How many of us shoot during bad weather at outdoor ranges?

A few questions you need to ask yourself:
1 - do you have enough ammo to last for a long time?
2 - is it worth possibly getting into a serious accident going to and from the range?
3 - do you think you will ever be doing whatever shooting outside in such conditions - hunting, SD, targets?

I know for ME, I am not driving in those conditions unless a dire emergency just because of all of the idiots out there who do not know how to drive in ice and snow.

"turn around, dont drown"
Only ever a reality for me once.....hawaii, we have torential down poor and floods....
Still when the county worker watching the submerged bridge says "brah, u flip over i not going help you cause i no like die"
It behooves one to listen to the warning......

From what ive seen it sounds like a similar level of risk out there for you guys.

If it's below 45°F and/or precipitating I don't go shooting because I don't enjoy it in those conditions.

Yes, rain or cold, because there's less company.

There is no such thing as foul weather, only inadequate preparation.

Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, usually around July 31, I go to the range. Any in that date range is 96*/99% humidity with wham=slam thunderstorms at 4 pm. Florida is heaven right now, in 6 mos it'll be the "other" place. Joe

When my backyard becomes my range, I will practice in bad weather. I drive good on ice but I don’t trust other drivers so it’s not worth it for me.

I shot 10 rds. of .223 this afternoon. It was -5 but there wasn't any wind and the sun was shining.

I was kind of known for showing up in bad weather when I was a member of a range. I went in once when it was 19 degrees with 30 mph wind and the owner was the only one there. He asked if I was crazy and I just laughed and said I'd been working outside all day, I might as well have some fun too. The shooting area was outdoors but had an overhang where I was mostly out of the wind. I did have to borrow some sand bags to keep the target from blowing over.
That range was in the middle of nowhere though. I might pass 2 or 3 cars the whole trip. I don't think I'd fight city traffic in an ice storm to go.

Man its cold down here in florida...got down to 50 at night, 75 during the day last weekend with flurries of bikinis walking the beach. Put my long johns on,, dug a hole in the yard and Started a fire and watched the sunset...cant go shooting in weather like this...

In my days of Army high power rifle team shooting, we were encouraged to practice on windy days. Other shooters might take the day off and not learn how to read the wind, or more accurately, read the range flags and know what their positions meant.
Nowadays, I will still practice my 200-400 yard shots in the wind. A nice thing is to have a spotter, preferably on a spotting scope or high magnification binoculars, and be shooting at steel plates.
The short answer is yes, I still do it now and then.

I have a handgun range on my property. Thus weather conditions are not a limiting factor within reason!

AK Hunter said:

I set afire one of the steel trash cans full of wooden target sticks & paper targets to stay warm one time. I didn't know it but someone had tossed some unfired ammo in it. It was a new type of friendly fire. LOL

Click to expand...

That'll get your attention!!

Me and a buddy of mine went out shooting on this very same day some 15 years ago and conditions were much the same as they are right now in the Midwest. It was an outdoor range and the owner lived on the property. He didn't even want to come out to check us in. Just had us leave our money on his back porch on our way out when we were done shooting. The temperature was in the 20s with enough of a brisk wind coming out of the Northwest to give us a wind chill of about 0 Degrees! Thankfully the wind was mostly to our backs the whole time that we were there.

Of course we had the place to ourselves (I mean c'mon what other two "gun enthusiasts" would be out on a day like this), but with the snow hip deep we didn't make too many trips downrange to set up targets at the 100 yard range! Thank goodness we had the foresight to load up all our magazines the night before because we wouldn't have been able to do it while we were on the firing line. As it was we still had fun and it was quite the adventure that I look back on every so often and ponder: what in the heck were we doing out there anyways?

I handload during nasty winter weather. I'm not too excited about overcoming ice and snow to punch paper or ping steel. I'll pass.

Every Sunday, unless there's an active blizzard. Just wouldn't be a complete week without it.

