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H.W. French · April 15, 2011, 02:50 AM

Jake,
I certainly wouldn't recommend shooting (not hunting) without hearing protection, especially if you are past the age of sixteen to twenty. Even twenty-two's. It's not always what you can "hear" and besides a .22 out of a Bearcat is plenty loud. But, they're your ears. You do what you want.

You can spend every waking hour of you life contemplating the unexpected, however for the responses raised so far:

"electronic ears" while techno-cool (and awesome on the range) could have some slight advantage in the wee hours when all else is silent; how much junk will your nightstand support? You may as well be sporting some nightvision while your at it to get the complete tactical advantage. And a sweet ninja outfit.

A personal defensive weapon stashed separately of its ammunition amounts to a very blunt instrument. Your are (probably) better off with a bat. Unless the perpetrator of the crime wishes to handicap you a count to ten or twenty or however long it takes you to load your weapon.

"Over penetration" has less to do with the size of the round and more to do with its construction. A properly designed round will deliver its kinetic energy to whatever the target efficiently and effectively be it blubber or drywall and by design should not over penetrate lest it waste energy. If this is worrisome contemplate frangible ammo.

Anyways I tend to distill things down. Would I unleash a .357 in an inclosed space at a known threat at the sacrifice of some hearing loss. Probably. Only you can answer that for yourself. Though training in such a manner will almost assuredly have a negative impact on those cilia.

Just my two cents that have undoubtedly decreased in value since I posted.

April 15, 2011, 02:50 AM	#6
H.W. French Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2009 Location: Blue Ridge Plateau Posts: 151	For what it's worth... Jake, I certainly wouldn't recommend shooting (not hunting) without hearing protection, especially if you are past the age of sixteen to twenty. Even twenty-two's. It's not always what you can "hear" and besides a .22 out of a Bearcat is plenty loud. But, they're your ears. You do what you want. You can spend every waking hour of you life contemplating the unexpected, however for the responses raised so far: "electronic ears" while techno-cool (and awesome on the range) could have some slight advantage in the wee hours when all else is silent; how much junk will your nightstand support? You may as well be sporting some nightvision while your at it to get the complete tactical advantage. And a sweet ninja outfit. A personal defensive weapon stashed separately of its ammunition amounts to a very blunt instrument. Your are (probably) better off with a bat. Unless the perpetrator of the crime wishes to handicap you a count to ten or twenty or however long it takes you to load your weapon. "Over penetration" has less to do with the size of the round and more to do with its construction. A properly designed round will deliver its kinetic energy to whatever the target efficiently and effectively be it blubber or drywall and by design should not over penetrate lest it waste energy. If this is worrisome contemplate frangible ammo. Anyways I tend to distill things down. Would I unleash a .357 in an inclosed space at a known threat at the sacrifice of some hearing loss. Probably. Only you can answer that for yourself. Though training in such a manner will almost assuredly have a negative impact on those cilia. Just my two cents that have undoubtedly decreased in value since I posted.