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I'm looking to upgrade to some moulded ear plugs this year as I'm fed up with the pain from wearing ear defenders for hours on end during PSG & mini rifle competitions.

What makes can people recommend and what makes to steer clear of?

Are the active ones worth the extra compared to passive, or just go for solid without any form of noise filtering system?

The advice I have had are that the moulded plugs are good for low level noise but not ideal for louder noises like lying beside someone firing a 7.62. The issue being that loud noise can still cause damage as the sound wave can penetrate through the side of the ear which plugs don't cover.

I was going to go down the moulded plugs route for comfort myself but when told this by a hearing specialist I decided not to risk it.

My experience with Ultimate Ear moulded Reactear plugs is that they are fine for shotgun, but not up to full bore, especially if under cover (eg benchrest at 100 yds on Short Siberia). I was left with tinnitus for a couple of days after the next shooter along was exercising his jungle carbine when I was relying on the Reactears. I now use Sordin ear defenders and put up with annoyingly hot ears in summer.

Hi Primer,

I/we have used them for years, solid ones, never had a problem shoot 7.62x54r and .303 and just had a second set done (should change them every 4 years or so). The company is A1 hearing (0800 0746211) Carol Beecher visits Bisley, for the trade shows, I think she shoots there so is a regular visitor. I have no connection with this company.

dromia wrote:The advice I have had are that the moulded plugs are good for low level noise but not ideal for louder noises like lying beside someone firing a 7.62. The issue being that loud noise can still cause damage as the sound wave can penetrate through the side of the ear which plugs don't cover.

I was going to go down the moulded plugs route for comfort myself but when told this by a hearing specialist I decided not to risk it.

Yeah I have read about the sound wave through the skull when shooting either large bore outside or any centre fire in indoor ranges so I will be sticking to my cans for that but i'm looking for the moulded plugs for use during Practical Shotgun/mini rifle competitions.

I'm tempted by the CENS passive moulded plugs as you can upgrade them to the active model by purchasing the electronic unit at a later date if you get on with them as the passive's are around £90 and the actives are £450ish.

I've had a couple of custom moulded plugs in the past, both solid and with a noise filter valve. It doesn't take long for these plugs when being fitted and removed numerous times, to loose some of the shape and then not give a proper fit. I went back to a half decent set of Peltor electronic ear defenders.

I had some "custom" moulded plugs made up for work. I have to say that after a short while of wearing them I found them quite irritating and after two days my ears were sore.
But they were not shooting specific.

I started shooting"doubled up" - ear muffs and squeeze style ear plugs and find that best for protection. It certainly comes good when your muff is lifted by your rifle stock when shooting, something that I find a problem with when shooting carbines and shotgun.

DM

I use Peltor Protac 2, supremely comfortable actives, more than once i've had strange looks from other drivers on way home as i've forgotten to take them off.

I use custom moulded earplugs by A1, work fine and comfortable enough, they have been worn for 15hrs plus in a day while touring on my bike so I would expect to have had problems by now. that said on the range I often revert to active ear muffs so I can listen in on the gossip tongueout