okiecat Wrote:So I could accomplish the same end with a good compensator and a good set of electronic muffs and save a $1000. I shoot alone 95% of the time so not going to bother anybody else. Ill just use my can on subsonic 300BLK and 22lr.
Yes, you get more hearing protection from a good set of muffs, and/or plugs, than a suppressor by itself. Suppressor owners who use them without ear protection are wishful thinkers.
Whether you need electronic muffs when on your own is down to whether you want to hear anything else at the time, like wildlife when hunting. Otherwise you can save more $$$ by just using old-school non electronic muffs, and enjoy the silence. I carry both types in my bag and when by myself just use a big set of clunky old-school muffs with extra cotton wool shoved inside. Bilsolm used to stuff their Vikings with proprietary sound absorption material to 'up' the rating until people started to complain it was like fibreglass and made their ears itch. Probably was fibreglass. Cotton wool works too. There are muffs and muffs - Some muffs are only 20db rated, but the larger ones will be closer to 30db.
If you want to think of it as a zero sum game; either one or the other, then definitely go with the muffs and plugs. I prefer to think of suppressors as complementing hearing protection however. Reducing sound at the source (the gun) complements the muffs and plugs you wear at the same time. I use all three when I can, but never suppressors on their own, unless it is a .22LR.
If you have a 30cal Blackout suppressor that fits the threads on your .22LR then why not give it a go for giggles. A bit big for a .22 and there will be more clearance around the bullet but it will diminish sound for sure. The suppressed 22LR will definitely be closer to hearing safe. If you've ever shot a 22LR with subsonic ammo with a suppressor then that is more like Hollywood.
As for projecting the blast back to the firer by using a brake and then expecting your ear muffs to cope. Good quality muffs will, even better when used with plugs.