DIY rain guard setup

[John Weigel]

OK, now that the big rains of the El Nino cycle are supposedly gone, this may be of less interest. The few times I've shot in competitions in drizzle to rain conditions - with rain blowing in despite overhead awning, I've really struggled to keep my gear dry - including ammo. I know that slightly 'misted' cases are a problem, as I have experimented in dry conditions at shooting range. For whatever reason, slightly moistened rounds group significantly worst than dry. In my case, I seem to sail too close to weight limits, and the option of draping vinyl over rifle and scope is, I'm pretty sure, in breach of the rules. So I haven't done that. I had an idea that I could put the equivalent of a tiny tent over my head and most of rifle, but I have been told that its OK to put rain protection over rifle, it isn't OK to do so over shooter. Whether or not that is correct, for anyone interested, attached images show how I've managed to engineer a rain barrier over rifle using front rest (Rodzilla Raptor) as base, and avoiding contact anywhere with rifle or scope. Current version needs just one bolt on either side of rest to secure aluminium bar/angle arrangement that secures sheet of polycarbonate that bows over rig. That 'hoop' is stout enough to support polyvinyl tarp that can drape down in front of shooter and protect a reasonable amount of space against sideways drizzle. I only post this because someone might see a better way of gearing up in wet conditions - and almost certainly can make improvements. Rolls up to a pretty small kit.

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