Range Allies Custom Hearing Protection

Gene and I had been using electronic ear muffs for years, but we decided it was finally time to break free. We had found Sharon from Range Allies on social media and we knew it was fate when we happened to be working the same shooting conference earlier this year. Range Allies is an authorized provider for E.A.R., Inc. which offers several custom ear plug options from basic form fitted ear plugs all the way up to high end electronic plugs. Sharon has been trained on how to fit a product she creates from start to finish or to fit a product with a laboratory impression for the lab to create. She also has been trained on how to recognize a healthy vs unhealthy ear in order to proceed and have a successful fit with the molding process. With her training background we knew our hearing was safe in her hands.

The first decision we had to make was to choose which type of plugs we were going to get. We aren't rich (we wish), so we skipped the electronic plugs and opted for plugs with filters that would allow us to be able to hear more than the basic custom plug. The filters were important to us since we are safety officers and we needed to be able to hear without sacrificing hearing protection.

Once we chose the type of plugs we wanted, the next step was the fun part...choosing a color. I mean, I am a girl, so that was a little tricky because they have so many colors to choose from. I wanted something with a little bling that would also match our shooting jerseys, so I opted for red glitter. Gene went patriotic and chose red, white, and blue. He definitely couldn't go wrong with that, GO USA!

Once Sharon checked our ears out to make sure they were good to go, she mixed up the product and injected it into our ears. We were not allowed to talk for 10 minutes while the product formed and for anyone that knows me, that is a hard feat to accomplish. Luckily, we were both able to make it through that process with flying colors. Since we both chose filters, our ear plugs were sent off to the lab to have the filters installed.

We waited patiently for the plugs to be finished and were super excited when they finally got delivered. Of course, we tried them out at the house. No way we could wait until we got to the range. It took just a minute to figure out how to put them in our ears, but of course now we are pros. I mean these plugs are super comfy and they look great! I can't believe we waited so long to get some custom plugs made.

Since the moment we started using these, we haven't looked back. With these plugs, we can hear range commands and hold a conversation. The plugs protect our ears from the loud gunfire which is obviously the most important part. I suffer from migraines that are generally triggered by loud noises and since using these plugs they have greatly reduced the headaches! Keep in mind that our plugs are not electronic, so we can't hear quite as clearly as we used to, but we can hear more than enough without sacrificing safety. Also, since we always wear a GoPro Session to capture first person video, wearing ear plugs keeps one extra gadget off the top of our heads. Gene always complained that the "muff" type of hearing protection made his ears sweat so he loves wearing his custom plugs because of how comfortable they are.

Sharon fits a lot of people with custom plugs that do various types of shooting and a lot of people choose the non-filtered versions so she has been anxious to see how the dual stage filtered plugs work with the type of shooting we do. Since we shoot 3 gun, 2 gun and IDPA we do a lot of shooting next to barricades and sometimes in confined areas with extremely loud rifles it was going to be interesting to see how these plugs worked with that much noise reflecting off of the walls and barricades. We can honestly say that they work as well (if not better) than ear muff styled hearing protection that we have used.

The benefits of these custom ear plugs are numerous. They offer a custom fit, replaceable filters, custom colors and they have a removable lanyard for ease of use. I prefer using mine without the lanyard and Gene prefers his with the lanyard. They come in a handy plastic case to make them easy to pack in our range bag and the case has an area where you can write your contact info on in case you lose them. Another huge benefit is that they are very low profile as they sit flush with the inner part of your ear. If you have ever shouldered a rifle or shotgun quickly and accidentally bumped your muff style hearing protection and knocked them slightly off of your ear and then you take that first shot, well, you know the importance of these being low profiled!

We are super happy with our decision to have these custom plugs made by Sharon at Range Allies and have really enjoyed using them.

SHOT Show 2018 Preparation

Well, it's THAT time of year again! SHOT Show 2018 in Las Vegas is next week and are ALMOST ready to head out this Saturday. Just like last year we will be driving and pulling our travel trailer with us! The trip last year was really enjoyable and we saved a ton of money by staying in our RV at the Oasis RV Resort in Vegas. The only problem with this year's trip is we have been faced with a few unexpected obstacles that have really hampered our ability to plan and prepare for this years trip!

