We talk a lot how to clean the gun and how important to make it in time but forget about protection from the mechanical damage. The ordinary guy doesn’t understand what we are talking about. Who wants to damage the weapon?
Though the loss of the qualitative characteristics of guns or even the complete failure of the barrel can be the result of the mechanical damages. The main trouble of all guns is the ingestion of litter (snow) to the barrel’s channel. It can rupture in the place of the jam because of the excessive pressure of powder gases.
I have two rifles which have been broken by such reason. The first one is SKS which I spoiled being in the heart. It was fall. The hunt took place after the rain and I needed to go the number but
slipped on the clay and the trunk buried into the ground. I had to cease and went to home but there were wild boars in the corral and I desired to continue. I broke the twig, wrapped a rag and cleaned the barrel how I could do in such conditions. We got trophies and I shot few times. But the gun was finished after that hunt. It gave huge dispersion on 100 meters and I didn’t understand that time what had happened.
The second case happened with the smoothbore gun. We were driving the snowmobiles along the Akmolinskaya prairie and fall from time to time. Once I’d rolled over and scooped snow by the barrel. Then I fired twice and the trunk inflated. They say, it can be repaired but the danger, that It will break up, increases.
Only then I realized how to avoid such situations. The easiest way to cover the barrels. I used the fingertip and duck tape but the best choice is to use the special covers. They unlike the other devises are reusable. You won’t take the roll of duck tape and cut the new piece after the each shot.
I know three variants of covers: leather, rubber and neoprene covers. Everyone has their pros and cons. The leather ones look more rich and durable; the rubber covers made by the German company Wegu are more suitable, you can even shot without any aftermath if you have the recoil compensator; the neoprene goods tight fit and camouflage the barrel. They all work well and I used all variants, tried different forms and sizes with places for the sight or the muzzle brake. I suggest to tie the cover to the gun when you are hunting in the mountains because there are chances to lose it.
I believe that we have to protect the guns by the special covers, except the cases when you hunt for the feathered game and have to be ready to shoot at every moment.
Another problem is the damage of the optics, mostly scopes. Fallings from horses are the usual thing especially in the mountains. One of my Nicon crashed by negligence. It slipped off the rock shelf and hit the eyepiece on the stones, the lens broke (even the eyepieces were not protected).
The second loss became my “Vortex”. I was going down from the slope sitting on the ass and used the rifle to brake. The lens was protected but the knobs for adjustments and lights were broken because there wasn’t the right cover.
The most part of the optic’s manufacturers provide the special covers but I have just negative experience with them. I used plastic and aluminum ones which screwed directly into the sight. They protected just lens but not tube and knobs and most of them opened spontaneously and broke.
My choice is the neoprene covers for the scopes and sights, most of them you can find in the special shops. There are different models which differ in colors, size and density. Such covers reliably protect optical devices from mechanical damage, knobs for adjustment from unwanted twists, and lenses from water, snow and dirt.
Two year ago I designed and sewed the cover for the binocular and now it’s protected and is comfortable to use it in winter.
