Practice in adverse conditions

[MUP]

I was out, finally, getting some much needed trigger time yesterday. Cold as whizz with the wind really cutting into my face. But, with the weather we've had of late, near zero, snow and ice, it's about that best it's been. Anyhow, I was just reminded of how important it is to get out and shoot in these conditions, and how, even tho it doesn't seem so at the time, it will help come match time. Wind was switching from about every direction, gusting at times, and at rare moments relatively calm, lots of conditions to work with. The older I get the harder it is to make myself get out and go in these conditions, and I'm paying for it this morning by dragging and coughing more than usual, but hopefully I'll have gained just that little bit more for being out there. Do any of you make a point to go with these conditions at play, or are you like me, just go when I'm almost forced to go bc of no other conditions to go in?

 

[std7mag]

Not rimfire, but I try to get my hunting rifles out for a few shots at least once a week, weather be damned.

I'm one of the few that I know that has dope cards on my hunting rifles.

I KNOW the drops for what the weather is doing, be it 98° and dry, or 15° with sleet/snow.

Getting practice in different wind scenarios is always good.

 

[buckeye68]

I will be at the range on Tuesday no matter what the condition are. I need a minimum of 3 hours in my schedule to make it worth my time with driving and setting up wind flags. I will definitely need a drill to set my flags up with all the cold weather we’ve had this month.

 

[VLNBYR]

If you want a good blade it has to feel the heat.

 

[Topwater]

We faced similar conditions yesterday. It was our first 200 yd. Rimfire shoot of the year. It was an adventure to be sure. A perfect score is 81. When I left, the relays were just about finished and the best score that I heard of was a 12. It certainly was a challenge.

 

[Krogen]

Yep. It was 19 deg when I left the house yesterday morning, but I had a match to run. We had 23 shooters show up. Not only do guns and ammo behave differently in the cold, but so do the shooters.

 

[topclass2017]

My shooting mentors taught me to practice in any and all conditions, at different ranges (in all conditions), and at different firing points. By doing so, the chances were better than not that when I got to a match, regardless of what else was going on, it wasn't "new" and wouldn't throw me off my game. Like Satchel Paige said, "it's all mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter". When I lived in Western WA shooting smallbore silhouette, I can remember matches at Pe Ell where the weather could be different from one end of the line to the other, and during the course of the day could be anywhere from snow to sleet to rain to hail to sunshine, all with temps in the upper 20's to low 30's.

 

[TRSR8]

FWIW if you’re shooting a custom gun with match ammo, particularly the match ammo, the important lube you paid for does not work well below about 40 deg. introducing elements not seen in sanctioned match shooting.

 

[BowChamp]

Florida checking in!! LOL!!!

We got 9 to 10 inches of snow this past Tuesday and roads melted just in time for ARA Outdoor Match yesterday. We still got to shoot over a little snow. It's been an interesting week!!

I do practice in high winds alot too.

 

[CJ6]

Our group shoots almost every Friday in the winter. The limits are generally 15 degrees. no/low wind . The warmer it is the more wind we'll shoot in. That wind chill is the kicker.

 

[drover]

I am a believer in practicing in adverse conditions whether it be cold temps or windy conditions. I love to hear someone at a match saying "I hate shooting in the wind or cold". Chances are I am going to outshoot that person because they already have such a negative thought.

One thing that I have not seen mentioned though that is important, especially with rimfire ammo - keep your ammo warm. I have yet to see cold rimfire ammo group as well as warm ammo. I put mine in an inside pocket so that body heat will keep it warm.

drover

 

[Krogen]

I am a believer in practicing in adverse conditions whether it be cold temps or windy conditions. I love to hear someone at a match saying "I hate shooting in the wind or cold". Chances are I am going to outshoot that person because they already have such a negative thought.

One thing that I have not seen mentioned though that is important, especially with rimfire ammo - keep your ammo warm. I have yet to see cold rimfire ammo group as well as warm ammo. I put mine in an inside pocket so that body heat will keep it warm.

drover

Rimfires in the cold can be cantankerous! My Bullseye guns have fits sometimes. I think it's a triple whammy, so to speak. The ammo is less consistent leading to poorer scores, velocity is down due to the cold so blowbacks don't work so well and lubrication can get more viscous in the cold. Blowbacks are iffy to begin with and cold just makes it worse. I keep magazines in my pocket with rechargeable hand warmers. A few weeks ago, one of the shooters set his pistol on a chemical hand warmer and put a rag over it like a blanket. That was a new one! And then those darn targets seem to shake in the cold.

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

I am a believer in practicing in adverse conditions whether it be cold temps or windy conditions. I love to hear someone at a match saying "I hate shooting in the wind or cold". Chances are I am going to outshoot that person because they already have such a negative thought.

One thing that I have not seen mentioned though that is important, especially with rimfire ammo - keep your ammo warm. I have yet to see cold rimfire ammo group as well as warm ammo. I put mine in an inside pocket so that body heat will keep it warm.

drover

I found letting the ammo get too ambient temperature works. but I am shooting in maybe 30"s I also found cold shoots better than warm/hot 90's-100's warmer/hotter temperatures I see POI get squiggly

Lee

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Shoot good in bad weather at minimum helps you mentally.

 

[topclass2017]

I am a believer in practicing in adverse conditions whether it be cold temps or windy conditions. I love to hear someone at a match saying "I hate shooting in the wind or cold". Chances are I am going to outshoot that person because they already have such a negative thought.

One thing that I have not seen mentioned though that is important, especially with rimfire ammo - keep your ammo warm. I have yet to see cold rimfire ammo group as well as warm ammo. I put mine in an inside pocket so that body heat will keep it warm.

drover

During the coldest winter months in Western WA, I kept my rimfire ammo next to a chemical handwarmer, and then had handwarmers in my pockets for loaded magazines. It made a difference - I didn't have to change my scope settings to account for extra bullet drop, and avoided having to shoot biathlon ammo that way!

 

[K22]

You can learn a lot by shooting in adverse weather conditions. Once I have a system (rifle / scope / load) that I am confident it, I do not shy away from adverse weather range practice with some sensible restrictions. However, all my rimfire shooting is in late spring to early fall.

Since I will not hunt in gale force winds, practice in those conditions would serve no meaningful benefit. There is also the risk of tree blow downs at one of the ranges where I shoot. The other weather-related aspect that keeps me off the ranges is heavy snow that freezes creating a slippery surface increasing my chance of falling which I cannot afford at my age. And of course, driving rainstorms are a no go for me.

Kind of my rule of thumb is that if a weather condition is the kind I will encounter hunting, I will try to simulate that at the range. Here in the spring, winds are a real issue. So, practicing with in such conditions offers a learning experience for varmint / predator hunting.