Thread: Best noise cancelling ear plugs for shooting range

Originally Posted by Cordite

Out of curiousity, has anyone here used mechanical ear plugs, like these here or their modern equivalent? How well do they kick in and occlude sudden loud sounds?

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No good for multiple shots, or for when the shots are coming from a side. I have used them prior to suppressors - still have a pair. I still carry them for when I have a situation where I'm shooting along a bank and the suppressor is limited in it's effectiveness due to reflection off the bank but I won't rely on them by themselves now. Not effective enough for use around muzzle breaks full stop.

As a further point, they do have a noticeable muffling effect - I've missed animals using them while hunting. It's worthwhile pointing out two things - one that they aren't rated as protection from noise, and two that earplugs in general don't stop the bone conduction around the sides of the ear that earmuffs cover which may or may not be an issue on the range you are shooting on. If it's a busy public range with a lot of muzzle breaks and bigger calibers being used you might be exposed to impulse noise that's actually quite a bit above what you think you're receiving. On NRO duties when standing behind a row of shooters for a full day, I've gone to a set of peltor tactical grade 5-rated electronic earmuffs which replaced a set of Peltor sporttac - the slimmer sporttac's didn't cut the mustard and I was aware of a faint hum and feeling very fatigued after a full day of getting slapped in the face by blast. The heavier full-sized Tactical's are more comfortable for longer periods of use and are much better at reducing the noise.

Having said that as far as plugs, good protection that's rated is better than the impulse closing plugs so in my book better going to an electronic set - the Peltor's are good but above all else whatever brand you get they need to fit correctly and be comfortable!