Do you shoot in the snow?

[230RN]

I've had that experience of collecting fired bullets from the snow. Put a paper target up on a snowbank and shot at it with a .22. I was amazed next spring when I found the bullets pretty much in a line about 5 feet or so from where the target was.

They were in near-perfect condition. It's really spooky how the heels of the bullets expand perfectly into the rifling so the rifling goes all the way to the back even though it started out as a smaller diameter back there.

Shot other calibers in the snow. Never let a little snow stop me. I never noticed any change in trajectories because of the cold, but maybe I'm just not that good a shot.

Biggest problem is coming in from the cold and avoiding condensation in and on the gun from the warm humid house air. One solution is to leave the gun in the cold in the garage or back porch or whatever, or put it on a household heating device like the vents in a forced air gas system, or a radiator, or whatever until it warms up a little. Then give it the usual wipedown.

My carry guns I usually set on the TV or stereo to let the warm air flow over them. I also put one of those sheet metal bookends in the baseboard hot water heating pipes* in my present place so I could set the handguns there for the same purpose. Had to do that the other day when I was scraping snow off the car and some got in a pocket where I kept a spare mag. Duh me.

Terry, 230RN

* I usually put a rag down to prevent metal-to-metal scratching:

 

[ldlfh7]

Sure do

 

[Palehorseman]

One winter years ago when we lived in rural Alaska. It was dark and I was shooting tracers across the narrow valley we lived in and watching the rounds dance around under the snow on the mountain.

Few minutes later the kids came home on the school bus all excited. Seems every one on the bus had seen UFOs flying across the valley.

 

[JERRY]

not since I moved to the deep south.

 

[DonP]

"Winter Wars" every January in Illinois

We have a regular MilSurp event, every January regardless of the weather here at our ISRA range in Bonfield.

Some years we've had deep snow and almost white out conditions and other years it's wet and muddy, but a lot of people show up with Garands, '03s, Mosin-Nagants, Mausers, Enfields even an occasional Carcano and Arisaka show up.

The original premise was that "your fathers and grandfathers shot these rifles at places like Bastogne and Stalingrad, so the rifles can take it, why can't you?"

200 yards, irons sights only, 3 relays; 1 shooting, 1 scoring and 1 in the pits. Lots of hot chocolate, coffee and a big "pot-o-chili" and a couple of bonfires to take the chill out.

It's a great excuse to clean your rifles and get out of the house when you're just about ready to go nuts with cabin fever.

Oh ... and excellent company all around.

 

[oneounceload]

When I lived out West I not only shot in the snow, but when it was snowing - and at night under the lights. Try seeing high-launched clay targets once they get up into the snow and the light is reflected back at you............frustrating at times to say the least!.... But it was a lot of fun - holding your ammo in your hand over the burn barrel to keep your hand and the ammo warm until your turn to shoot.......dressed like the Michelin Man and trying to perfect your gun mount........ah, the memories................. (and one reason I moved to Florida!)

 

[Ranger Roberts]

Absolutely, if I didn't I'd be out of luck a few months a year!

 

[mnhntr]

If I did not shoot when there was snow on the ground I would not shoot for 5 months out of the 12. So I guess the answer is yes. "Practice as for war" as my platoon sgt used to say and having snow on the ground so much of the year it is necessary to able to shoot bundled up and in the cold.

 

[another pake]

We get a lot of snow in Minnesota in the winter, and shoot all winter long. In fact as soon as we've plowed the yard a few times we've got snow banks piled 6-8 feet deep all over and use them as our pistol shooting backstops. We too throw a blue tarp on the ground to catch brass, which becomes easy to collect. In the spring we recycle the bullets which are all lying within 4 feet of each other.

Winter shooting by us is fun and in many ways easier than in summer.

pake

 

[Kahr33556]

well here in Florida I gatta say no

 

[87hurricane]

I've shot in the snow plenty of times. Usually i try to avoid autos so I don't have to dig through the snow for brass, or I'll jut pick up some cheap steel cased stuff that I don't care about losing. As long as it's not bitter cold and windy, it doesn't bother me in the least bit.

 

[bearman49709]

I'd rather shoot in the snow than shoot when it's 75 or higher.

 

[Trent]

I do most of my reloading / load testing in the winter.

I'm running my highpower/f-class club events all winter long.

It's relaxing to kick back and shoot in the winter, and the range is usually a ghost town.

 

[Trent]

One of my favorite pics of my K31 was taken last winter.

 

[mstreddy]

I gotta ask: What is this snow you speak of?

Sent from my cozy South Florida experience...

 

[brotherbadger]

A group of my friends went skeet shooting last winter. When we ran out of targets, we made snow balls and used those instead.

 

[Esoxchaser]

Small game hunting, sporting clays, trap, steelheading. Life doesn't end in the winter, you just never have to wait in line.

 

[tommy.duncan]

I drive my happy ass to the indoor range 20 minutes from my house and shoot all day!!

 

[d2wing]

Like the other Minnesota guys, we shoot in snow for a large part of our hunting seasons and it is a good time of year to work on guns and sight them in when not hunting. The only thing is to avoid moisture on optics and avoid bringing guns in from the cold unless you are going to warm them and let them dry. I like hunting in the snow. When the ice gets thick you can get at pheasants in the swampy cat tail areas. I shoot all types and don't have problems with semi autos as they can't read a thermometer. Keep them dry.

 

[Hardtarget]

Trent...your photo of your K-31 made me do a double take. It is very much like my photo of my M1 Garand! Funny how the view at the range is almost the same no matter where we are.

So...yes, I do shoot when it snows. When I walk to the targets I notice the tracks/streaks in the snow from bullets fired. The pistol shooters have a good time too!

Mark

 

[22-rimfire]

It seldom snows here and it would take a scheduled "event" for me to shoot in the snow. This of course excludes hunting.

 

[plodder]

If I didn't shoot in the snow, I would be limiting myself to 5 or 6 months of shooting per year

 

[wanderinwalker]

Yep, shoot in the snow. Both when it is on the ground and falling. Also shoot when it's raining. A few times when it's been below 0. And a few times when it was over 100.

When I started shooting NRA Highpower, I would shovel out a hole in the snow on the firing line to shoot at 200 yards to practice offhand and sitting. After a couple of months of that it was no big deal when it rained during most of the early season matches that year. I'd become pretty desensitized to shooting while "uncomfortable."

Some things of note: I like to shoot my autoloaders more in the cold and snow, because they're easier to manipulate with gloves on. If you like to index your head position with your nose on the charging handle of an AR-15, it can be a bit tricky in freezing and sub-freezing temperatures. Shoveling between strings helps keep the blood flowing. And you are almost assured to have one of the firing bays to yourself on those days.

It's like how I now view bicycling: many people see it as a nice 75* and sunny activity. But the truly dedicated (and crazed?) think the only bad day for it is the day we didn't get out!

 

[CZ223]

As said by several others

If I didn't shoot in the Winter/snowy conditions, I wouldn't be able to shoot for for 4 or 5 months of the year. Like the others, I rather enjoy the solitude of the range in winter. As a Cowboy Action shooter I shot in several winter matches. I was also on a winter trap league for one season.

 

[Keb]

5 week until early prairie dogs



About 200 yds from big rock pile in background.

I drive the Suberu Outback to the top, and get out my 22.