460 XVR In An Emergency - How Deaf Will I End Up?

dwever

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A local store here in Alaska has the 460 XVER in an 83/8 inch barrel and I am considering purchase for Bear protection.

We hunt in Collinsville once a year and encountered a griz and a black bear last year while moose hunting on separate days, each time from a good distance. The grizzly is now in my buddy’s den.

We get around on six wheelers with my 338 Win Mag across my back which is not quickly accessible for a shot in a bear attack. I’m considering the 460 with a Galco chest holster for a real put down weapon over the hot loaded 10mm I currently wear.

Should I ever discharge that thing without ear protection is that permanent damage to my hearing pretty much?
 

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We have not talked about bear guns in forever. :)

Two thoughts immediately come to mind - a rifle scabbard for quicker access, or some form of hearing protection such as earplugs that cut off noise above a certain dB threshold. Of course, if you just want a .460 that is no problem either.

Do you fire your .338 without hearing protection?
 
Everyone likes bear gun threads. But this is more of an ear gun thread than a bear gun thread. Jus' sayin'....

I'm skipping the gun advice part........

Here's the deal. You know that the .460 is loud. But if there's a choice between saving your life and some hearing loss I think the former idea is your real plan. Will you damage your hearing a little? Likely. Especially if you fire it more than once. The long barrel will be somewhat helpful in diminishing the decibels in front of your face.

Many years ago, whilst deer hunting, I was carrying an old H&R 9 shot, 2" .22 caliber revolver. As the day wore on and I was returning to camp, annoyed and bored, I took some target practice with it in a grove surrounded by trees. No ear protection. It was deafening, especially because the sound came back to me due to the trees. My ears rang all evening. That is just one incident in a lifetime of shooting guns and I'm sure it contributed to my tinnitus but so did every other shot I ever fired, indoors or outside, with or without ear protection. Mostly with ear protection for that matter but it doesn't matter, there's bone conduction, too, and it is cumulative. So one or two shots from a .460 to save your life or someone else's is just a small drop in the decibel bucket of your lifetime of shooting. I wouldn't spend a lot of time worrying about it even if the likelihood of a bear is higher than in downtown Dallas, Texas. ;)

For the record, my bear gun is a Model 25 in .45 Colt. Should I happen to be in bear country - which is exceedingly unlikely. :D
 
The answer is, perhaps.

You might end up with Tinnitus, a ringing in your ears that may not go away (ask me how I know).

Why not go out with some ear plugs, not the typical earphones we wear at the range? You can get used to those and still hear everything - they just might take the edge off a really, really loud sound that you're close to.
 
I live with black bears nearby. I usually wear a 357, 41, or 44 revolver while hiking, but that's mostly for mean dogs. Our NM bears are a lot more afraid of people than people are of them. A few injuries a decade happen, usually with folks sleeping in remote areas.
 
To somewhat play of the "need an ar15" thread but an AR pistol in .50 Beowulf, .458 SOCOM, or any of the other big ones, with a 10 round magazine mounted in a holster on an ATV would serve well.
 
I always carry a pair of electronic ears when I am handgun hunting. A good pair will actually enhance you hearing, and protect your hearing if you shoot. Keep your ears warm too.

I have worn ear muffs for so many years on various ranges, and while just shooting in general, that wearing them seems like second nature. Usually not when hunting with a .22 rifle, and sometimes not with a centerfire rifle either, but that is why I hear crickets in February...

Larry
 
That 8 3/4” 460 is no quicker to get into action than the 338 slung on your back, so this seems to me to be an itch looking for an excuse to scratch.

Buy it if its calling.

The noise is a big deal: probably won’t deafen you outright but you risk lifetime tinnitus. That’s no minor annoyance: the CEO of Texas Roadhouse committed suicide because of it in the past week.
 
If you are seriously concerned about your hearing. Invest $400 for some Otto ear buds. They work great and have 2 modes. With one they protect your hearing but amplify ambient sounds. Great for listening to nature. Otto has a MAP of $399, but if you PM me, I can tell you where to get 10% off.


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Every round you fire of high velocity ammo without ear protection will have a negative impact on your hearing; mostly in the high frequency range. Some of that you won't miss at all, eventually some you will. I fired a few rounds of 106mm recoilless rifle and 50 cal MG without hearing protection many years ago (we were tough in those days. . .and stupid) and I can still hear. . . .a little. Oddly enough, and rambling here a bit, that might have saved my life as afterwards I couldn't pass a flight physical so no pilot training for me. Life expectancy for UH-1 pilots wasn't all that long at the time so maybe just as well. A couple of 460 rounds to save your butt from a griz isn't going to be a big deal. Go ahead, buy that 460. Mine has been in the safe for years; sighted it in once, that was enough for me. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA #1457
 
I shot a 460 once, WITH hearing protection.
I felt the concussive THUMP when that thing went off - hit me right in the chest.
I'm thinking with no ear protection hearing damage would be a given.
But as others have said, better deaf than dead.
 
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We have not talked about bear guns in forever. :)

Do you fire your .338 without hearing protection?

Only without a muzzle break.

That 8 3/4” 460 is no quicker to get into action than the 338 slung on your back, so this seems to me to be an itch looking for an excuse to scratch. .

Well that’s just wrong on both points, but it’s always cute to shade motives we have no idea about. Occasionally I’ll use my gun boot for the rifle. You can see the boot frame on the six wheeler left side.
 

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I live with black bears nearby. I usually wear a 357, 41, or 44 revolver while hiking, but that's mostly for mean dogs. Our NM bears are a lot more afraid of people than people are of them. A few injuries a decade happen, usually with folks sleeping in remote areas.
 
My local outdoor range has a roof guns are very loud. I shot a blackbear in the wilds with a 338 win.mag. I never heard the shot. I guess it’s the open air that absorbs the noise. I took a practice shot with it on top of a mountain the blast rolled across the cloud cover so bad the whole town heard that shot. It never bothered my ears. But at 70 yo I’m losing some hearing. But I can hear most of the time.

I wonder if the German and newer American army helmets with the angled flared out sides deflect some of the noise.
 
This may have been asked a hundred times before, but what did shooters do before hearing protection was prevalent? Just go deaf?
 
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