Cold Weather Shooting Tips

[Fred in Wisc]

No oil is the way to go when it's really cold. Had a cousin from Texas miss a deer due to a misfire with his Ruger #1 this year. Temp was -6 F in northern WI and the oil got so thick the firing pin barely left a mark on the primer.

If it's going to be below zero, strip all the oil out of the gun. Leave the gun outside to prevent condensation from forming and freezing. When it warms up a little (usually a day or 2) bring it inside, pull the action from the stock and thaw it out, make sure it's bone dry and re oil it.

It's a little bit of hassle, but WAY better than sitting out in arctic conditions all day only to lose a shot because of a gun malfunction.

 

[Trent]

Well, I re-learned a new trick last night. Or rather, a new mode of failure. One that I'd learned as a kid and forgot.

My husky loves playing in the snow, so I took him for a walk after midnight. Base temp was -5F, wind was blowing strong; 30+ mph.

First, what I thought was a great cold weather gear setup utterly failed in that strong of wind. I could feel it stripping heat from my torso rapidly. So after a quarter mile a disappointed doggie and me came back so I could grab a rain poncho. I also added a balaclava and put my stocking caps over it. Good to go! Went back out.

Made it less distance this time before my prescription glasses caught enough moisture to fog up. Balaclava did exactly the same thin ski-masks do with glasses on; they don't work for squat.

They froze the exhale vapor instantly. So the same thing that happens to your scopes can happen to your prescription eye wear, as well. I removed them and put them in a interior pocket for a moment. Got them clear enough to wear again, but I pulled the face mask down under my chin and breathed from my mouth, with my jaw retracted slightly and bottom lip tucked in, so my teeth and upper lip helped deflect the warm air straight down.

(This is the same "breath/mouth control" I use when shooting prone, to keep my scope from icing up, for what it's worth)

Balaclava/face covers, unless sealed around the nose and open around the jaw, will cause moist air to go "up" which can fog glasses & scopes. You need to force your exhale to go down, past your chin.

Anyway after that we made it a couple miles without issue. The poncho certainly did the trick; by the time I got back home I was sweating (not good). I should have regulated my heat a little better by unzipping the poncho part way. Overheating and sweating is dangerous when it's that cold out!

Most of our customers are closed today and it's been very quiet, so now I'm trying to work up the motivation to take the afternoon off and hit the range. Very conflicting emotions, that.

 

[Potatohead]

A well used gun should not need much lube.

I wonder about this often...I bet Im over lubing...Im the kind of guy that over tightens screws that just need to be snug.

Bet Im over doing it.

 

[d2wing]

It is -45 windchill right now. Air temp -16. If you threw boiling water in the air, it would turn to ice and snow before it hit the ground. Nope, I am not going to test my guns outside.
Yes Trent, glasses are a big problem. I am fortunate in that with a scope, I can still shoot without my glasses so I put them in my pocket when it is cold enough to wear a face mask. For years I have a rule to stay inside if windchill or air temp hits -15 unless absolutely necessary. I know my guns work but I don't. I think of the Germans and Russians fighting in this in WWll. They managed to kill each other. My forefathers settling in this area living in log dugouts and trying to farm in the 1800s. My own childhood doing farm work in this weather. Makes me shiver. Stay warm guys. I am thinking of a return trip to Texas.

 

[d2wing]

You mentioned activity keeping you warm Trent. They used to have an ice works in my home town and I worked there one winter. They would cut 3x3 blocks of ice about 18 inches thick with big saws and float them to a conveyor that ran overhead between rows of train cars. At the top at each boxcar door a man would turn a block down a ramp into the boxcar. A guy on each side of the door would take turns catching the block with a big tongs and swing it toward the back. The guy in the back would guide it into place with a big steel bar.
I was the guy in back sliding the blocks into place. Jumping over cracks and keeping them moving. In 20 to 30 below zero weather I would be working in a t shirt with steam rolling off me. I wore though 2 pair of jersey gloves a day. Hard work keeps you warm.

 

[Trent]

I wore though 2 pair of jersey gloves a day. Hard work keeps you warm.

Yes, it does! And if you manage to soak your clothing with sweat and you stop working/moving, hypothermia is just a few short minutes away.

If I discard a coat due to heat when I'm working outside I always give myself time to cool back off BEFORE putting it back on. If you put it back on right away while your temp is still elevated, you'll break out in a sweat.. then freeze yourself.

Was listening to first responders on the scanner last night, BOY have they been busy folks. My hats off to anyone who has to work out in these conditions this week.

Unfortunately I couldn't get to the range today; was busy working until a few minutes ago, and it's dark now. (No night vision, unlike some other lucky guys.. cough.. *taliv*.. sigh.)

I'm going out for a hike now to burn off some stress from today.

EDIT: I might as well go test a load in my CZ75, while I'm down by the lake. So I will get some shooting in.

