Hunting in rain?

[Gettincloser]

Could not find this covered before so here is my question:

What do you do if you know you are hunting in a light rain? (Saturday morning is going to be one of those mornings.

I have the latex finger covers (likes like a micro condom that goes over the finger after bad cuts to keep them clean). I was going to put that over the end of the barrel to keep rain from running down.

What do you do with the lock? For me, it is a sidelong percussion. Do you put the cap on the nipple and coat the edge with Vaseline or chapstick or is that going to cause more harm than good.

What have you done that works?

 

[Saxtonyoung]

Glove sounds like a good idea , I always put a piece of black tape over the muzzle for wet weather and to keep any snow out. As far as the lock I just kept it covered with whatever I had at the time usually a cloth.

 

[Bushfire]

I tape my barrels always, keeps dirt and sticks out too.

Hunting in the rain isn't the challenge, reloading is what I found hard. Last time I had to it was driving rain, I used my body hunched over the gun to keep out the rain as I loaded. Turned out deer was dead and that night when I removed the breech plug I saw the powder was quite wet.

 

[CatamountRob]

I don’t worry about the muzzle, I load at home except the primer/cap and I keep the muzzle down. You could seal the edges of the cap with nail polish or something similar. A bit of chapstick would probably work as well.

 

[deermanok]

I usually put a bit of plastic wrap on the barrel with a rubber band.
Cover the hammer with my glove or something.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Remove the nipple and place a layer of plumber's tape over the face ( powder side) and around the threads. This does an excellent job of keeping the wet out of the powder, from the breech end. The cap blast goes right through it, so no ignition issues there.
If you tape, or finger cot the muzzle, make sure to remove it and ( de prime!!!!) patch out the bore after it warms up. You will get condensation behind the tape/ cot.

 

[451whitworth]

I've put saran wrap over the breech area before.

 

[bluebanana]

I cut a finger off a nitrile glove and place over the barrel.

 

[10ring1]

I hunting under an umbrella when sitting for a bit.

 

[sdporter]

I don’t go out in it with a bow or muzzy, or rifle. Too hard to keep the water off the string and the optics. I’ll stick to road hunting during a rainstorm. I hate road hunting, I’d much rather get out and put some miles on the boots, but, I hate being cold and wet more. We can do that out here and see lots of animals. Especially in a real light drizzle, the deer will stay out feeding much longer, and there are thousands of miles of dirt roads just in our county alone and a lot of hunters stay home, so you usually have an area pretty much to yourself. Some areas I hunt, it’s hard to get away from a road or four wheeler trail, they’re everywhere. Nothing more frustrating than sitting up where you can see and hearing a four wheeler coming up the bottom of the wash, but in the rain, I’m part of the problem.

 

[Browndogz]

I tape the barrel with and x and then wrap around. For a cap I use the 1075s and they are tight. I have used a drop of nail polish on an inline in nasty weather but don’t know if it made any difference.

 

[alternate]

I used a 1" square of aluminum foil over the percussion cap back in the day.

 

[Saxtonyoung]

That sounds like an excellent idea.

 

[snapbang]

With the cap on as normal place a little Crisco or vasaline around the cap. For flintlocks I have no solution any better than those given above. Tape over the muzzle. We have hunted in dreadful moisture before. Your first shot will be your last.

 

[Walkingeagle]

I keep the muzzle down and tuck the lock underneath my arm pit.
Walk

 

[Far Sighted]

I like the nitride glove finger over the bore. That should also be used just to keep trash out of the bore or dirt. Not sure anything is needed on my inline breech area the way it seals.
Thanks all good methods!

 

[Scotts98rt]

Hunt in a gun shack.

 

[shiner200gr]

Forget all that stuff and do what every frontiersman would have done if he had the option.......replace your nipple with a musket nipple. Way better ignition and WATERPROOF!

 

[GregK]

I don’t go out in it with a bow or muzzy, or rifle. Too hard to keep the water off the string and the optics. I’ll stick to road hunting during a rainstorm. I hate road hunting, I’d much rather get out and put some miles on the boots, but, I hate being cold and wet more. We can do that out here and see lots of animals. Especially in a real light drizzle, the deer will stay out feeding much longer, and there are thousands of miles of dirt roads just in our county alone and a lot of hunters stay home, so you usually have an area pretty much to yourself. Some areas I hunt, it’s hard to get away from a road or four wheeler trail, they’re everywhere. Nothing more frustrating than sitting up where you can see and hearing a four wheeler coming up the bottom of the wash, but in the rain, I’m part of the problem.

I am with you. After 45 years of this I’m not dragging myself or my weapons out into the rain. Now if I am out and I get caught in a little light rain or snow that’s another thing but it’s never my intention to be in that weather. I gave that up years ago. When I was young and dumb I hunted in everything from 30 below windchill‘s to thunderstorms if I absolutely have to go now I’m fortunate enough to be able to set up a nice comfortable chair and tripod on the second floor of the barn and slide the door open to look out over the cornfield but even that takes a lot of ambition because if I shoot an animal I still have to take my gun & myself out in the rain LOL

 

[dbowling]

musket cap nipples are not as waterproof as #11caps don't fit as tight. I am with the guys who stay home in the rain, used to hunt all weather but as you get older/wiser you start to hunt when its best for you.