Range Trips in the Rain?

[sohcgt2]

I don't mind light rain or summer squalls but all day pouring rain will keep me at home.

 

[HawkEyeEarl]

rain or cold

I have a roof where I usually shoot and a roof over targets.
There is no roof in between.
I built them out of scrap wood.

I shoot especially when it rains for there are less people about.
I also shoot when its very cold or snowy for the same reason.

Thanks

 

[Sport45]

If it's really raining on my planned range morning I usually stay home and reload or clean guns instead.

 

[SudSlinger]

i love the rain. I love not having anyone but me and maybe one other at the range. Brass vultures, know it alls, and everyone else just stays home. People who just was to shoot to shoot and have fun seem to be the only people out on rainy days.

 

[shaggy430]

Rainy days are the best days to go to the range. No one else is there.

 

[.45Guy]

I agree with Shaggy. I love having the range to myself! Snow is always nice too!

 

[SeanSw]

If rain is in the forecast I make an extra effort to get out ASAP. We only have a single berm at the club and you're lucky to have it to yourself for any length of time, so the bad weather works in my favor. I don't worry for a second about my guns getting wet either.

 

[jackstinson]

I did that yesterday. It's only water.

 

[KBintheSLC]

My wife and I took a pistol course at Front Sight in February and it rained the entire weekend. Not just periodic sprinkles... I'm talking torrential monsoon-grade rain all weekend long. Besides it being cold and wet, it was a great experience to train under those circumstances.

I have a membership to an outdoor range at about 6000ft in the Wasatch mtns. I shoot all winter long even when the temps are in the single digits, but it is covered by a metal roof. The Front Sight pistol range was not covered... it makes a big difference.

Cold is cold, and wet is wet... but cold and wet you won't forget.


...

 

[wanderinwalker]

Bah! It's only a little water. Even snow is just water! It's no big deal!

Seriously, I'll shoot all winter and summer. Lightning storms I avoid, and serious blizzards I stay home in. Flurries, showers, rain, wind, too hot, too cold, too many bugs, blah blah blah, I'll take it.

My first year shooting Highpower I thought that matches were scheduled specifically for every cold, wet day we could find. Oh well, I sucked it up and shot well anyway. I find the tougher the conditions, the better for the concentration. You just shut it all out and focus on shooting.

Now, in freshly drifted snow, I may make it a point to shoot revolvers and .22s so lost brass isn't an issue. But I won't stay in.

 

[Maia007]

It rains most of the winter here. If you don't shoot in the rain....you don't shoot unless you have access to an indoor facility.

For those looking for excuses, rain is as good as any, I suppose.

 

[Mr.510]

My home is between Seattle and the Olympic Rain Forest. We get almost 80 inches of rain a year so I go shooting outdoors and mostly uncovered in rain, snow, or shine. I think practicing once in a while in the various weather conditions encountered in your climate is a good idea. Everyone should probably shoot their carry gun in a sideways-blowing downpour at least once. It's not much fun, but it's the only way to know your limits in bad weather.

For some reason I really like shooting my AK in the snow.... Wolverines!

 

[JohnBT]

"It's hard to keep targets stapled up when they get wet."

We don't need no stinking targets.

From the time I was a wee lad my father set a good example. Rain doesn't hurt anything.

Recently, okay 10 years ago, I showed up at my parents' home after lunch on Christmas Eve. Did I mention it was snowing sideways? As soon as I pulled out the new Kimber Gold Match my father grabbed his coat, put me in his car, and drove - slowly - the 25 miles to the range. We shot a few boxes in the snow and were home by dark. Dirt clods make good targets after you knock the snow off.

John

 

[Seven For Sure]

I shoot in the rain if it's not dumping. Only problem is, if it's raining and I have the day off, I like to go to the beach too. It's the only time I can enjoy it with my dogs. Otherwise it's way too crowded and I'm more likely to be in the woods.

 

[grimjaw]

Driving rain or snow keeps me away, or extreme cold.

jm

 

[JImbothefiveth]

I don't like shooting in the rain because I think it's bad for my stocks, and also likely to cause rust. However, I do shoot when it's snowing. (I found out that snow is bad for a stock's finish, still probably not as bad as rain) As for targets, they aren't that difficult to keep up when it's snowing. However, I used some standing metal targets last time I shot in the snow because my scoped gun wasn't working.