 

[taliv]

i just got back from range. i arrived about an hour before sundown and shot til sundown. didn't want to chance expensive electronics in 0* weather. my cold weather gear kept me nice and warm no problems. however, after a few shots, i had really bad mirage and could barely see the targets. my parallax wouldn't focus nice and crisp as i am used to. my iphone crapped the bed. the kestrel read -2800 DA haha. (I am 1100' actual elevation). and my brass would land in snow, melt it and nearly instantly refreeze so i had a great deal of difficulty getting the brass/ice back in my ammo box. my shooting mat had also frozen stiff.

somewhat humorously, the straps i hang the targets from were frozen stiff as well, where they are normally flexible. so when i would hit a plate and normally it would swing in a large arc, today it just sort of wiggled, then the straps would break.

 

[twofifty]

Those cold range adventures makes one wonder how in heck the guys managed to survive to fight in WW2 (Ardennes) and in Korea. Same for the Russian and Germans in Ukraine.

Hats off to all.

 

[taliv]

wonder how in heck the guys managed to survive to fight in WW2

honestly, i have no idea. heck, i don't even know how they carried garands around back then. my grandfather, to his dying day, harbored much ill-will towards france because they were not allowed to cut down trees for campfires to stay warm while liberating the country. (i was never sure i got the story quite right, but i was led to believe he was busted back to private twice, once for violating this rule in an attempt to keep from freezing)

 

[Trent]

Somewhere around here I have an old book about the Finland-Russian war. Those guys were seriously hard core.

My wife did the boiling water in a cup trick tonight to make snow. Except the handle broke off the mug she used when she went to fling the water.. which sent the mug flying through the air.. lots of snow was made, but the mug shattered on impact, and immediately froze the shards of ceramic on to the surface of the driveway.

She went inside and left me to chisel them up with my knife...

Sigh.

It's COLD out there.

Hoping that I can get to the range tomorrow before the deep freeze lifts. So far all I have scheduled is morning work, but who know what I might get escalated to me.

After all the talk about war, I really want to get my MG-42 and MG-34 out to play. See if I can even operate the things with gloves on.

 

[Medusa]

Well, it is difficult (or at least takes some practice) to balance between maneuverability and warmth. I think the coldest I have been out shooting was -30 Celsius (and slept outside in a sleeping bag as well). As the ammunition was at the same temperature the pistol didn't even recycle properly, often I had to push the slide into battery (the last couple millimeters). It felt like the rounds were too weak, because at -10 C or so there were no problems.

Yeah, you have to be careful not to get hurt or wet, and watch for the gear, so it would stay in one piece and where supposed.

Sausages we had for breakfast froze stiff and solid, so to warm them I sticked them straight into the campfire. Anyway it went from frozen stiff to hot (and a bit charred, with some ketchup) and eaten withnin 5 minutes..

 

[ridurall]

Many years ago when I was stationed in Germany my Father went elk hunting in Colorado. It was the later cold season and he being a WWII veteran seemed to always use his old GI lubes. He was carrying my Parker Hale 12000 Mauser action 30-06 and when he got back to camp he proceeded to unload the rifle. He pointed it in a safe direction and after extracting the first round and had the second in the chamber he stopped for some reason as someone asked him a question. The rifle went off without him touching the trigger. Upon inspection it was that old cold GI grease that held the firing pin by grease tension alone. Scared the crap out of him but at least he was pointing it in a safe direction. Sadly I lost Dad at age 91 on last May 3rd 2013. Man do I miss him and we never got to hunt together after I joined the Air Force at age 19. Mom's Alzheimer's and his care for her took precedence.

 

[ridurall]

My father had some tough stories about the battle of the Bulge and Battle of the Hurtgen Forest. He found a young American GI about 16 years young that was gut shot and dead with 4" whore frost on his face where he slowly died after leaving a mark in the snow where he trashed in pain. Kind of like a snow angel. Dad was just out of the camp to relieve himself in private but that taught him a lesson. He didn't talk much about the war But I know it was a terrible cold time for him. He had a sheep skin jacket that was warm but he kept itching in it and when he looked between thick hair he saw that there were a bunch of lice in it. He got rid of it then.

 

[rodregier]

I've read that when warfighting in winter, conditions are a bigger opponent that enemy forces. I can readily believe that.

I did mention a tarp for brass earlier

Or shoot single-shot actions, revolvers and bolt guns with the ejector removed

 

[ridurall]

For 18 of my 20 years in the Air Force I worked in and then ended up as NCOIC of the Entomology Shop. When it comes to war fighting in winter, conditions are a bigger opponent that enemy forces. You are right rodieger but there is something that needs to be added to it. It time of war or conflict more people die or are incapacitated from vector born disease or bad water than all the bullets, bombs or any type of fighting. When I first cross trained into Entomology from my first job in Intelligence as a Morse System Operator listening to Russian Morse Code. It was one of the best moves I ever made. I've been killing bug for 35 years now and never regretted it. It was a great job in the Air Force and one that transferred into real world experience that I was able to put to use after I retired and opened up my own business.