Best electronic ear muffs that do not cost over $100

[superx10]

Hi Everyone topic just as above my Peltors have finally stopped working.
Cheers

[UL1700]

With a bit of shopping around you should find the Howard Lights for that kind of money. At the end of the day your ears are hard to replace so I wouldn't scrimp to far. Earplugs in conjunction with these muffs are definitely recommend.

[AlanF]

Hi Everyone topic just as above my Peltors have finally stopped working.
Cheers

If you want to go muffs, our club has just ordered some of the Howard Leight 1013530s which rate well on this list: https://au.bestreviews.guide/shooting-earmuffs . Might be a week or two before we see them to assess. But price is well under $100.

[Lachlan]

I own both the Walkers and Howard Leigh’s, by far the Howard’s are better in regards to wind noise reduction. Otherwise they’re on par for everything including price.

So go for the Howard’s. About $100-110.

[superx10]

Hi Thanks for the reply do you have any purchasing links for the Howard muffs.
Cheers

[AlanF]

Hi Thanks for the reply do you have any purchasing links for the Howard muffs.
Cheers

https://www.amazon.com.au/Honeywell-Howard-Leight-1013530-Earmuff/dp/B001T7QJ9O/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Howard+Leight+1013530&qid=1629844600&sr=8-1

[Tim N]

If you really want to save some cash on electronic ear protection you could try a couple of AAA batteries

[Tim N]

On a more serious note... I hope you’re all keeping well and if you’re not shooting you’re thinking about it.
Hope to get back to a range soon!

[6.5x55ai]

If you are restricting to not costing over $100 you are probably not serious in protecting your hearing. Too many shooters I know went with the Howards and they have eventually died or provided sub standard protection.
After dicking around in that price range (100 bucks) I eventually took the hit and bought MSA Sordin Supreme Pros. Sure they're many times the cost of the Howards but the old adage of buy once cry once very much applies.

Otherwise use quality passive muffs.

[Normmatzen]

I can talk with some knowledge as I took the audiology masters program at San Jose State University and was a licensed hearing aid dispenser. I also worked for a company that did Research and Product Development for the ear.
First, what is little known that shot noise or any explosion is WAY different than simple industrial noise and requires a bit more care.
the only ear muffs that can protect you hearing adequately are so big and expensive that no one uses them!
Standard muffs have around 26 dB NRR. The US OSHA specifies the NRR rating and it means it indicates the best protection possible with that unit and normal mis-use is subtracted from the maximum . 26 dB is WAY too little to protect your hearing. The only sure way to protect your hearing with muffs is to use ear plugs under them. With even mis-inserted yello foamies this still has enough attenuation to get to the bone conduction threshold of your skull. This is an inherent attenuation of 40=50 dB and is the best total protection available regardless of protection worn.
I would recommend yellow foamies under muffs or a better solution would be Etymotic Research ER-20 HI-FI earplugs which have 20 dB attenuation. This plus the 26 dB of the muff worse case brings you right int the bone conduction region.
What do I use? I use electronic protection made by Otto and use a compression amplifier so you can hear normal speech and the gain decreases as outside noise gets louder up to the point of limiting at about 117 dB which is about at the bone conduction level.
I must warn you all, I designed the analog amplifier in the OTTO units and have personal reasons to use them. But I feel safe using them with the foam tips supplied as that brings me to the bone conduction region.

[superx10]

Thanks Norm, great informative post, much appreciated.
Superx

[AlanF]

Thanks Norm,

So in relation to the Howard Leight muffs in question, which are rated "24dB Class 4", if you wore good foam plugs with them, would you still get significant hearing damage if target shooting weekly? Remember this is not a fulltime job, perhaps 3 hrs per week in the proximity of shooting. In fact probably less than 60 mins on the mound shooting or next to other shooters.

[Rowboat]

My advice would be to pay a bit extra for greater hearing protection. For what it’s worth I use Howard Leight Impact Pro electronic noise canceling earmuffs (31db) They are over $100 but I find they work well. However, for reasons I am unable to understand some rifles produce more noise or shock than others even of the same caliber and barrel contour (no muzzle brake). If on the mound beside such rifles I opt for foam ear plugs inserted under the muff as has been suggested.

[superx10]

Well I purchased a pair of Howard Light from SARA the service from SARA was out standing especially being able to talk to real people wow that's unusual, they came from SA to Nth NSW in under a week very well packaged and with two minties yaaa . This is what they do better then my Peltors.

* Fold up
* Turn on and adjust volume
* Plug into my phone to listen to music or conversations
*Easier to change the batteries

At about half the price

All the Howard lIghts have to do now is keep the bang out .