Purpose of a Heat Shield?

[Gordon]

After you strain the pasta you can grate the hard cheese over it!

 

[ScareyH22A]

I thought they were to keep the barrel from getting scratched or dented even. Hrmmm... come to think of it... I guess that's why they call it a heat shield.

 

[mr.scott]

To those that say heat shields aren't needed, fine, don't use it, but there is a reason for them and some people need it. I have one on my 590. Kinda wish i had one on the longer barrel of my AR, as I reflexively grabbed the closet thing i could when it started falling over.

 

[Carl]

They could also stop the barrel from damaging a surface if you set it down after firing it a lot.

 

[Beagle-zebub]

The same trench guns that had bayonet lugs had heat shields. In the words of Gen. Aleksandr Vasil'evich Suvorov, "Пуля — дура, штык — молодец." ("The bullet is a fool, the bayonet is great.")

 

[GRIZ22]

Do you have a heat shield on your rifle or handgun?
__________________

You'd really have to be fast to get a barrel on a bolt gun that hot but every military bolt action I know of has an handguard as does the M1, M1 carbine, AK, and Mini 14.

 

[Beagle-zebub]

Do you have a heat shield on your rifle or handgun?

On a mil-surp rifle, yes, you probably do--on a Garand, Mauser, etc., the wood stock encloses the entire circumference of the barrel, shielding your hand from the barrel's possible heat, thereby allowing you to put the bayonet to work.

 

[Jack2427]

The guys that said bayonet are absolutely correct. Even without a big knife hanging off the end a shotgun can still be a close in blunt weapon. Most vets remember the vertical and horizontal butt stroke, and a SG is a close range weapon, yes? Personally I have a heat shield on my 590 because it came that way, and I would not walk across the street to put one on, but you can still do very substantial damage with the butt or business end by applying blunt force. Requires practice however, but any old infantryman can show you how. Bayonet training is something that leaves a lasting impression because you are sticking a big kinfe into a humaniod form(while screaming that the spirit of the bayonet is "TO KILL").
BTW, is there really a UC person on the forum? I thought all the UC people were like our leader, guess not eh.........
Just kidding but I did teach a course there in the business school many years ago, one of the braless ugly young things noted a ribbon bar in my lapel and asked if I really burned women and children. I assured that I had only burned a few.

 

[gunsandreligion]

they were made for selectable fire guns (or my 10/22 bump-fired.)

 

[irishsquid]

Shoot 15-25 rounds about as quickly as you can aim, fire and reload etc.

Expecting zombies?

 

[Logan5]

One of my 870's came used with a heat shield. It's so potential buyers can't see how much the gun rusts up when you slap a heat shield on and throw it in the closet for a few years without ever reading far enough into the manual to see you should spray it down with Rem oil first.

 

[chuckusaret]

I shoot in tactical matches and have burned my thumb a few times in training. The barrel gets pretty hot after 25 rounds. I can see a real use for heat shields in high volume shooting drills.

Most people don't practice on a closed combat course as many of us do. The barrel does get hot and the heat shield does prevent a possible burn when reloading. The course that we use to have required participants to reload two times and the barrel did get hot.

 

[Litlman]

My Winchester m 1300 came with a heat shield & a side saddle, whole set up cost me $75. At $75 like NIB, I'll take it with the shield!

 

[LibShooter]

Take off the standard stock and put on a pistol grip. Fire a 3" 00 shell. The heat shield is there so the big bruise on your forehead does not have a blister in the middle.

 

[chuckusaret]

I use a Mossberg 500 12ga 20" barrel Cruiser with pistol grips fron and rear, no buttstock