Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Question for bivy hunters

What do you do to protect your weapon (rifle, bow) from weather while sleeping? I've got 2 weeks to figure that one out. Would slipping it into a garbage bag work or would that be a bit too crude?

I would imagine that would do the trick. I usually just leave it outside, but then I'm rarely worried about rain; it's either dry snow or just plain dry most of the time where I recreate. You could also just stick a rifle in your bivy sack outside of your sleeping bag if you're not a "roll around" type of sleeper.

Two weeks might be cutting it close, but look at this: Kifaru Rifle Rain Cover

(Scroll down to the middle of the page)

Leave it under a short pine/spruce tree.

That's exactly what I do. I bring two garbage bags along anyway to use to keep meat off the ground when I bone it out so they're already on hand.

Tape on the muzzle, leaning against a tree. Or tarp your sleeping area.

This year I'm going with a bivy and siltarp. My pack, boots, and rifle will stay dry w/o having to bag them, and I can change clothes and eat meals out of the weather.

I just leave my bow on the ground or under a tree next to me. For rifle, i'd lean it against a tree or log, but would have the barrel end protected with a finger cot or tape.

I slip my rifle into a silicone impregnated gun sock then try to keep it off of the ground and out of the rain/snow any way that I can. Placing it under a blue spruce works but often I just take it into the bivvy with me.

KC

I lean it under a tree or throw my pack on it. I'm not packing extra weight for that

Used that combination *alot* (only with a military tarp) and it works very well indeed...I have no idea how big the siltarp is, but I'd still take a long a few trash bags as sometimes its nice to be able to put stuff outside if you want a bit more living space...

I keep my rifle within reach. That either means on the ground next to me, or hanging from a tree next to me. And a trash bag will protect it, if it rains or snows.

Kifaru Rifle Rain Cover. E

A cover is a good idea. Last year it rained on me in the evening and froze at night. Before I went to bed I took the ammo out and let down the firing pin (bolt action) like I store it at home. I also had a bipod so I set it out on the legs. Apparently if you put all that togeather you can get a gun frozen on fire in the morning. The bolt and safety worked but as soon as I put it on fire it would drop the firing pin. It's a real good thing I'm use to doing functions tests on my guns before loading them.

In the winter I usually take a few MRE heaters just in case which worked well to get it working again. I probably had a 1/4 cup of water drip out the trigger guard.

I use a tarp, since my bivy gets my bag just a little damp...it's about 25 years old and has a coated floor & gore top, the bivy technology today may be way beyond what I presently use.

Jerry

Let me guess, Remington action ? E

Yep, Remington...how'd ya know?

I've had a few problems with them. Basically, water will run down the safety lever and into the action. There it gets mixed with the dust/dirt than has gotten in the same way. Even if it doesn't freeze, it can do bad things to the trigger and safety. I've also had the bolt releases jam and not been able use the bolt stop.
What I did with my 660 actioned, back packing rifle, was to to convert it to an M70 safety and plug the safety gap. Seems to work. E

I use the Kifaru Pack cover and their rifle cover too. The rifle cover is what you need for keeping the gun dry at night outside of a tent.

I also like to have a big contractors bag or two with me. Though I like space blankets better for keeping meat out of the dirt.

For a cheap option you could use a compactor trash bag & spray some WD-40 in it. You would want to wipe down the gun every eve before you did that, keeping it as dry as possible. Make sure the bags are big enough. I use these inside non-waterproof packs for clothes, sleeping bags & such on canoe trips & it works good. I double them up for these trips but a single layer would be OK for a gun sock.

And other alternatives are a Tyvek gun sock made w/ Tyvek Tape seems. Not very durable but would work for a season or two.

Or you could sew up some nylon coated material to protect it from the elements. Again, that material doesn't breath so you would want to wipe the gun down each eve make sure it stays dry &/or use silicon oil / WD.

I've made several pack covers with rip-stop nylon coated material, it works for about 5 years and I customize it to my packs. Just some cheaper ideas for you. I think I would go with the Tyvek system myself. You could go to anywhere they are building a house and get a scrap piece. The tape is expensive but it is the most excellent tape & can be put to heaps of uses, that's if you can find it.

Can't get any cheaper, more compact, or easier to find than a plastic garbage bag. I almost always pack several, for whatever - often sliding one over my backpack, out in the weather...

The fashion polize hardly ever show up in a bivy camp....