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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Just curious what eye and ear protection everyone prefers for the range. I know many of us are gear freaks and I was wondering if I was missing the boat on some cool and practical gear out there.

My current choices -
Eyes: Rudy Project Rydon Tactical w/ various interchangeable lenses
Ears: Cheap in-ear plugs (to be replaced soon - with what I have no clue)
 

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If you have any kind of ear doctor, a lot of times they can make you custom molded hearing protection. I think they are usually 150-200 bucks. But they could be less. I dont know, I've never had it done. But I think custom is always better than uber-tactical :)
 
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Discussion Starter · #3 ·
I know a few people who have had those custom jobs done with active electronics and they can run upwards of $500-$1000 a set. That's money for a new gun or two in my opinion! But custom fit passive in ears might be something to look into. I was thinking of looking at some muffs with active electronics - I know you can get into those for $50-$100; anyone have experiences good/bad with those?
 

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For eyes I just use some pretty standard safety glasses, nothing expensive, but with good coverage above, below, and sideways. Definitely not tacticool, but they work.

I borrowed a set of electronic muffs once. They are nice if you do a lot of talking or listening on the range, like in a class setting. You don't have to take them off to have a normal conversation. There's a couple milliseconds delay for the electronic circuit to cut off when a shot is fired, but it's not a big deal. I'll probably buy my own set soon, or ask for them for X-mas.

Ordinarily when shooting outdoors I wear just a decent set of regular (non-electronic) muffs. But when I'm at an indoor range I wear both the compressible foam earplugs AND muffs over the top of them. The sound is just more intense indoors, especially if the range also allows rifles in the same bay! I don't shoot quite often enough to justify custom molded in-ear devices, but my ears are a fairly normal shape and the $1/pair foam ones expand to a good fit. BTW, just in case anybody doesn't know... you're supposed to roll/squish them between your fingers before inserting into your ear, and then hold it in your ear until it expands, about 15-20 seconds. I often see people just shove them in there, and you're NOT getting optimal protection that way. Anyway... I can reuse a pair multiple times before they lose their "sponginess" and become less effective. Doubling up the plugs & muffs gives me good protection for a negligible cost.
 

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everyone i know has the same experience with the electronic jobbies. they forget to turn them off and end up adding the price of batteries to every range trip!!!!

well, not THAT bad, but...

i use regular old muffs, and the same polycarbonate lensed sunglasses that i wear when doing ANYTHING. (they're on me almost as much as my s40)

if i could suggest anything... try on eyes and ears together. if your muffs squeeze the frames of the glasses into your head, you have a short range day from the throbbing headache. or, if the frames keep the muffs from sealing, why bother? just a thought.

doubling up, foamy things and muffs, is the ultimate; and your hearing never regenerates.

some guys that wear the electronic thingers also wear the foamy things. 2 reasons. one, it addresses the slight delay in surpressing the sound. 2, not everyone else has them. so when the guy next to you starts screaming at the top of his lungs, you're not getting this amplified through your muffs.
 

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Eyes: Polycarbonate perscription lenses.

Ears: Years ago I had a buddy in a shooting club who was a hearing aid dealer. He made molds for our ears like a hearing aid and sent them out and had the plugs done without any electronics. I also wear o set of Pro-Ears Elite something or others that I got over 5 years ago. Stereo electric and uses "N" celss. I just changed the batteries for the first time last week. When I wear both I can't hear a thing unless I turn the volume way up.
 
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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
Tacti-COOL

Since I have a background in the optical industry, I just wanted to throw out this word of warning on the cheapo safety glasses that are out there.

They will certainly protect your eyes from a stray casing however the optical quality is generally very poor and there is a level of distortion in those things that can cause eye strain and probably affect your range vision. Also, at the outdoor range you should have good UV protection - which some of the cheapos have; additionally there are a variety of high contrast tints available that can enhance your depth perception and target aquisition abilities for those of you who are competitive shooters. So there are some advantages to that Tacti-Cool eyewear.
 

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what are you getting at? im' not talking about little tiny cutesy sunglasses, i'm talking regulation wraparounds that fit tight against your face.

do you wear rubber gasketed goggles?

purpose built shooting glasses keep stuff from going directly in your eye and increase their effectiveness by wrapping around. anything blowing in the breeze can blow around cardboard, sunglasses, shooting glasses etc...

i have multiple pairs of purpose built safety glasses and shooting glasses of many brands and many styles. i know for a fact that my smith sunglasses protect my eyes every bit as well as any and all of the other glasses. because i've had crap get in my eyes while wearing these other glasses. i also know that if you REALLY want to keep stuff out of your eyes you HAVE to wear goggles. i have never owned a pair of safety glasses that provided adequate protection from dust produced by sanding drywall or running a tablesaw. i'm not wearing any of the assortment of gasketed goggles i own to any gun range.

if i were to be concerned about anything flying in my face at a gun range, it would be exposure to the mercury in the primers. but i'm not wearing some canister mask to prevent this.

it's a good idea to have indoor gun range shoes. that way you don't track any hazardous substances that have collected on the floor into your home. i aint got range shoes. not worried about it.

i'm sticking with the sunglasses. they're comfy, i always have the perfect lense tint for conditions, and they provide protection on par with any purpose built shooting optics.

plus, they're like my 11th finger, man. they've seen more than i have because i close my eyes sometimes when i sleep.
 

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Whoa slow-down BT. I was just talking about the cheap flimsy crap I use. I was in no way making fun of your suggestion. I was making fun my own (stupid) disregard for my eyes. I just where cheap flimsy crap to keep the sun out of my eyes.
 

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oooohhhhh.

clear misunderstanding. i thought you WERE ripping on sunglasses as legit eye protection.

sorry bro!!!

well, if nothing else, a good exercise in debate. albeit unsolicited. mistakenly solicited. rhetorical call and response, whereby we are mere vehicles of it's passing.

segue....

luckily, we ALL look good in steyr t-shirts.
 

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Now he's a philosophizer! But, I think we all look even better with Steyr T-Shirts, and being strapped to the teeth with Steyr arms! Wearing cheapo flimsy wally-world sunglasses! And an electronic sound dampening hearing protection devices!

Ok, the insomia is really starting to kick in, Im going to stop this post before I get even more out of line.
 
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Discussion Starter · #14 ·
Smith Sport Optics

To defend BT from that non-attack :lol: a great majority of Smith's lenses meet ANSI requirements for impact resistance and therefore make a great shooting glass. Before greed and fashion took over at Smith they used to make several glasses designed around skiing, mountain biking and other sport specific applications that required some type of impact resistant lens. So as long as they are PC and not Glass - shoot on in your Smiths!
 

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Any place that sells Stihl chainsaws usually has a great selection of good amber wraps for $7-$12.00. Go check 'em out, put 'em on, get a feel for 'em. They usually have the ear protection, too. Just a thought. 8)

Wulf
 
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