gel cups and I'd wear them all day with foam plugs and could hear conversations just fine. Shooting with electronic muffs was weird at first as I could hear my brass hitting the ground and it took me a second to figure out what that was. They finally broke after a few years of service and I'm currently looking for a replacement, Peltors will be my pick again. |
| Typically I wear some inner ear plugs with some cheap Winchester muffs over them from Walmart. This works pretty well but I saw all of the recommendations for Howard Leight muffs with the low sound amplification. These were not very effective at an indoor range in comparison. My ears are still ringing from some jack hole letting loose a full auto Krinkov SBR next to me. No warning shot... |
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For me at indoor ranges electronic ear pro doesn't get the job done for me. I'll eventually get a headache.
These 3M brand thick ear plugs work really well for indoor ranges. You can't hear much/talk well with whoever you are shooting with. But they work great. 
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