Wanted to shoot today...

[Nightcrawler]

With college and all, I don't get to shoot much, as my guns need to stay at home. I was hoping to go this weekend, and naturally, we have the most miserable day. It's cold, really windy, and really rainy. Dark and overcast, too.

The gusting wind would make the rifle range a challenge to say the least.

They say it'll be snowing by the end of next week; I hope I can get a few more good sessions in before winter comes to stay. I've only begun to break in my Colt.

You folks that live in places where it's reasonable outside in the winter have a good thing going, as far as shooting is concerned.

 

[El Tejon]

Bah! The weather's fine!

Everyone cowboy up.

 

[Brian Dale]

Who wrote,

"There's no such thing as bad weather; there's only bad gear"
???
Wildiceinmybeardalaska? Keith? spacemanspiff?

I lived in Minnesota once -- just don't touch your tongue to the receiver; it can get like the dreaded pump handle!

I do enjoy the weather here. Hardy Midwesterner? Not me.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I spent a couple years in Marquette and environs in my younger days. It's mighty pretty country, and the people were friendly, level-headed, and polite. The winters were long and grim, but I was able to shoot all year round at the Negaunee Rod and Gun Club. I still miss both the club and the shooters these many years later.

 

[10-Ring]

Yeah, I can sympathize w/ you. I remember one year where I decided to shoot a winter IDPA match & I actually had to put on a sweat shirt & a wool baseball cap! BURRRRRR! Those Southern California winters can be rough

 

[greyhound]

Gotta find an indoor range. Continental Arms here in Metro Baltimore is hot in summer (no A/C in the range part) and hot in the winter (my first shooting session last November the heater was blasting right on my neck).
I love the place and the people anyway!

The g/f keeps threatening to buy us a membership as a gift!

 

[4v50 Gary]

I wanna shoot to, but I had to work. Oh well, Monday is free range day and I'll go a blasting then.

 

[444]

I have the opposite problem. My shooting sessions drop down to a minimum when it is 110+ here.
In the winter, I am out almost every day.

 

[Nightcrawler]

I know those frigid Nevada and California winters can be rough on you guys... LOL

Here's a picture taken last February at my school. Note that during the month of January, I don't think it topped 10 degrees once until the very end of the month.

This was actually a nice day; sun's out and everything. When it's so cold your face hurts, well, then it's not so nice. My glasses get so cold they actually hurt my face sometimes.

Ah, but I should be moving to Utah this summer. Going from the shores of Lake Superior and all of this snow to the middle of the Great Salt Desert, where they don't have the forests as far as the eye can see is going to be a big switch. You guys have mountains out there, though, and I think that's pretty neat.

 

[444]

Have you ever seen a Utah license plate ?

It says on it, "Greatest Snow on Earth"

 

[Nightcrawler]

Greatest snow on earth.

BWHAHAHAHHAA....

Up in the mountains, I'm sure they get snow, as skiing is big there. Heck, we say snow in the mountains in the middle of june there this summer.

But if the winter driving skills of Utahns are any indication (was there during a bit of a snowstorm...TONS of accidents, people driving too fast in 10-foot visibility), they don't really understand "winter" the way you come to understand it in the upper peninsula. I mean, there's winter and then there's friggin' winter.

 

[444]

Yeah, in general you won't be driving through snow like you do now, but it is still cold.
Utah is a beautiful state, and diverse in climate and terrain. Lots of cool stuff to see and do in Utah.
I have a feeling that you will end up like me. I grew up south of you in Ohio. I couldn't wait to get out of that snow, rain, overcast, muddy, mosquito infested................weather. Once I did it, I couldn't have been happier with my decision.

 

[MeekandMild]

I can sympathise with you. I had to wear long sleeves nearly two weeks last winter. It wasn't so bad as it stopped the perpetual sweat from dripping in my eyes.

 

[standingbear]

windy days make it a challenge no doubt.there are indoor places to go if you cant go outdoors.a friend of mind has an old barn that he shoots in when its raining.nothing like recycling pop cans the fun way.ive gone groundhog hunting in the rain,they gotta eat and seems rainy days brings em out sometimes.

 

[Keith]

Ah, come up to Kodiak! You can shoot all year around, though it does tend to rain a lot in the winter.

Keith

 

[BHPshooter]

Nightcrawler, you'll enjoy Utah. And don't you worry, if you get sick of the endless sagebrush (as you indicated), to the south you've got some of the most beautiful sandstone and dunes to be seen, and to the north you've got some of the prettiest forests around -- especially in the fall.

If you don't want to change climate too much, you might want to live in Logan. Last year, in the winter, it stayed below NEGATIVE 30 degrees for 2 weeks straight. Actually, the coldest recorded temperature in the U.S. was recorded not very far from Logan.

Can't wait to have another gunny!

Wes

 

[Ian]

Bah! Put on a coat, and go to the range! You're not a wimp, are you?

 

[El Tejon]

Thank you, Ian!

See, if the boys in Red do it while it is snowing and the wind howling and bears are gnawing at their ankles, we can do it too!

 

[marvl]

Man, I'm really getting sick of our weather. Nothing but sunny and highs in the 70s.

 

[Browns Fan]

What Ian said/did. Ya gotta improvise, adapt, and overcome. Shooting well is a perishable skill, do it as often as funds/time/wife permits.


Am I preaching to the choir?

 

[4v50 Gary]

Snow. Euwwwwww! I had one white Christmas where I was stuck in a cabin by myself. Poor selection of books too and I read every single novel and Western. No non-fiction gun books, military history, ship (naval) or airplane (military) books. Couldn't shoot because of the blizzard.

 

[Nightcrawler]

Looking at my closet, I note that I'm lacking a servicable rain coat. I have a light leather jacket, and two winter coats of different weights, but nothing to keep my dry when it's pouring out.

I'll have to invest in one so I can go out next time it's raining. Some decent shooting gloves to keep my fingers from going numb would be nice, too. (I can't operate handguns with regular winter gloves. They're too thick; you can barely get your finger in the trigger loop.)

Any suggestions on rain gear/gloves? Nothing too expensive.

Shooting in the winter doesn't bother me in the least. The problem is that my range closes in the winter, as it's a small outfit run by a club and they can't afford to keep it plowed.

Snowballs make good reactive targets, though.

Ian, look at your snow picture, and look at my snow picture. You call THAT snow? Hell, we get snow like that by mid-October most years. That's not snow. You can still see the ground even!

What part of Colorado do you live in?

 

[ChickenHawk]

We used to live in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Moved to Austin, TX seven years ago. If I have any choice I will never move north again.

I'd rather have it 100 degrees in the summer than 0 degrees in the winter!

My wife and I spent our first New Year's Day in Texas working in our yard IN SHORTS! A stark contrast to the prior New Years in Kalamazoo where our power went out just before midnight and the weather outside was sub-zero.

Enjoy it if that's what you're into!

Cheers,
ChickenHawk

 

[Nightcrawler]

Kalamzoo is about four hundred miles SOUTH of where I live, for reference. The trolls down state think they know winter. Hee hee.

(Troll is a term cooked up by Yoopers. It means anyone who lives below (or under) the Mackinac Bridge.)

 

[ChickenHawk]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know anyone south of the bridge is a troll.

Although I spent most of my life in Michigan, I guess I've been away too long to remember what we called you guys (besides crazy!)

Actually we often spent our vacations and long weekends in the U.P. and loved scuba diving in Lake Superior (especially around Munising).

Summers are great up there, and that weekend everybody throws some meat on the BBQ!

Regards,
ChickenHawk