Review: Talarik Muzzle Covers
Russ Chastain 05.25.18
Last deer season, I used a number of new-to-me products. Included among them was the Talarik “Safety Muzzle Cover,” which is essentially a little orange condom. Unroll it onto your gun’s muzzle to keep out rain water and debris, and to make your muzzle more visible to aid in awareness of where your muzzle is. Unlike electrical tape, they won’t leave sticky residue and they’re probably less likely to fall off as you hike through brush.
I must admit I had some reservations. After all, my gun’s muzzle moves around more than any other part of the gun. Why draw attention to it, possibly alerting critters to my presence? But naturally, I had to give it a fair shake. And so, during some long wet deer hunts when rain kept finding its way into my rifle’s barrel, I remembered them and tried them out.
I deployed one of the little rascals on Little Lotta, a Savage rifle I converted to 338-06. As expected, this blocked a bunch of rain from going down my barrel, which is always nice. Back at camp, I removed it and thought no more about it at the time. Unfortunately, a few days later my rifle had developed a considerable amount of rust where the Muzzle Cover contacted the blued steel. Argh!
A light touch with some fine steel wool and oil removed most of the rust, but the finish damage is permanent.
If you choose to use one of these muzzle covers, be sure to take the time to dry, clean, and oil your barrel when you get back to camp. As for me, I think I’d rather deal with electrical tape.
Talarik Safety Muzzle Covers come in a package of 10 for $7.99, which included USPS shipping, and you can order them here.