Safe, Safe, at the Range…
Whether it’s your first time at the range or your 300th, you want to be safe and comfortable so you can focus on your skills and shooting technique.
Let’s get down to the Nitty Gritty: if you are shooting pistols indoors, we suggest a great pair of ear muffs (with at least a 30db rating), a solid pair of protective anti-fogging eyewear (or wrap-around frames for those who already wear prescription glasses), and clothes that will protect your skin from errant hot brass.
For a more in depth look at the best gear options for staying safe at the range, read on!
Shooting un-suppressed firearms is a noisy business. Handguns start at the 157db noise level. And according to OSHA, “exposure to impulsive or impact noise should not exceed 140db peak sound pressure level.”
Loud noise does not just hurt your hearing. It can cause other problems related to your overall health like: high blood pressure, faster heart rate, upset stomach, and problems with how babies develop before birth (Which is why we encourage those who are pregnant to avoid shooting.)
With these implications, the hearing protection you invest in is perhaps the most important piece of shooting equipment, aside from your gun. In my opinion it is indeed worth it to spend money on quality hearing protection that you’ll be using to protect your ears for years to come.
So what is the “Best” to buy? Strangely, the “Practical vs. Tactical” scale applies to hearing protection as well.
If you are shooting by yourself at an indoor range, then wearing earplugs along with 30db passive earmuffs will give you the best practical advantage towards protecting your hearing and allow you to focus on your shooting skills with with less distraction. This is the combination that I use personally when shooting alone in a private stall:
However, this combination will make it difficult to hear instructions from an instructor or possible directions from a range safety officer.
If you are instructing or receiving instruction at the range, noise-cancelling earpieces or headphones will allow you to hear verbal communication while still providing important, albeit less effective, hearing protection while shooting.
Outdoors, it is impractical to use passive earmuffs while shooting a rifle and difficult to pick up ambient noise from your environment which can be a great tactical disadvantage. I suggest noise-cancelling earpieces or headphones in this setting as well.
