Once you start making regular pilgrimages to your gun range, you’ll quickly find that the extra cans most ranges supply leave something to be desired. Cleanliness, for one thing. I mean, nobody sits around making sure the earmuffs you pick up are free of sweat, body oils, Brylcreem, or for that matter, head lice. (Yeeeck!) You’ll also find that while cans are great for protecting your hearing while shooting, the very thing that makes them keep loud sounds out, keep you from hearing things like people talking next to you, instructions from the range master, et cetera. Of course, necessity being the Mother of Invention (the late, great Frank Zappa notwithstanding), inventors came to the rescue with earmuffs designed with stereo mics and a limiter function that allows any sounds under 85dB to be heard, while anything above is clamped down.
Technological solutions are usually good news. That is, until you find out what a little slice of tech heaven costs. Mic-enhanced cans can run upwards of $150 smackers per pair. So it was with a great deal of enthusiasm that I discovered Caldwell’s entry into the fray, the E-Max Electronic Earmuffs.
