Carrying with a baby - how to not destroy their hearing?

[AlaskaTRX]

So the wife and I are expecting and I have been thinking about life after it is born (don't know which sex yet), and once the child is old enough I'd like to pack it around hiking and possibly fishing. Given that I live in Alaska and usually carry a 500 S&W Mag, I think that even if I win the battle with a brownie, I'll lose the war in the permanent hearing loss department if I have to fire in anger.

Are there comfortable hearing protection devices for kids that young? I know that for flying we'll have to find something (small Peltor?), but I'm not sure what is out there. I figured since a lot of you guys have already done the fatherhood thing this would be the obvious place to ask...

I'm not going to go unarmed, so maybe this means no solo trips and just have the wife trail behind with the child...

[D5CAV]

I wouldn't worry about it.

I assume you aren't asking about taking the baby to the target range while you put 100 rounds downrange with the .500 S&W?

Even in wild Alaska, I assume you are not blowing away a goblin or grizzly more than once a year with your sidearm?

From a statistical perspective, your baby is not with you 24/7, nor do you see a goblin/ bear every time you take baby out in the tram.

I figure you are not unlimbering your S&W .500 unless you or your loved ones are at grievous risk of bodily harm, so if the choice is between killing goblin/ bear or losing a few dB of hearing, the goblin/ bear gets it.

[arctictom]

I carry a 45-70 , it creates less noise than my 460 smith , ymmv, my kids were taught to retreat behind mom or dad if threatened , dad stands away from mom and kids and towards threat, very little ones are in a pack on dads back , the best I can do in bear country, they are all alive now and in their 30's, with hearing intact .
Never had to shoot a bear with kids in tow , but we have confronted maybe 5 or 6 , this process works for me.
Good luck lad.

[Aesop]

I recognize that Shit Happens, but at some point, one would sort of think that not packing a papoose into the middle of a likely shitstorm would be a prudent course.



Then again, I have to reconcile common sense with every episode of Rescue911 or COPS; or the fact that Disneyland, with 5-6 rather violent roller coasters or the equivalent, 9 water rides, 3 flying rides, 10 driving rides, and spinning teacups is overrun by more strollers and crying infants than anyplace but the local metroplex when a new R-rated feature premiers, so...

[Netpackrat]

Realistically speaking, the odds of needing to dump a bear are pretty low. Hearing loss is just a risk you have to take. Having the wife trail behind far enough to mitigate the sound of gunshots is a non-starter... Did you see the article in the ADN about the woman that got mauled on base by the sow with cubs? They came at her from out of the brush on the side of the trail, no warning at all. We did the hiking thing with the baby exactly once the first year and would not do it again. Out on the trail with a crying baby and nothing left to do but keep hiking is not so good.

The worst part by far is the mosquitoes. You can't use a very effective repellant because the baby will rub it in his eyes or ingest it. I think it's probably best to leave them at home until they are old enough to start getting some sense.

I recognize that Shit Happens, but at some point, one would sort of think that not packing a papoose into the middle of a likely shitstorm would be a prudent course.

The odds of needing to shoot anything are honestly pretty damn low. In all the years of fishing with our dad, I don't think we ever actually saw a bear other than maybe crossing the road in front of our vehicle. They are always around, but usually they do a pretty good job of staying out of the way. We probably came closer to being done in by this stupid porcupine that our dad decided it would be funny to knock out of a tree (and into the river next to our inflatable boat), but fortunately his better judgement eventually prevailed on that one and nobody had to go swimming.

[Aglifter]

460 Rowland with a suppressor?

[Weetabix]

The worst part by far is the mosquitoes. You can't use a very effective repellant because the baby will rub it in his eyes or ingest it. I think it's probably best to leave them at home until they are old enough to start getting some sense.

We used to get little denim jackets and hose them with repellent and hose the backpack. It didn't stop all of the mosquitoes, but there was no repellent in the babies' eyes that way. Plus, the jackets were cute.

[Greg]

The worst part by far is the mosquitoes. You can't use a very effective repellant because the baby will rub it in his eyes or ingest it. I think it's probably best to leave them at home until they are old enough to start getting some sense.

We used to get little denim jackets and hose them with repellent and hose the backpack. It didn't stop all of the mosquitoes, but there was no repellent in the babies' eyes that way. Plus, the jackets were cute.

Little windbreakers might work.

Those wristbands that are supposed to protect you like a flea collar protects a dog from fleas? Don't work.

(I live adjacent to parkland that spends part of the year as soggy floodplain - there are a couple of sluggish creeks that empty into the Passaic River that always overflow. When it floods during warm weather, just getting to the car from my front door is like a scene from Hitchcock's 'The Birds', just with very small birds.)

[Weetabix]

Little windbreakers might work.

The good repellents eat plastics. That's why you apply them to organics like cotton or... skin.