Gun & Hunting Tidbits
By Bill Hanus
www.billhanusbirdguns.com

"How much it costs has nothing to do with how much it is worth..."
Anne Perry, WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE
But . . . when you can put a lot of the "fun" back into the hunting function for about $50 . . why not check it out?
Now Hear this: Hearing damage is gradual, subtle, cumulative and permanent! Normal conversation is in the 60-65 dB level, with the threshold of pain (where the damage starts) about 140 dB. Care to hazard a guess what a shotgun blast is? A 12 or 20 gauge with a 28" barrel is 152 dB. Shorter or ported barrels have even higher dB scores.
The dilemma is obvious. Hearing is an essential element of the bird hunting experience, so hearing protection that deadens all sound is worthless in the field. You need to hear your dog's bell when you are working heavy cover. You want to hear a lost quail calling for its covey - or a rooster clattering up through standing corn on a windy day.
The hearing protection that lets in normal conversation and hunting sounds that you want to hear, but blocks out shotgun blasts you don't want to hear, is called a "sonic' ear plug. It has a tiny valve imbedded in soft silicone that shuts when a loud sound wave - like a shotgun blast - comes along. These are commonly available in sporting goods store and discount stores. I bought some Silencio® Super Sound Baffler Earplugs at Wal-Mart for $6.82. The package plainly states that they have an "Internal valve that protects again impulse sound," which is what you want to accomplish. But be careful, similarly packaged earplugs without the "sonic" valve feature (usually cheaper) are hanging nearby. They won't work for you. They deaden all sound.
We live in a world filled with "toxic noise." Now that you know what you can do to help protect your family and hunting buddies from Acoustic Trauma, better put yourself down for a couple of pairs - say $20.
"This stuff is a miracle. . ." The August 2002 issue of The Thompson Collector" - the Official Journal of the Thompson (Submachine Gun) Collectors Association - contains an interesting article by Larry Arnold relating to Clenzoil® which you will want to add to your store of knowledge about gun cleaning and protection:
To those who know about it, it was like being in a secret club. It is truly a one-step bore cleaner-lubricant-protectant, great for lock, stock and barrel. it is the only cleaner I've ever encountered that is also great on wood and leather. Yeah, I know, it starts sounding like snake oil, but once you've tried Clenzoil® it's quite likely you Will never return to whatever you used to think was the greatest. Clenzoil doesn't swell wood stocks, and refuses to draw dift up the end-grain, where the stock and receiver meet It doesn't rot leather, like most petroleum-based products. It nourishes leather holsters, slings and scabbards, making even relics look new.
The inventor of Clenzoil - Ellis Christian Lenz - was a friend of mine, so I've known the Clenzoil secret for almost 40 years. I pack a bottle with every Bill Hanus Birdgun I ship. Clenzoil is available at 800/OIL-IT-UP or at www.clenzoil.com. - and it adds about $15 to our running tab of functionally "fun" ideas.
Broaden your scope of inquiry If it's true that a man can't have too many places to hunt, then Black's 2003 WING & CLAY Directory is the essential tool for the search. The new edition lists 1,471 hunting destina