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

The wisdom of a guy who couldn't tell a push feed from a controlled feed action...

never taped one cause of rain or cold.....as i said they in general arent a worry of mine.....have had dirt get in a muzzle and the gun was in the pickup cause of muddy boots there was mud on the floor....standard practice out hunting when driving between walking spots is to wedge your gun between the seat and center console muzzle down.....couple real bumpy spots and one of the rifles happened to slip down and get shoved into some mud.....glad i noticed it and happened to have a cleaning kit in the truck.....

the tape helps keep stupid lil chit like that from happening and helps protect the crown....is it necessary? no but those that dont see the point likely dont hunt in places where footing can be iffy at best, dangerous at worst....rain isnt a concern other crap is.....

If you hit the end of the barrel hard enough to damage the crown, tape ain't gonna prevent it.

I guess it will keep stuff out of the bbl., but I'm still waiting on that bee...

protects it from the lil stuff that does the real damage to most crowns anyway.....

Pass the black electrical tape please....


The very first time you say "It ain't gonna happen to me" you'll be walking your arse back to camp with a tube full of chit..

Why would anyone NOT want to use it should be the real question.

No downside to taping, lots of downsides to not taping. That you don't at times suprises me none. As I've said before you ain't the brightest tool in the shed.

JohnMoses:

I've got a solution for you since you don't like tape and you are still waiting for that bee to go into your barrel...

Get a squeeze bottle of Sue Bee honey from the grocery and put a nice squirt of honey inside the end of your barrel. It'll keep the dirt and rain out of the rest of your barrel. And if you are patient you might be able to kill two or three bees at once. If the bees don't show, you might want to suck the honey out before you take your next shot. LOL

This could give new meaning to to term "a real sweet shooter".

(Disclaimer: Kids, don't try any of this at home, really).

Some folks bee stupider than others...............DJ

Dancing Bear has the answer. Exactly what I do.
Bear in Fairbanks

If you spiral the tape off the end of the barrel to a sharp point you will have a higher ballistic coefficient.

It will take experimentation to determine the best twist-rate for a particular weight bullet.

In heavy freezing-rain type conditions, which I will admit are rare but I have spent the day hunting in them... wouldn't a muzzle-taper have to worry about water getting in the bore from the breech end, being prevented from escaping by the tape, and freezing into a "plug"?

I guess for some people, in some conditions, falling and plugging a bore is a valid concern. Haven't felt the need myself but I won't argue that other's don't. But for RAIN, as the OP was asking, chit I hunt in the rain all day long, did it several times this last season.. the rifle gets soaked. I'm sure there was no end to the water that entered the breech of my gun and ran out the muzzle. No big deal.

In fact several deer I've shot, I clearly rememeber getting a facefull of droplets from the bolt/breech area when I fired the rifle!

Anyway. Won't argue that tape makes sense on some level but, on THAT level, so do service contracts on your phookin' new DVD player or AFLAC (insurance on your insurance) and generally speaking I don't play the game that way.

Why am I not surprised? You don't see lots of things that are obvious.

Had to go back to the trailer one year on opening morning because I took aq spill off a mule and mud ended up in the barrel. Another time I crawled 100 yards on my back, pushing myself headfirst through snow and sage and catus with my feet. I managed to keep the barrel clear of snow and debris until I sat upright to take a shot. Fortunately the bull was very patient, but I was lucky. Tape would have been an easy solution in both situations.

Also, I'm guessing you don['t get much freezing rain in Florida. Ice build up in our barrel will change you mind quickly.

We don't worry too much about ice build up. We'll leave that to you boys.

I suppose, I'm just more particular about where my muzzle is/goes. And yes, mine has seen the muddy pick up dog hunt days, in and out of a pick up with a rifle muzzle down in the floor. It's never been a problem and if it was, I'd just clean it out. No big deal. And yes, we do have lots of mud and clay here for some slippery footing and muddy boots. But I'm happy for you, that you have it all worked out.

Put a small blue party balloon over the muzzle. Red, yellow, orange, green, pink, etc will simply not work at all. Mostly I don't worry about it, but with a muzzle brake on my elk rifle, falling snow becomes an issue. Then I go to the blue balloon.

Red tape MUST be used in the Southern Hemisphere...

What's all that blue stuff on your sling?

Uh No. The breech end is pretty well sealed by the bolt and chambered round......................DJ

Blue's OK on the sling, but should never be used on the barrel

OK, got it.

Sealed against WATER!? All day in the rain? With gravity assisting it (I carry muzzle-down)?!

With all due respect... no WAY, hoser!