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

[BigBill]

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 misses thought she was feeding the deer till I seen the fresh bear scat and tracks in the freshly tiled garden. We finally seen a 400# bear roaming by near the property line. Years later a cub showed up. Very docile and wanted to be friendly. I had no problem but what about the other humans. Not all of us are good hearted. There has been stupid bear shooters for no reason. The sow was in his garage, no real threat so he shot it. Next I had its cub on my property. We left it alone.

Trust me to defend myself I’ll do what I have to do. I worry about two legged humans first.

 

[sparkyvega]

I wouldn't take the chance even with this. But it sure helps quite a bit.

 

[Chukar60]

This may have been asked a hundred times before, but what did shooters do before hearing protection was prevalent? Just go deaf?

Yes. Maybe not deaf but they developed hearing impairments beyond what the average joe did with age.

As for the 460 without protection? Very bad idea. I had a TC Contender with a Super 14 barrel in 7X30 Waters.
One time and one time only did I forget to put the ear protection in. I had a ringing in my ear that made hearing very difficult and it lasted for 3 or 4 days.
I doubt the 460 is any more forgiving of careless acts. Personally, I won’t hunt with anything that absolutely requires hearing protection for just one shot and wont ever wear hearing protection when hunting. You need to be aware of every noise around you.
Your opinions may vary, just my experience

 

[pittpa]

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?

You will have some permanent partial hearing loss. The bear will have permanent total hearing loss.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Oracle]

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?

I use the Triple K Big Thunder scoped torso rig for my 629 6.5" with a Trijicon RMR 2 red dot. They also have the same rig for non-scoped. I really like the Triple K rig much better than the Galco chest holster I already have. The Triple K adjusts in less than 60 seconds to fit, such as wearing hot weather T shirt to wearing very cold weather parka. The Galco adjustment takes much more time and multiple try on then adjust etc.

Don

 

[ruggyh]

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?

In 2015 I shoot a charging grizzly with a 460, I was wearing hearing protection and my guide who was about 12 feet to my left was not. His ears have been ringing ever since.

While i don't want to turn your post into another bear thread. If you don't have the gun in your hands and are not attentive, a charging bear with malice in his eyes is going to get to you before you get a shoot off. Your gun need to be in your hands not in a holster on on your shoulder.

 

[roscoepc]

In non-electric gear, which headsets/ear plugs do you prolific X Frame shooters use?
Non-Adult caliber shooters please respond as well.

Thx
RT

Heh!! "Non-Adult caliber"... That'll git somethin' stirred up!!

I found this info with a quick search, Quote: "The highest NRR rating for earplugs is 33, and the highest available NRR rating for earmuffs is 31. These values reflect the level of noise protection available for each device when worn alone. Combining earplugs with earmuffs can offer a NRR protection level of 36."

Hope this helps!!


Non-Adult.....

 

[Thuer]

I do have a .460XVR. Do please use ear protection.

 

[cmj8591]

WEAR YOUR EARPLUGS!

No, I don't know where you can find slugs!

 

[NYlakesider]

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?

Good question and I think it will not be good for you.

About 25 years ago I shot and killed a nice buck with my Model 29 4'' full powered loads. Of course out hunting no sort of ear protection I wanted to be able to hear things approaching.

After I fired and ascertained the buck was dead I re holstered reflected a few minuets on my good fortune. We were hunting on private property and I knew my buddy would know it was me that fired and come over. About a 1/2 hour later he arrived and came up from behind me and then I finely heard him yelling. He had yelled to me a few times and I never heard him til he was about 10' away. The rumblings in my ears covered up everything.

I could not even begin to hear sort of decent for at least 2 hours and that was with plenty of background noise that garbled a lot. It took 2 days to fully regain my hearing and I had headaches for about the same time. Since then I have had bouts of tinnitus on and off. Sometimes its not too bad and other times its rather nasty.

 

[geekeye]

i don't have a 460, but i can tell you that my muzzle braked rifle is significantly louder than similarly powerful guns without a brake. all my emergency use guns are un-braked in case i don't have time to put ear pro on.

 

[Darkenfast]

Regarding the whole "bear defense" scenario, There's a study that shows a wide variety of handguns being successfully used to stop a bear attack. It seems that being able to get hits quickly and accurately does matter. The study has been posted several times in similar threads here.

This is different from "hunting", where an ethical one-shot kill at longer ranges is desirable.

My opinion (and it is just that, issued from the safety of my armchair), is that any reasonably powerful handgun with the right ammunition that you can use quickly, repeatably, and accurately at short range may be a better choice than something that might work better in a hunting scenario. Each individual must make that choice for themselves.

For me, that would probably mean a Glock Model 20/40 or a Smith and Wesson 686+ (probably four-inch). That's based on MY history of drawing, handling, and shooting long-slide Glocks and L-frames.

Your experience may vary.

 

[505Gibbs]

This is similar to the other end of the spectrum when hunting large dangerous game in Africa with big bore rifles.
If your keester is on the line you'll never feel the recoil!
I'd guess the same would apply here if staring down a large bear - but its the blast that will be immediately forgotten.

 

[mauser9]

Overall sounds expensive and an incredible waste of money.

 

[LennyLames]

I hunt deer with my 14" 460XVR up north. I always use a minimum of active noise reduction (ANR) ear muffs.

The ear muffs keep my ears warm. I can hear better than with bare ears. Sound direction is not compromised since each cup has its own microphone. I can hear the rustle of leaves and branches and know which direction any sound is coming from.

But it's really not sufficient for the 460XVR. I insert passive ear plugs into my ears and use the ANR on top. I turn the volume up on the ANR so I can still hear sounds through the passive plugs.

They don't come off unless there's no chance of shooting, e.g., when indoors. I don't want to be caught unprotected in case I need to shoot quickly so fortunately, I can't answer how deaf you'll end up.

 

[reddog81]

I would expect a full strength .460 load to cause some permanent damage. Most loads are operating around 55,000 PSI and obviously pushing a bullet way past the speed of sound. When it comes to noise level it’s basically a short barreled rifle with a barrel cylinder gap to make it even louder.

 

[rincar]

Tis better to be a little deaf and with tinnitus than to end up as Bear poop. A shorter Barrel like a 5 or six inch might be easier to handle and Quicker on the draw

 

[3rdgeargrndrr]

I would rather have tinnitus instead of being a memory and name on a cross surrounded by a bunch of flowers on the side of a trail.