How many of us shoot during bad weather at outdoor ranges?

Years ago but now not so much. Then too I do not go to the outdoor range to train. I go to relax and send bullets downrange at targets. That and chat with other shooters. Right now my outdoor range is a frozen tundra and as it thaws will become slush and mud. When I was younger I also rode my motorcycle in foul and inclement weather. I am also done with that, the bike remains in the garage till I see 50 degree F. weather. Today never broke the mid 20s and it is snowing again. Nope, I'll just hang at home and make ammunition.

Ron

I really like shooting in foul weather , and for a variety of reasons.
More time.
No insects.
No crowds.
Greater challenge.
Freedom to engage in various activities that would not be practical or safe in a group.
Cool vibe.
Up here at 43 north we have been enduring a Canadian blast for 2 weeks , single digits with lots of snow. At our club range we have an array of steel targets for pistol ; they are at the 200 yard end of the rifle range and are available only when no one has dibs on the rifle range. When the weather is lousy the rifle range is always empty. Last week I was the only person on the property ... 11 degrees , 4 wheeling 200 yards to the hanging steel pushing snow with the front bumper , setting up shop with the truck door open and heater blasting , shooting multiple targets while side stepping , crouching , whatever comes to mind. Walk away from steel silhouette , turn and draw , drop to one knee while shooting.
Hands get cold , back to truck for a few minutes.

What is more fun than that?

I'll shoot in the cold. Or the heat or the rain. But I don't get out when the roads or covered in snow or ice. I worked too many miserable hours when I was working because some bozo thought they had to get out, had a wreck, and broke a pole. I drove too many miles on ice when I was working to do it now that I'm retired. But hot, cold, windy, rainey, I'll shoot if I want to.

I actually like to get to the range during a light rain. Have the place to myself. I don't get wet no longer than it takes to put up targets and the shooting benches are covered. I won't go when it's windy or in heavy rain. It doesn't get cold enough to be an issue. I like to be at the range early and it might be in the teens occasionally, but I have warm clothes. I've shot in snow too.

The bigger problem is heat during the summer. It can hit low 100's occasionally. Once again if I get there early it is bearable until 10 or 11. After that it gets to the point where my barrels never really cool off between strings. I've had to resort to running the engine on my truck with the AC on and place guns inside to cool off.

A few years ago I put on my insulated bibs and went shooting at the range....it must of been cold because I was the only one there.

My first USPSA match was shot in 5 inches of snow. I can remember pistol and 3-gun matches where you asked your squad mates to watch were you dropped mags the mud was so deep you would lose them. I can remember service rifle matches where the water puddle were coming up over my shooting mat.

I love hunting is the coldest snowiest days possible, something I miss about living in Ohio. I don't mind hunting in the rain to but love the snow.

I am in Washington. It rains here.

My outdoor shooting locations involve a bit of a drive. I find that poor weather limits competition for the few decent shooting spots I know of, and also cuts down on the "bozo contingent".

OTOH I might change my firearm choices if it's going to be really wet. I have a few old heirloom guns I like to shoot that I don't want to mess up, and on the other side of the coin I have a few plastic and/or stainless guns I am more comfortable taking out. For example a Henry AR-7 that is a fun plinker.

This year I picked up a shooting table; one of those MTM High-Low ones. My thinking is I can stand with it even if I am knee deep in the mud and have a fairly stable platform. I also bought a little folding stool so I can use it seated if the ground is solid, for sighting in and stuff. I plan to add a basic pop-up shelter so that except for target setting and clean-up, I can stay dry.

Was at the range on Friday. The weatherman said the high was suppose to be 25 but when we got there at 1:00 it was around 7 with a 10-15 mph wind. Still I had to put some rounds through my new defensive shotgun and my buddy had an AR pistol to sight in. We didn't stay much more than an hour. It was cold. But we were the only ones there so that was nice.