There's an old story from WWII that the British had designed some that covered the entire barrel of one of their rifles or machine gun models. When the British evacuated Dunkirk they left a few crates on the beach to make the Germans wonder just exactly what kind enemy they were up against.

That's great !

It probably made the nazis fight even harder later. They couldn't stand the idea of the Brit army occupying their country and consorting with the German women.

I use a tight fitting ballon stretched over the muzzle of my ML anytime the humidity is high. Just in case. And certainly when I am hunting with the ML in the rain. Works like a charm. Knock on wood, have yet to experience a misfire. (I am jinxed for sure now!)

I've seen what happens when there is something in a barrel and the gun is fired. I definitely would not want that to happen to any of my guns.

Sometimes, such as after a slip or a fall, something can get into the muzzle of your gun. At the very least, it is time consuming and may be difficult to clean the barrel while you are chasing that big buck or bull.

A piece of electrical tape over the muzzle and another wrap around the muzzle to help hold the first one on will prevent almost anything from entering the muzzle.

I've lived and hunted in snow country all of my life, and I almost always tape the muzzle of my rifle before I go out on a hunt. The muzzle brake on my .300 Weatherby does a great job of cleaning all of the tape off the muzzle after the shot.

Never done it myself, but I must admit; why not ???

OK, after all this discussion I just had to experiment for myself. Taped the muzzle of my 270 with duct tape and shot a three shot group from the bench. First shot thru the tape was right where it was supposed to be and the group was as tight as that rifle always shoots. Case closed as far as I'm concerned.

We use balloons during our muzzleloader hunts and never a problem with it effecting the bullet. The problem is my aim lol

I usually put a wrap of tape around the barrel to use as a spare. After the shot and associated events, I retape the muzzle. There may or may not be a second need for the rifle but in any case it is good to have an unobstructed bore.

Another good idea!

After shooting my Pronghorn antelope one year, I was walking back to camp and slipped and fell in the wet eastern Montana gumbo. The muzzle of my .257 AI dug into the mud and became plugged with it. That's one reason I keep a gun cleaning kit in my camper.