[bravo124]

Jake,
By all means wear ear protection when at the range. I am a Rangemaster and I wear custom fit ear plugs with electronic ear muffs on top. Dr. Stangelove and TeamSingleStack are correct. In a deadly force encounter, you will not hear the noise or feel the recoil from your weapon. It's called Auditory Exclusion. You can read about this in Colonel Grossman's book titled, On Combat. I've been in shootouts so far that were both indoors while doing warrant services. First time was with a pistol and the second time was with an M-4. Both were in bedrooms approximately 12x12. I wasn't wearing ear protection and never heard nor felt anything while engaging the BG. My fellow officers that were out on perimeter said that they seen the windows in the bedroom rattle when I was discharging the M-4. Hope this helps. Joe.