Best of the West Rifle?

[wisconsinteacher]

The past two weeks, I watched the Best of the West on TV and noticed that on the 2 rifles they used, each one had a wrap of electrical tape around the barrel about 2 inched past the end of the stock. Why?

 

[gerry]

I don't know why they do it but I have done it for extra tape to stick on the muzzle of my gun if I shoot and blow through the stuff I put on at home.

 

[Thebear_78]

Gotta go wth gerry on this one. using electrical tape over the muzzle to keep water out of the bore. A few extra inches wrapped near the stock allows for replacing the tape after a shot. Its a very common practice here in alaska too.

 

[Thankful Otter]

I don't know why they do it but I have done it for extra tape to stick on the muzzle of my gun if I shoot and blow through the stuff I put on at home.

Same here.

My grandfather tells me some soldiers used condoms on their rifles during conflicts in the past.

 

[DrMike]

My grandfather tells me some soldiers used condoms on their rifles during conflicts in the past.

Finger cots (http://www.fingercots.net/) are ideal for this purpose.

 

[wisconsinteacher]

Thanks guys. I guess us flantlanders don't worry about that as much as the guys out west.

 

[DrMike]

Anytime you hunt in heavy rain or in snow, covering the muzzle is a good idea.

 

[gerry]

Anytime you hunt in heavy rain or in snow, covering the muzzle is a good idea.

Or thick brush... It's not nice to find a bunch of sticks or hemlock needles in the your bore. Years ago I slipped and jammed the barrel of my 30-06 into the mud plugging it, I had to go back to camp to clear it, luckily I didn't see a big buck on the way down the mountain.

 

[big rifle man]

Sierra did an extensive test on covering the muzzle to protect it from the elements and found that balloons were the preferred material as they minimally affected accuracy and overall bullet performance. I hunted in a Colorado snowstorm a number of years ago (no cover) with the muzzle of my rifle down and was surprised when I still found snow in the first two to three inches. Since then I have always used a muzzle cover.

 

[Kodiak]

A friend slid down a snowy slope in Wyoming years ago and plugged the bore with about 8-10" of fresh snow. Another was bucked-off an unruly horse (in the dark), landing in a 2' deep stream while the rifle was on a sling across his back OOPS!

I use the tape!

 

[alaska100]

I don't know why they do it but I have done it for extra tape to stick on the muzzle of my gun if I shoot and blow through the stuff I put on at home.

Same here.

My grandfather tells me some soldiers used condoms on their rifles during conflicts in the past.

My dad told me the same thing cheyenne.

Shoot off muzzle caps, finger cots, tape, condoms, balloon s, we have used and tried them all at one time or another, but we always use something--most often just tape. Even when we were in W. Texas we used something as the humidity and sand or dirt would blow into the barrel. As mentioned we have fallen off horses or have had horses fall. Rain, Snow, Dirt, Sand, Brush, or just falling down can all create a problem.

Maybe John from NY will chime in as he is involved in the Best of the West type shooting

 

[Oldtrader3]

I'm pretty sure it is electrician's tape. Here in Washington, I have done the same with my rifle.

 

[super-7]

Yep just away to store extra electrical tape. It's quite common here aswell.

 

[Capt Craig]

Isn't it supposed to be blue electrical tape? Rumor has it that accuracy is enhanced using blue electrical tape over all of the other colors : ) Seriously, I use the finger cots on my muzzle loader all the time and tape on my rifle barrels. especially when hunting out west where there is a good chance of getting a barrel wet or plugged going from one place to another.

 

[Rem Jim]

Anytime you hunt in heavy rain or in snow, covering the muzzle is a good idea.

Or thick brush... It's not nice to find a bunch of sticks or hemlock needles in the your bore. Years ago I slipped and jammed the barrel of my 30-06 into the mud plugging it, I had to go back to camp to clear it, luckily I didn't see a big buck on the way down the mountain.

OR a BIG NASTY G BEAR ! :shock: :lol: RJ

 

[gerry]

That would ruin a guys day, that's for sure

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

I've been doing the electrical tape trick, for decades now.
What I usually do is, get about 3 inches of tape and go along one side towards the end of the barrel, over the muzzle and back down the other side.
I then get another 3+ inches of tape and wrap it around the barrel, to secure both ends of the tape that's covering the muzzle.
If I take a shot or two, I will then empty the chamber of the firearm and re-wrap the muzzle with the spare tape...
This not only helps keep rain, snow and mud out of the muzzle but also small sticks, leaved and other crap as well.

DON'T Forget to Remove ALL of the tape when you have returned home etc, and wipe the barrel with an oily rag, as you can get rust developing around these areas!
Hope that helps

Doh!
Homer

 

[longrangehunter]

Sierra did an extensive test on covering the muzzle to protect it from the elements and found that balloons were the preferred material as they minimally affected accuracy and overall bullet performance. I hunted in a Colorado snowstorm a number of years ago (no cover) with the muzzle of my rifle down and was surprised when I still found snow in the first two to three inches. Since then I have always used a muzzle cover.

This is what I used and applied electrical tape to hold the balloon to the end of the muzzle, I bought the tube type balloons that people use to tie up and make shapes with the balloon.