Barrel wrap for cooling on the towns?

[RAG]

I'm wondering how many people shoot with some sort of a wet wrap on their barrel, when the shooting (and temps) is hot and heavy? I frequently rotate 2 or 3 guns, and wrap the barrel with a wet towel when I pull the gun off the line/table. But I've been giving thought to a more permanent solution (so I don't have to rotate guns if I don't want to) whereby I was thinking about wrapping the barrel with a long strip of synthetic shammy that'll hold a good amount of water. I might try cutting a long 2" wide strip and wrapping the barrel tight like a tennis racquet handle. I'd try to keep wet/damp while shooting. Surely this would keep the barrel from getting too hot, but I don't know if there would be much change to POI as water weight changed/evaporated...sort of like moving a tuner around, surely it would have some effect. (I also get some POI change as my barrel starts getting really hot, especially notable in one of my rigs, so maybe the POI concern would all work out as a wash).

 

[D Coots]

This is a tuner on my 22Br a couple of weeks ago....The rifle shot just fine...

 

[DogBuster]

Sham Wow !!!!!!!

P/dog shooters choice 222 mag

 

[D Coots]

Sham Wow !!!!!!!

P/dog shooters choice 222 mag

I've got 3 of them. Rem 700's, hart bbls, widened factory stocks, 15-17#'s

 

[rayporter]

dave
you need to trade in your unpainted board for one of these hi-dollar blue rests.

 

[RAG]

Yeah. So far I've simply been wrapping with paper towels soaked in cooler ice water. But I'm thinking about something cleaner, and more fixed/permanent. I'll possibly open my barrel channel a little more too and wrap the barrel all the back to the action. In this case, I'd not only use in the field, but utilize for targets/load development too.

 

[D Coots]

Can't afford that Ray....need money for the race car. In the pic in post #2 I'm shooting 90 degrees from normal on the table. Front and rear rests are on boards and easy to shoot 180 degrees by sliding them on the carpet on the table....works for me.....

 

[Rick in Oregon]

We use wet towels when in the rat patch on hot days, seems to work well. But remember the chamber area gets the hottest, so one needs to wrap the entire barrel to prevent excessive heat build-up, and not have two very different temperatures on the barrel. One reason a synthetic stock is best for this to prevent wood warping.

But the coolest (pun intended) setup I've ever seen was during a PD shoot in WY around 2001 that featured a "war wagon" equipped with water-cooled custom rifles (Hall actions, P/N SS barrels with water jackets and brakes). We could shoot as often as we wanted with the 6-284's and 223's without fear of any overheating. A 200 gallon water tank at the trailer tongue, water pump, pressure and temp regulators, all done via a large solar panel for power.....a very well thought out setup if I've ever seen one.



Poor image quality, I know, sorry. Scanned from an old print, but notice the condensation on the barrel. They stayed at a regulated 46*F the entire time.



The solar panel for power...worked as advertised.





I've seen about every possible method of barrel cooling imaginable, from CO2 cylinders, ice-wrapped towels, portable compressor for blowing cool air down the barrel, but this just has to be the wildest and most innovative solution I've ever encountered. Leave it to we varmint shooters to come up with some impressive improvisation.

 

[DaveTooley]

I run ice water down the barrel. One patch and back to shooting. Been doing it for 40 years. BR , varmint, hunting any rifle

 

[RAG]

I run ice water down the barrel. One patch and back to shooting. Been doing it for 40 years. BR , varmint, hunting any rifle

Yeah. I used to do that too. There was a guy making a recirculating water system foe pumping water through the barrel. I picked one up, maybe 20-25 years ago...still have the fitted rod guide inserts in fact. Now I was thinking about using those inserts and just pouring cold water down and out thw barrel.

 

[5spd]

Made a barrel wrap that slides over my suppressor to my action, gallon water sprayer and keep wet, nothing more needed.
I'm a 1 gun shooter and stay cool all day long.

 

[DaveTooley]

Amazon.com

 

[Multiracer]

Amazon.com

The water exits two holes 90 degrees to the stem so as not "splash " acid.

 

[DaveTooley]

The water exits two holes 90 degrees to the stem so as not "splash " acid.

I have a knife.
I extend mine about 4" with a piece of hose to make it easier to insert into the chamber. Point the muzzle down and dribble water in. Rotate right and left or invert the rifle to distribute water evenly. Usually one load or hunting rifles and two for heavy barreled guns.

 

[jpx2rk]

What precautions or maintenance do you guys do on the outside of the barrel to prevent rust, etc.??

 

[5spd]

What precautions or maintenance do you guys do on the outside of the barrel to prevent rust, etc.??

SS Barrels, but when cleaning I still wipe down w very light coat of oil. Then wipe dry.
Not a speck of rust since I started.

 

[Old Navy]

Sham Wow !!!!!!!

P/dog shooters choice 222 mag

Looks like western Box Elder County.

 

[searcher]

I won’t take the time to run water through my rifle every 30 of 40 shots as half my time would be spent doing that. I swap out rifles as I can- but if I want to keep one rifle going when the shooting is really good- I wrap burlap around the exposed portion of my barrel (only about 10” on my AR’s), using about three loose wraps. These dry out quickly but shed heat very quickly. Not heavy enough to affect accuracy much.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I just rotate guns. I been thinking maybe a mirage shield would help keep the sun off the barrel. Could also buy or make a barrel cooling fan.