Winter shooting

[Mike_Lenardon]

I usually make a couple trips to the gun range every winter to shoot airguns. Had plans with two other friends, each of us were going to bring a couple of guns.
This changed my mind

How cold is to cold?

 

[maxtrouble]

For me anything below 20 degrees is too cold to shoot outside. The shanty cannot stay warm at those temps. My club has an indoor 10 meter airgun range and the rifle range has a shack. It also has a really nice wood stove. The only issue is they have no wood and never a work party to fill the wood shed....

So I solved that problem with an electric heater! Works great and takes the chill off. I still wear coveralls but my feet stay warm now with an open window.

If it is too cold and the roads are bad (last weekend) I go to the YMCA and swim or work out. Anything to cure work from home fever. I spend a lot of time at home during the week and get most of my chores done on the clock. Weekends I like to GTFO and slay some cans.

 

[DeanB]

35 and below for me, dont enjoy freezing my but off just to shoot..if practicing trigger control I just do it in my basement at 10 yds.. with the occasional Starling elimination out bathroom window
I much prefer to just wait for warmer weather so I can enjoy a extended shooting session out off my deck.

 

[dizzums]

id be shooting out of a window for sure lol ..

 

[Mike_Lenardon]

I can get get 15 yards max in my basement. I'll practice off hand shooting, we all know I need it.

 

[Struckat]

Those numbers = broken down snowmobile hands. Read that book before.
im staying indoors.

 

[beerthief]

tonight is the coldest night we have had this winter possibly down to 17 F . Most likely 18 or 20 F here at the lake , BTW lake is 17.5 feet ABOVE summer pool . and that would be 35 feet above winter pool , which is why this is a flood control lake , interesting to watch .

 

[jackinelgin]

High of 8,low of -2 here today.

 

[JimD]

The good news is it doesn't get terribly cold in South Carolina, the bad news is my body has adjusted. Wind is low according to my wind flags but temp is in low 30s. We are supposed to get into the 50s later today, I'll wait and hope the wind doesn't pick up too much. I've tried shooting in the 30s and I don't shoot well. But it's still better than no shooting.

 

[Dan B]

I retired 10 years ago The older I get the less I enjoy the cold and snow here in CO. First time in many years that I have not hunted geese or got a big game tag. 40 degs and no snow for my outdoor shooting. I get 30 ft in the basement.

 

[Impact701]

This is the temperature we woke up to central North Dakota.

I will shoot out the window but not when it's this cold.

 

[beerthief]

I used to go to Fla. and laugh at the fur coats /scarfes /gloves . Key word is "used to ".

 

[Cam Armstrong]

I feel ya. I'm in NE ohio and can't wait for the weather to break. It's about 9 this morning.

 

[Kgphotos]

If one can ignore the leadership then California does have some good points. It was sunny and 63 yesterday.

 

[Vana2]

Locally (Ontario, Canada) 0 to 15 F are typical night time temperatures and 15 to 20 for the daytime highs at this time of year.

Winter is fine, I'm used to those kinda temperatures and enjoy the freshness of winter much more than the suffocating humidity of summer. Summer heat kills all ambition and drives me indoors to hide in the air conditioned basement.

That being said, I don't think that extreme cold is good for airguns, especially PCPs, as everything gets sluggish and performance/consistency suffers.

A .22 rimfire is best winter rabbit hunting and it's time for 10 meter indoor shooting.

Cheers!

 

[Mike_Lenardon]

This is the temperature we woke up to central North Dakota.

View attachment 539860

I will shoot out the window but not when it's this cold.

eF that

 

[Kdog]

I can get get 15 yards max in my basement. I'll practice off hand shooting, we all know I need it.

I can only get 11yds inside but offhand and kneeling is great practice. Been doing this the last 2 mths. Just getting comfortable with the positions will go along way.

 

[igolfat8]

@Kdog , I could do the kneeling thing too but then I have to figure out how to get back up

 

[Kdog]

@Kdog , I could do the kneeling thing too but then I have to figure out how to get back up

Yea once you figure it out it's not bad...getting up is the hard part

 

[woogie_man]

I have shot when the weather is -40 before. When Tom was gracious enough to let me test out the HPS30 last year..... I was out shooting that in NRL22 events in weather WELL below zero. Found that the limit on the o-ring on the air cylinder was around the -40 mark, and that is typical for most rifles. Heck there were a couple of the 22lr rifles that went down as well.