I don't wear earplugs with this am i alright

[Geronimo45]

Loud noise may/will damage your hearing. Caliber is meaningless. Decibels are what matters, and gunshots are pretty high on the decibel meter.
I can understand forgoing hearing protection at first (before one knows better). I grew up shooting rifles in .22 short and birdshot from a long-barrel 12-gauge shotgun. Didn't seem to bother me too much. No/very little ringing in the ears - so why bother? Didn't realize it was doing damage.

Then I got into handguns. They are incredibly loud, by comparison. Painful. Shooting was somewhat miserable. Got a nice flinch from it. The ringing lasted for hours after I'd done. Hearing protection took the pain out of shooting.

You can get good earplugs cheaply - try those olive/yellow models. Mine worked great until I lost 'em. They're reusable - just wash 'em down. Not much expense, nothing to lose from 'em - except the annoying ringing after shooting. Good muffs are out there, too, for cheap. The plugs worked fine, the muffs are a tad more comfortable.

 

[baz]

Drats, I wanted to be the 100th post in this thread.

Hey, people. I wonder if the OP is even reading anymore, after what happened in the other thread.

Maybe this one should get locked too, so people will not waste their time giving advice to someone who probably wouldn't take it, if they were getting it, but who probably isn't even reading here any more.

 

[revjen45]

Anything that makes your ears ring causes permanent damage, and it is cumulative. Every time adds to the damage. I know whereof I speak. Due to industrial noise and gunfire (used to be a gunsmith) I have a constant LOUD high pitched tone with occasional chirping sounds. It is quite annoying and nothing can be done about it. Don't shoot ANYTHING louder than a Daisy BB gun without hearing protection. If you do, get used to saying "What??" a lot.

The worst thing I ever shot was a Ruger SA in .30 Carbine. With mouse ears on it felt like an ice pick stuck into my ears. About 2-3 shots was more than enough.

 

[Millwright]

Not wearing hearing protection around loud noise levels is just plain stupid....and that includes rock concerts, work spaces in your/friends' cars, even ear plugs and Walkmans are capable of damaging audio levels.... Use hearing protection anywhere/anytime in high level situations.

Or spend a good part of your life being known as "HUH?" BTDTGTTS... >MW

 

[nainc]

Sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say?