brakes and hearing protection

[jackelope]

are you guys using hearing protection for the shot when hunting with your brake-equipped hunting rifles?

[WDFW-SUX]

sometime I wear little earplugs but not always...they are not as loud in the field as they are at the range

They are still loud enough to make your ears hurt.  I have one custom break that has larger holes and is not as loud as a Vias or a KDF type break.  

I have 3 rifles with breaks right now 375 ultra mag (KDF) 338 win mag (KDF) and a 300wby (custom). i also have a 7mm rem mag that was magna ported and thats not as loud but does not take as much recoil out.

[Antlershed]

The only braked rifle i have shot without ear plugs is my vtr in .223 and it was pretty loud. It has a lot to do with the style of brake though. My .300RUM with the DE brake is quieter to the shooter than the vtr is   

[Huntbear]

When hunting, I do not use any hearing protection.  One shot, out in the open and being directly behind the gun, does not bother me any.  Being under a tin roof at a range, or target practicing is a different story lol....

[Straight Shooter]

When hunting, I do not use any hearing protection.  One shot, out in the open and being directly behind the gun, does not bother me any.  Being under a tin roof at a range, or target practicing is a different story lol....

 

[KillBilly]

a small portion of hearing is permanently lost each time a shot is fired

[jackelope]

a small portion of hearing is permanently lost each time a shot is fired

i would assume that would happen with or without a brake without ears...no?

[Coasthunterjay]

a small portion of hearing is permanently lost each time a shot is fired

i would assume that would happen with or without a brake without ears...no?

I would agree regardless of having a brake or not you probably loose a small portion...but over one bullet a year without protection it is such a small amount that it probably wouldnt be notaciable unless you had a hearing check....That and you would probably only loose a certain tone...not just the audible level........

Granted i have no idea cuz im not a doctor. so ill shut up at this point..... ....im deff already so maybe im way wrong....lol....

Oh and im kind of like huntbear....in the past i have always used hearing protection with a braked rifle while sighting it in.....but out in the field sometimes the hearing protection wasnt used....but i try to everytime i get....just because it is noticably louder.....

Without it, it is a nice loud awakening for anyone near by......

[JoshT]

Huh???

MY .300 RUM HAS A BREAK ON IT... I SHOOT IT ALL THE TIME WITHOUT HEARING PROTECTION!

Really though... with my DE break on the .300 RUM I haven't noticed a difference in sound... to the shooter. Those in close proximity however... are subject to massive blast and noise! I have a set of the horseshoe plugs that I wear on my hat when hunting... it takes no time to put them on when I'm ready to shoot. I did shoot my bear last year without muffs... and the shot actually seemed rather quiet... I heard the bullet hit, so my ears must not have been ringing too bad.

[haugenna]

QB2's.  AKA  Quiet Banded ear plugs.  I put them on for every shot in the field, brake or no brake.

[Coasthunterjay]

how much are those?

[JoshT]

how much are those?

They're under $15... there are a couple different kinds... I like the ones with replaceable plugs.

[Tony 270WSM]

I use hearing protection without a brake. If I have time to put it in, I will. Haven't had time once, since I have been using it, and my first thought was damn that was loud!

[M_ray]

My 300 with a weatherby brake makes mine sting when I do not put the plugs in, I usally have ear plugs on a string around my neck while hunting but it depends on the situation weather I get them in or not but I will if I have the chance. I took two shots last year without the plugs and the ears rang both times ... I allways wear protection at the range of coarse.

[KillBilly]

a small portion of hearing is permanently lost each time a shot is fired

i would assume that would happen with or without a brake without ears...no?

that is correct Josh...every shot

[littlebuf]

its funny but ive found in the field when taking a shot on game i don't ever remember even hearing the shot  ears don't ring or anything maybe its the level of concentration i don't know, anybody else notice this?. i do know that i forgot to put my ears on once after a cold range and when i touched off my 300 i sure knew it  but again same riffle in the field on game didnt even have a little ringing. im not the best for hearing protection tho years of working with power tools and chain saws have defiantly had some affect

[Mookie]

i do know that i forgot to put my ears on once after a cold range and when i touched off my 300 i sure knew it  but again same riffle in the field on game didnt even have a little ringing. im not the best for hearing protection tho years of working with power tools and chain saws have defiantly had some affect

I had been shooting for quite awhile with my muffs on, I noticed I had only 1 round left of 45acp and a still full can of whipped cream. My ears rang for the rest of the day. I had totally forgotten how loud those things are. Makes you realize how full of crap movies and television are.

