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Then you wake up freezing because you were so tired you HAD to get some rack.
That is the first combat photo that I have seen with a muzzle cover on a M-1 rifle.
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WW2 US Army Friction Tape Dated June 23, 1942. Stock No. 17-5-865. This is a must for use in all WW2 Demotion kits, Signal Corps Kits and requisitioned by all GI's so that they could put over the muzzle of the their M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, Thompsons, Grease Guns, Browning Auto Rifles and Browning Machineguns to keep mud, snow, etc out of the bores. Friction tape was much preferred over the clumsy canvas muzzle covers that had to be removed to use your weapon's sights.
But THESE are canvas...
Attachment 115091
But balloons were easier to get.
Party balloons...
Lubricated ones work best. Keeps dust out of the Browning co-ax.
I suppose that they did not carry a supply of these type covers and ended up shooting through them thus the scarcity of them in combat photo. Tape would be a easy fix but might be lacking in the cold and wet environment so the party balloons ended up as the all weather fix
I would think so eventually, that IS what happens. Today we issue a plastic "Caplug" that's called the "Shoot off muzzle cover" and is identical to the one US troops received for the M16s way back. Ours started out red if you can believe, they wanted us to try and "Be aware" so as not to blow up our rifles by shooting through the plugged muzzle. I demonstrated just once what happens, they disappear when shot. Soon after we had the black ones. Lessons learned are NOT necessarily remembered.