>>”You’ve made a couple of good points so far (shot size and ear muffs).<<
Ear muffs?
It doesn’t make sense to handicap yourself by eliminating one of your best advantages in a low-light/high stress situation.
I have permenant damage to my hearing because of unprotected firing. I'll take that minor handicap in a tactical situation, since without hearing protection, you will be deaf after the first shot in an enclosed space anyway.
/johnny