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I'm a "gun guy", AMA

A couple people had expressed interest in this topic, and I have a bit of extra time for a couple days, so here goes:

Bona fides: I am a former infantry NCO and sniper, hunter, competitive shooter, reloader, hobby gunsmith, sometimes firearms trainer and currently work in a gun shop, mostly on the paperwork/compliance side. Back in the day, was a qualified expert with every standard small arm in the US inventory circa 2003 (M2, 4, 9, 16, 19, 249, 240B, 21, 24, 82 etc.), and today hang around the 75th percentile of USPSA classifications. I've shot Cap-and-Ball, Trap and Sporting Clays badly; Bullseye and PRS somewhat better and IDPA/USPSA/UML/Two-gun with some local success. Been active in the 2A community since the mid-90s, got my first instructor cert in high school, and have held a CPL for almost twenty years now.

I certainly don't claim to be an expert in every aspect of firearms, there's huge areas that escape my knowledge base, but if you've got questions I'll do my best to answer.

Technical questions

Gun control proposals for feasibility

Industry

Training

Wacky opinions

General geekery

Some competition links (not my own) just for the interested.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=U5IhsWamaLY&t=173

https://youtube.com/watch?v=93nEEINflXE

https://youtube.com/watch?v=utcky0zq10E

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xVh4CjbgK7s

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0IK2RUxVq3A

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Is there a functional difference between hp for sustained sounds (ie lawnmower) vs overpressure? Shooting earmuffs I see tend to be much thinner than earmuffs you see at the hardware store.

That's mostly to let people get a better cheek weld on long guns without lifting the muffs off the ear. It still doesn't work all that great, and unless they are pricey, the NRR suffers. If you're only shooting handguns, regular safety muffs may be a good option. Overpressure really isn't an issue for firearms usage.

Is ANC for that level of protection hokum? I see some electronic earbuds that claim (to me) unbelievable NRRs.

I'm not really sure. ANC does cancel sound audibly, but the sound is still happening, so I'm not sure if that can still damage hearing.