FrankenMauser
New member
That served me well, for a long time, until I went out on a warm day after a snow storm.I've never used any tape .... if it's raining and I am hunting, then the gun gets carried or slung muzzle down......
There was no precipitation, nor any notable water dripping from the trees. However, all of the foliage was covered in water.
After hiking for a while, I took a logging road back toward camp, and took my exit through some trees (about 200-250 yards) to drop into camp. When I unslung the rifle, the action (bolt action) was completely filled with water, and it was running through the chamber and out the end of the barrel.
200 yards of no longer focusing on keeping the rifle dry was all it took to take it out of commission for at least as long as it takes to tear it apart, dry it out, re-lube, and reassemble. I opted to tear it apart and leave it to dry while I carried the backup rifle, but the problems could have been much more severe if I had fired with that water running down the barrel.
Another year, I had the same rifle fill up the barrel, because I carried it muzzle-down for a while, in similar conditions, with the muzzle taped up.
I prefer a muzzle condom and muzzle-up for carry, now, if the conditions are wet in any way.