Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What do you tape your barrels with on rainy days?

Not sure if it's worth adding anything to this thread seeing where the page that opened has gone. However, I tape - with plain old cheap black tape, whatever's on hand. I've picked and blown snow out of too many barrels not to. I've also melted out solid plugs of ice on occasion. That ain't no treat considering what a heat sink a standard contour barrel can be. As for rain getting in, had that happen on taped barrels too. It's something to consider and be aware of if the barrel matters to you. I don't carry muzzle-down when there's liquid moisture flying around. Then again, I'm not one to carry with a plugged breach either, so fired, neck-sized, fl-sized, etc don't matter. Barrel obstructions do. Ringed barrels aren't much fun. Tape doesn't solve everything, but it eliminates a lot of trouble. Now I need to figure out a better way of cleaning the snow away from the port before the bolt is opened and allows a shower of chamber wedging crumbs from entering. (And that's one of the reasons I don't size my cases to near snug fit.)

In all honesty, I was very surprised at how EASILY water poured into the barrel of my rifle when I did that test the other day.

It made me seriously question the wisdom of carrying empty, taped, muzzle-down, and in freezing rain conditions. To end up with a barrel FULL of water, or ice, would be a pretty easy thing to accomplish.

Now, that's a lot of variables there that all have to come together simultaneously, I get that, but... just worth mentioning. Those actually are conditions I've hunting in once or twice though I carry "hot" and untaped, so it wasn't a concern.

I never did try a water test with a round in the chamber. I suspect that DJ is right- it'll seal it "good enough" to keep the vast majority of water out.

Only the Remingtons.

otherwise its like cheating on your wife......

Blowing barrels, taking guns into the bathtub, putting condoms on barrels, and to top it off - arguing about who gets the most rain ...


... this is one classy thread.
Think there's a Field & Stream article in here somehwere?

I'll leave that to you girls.

When it rains I go home. You can't track a deer in the swamp when it's raining. It rarely gets below freezing here. Sounds like being a Yankee sucks.

i saw several hundred head of speed goats, bout a hundred mule deer, handful of whitetail and a few elk in 2 days of hunting on public land.....[bleep] sucks to live up here let me tell you.....

I'll be out in my shirt sleeves in Nov, Dec, Jan,Feb. Thanksgiving outside under the oaks, what about you?

I'm looking out my family room windows watching deer right now. So far I have counted 6, in just these few minutes.

You should have rolled down the window and shot one.

There is a difference between hunting and shooting.

only things i shoot from the window are varmints.....my wife collected a good buck after a mile long sneak, i chose not to shoot a dink of a goat though i could have dropped an 8"er on the road and wasnt up to walking the hills after a mulie.....

It sounds like you had a great trip/outing. Congratulations.

it was....first week of the season i had clearance from teh surgeon to head out and hunt since going under the knife in Sept.....was just happy to be out in the hills again.....will get serious next year, just not gonna push it this year and wind up having to go under the knife again....

It is always great to get back in the woods. Good to hear you are doing well.

The zone where I do most all of my hunting, hasn't opened yet. We have split zones and seasons here.

I live almost on the line between zone c and d, where I live is in C, I hunt in D. So the ones out back would be "legal" as c is in season. I have yet to shoot one out the back. Last year I had 4 nice bucks out in the back at one time 3-8's and 1 wanna be eight. It was tempting.

Use a .358. Very likely no tracking, and if there is, .358 rolls out the red carpet for you.

Hate to give him credit Jeff, but it's just possible he was talking about tracking a deer and THEN shooting it when you catch up to it. Foreign concept these days it seems, still hunting...

Every professional guide I've seen in Alaska has tape on his muzzle. While some may not use tape, I've never seen one who does not.

Black tape is over the muzzle and just behind the barrel band sling swivel (not attached to the sling in this photo -- yes, Martha, I have 2 forward sling swivels).

Tape.....duh....(grin)

Blue tape.....because anything else is second best:

Oy, what have I done.... grin....