 

[Ky Larry]

I got rained on this morning at the range. It sucked but it was still better than being home and not getting to shoot. My new CZ-550 Varmint .308 shot a couple of sub .5" groups. The worst group it shot was under an inch.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Well, I went shooting today. It alternately drizzled and poured the whole time. I met a couple of nice guys and had a good hour and change. Some of my targets were so wet I didn't bother attempt to save them.

Oh, and it was about 40-degrees F too. Perfect New England spring weather!

 

[confed sailor]

.45 guy! Tovarish! Love that pic man, makes me think of our trips to the range in maine in the dead of winter, my buddy mark has a kahr arms repro thompson with the 24in barrel, we put a bipod on it and he wore his granddaddy's US Army overcoat. Naturally we charged the target line as the range was ours alone that day.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I've shot a lot in bad weather, hunted in some really dismal weather in Colorado. Ran a few matches in high wind mixed with freezing rain and duststorm = getting pelted with frozen mud. Biggest thing you notice is you need to train with gloves, and which gloves suit your purpose. My BHP clone, Colt Commander and Government model have never been affected by rain or snow, ditto for my revolvers.

 

[Dan Crocker]

You can't spell 'train' without 'rain!'

Ha ha you can't spell 'manslaughter' without 'laughter' either!

 

[ejfalvo]

Not rain-but snow. Day before Christmas, warmish (for NJ), heavy snowfall. I thought, great day for the range. Drove up there. Pure white ground. No one else there (except for the range guys). Unbelievably quiet. I actually sat, without shooting, for over 1/2 hour, and watched the snow fall and listening to the quiet. Fired up the -06 and was in heaven for the whole time I was there.

 

[fastbolt]

Back before I entered LE and had access to an agency range I didn't often bother to go when it was raining. I did upon occasion, and appreciated the fact that fewer people were using the various outdoor ranges.

After I entered LE work I qualified regardless of the weather. No big deal. I was qualifying in the same weather conditions in which I was working, after all.

Once I became a firearms instructor I spent many years working the range regardless of the weather. I was paid to do so, after all.

Seriously, testing your skills in driving wind, rain, mud, gummy sand and standing pools of water can be a bit illuminating. Having it raining so hard the water is blown upward off the ground or coming at you sideways, coupled with cold temperatures and some wind chill factor, can tell you things about some of your skills under some environmental stress. And again, not to mention being realistic if you're working in the same weather or just out & about in such inclement weather conditions.

Yes, the firearms get wet. Best not to let the wet conditions result in you dropping or tossing your gun into a standing pool of water, though. Depending on the layout of the particular range, they may also get covered in wet mud and/or sand splashing up or back at the shooter.

Yes, some types of targets do suffer from wind & rain. I've had to brace metal target stand bases so strong wind won't blow the stands over, at least as quickly. Swaying target stands and targets do seem to startle some folks, though, if they aren't expecting a deliberate 'moving target scenario'.

Visibility can change from the perspective that 'hits' on wet targets may not be visible in the same manner as they are on dry targets, too. Personally, I liked this since many of the shooters qualifying were unable to check for their 'hits' (scoring) as they addressed the various courses-of-fire. Instead of trying to obtain 'shot-by-shot feedback', constantly sneeking peeks and trying to make spot adjustments as if it were a 'target range', they had to rely on their skills to address the threat targets throughout the various courses-of-fire. It sometimes made it very apparent when some remediation/corrections were required and some shooter skills may not have been maintained as well as they might.

I used to like bad weather days when our folks decided to await better weather for the increased range time available to me, too, when I wasn't having to qualify or train as many folks.

Now that I'm retired, however, I find I'm not in so much of a hurry to rush out and slog through the inclement weather for some range time at my old agency. I did enough years training & practicing in bad weather that I don't feel quite the same urgency to get up and out in the wind, rain or hail like I used to do when I was getting paid to be there.

I have no doubt I'll be back on some open range in bad weather from time to time at some point, either at my old agency range or somewhere else after we decide where we want to relocate for retirement, because realistic training is still realistic training, regardless of being actively employed or retired.

I can sleep in and have coffee before going out into it from now on, though.

 

[Prion]

I shoot at an outdoor range here but the benches are covered. Rain, snow, or bitter cold you won't be alone. I've been when it's snowing and 10 degrees and five other guys show. Part of life here unless you don't want to shoot six months of the year. Shoot n See targets are best for rain cause they're plastic and won't disintegrate.

 

[Funderb]

Shoot n See targets are best for rain cause they're plastic and won't disintegrate.

they also stop sticking when its wet too.
dont forget the stapler, milton.