The odds and ends that keep a stalking or foxing rifle working properly — moderator covers, bolt holders, shell holders, gun socks and the small spares that go missing first.
Moderator covers
A moderator is the part of the rifle that suffers most. It sits out in the wet, it holds moisture inside the tube, and after a shot it throws enough heat to put a shimmer straight across your sight picture. A neoprene cover — the BushWear BushMuffler, Napier's Apex cover or the Jack Pyke in English Oak Evolution — cuts the mirage, quietens the knocks against a highseat rail, and stops the mod marking the stock in a slip.
Measure before you order. Covers are sized on the length and outside diameter of the moderator, not on the calibre. Check both against the listing rather than assuming a cover that fitted your last mod will fit the new one. Napier's Silensave aerosol is the other half of the job: it goes inside the tube to keep the internals from corroding between outings.
Bolt holders and pouches
If you drop the bolt out for transport — and on a stalking rifle you should — it needs somewhere to live that is not a coat pocket. The Radar leather and Cordura holders take the bolt on a belt loop, so it is on you rather than in the vehicle. The Napier Razorback carrier is made for Blaser straight-pull bolts, which do not fit a conventional pouch.
Butt-stock shell holders and slings
Hunter's Specialties butt-stock pouches and shell holders put a few spare rounds where you can reach them without unslinging. Jack Pyke's sling swivel stud screw sets and the Harris knurled thumb screw are the spares worth having in the drawer before you need them, not after.
Related
See also rifle slings, sound moderators, rifle and shotgun slips and gun spares.