[thinkingman]

I have posted before about my buddy who shot 2 elk and a mulie with his Weatherby 30-378 and has over 30% hearing loss as a result.

[woodswalker]

are you guys using hearing protection for the shot when hunting with your brake-equipped hunting rifles?

Simple...I dont USE brakes... I LIKE my hearing (what is LEFT of it, from chainsaws logging equipment and planer mills.)  The recoil is just not that bad.

[KillBilly]

are you guys using hearing protection for the shot when hunting with your brake-equipped hunting rifles?

Simple...I dont USE brakes... I LIKE my hearing (what is LEFT of it, from chainsaws logging equipment and planer mills.)  The recoil is just not that bad.

Ya still will lose hearing brake or not. Hearing protection is always a good idea

[addicted]

usually with the amount of concentration or exitement while shooting in the feild i have noticed that i never really hear the shot or feel the kick of the rifle or do i remember jacking in another shell. I do notice a few minutes later that either my ears are ringing, my shoulder is funny or my gun is loaded.

  I know some old old hunters over here that really cant hear a darn thing and that worries me because i like my hearing.   I have started sticking some foamy ear plugs between my scope and my rifle for when i forget my gel plugs or my electronic hearing enhancement auto shut off ones.   I just started this recently because i've noticed my right ear is not as good as my left. (with this i have also started sitting with my wife on my right )

This is all reguardless of having a muzzle brake.

[jackelope]

whether or not you hear the gun go off in a hunting situation has no bearing on whether it is damaging to your ears.
adrenaline, etc doesn't protect your ears.
i still haven't shot the gun with the brake, so i don't know how much it will bug me, but recoil doesn't typically bother me too much, so we'll see. if it's obnoxious, maybe i'll have it removed.

[Coasthunterjay]

whether or not you hear the gun go off in a hunting situation has no bearing on whether it is damaging to your ears.
adrenaline, etc doesn't protect your ears.
i still haven't shot the gun with the brake, so i don't know how much it will bug me, but recoil doesn't typically bother me too much, so we'll see. if it's obnoxious, maybe i'll have it removed.

So your gonna shoot it without hearing protection and see if it bugs you? or with? Ide assume that if you use hearing protection it wouldnt bother you at all.... 

Just my opinion but, I guess in some ways its hard to weigh out the benefits or negatives or a brake....you get reduced recoil....with some people that helps improve there groupings allowing better shots....more accurately killed animals and less injured...

And with out on a large caliber rifle...not as loud but hits harder....more flinching...

On the smaller more comfortable shooting callibers it would be one thing. But on the larger if thats your can of worms...ide recommend one...just because you have the option to wear hearing protection and well better shot placement means more animals killed and not injured from bad shots.

[jackelope]

we won't know how much it bugs me till i shoot it. the recoil won't bother me. the brake was there when  i got the gun. if it's annoyingly loud when i shoot it with or without ears on, it's going away.
the ears will always be on at the range. the ears will likely not be on in the woods.

[Coasthunterjay]

GOTCHA.........

Not sure if you said it earlier but what caliber rifle is it?

[Gearhead1940]

I think adrenaline has a lot to do with what we hear out in the field.  Even bird hunting shots seems as muffled as they do when I have plugs in on the range.  I've plinked a few times w/o plugs and it is LOUD, hunting on the other hand, usually don't even hear it. 

I am sure that my hearing is getting damaged by not wearing plugs out in the field regardless of what the percieved level of noise is.

[jackelope]

GOTCHA.........

Not sure if you said it earlier but what caliber rifle is it?

300 win mag