I was thinking about getting some camo grip tape to put on my gun. How bad is this stuff on the metal portions if I wrapped the barrel along with the stock? Should I expect rust when I put it off?
Since the "newer" medical type camo tapes don't actually adhere to the gun w/ adhesive, but to the tape, which is why you do a spiral overlay w/ the tape and a final wrap at the end which is tape-on-tape, you can apply a good rust preventative to the metal parts of the gun and not overtly impact the tapes holding ability. However, I would be cautious if the gun got wet, since the tape will trap moisture under it. I sell this type tape for medical applications and it is designed to "breathe" on the skin, but the skin is also generating heat which evaporates moisture. I've got two shotguns w/ the Beartooth Comb Raising pads on them and use the stretch camo tape on the rear of the pads to the recoil pad to eliminate gaps and make a smooth seal and have had the same tape on one gun for 3 years. But then, it's not metal.
Do not use cloth mesh tapes, you will cry when you remove it after season. The HS Strut No Mar vinyl tape will not rust underneath it, and I have used it for 6-8 years on expensive guns with no problems.