Axil Trackr Electronic Earmuffs

Hearing protection is a mandatory part of shooting, recently, I lost my Peltor earmuffs and went looking for something else. I have always liked this brand and spoke to importers GMK Ltd about getting a replacement. “No problem, but you might want to take a look at these first”, Imogen Waktare (Marketing Executive) told me, “we’ll be sending down a set of AXIL Trackr Electronic, Bluetooth Earmuffs to test.”

Active or passive?

The Trackr’s are an active system, in that they use microphones to enhance your hearing, which is useful for all sorts of shooting environments. However, they also react to gunshots and shut down instantly, so your hearing is protected. Equally, if you’re out hunting, the bonus is your acuity is also enhanced, something that has aided me in the past.

The fashion these days sees muffs with slimmer ear cups, which is not always a good thing as they need to seal 100% to the sides of your head for maximum efficiency. The Trackr’s strike a practical compromise, as they are comfortably deep enough to do the job properly, but not bulky. They feature replaceable, silicon pads, which as I discovered, enhance that all-important sealing.

Looking good

They come in an attractive olive drab finish, with a wide, height-adjustable, and comfortable headband, plus include a phone/ media jack cable. The lower section of the cups are slightly relieved, doubtless to clear the gun butt. Given you wear them with the controls on the right, there are two recessed microphones (one in each cup) with the jack point down and forward. Two AAA batteries (not included) sit under a clip-off cover on the top left cup.

Controls consist of a good-sized roller (ON/ OFF/Volume) in a recess in the middle right for hearing protection mode. Behind this is a slim slotted volume roller for Bluetooth (BT) use. Top forward is the BT connecting button for this function and it’s easy to connect to, with a blue LED behind to show when it’s ON. This controls phone and audio by a simple set of press options (see instruction sheet) and allows phone pairing and all call options; answer, reject, end, last number redial, hold/waiting. In audio mode, just play and pause.

In use

In use, they proved comfortable and practical, making a good seal, and not fouling on the butt comb under recoil, which can move them away from the head and let in dangerous sound levels. They are rated to shut off at 85 dB and above, I used unmoderated .30-06 and .270 Win rifles on an enclosed firing point and the trackers offered full protection. The active circuitry proved practical and enhances hearing up to 8x, with the advantage of being able to hear range commands etc. Throw in the price and the fact you can connect and use a smartphone for communication and music etc, and they are quite a bargain.