.22 long rifle question for late season hunters. Pictures and info. added of my squirrel hunting setup.

[ARW]

When temperatures drop to 20 degrees and lower do you still get the same accuracy from your .22 long rifle as you did when the temperatures were higher.

Thanks

 

[linebaugh]

SK and Lapua drop about 1FPS per degree. Changing 20fps changes harmonics in your rifle and it could get better or worse depending on what your rifle likes. Every gun is its own animal.

 

[jepp2]

When temperatures drop to 20 degrees and lower do you still get the same accuracy from your .22 long rifle as you did when the temperatures were higher

I don't shoot 22 LR near as much as some folks. I shoot year round in CO. So I will shoot in single digit temps often in the winter. To mitigate the impact, I keep my ammo in the car until I am ready to fire. With those dis qualifiers, I see an accuracy difference in cold weather.

Reading what someone else had to say about cold weather rimfire shooting, it can greatly impact the lube that is used. I think that resulted in the differences I see. The gun is outside near ambient temp, and the lube will have to work with the cold chamber and rifling. Made sense to me. So I adopted their limits of not shooting when the temp is below 40 degrees F.

 

[ARW]

The reason I am asking is I plan on doing some late season gray squirrel hunting this year with a .22 long rifle and was curious about if the cold weather might affect accuracy.

I believe what I will do then, is put some hand warmers packets in my pockets and keep my ammo in with them. That should help some.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[C.E.Smith043]

If u keep ur ammo in an inside pocket u can do away with hand warmers

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I doubt a cartridge will remain warm in the chamber of a cold barrel while outside. Are you head shooting 100+ feet away?

 

[Mark W]

The reason I am asking is I plan on doing some late season gray squirrel hunting this year with a .22 long rifle and was curious about if the cold weather might affect accuracy.

I believe what I will do then, is put some hand warmers packets in my pockets and keep my ammo in with them. That should help some.

Thanks for the comments.

Squirrel hunting with a .22 is one of my favorite post deer season activities. Unfortunately, I still have an unfilled buck tag this year, so I’ll probably be doing some late season archery hunting this year.

 

[ARW]

I doubt a cartridge will remain warm in the chamber of a cold barrel while outside. Are you head shooting 100+ feet away?

I was planning on not loading my rifle until I actually saw a squirrel.

I usually always try for head shots to save on the meat.

 

[Mark M.]

With shooting for squirrels, in my opinion I believe your splitting hair's.

 

[David Milisock]

The reason I am asking is I plan on doing some late season gray squirrel hunting this year with a .22 long rifle and was curious about if the cold weather might affect accuracy.

I believe what I will do then, is put some hand warmers packets in my pockets and keep my ammo in with them. That should help some.

Thanks for the comments.

From my experiance you simply must test your ammo in cold and warm weather and remember that the weather on the day you go will be what it is.

 

[Jester560]

SK and Lapua drop about 1FPS per degree. Changing 20fps changes harmonics in your rifle and it could get better or worse depending on what your rifle likes. Every gun is its own animal.

That is about what I seen on my chrono. I have tested at 80 degrees and at 30 degrees. I recorded about 30fps swing.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I would sit/carry loaded(you are hunting) and take body or head shots, unless you don't really want to clean any squirrel.

 

[ARW]

That is about what I seen on my chrono. I have tested at 80 degrees and at 30 degrees. I recorded about 30fps swing.

Do you see a difference in accuracy?

 

[Carl S]

Me and my friend shoot lots of rabbits with a 22lr.mainly at night time through the truck window.suppressed anschutz match 54,Winchester 40grn subs.warm and cold conditions and seen no difference in accuracy.

 

[Todd-67]

I don't hunt but at the range I get almost 1 1/2" additional drop from a 60 degree zero at 100yrds when it's in the 30 degree range. Overall accuracy is about the same.

 

[tommeboy]

Back when I used to hunt tree rats in the cold, I had to keep my ammo in a warm pocket. They would not fire reliable if left in the gun. Lots of duds. This was with anything Remington. CCI mini-mags were fine. And it was with several different guns.

 

[WyleWD]

On squirrel in 20* weather I never had any issues with accuracy using CCI mini-mags (hollowpoint or RN). However, I found it to be a fruitful idea to know if POI had changed. Long as ya know exactly where the cold bore shot is going and can put it where it needs to go..... you should be good. Less movement is better so keep your rifle loaded. Cold fingers, gloves, and 22rf can be a challenge to hold. JME. WD

 

[HillbillyLongRifle]

If you have a good rifle with a good load sighted in at 35 yards and keep ammo in your pocket you want have any troubles on them squirrels!

 

[HillbillyLongRifle]

 

[HillbillyLongRifle]