electronic shooting muffs

[doctnj]

I have a couple Howard leight muffs that I have worn for a while now. I thought they were suppose to cut out but I seem to be able to pretty much hear the shot plus every thing else after. It just seems to be more quiet then bare ear. I just picked up a pare of Evo's for the wife (youth size). I dont like the all plastic design but those muffs really cut off even with a clap!! Is there something wrong with my H.L.'s?

[holescreek]

They sure sound broken to me, when was the last time you changed the battery?

[doctnj]

Well I've only had them 3 weeks. They pick up sound like crazy just don't shut off when the shot breaks. Have two pair and both do it. Maybe they cut down I can't tell, but they share as hell donot shut off.

[holescreek]

I have a set I wear for pistol shooting and they cut off from a clap of the hands too. If you bought them both at the same time it could be they were defective from the start.

I googled "howard leight electronic earmuff not working" and got a couple hits with complaints similar to yours. One case was identical. The owner even sent the defective pair back for replacement (in 2011) and said the replacement pair had the same problem.

With regard to the battery question, the muffs have microphones to make it easier to hear between shots and use an electronic circuit to shut the microphones off as a shot is fired. Dead batteries disable the microphones altogether but perhaps weak batteries can impact the response circuit somehow too? It's worth checking out anyway. An Email to the factory couldn't hurt either. Good luck!

BTW, I can't use mine for rifle shooting. When I get into a comfortable shooting position the stock invariably pushes against the muff enough to break the seal around my ear making the muff on my right side useless.

[Texas10]

Quote: BTW, I can't use mine for rifle shooting. When I get into a comfortable shooting position the stock invariably pushes against the muff enough to break the seal around my ear making the muff on my right side useless.

I have the same problem! I use foam ear plugs along with my ear protectors, but still have break-thru/leakage issues due to cheek riser. Anyone find a particular brand ( I have Bose) that cancel the shot noise AND are low enough in profile that the stock doesn't break the seal?

Guy with a break-equipped AK-47 pistol chased a bunch of us off the range a while back. It was like a hammer blow to the head every time he pulled the trigger, regardless of which bench we sat, and ear protection. He was politely invited to leave and not come back with that gun.

[doctnj]

I got them on amazon. I'll have to look into sending them back to be checked. I'll do the battery check first. I don't know, maybe they cut off slightly, but very different from the evos. And absolutely don't cut off with clap

[mech1369dlw]

Put your howard leight's on, turn them up all the way. Clap your hands together pretty hard chest level, close to the body. If they don't shut down completely, then something is wrong with them. If they do, try when you are using them, turn them about 3/4 of the way up. That will keep out a lot of the background noise without compromising how they work.

[stomp442]

The wife and I use a set of protectors that we purchased from Wal-Mart. They work great and are contoured as such that they don't interfere with cheek weld on the stock. My brother liked them so much he wanted a pair but ended up with the Howard lights. They were junk as well and ended up with a pair of the protectors.

[J.Baker]

I got them on amazon. I'll have to look into sending them back to be checked. I'll do the battery check first. I don't know, maybe they cut off slightly, but very different from the evos. And absolutely don't cut off with clap

Most electronic muffs are louder than traditional muffs as they don't have as good of an NR rating. Reason being is they have to remove dampening material to allow room for the electronics. The slim electronic muffs are the worst, but they're adequate so long as you're not anywhere near anyone shooting with a muzzle brake or hand cannon.