We have actually gotten a lot done that we have been wanting to do to prepare for the trip after some of the lessons that we have learned after last years trip and after a solid year of a lot of camping trips. In planning a trip of this magnitude [pulling a travel trailer from Austin, TX to Las Vegas, NV and back] we not only have to prepare our truck, which is a 2014 Ford F150 Super Crew twin turbo V6, we also have to prepare our RV, which is a 2011 27' Palomino Puma travel trailer. If you follow us on Instagram then you are familiar with them both since we post a lot about our camping trips....a lot!!! So, with all of the regular planning and preparation comes some unexpected obstacles. 2 weeks ago we had problems with the truck's steering which turned out to be a problem with our control arms and also an alignment was needed. 2 days in the shop later and it was done! The only problem with this was it delayed us from getting airbags for our rear suspension installed. The place that we had the airbags installed were gracious enough to squeeze us in and they got it done in a day. The airbags are a great help since our truck is lifted and the rear end squats a lot with the weight of the trailer put on it. We have also been needing to adjust our weight distribution hitch which would also help with the sagging.

Now I am generally very eager to break out the hand tools and tackle a job like this but that brings me to the next obstacle that caused our plans to stall. At Christmas, my Mom came down with a strain of the Asian flu and was hospitalized because of it. Unfortunately, I came down with it the day after New Year's day. It came out of nowhere and it hit me hard. I felt like I was on the brink of death for several days and ran a fever almost the entire time. As you know with the flu, you will start feeling better and then BAM...it knocks you back down. This past weekend I finally built up the courage to make the necessary adjustments to our hitch, and then I paid the price later once the exhaustion set in. Every year we pray we do not get sick right before SHOT Show and every year we have been fortunate enough not to get sick. Christy started coming down with something but she recovered quickly. This flu has totally wiped me out and I have been not been very helpful when it comes to getting ready. Thank God I am married to Super Woman and she has kicked it into overdrive after coming out of the busiest season at her job.

Other than needing an oil change, the truck is done and now we move onto the travel trailer. We have been having problems with the electric brakes on the RV and it turned out that the brakes were okay but the wheel bearings were shot and needed to be replaced. That was a major expense that was unexpected but it had to be done. Next, we had to replace the tires because they are original to the trailer and were really starting to look worn. At least Discount Tire Company worked us out a deal on a new set of tires which helped our budget! Even the spare tires on the back are new, but I can only hope that we do not have the opportunity to use them!

One thing that actually was pretty effortless for us was ordering extra shooting jerseys to wear at SHOT. G2 Gemini Jerseys really came through with us and sped up our order so we could get the jerseys in time. We joined the Team Tuff shooting team [sponsored by our friends at Tuff Products] this past year and we are excited to be representing them and our other sponsors at SHOT Show! We can't wait to meet our other teammates as well.

Finally, the biggest and worst thing that we are dealing with right now and that could cancel our trip altogether is our sick dog, Heather. We found her as a stray in 2005 and she has been a huge part of our family ever since. She is a small cocker spaniel with a big heart! She is the Momma dog and she has taken care of us, protected us and loved us every day since we found her. She became sick about the same time that I did [ironically] and has been feeling really bad and we are having a hard time getting her to eat. Three trips to the vet, bloodwork, an ultrasound, and a ton of medication later they still aren't sure what to do to make her feel better. We are taking this really hard especially since we lost our boxer, Cooper, around this same time two years ago. We are praying that she can pull out of this and soon since we are supposed to leave this weekend. She is our baby and we do not like seeing her like this. She is the most important thing to us right now and whether or not we actually get to go to Vegas this year is totally dependent on how she is doing by this weekend. Any prayers that y'all can send would be greatly appreciated.

And did I mention that we STILL have our Christmas decorations up? Maybe we need to hire an

assistant!