debris in the barrel is more a mythical, than real, issue.


Condoms were used in Vietnam primarily because the early M-16 chambers would rust. A rusty chamber might be so bad that the extractor could rip the rim off the shell leaving ther shell cemented in place or, if the shell came out, the next one might bind on the rust and not set enough for the bolt to lock. Either case your weapon becomes a very inefficient club.

The A-1 version got a chromed barrel and bore, and aforward assist, and the problem became a non-issue. Early flash hiders, the tree-prong variety, were said to allow mud to block the bore enough to allow the pressure to get too high but it is hard to find a documanted case where this caused problems. It also joined the list of non-issues when the flash hider was changed during the A-1 rework to the present cylindrical unit.

There is just little real tendency for significant amounts of dirt to enter a bore if you are not stuffing it in manually or using your rifle as a crutch. On ewel known western had a guys weapon explode after he used it this way. Hollywood fiction.

The only real-world risk is that you might get a large amount of water down the bore. If you fill the bore with water and fail to empty it before shooting you could potentially cause an overpressure situation. Some experts claim that it is impossible becuase the water just gets pushed out ahead of the slug.

Very small bores might fail to drain even if held muzzle down, a soda straw has the same issue if you hold your thumb over the end, so it is widely recommended that you back the shell out of teh chamber to break any vacuum and the water to drain.

A related real-world issue is that a smaller amount of water might get down the bore and freeze. Carrying muzzle down to keep water out is a common practice. Lots of people go out in wet conditions that freezes up, and most of them are not counscientious about carry and clearing, and still the numbers of rifles exploding is very low.

I really think you're straining at gnats. Keep the muzzle out of the dirt, favor a muzzle-down orientation to keep water out, if there is any chance significant amounts of water have collected shake it out and back the shell out of the chamber to be sure. Do all that and clean it regularly and you won't have any problems.

I will note that early American hunters and explorers commonly carried their rifle in sleeve where water and dirt would stay off their rifle. Especially in wet weather they kept it there until they were ready to shoot. Removal took a few seconds but this wasn't considered a problem. Modern weapons, finishes, and oils are better at avoiding rust.

I've seen stainless truck guns that rattle around behind the seats for months, they get cleaned every year, and never see the inside of a sock or case. Almost without exception they shoot well enough. Firearms, assuming they are well designed, are pretty rugged.