muzzle cover while hunting

[22lr]

On amazon you can get 400 latex finger protectors for like $5. They work great for me! The plus side of buying in bulk is you have plenty to shoot through at the range.

 

[Lookout85]

I accidentally got mud in the muzzle of my 30-06 during last year’s elk hunt. No cleaning rod in the pack. I was able to clear most of it away with a little stick But knew there was more in the rifling grooves. I threaded a length of paracord through the barrel and tied an overhand knot at the breech end. Pulled the knotted cord through and scoured out the mud.

Shot my first elk a couple hours later, dead on from 300 yds!

Tape (or cleaning rod) is a better plan, but just in case...

 

[rayporter]

stiff weed eater line is mighty handy to push out crud

 

[njdoxie]

OP here, I was able to test again today and results were satisfactory, group opened up to about 1.3 inches, which I can live with. I can't explain the bad flyer I originally experienced.

 

[Lawnboi]

I wonder what kind of a change a little moisture in the chamber makes....

 

[doverpack12]

I use electrical tape sometimes but I prefer black water balloons and then tape the end onto the barrel. They can wear a little but I just replace when necessary. Nothing wrong with tape and I do use it just prefer the balloon.

 

[CAVEBEAR]

I've always used electrical tape for the muzzle with no issues. But now I wanna see the results at the range.

 

[TXSTDU]

I've used electrical tape for years and never had an issue.

That being said I always make sure to remove the tape ahead of time.

 

[WCB]

Why do you need to cover the muzzle anyway?

I'm from the east and not scaling the rockies, but we get cold weather, snow, ice, sticks, etc. We also typically hunted with rifle or ML in our hands due to thick cover. Never seen a need.

Only time we needed a cleaning rod was when a guy dropped his rifle bore down into the mud. He was always one for surprises.

Only time I had an issue was a model 700 freezing up on me. Switched to model 70 and been good since.

you just proved why you need it....Yeah 99.999% of the time you are good to go. Being a guide I saw it all....gun barrels stuck in mud, sitting vertical against a dead tree while snowing like crazy (like feet an hour not inches snow), guys falling into the snow barrel first....Never needed a cleaning rod because we had tape over the end. Once is all it takes to wreck a hunt or a gun.

 

[Felix40]

I took tape to the range with me last time. I saw about a 1 moa difference with the tape. Not enough to make much difference but I won’t be taking any long shots with it still on the muzzle.

 

[Rich M]

you just proved why you need it....Yeah 99.999% of the time you are good to go. Being a guide I saw it all....gun barrels stuck in mud, sitting vertical against a dead tree while snowing like crazy (like feet an hour not inches snow), guys falling into the snow barrel first....Never needed a cleaning rod because we had tape over the end. Once is all it takes to wreck a hunt or a gun.

I'm sure you've seen some interesting stuff and carried a cleaning rod for those instances and perhaps saved a few hunts.

Being a guide, would you say most of the folks who had these incidents were novices? Falling down a hillside is one thing, just sticking your barrel in the dirt is another.

 

[WesternHunter]

Check this out. GoHunt did this video a while back exploring this exact topic.

 

[WCB]

I'm sure you've seen some interesting stuff and carried a cleaning rod for those instances and perhaps saved a few hunts.

Being a guide, would you say most of the folks who had these incidents were novices? Falling down a hillside is one thing, just sticking your barrel in the dirt is another.

I would say some of the really bone head moves were novices like straight up laying a gun down in snow or laying the barrel on a dirt mound....but I have seen not only guiding but in my personal hunting with very very knowledge able and experienced hunters, brain farts happen and in general stuff happens. Not everyone I have hunted with tapes their barrel and I have seen sticks, ice, and mud in barrels before. With tape I've seen dumb stuff happen like trying to crawl up to a shooting spot and someone accidentally stick a barrel into a gopher mound, no worries because there was tape on the barrel.

I've taken and seen dozens and dozens of shots with tape on the barrel from point blank to 700 yards on animals and on targets...never saw a noticeable POI change. For the peace of mind and tiny tiny bit of effort it takes...to me it doesn't make send not to.

 

[Dhbwa]

Check this out. GoHunt did this video a while back exploring this exact topic.

The 100yd POI change was significant to me but at 430 it wasn’t......not sure what to think.....

 

[alexanderg23]

I electrical tape my barrel and keep a flexible rod, patches and a small oil tube (Otis) in my PIG stock pack on the rifle. Along with 8 rounds.

 

[WesternHunter]

The 100yd POI change was significant to me but at 430 it wasn’t......not sure what to think.....

He clarifies that in the comments below the video. He changed his aim point from the first 2 shots to the second 2 shots. Did a poor job of telling people that's what was going on though...
See the screenshot below.

 

[KClark]

Muzzle tape is like the forward assist on an AR. If you take an AR out of the safe and put it in to a gun case then in to the back of your mini van, then on to the shooting bench where you fire some nice clean boxed ammo from your hand sorted magazine stash, then thoroughly clean it before returning it to the gun case, the back of the mini van and back in to the safe then you absolutely do not need a forward assist.

 

[OSU Fisher]

I started using finger cots during muzzleloader last year. Didn't seem to change anything at the range.

What style of finger cots are ya using? Cheap latex ones?

 

[wesfromky]

What style of finger cots are ya using? Cheap latex ones?

Yep, just whatever they had at the drug store.

 

[jaredg]

One tip here, if you hunt with a suppressor, rubbers (condoms), work very well. Not so good on a barrel though. I buy a big box of no lube from Amazon at the start of the season. And they do double duty as... Nevermind