A hunter's prophylactic

I can just see my daughters cringe at this post.  Yes, I am going to discuss a hunter's use of condoms.  "Don't say that word!"

When I was hunting with Jim and Paul during muzzleloader season this past year, I noticed that Paul put electrical tape over the end of his barrel...to keep his powder dry.  I had not done that before and was wondering whether it was necessary and whether it would impact shot ballistics.  (To impact shot ballistics a shot must be fired, so this is clearly outside my range of expertise.)

Fast forward a month.  I'm reading Outdoor Life magazine (December/January 2013) and I noticed a short write up on a muzzle condom.  The actual product, by Walhog Wilderness, is called the "gun-jimmy" and it is used to cover the barrel muzzle to keep moisture and debris from fouling the inside of the barrel.

After reading the advertisement in Outdoor Life, I Googled "gun condom." OK, so my search results weren't exactly on point, especially the site for "one big gun condom."  That can be a topic for someone else's blog post. I did learn that GIs used condoms during WW II (wait, there is more) on their rifles when storming beaches - to keep sea water and debris out of their rifle barrels.

One web site recommended using finger cots (think of a condom for your finger - pictured). A box of these averages about $0.04 per cot, versus about $1.50 per gun-jimmy. It appears that finger cots come in different colors, but I'm not sure if they come in black to match your gun barrel. If the color of your rifle prophylactic is important, then spend the extra $1.46 and get the gun-jimmy. You have to give Walhog Wilderness credit for marketing.

Picture for www.walhogwilderness.com

According to my not cited, but vast research, the air compression coming out of the barrel after a shot is fired will tear the gun condom or push it off the muzzle before the bullet arrives.  In case you were wondering, as it says on the packaging, the gun-jimmy is "not for medical use."  Besides, who wants to brag about having only a .30 cal...never mind.

While the Catholic Church has made its position against products such as the "one big gun condom" known, it is not clear whether or not the Catholic Church has taken an official position for or against the gun-jimmy gun condom. So go ahead and use one to keep your barrel clean. You can always go to confession later.