Shooting in the rain

[Stand_Watie]

Dedicated or just impatient?

All afternoon Sunday I worked in the yard, being a good boy and getting my chores done and looking forward to a little shooting R&R with a couple of new toys....when the rain started about the time the shooting was supposed to start, I knew I had to get creative.


Which is how I found myself crouching between two lawmowers in my leanto style toolshed, choosing flowers in the back yard for targets

Maybe my next construction project should be a carport so I can shoot from my designated shooting line rain or shine?

 

[fjolnirsson]

I've been known to ignore perfectly good shelter in favor of standing in the rain and shooting.
Just because it starts to rain doesn't mean the bad guys will go away. It's not like baseball. YMMV.
Of course, I like the rain.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Go ahead, build your carport.

But it will just fill up with stuff and you'll shoot crouching between the lawn tractor and the bbq grill to shoot at dandelions. Junk happens.

Regards.

 

[TimRB]

Which reminds me...

A couple weeks ago there was a thread about the effects of rain on shooting a 22 at reasonably long ranges. Someone was going to try just such an experiment and report back. I'd be interested in hearing what happened.

Of course, I *know* what happened. Hell, I wouldn't have gone out there, either.

Tim

 

[pax]

Around here, if we didn't shoot in the rain, we'd never shoot at all.

pax in the Pacific Northwet

If you don't go fishing because you thought it might rain you will never go fishing. This applies to more than fishing. -- Gary Sow

 

[Bravo11]

Hey Pax,
I went to Seattle a couple of years ago for some training and I asked the instructor what times of the year was the rainy season. He said October thru October

 

[George S.]

There used to be an old joke going around about forecasting the weather in the Puget Sound area that said " ; If you can't see Mt. Rainier, it means that it is raining; If you can see Mt. Rainier that means it's GOING to rain.

I don't mind shooting in the rain. The hard part is going 200 yards downrange to replace targets

 

[Langenator]

Last time I shot qualification (M-16) it was raining with temps in the lower 40s. Only problem was the the steam coming off the heatsheilds inside the front handguards. Made it tough to see the targets at times.

 

[P95Carry]

I have never enjoyed shooting in the rain .. wearing eyeglasses and despite a cap ... always seem to get rain drops on glass or even misting up too. Makes for very uncomfortable shooting for me .. not to mention paper targets that get like limp rags!

Overall tho biggest downside for me is getting the gun wet .. HATE that ... means a very much more involved strip and clean after. Slightly akin to bike riding in rain ... it ain't me getting wet that is the big bother - rather, it is the clean-up needed later to get bike clean again!

If under cover then rainy weather shooting tolerable ... just - as long as guns stay dry!

 

[Justin]

Once upon a time I attended an IDPA match where a the heavy downpours would be interrupted by sunshine long enough to persuade us from quitting.

The targets were soaked so thoroughly that they lost their rigidity and bent over. It was kind of cool, if you scored a COM shot, you also scored a head shot on the pass through.

 

[pax]

I don't mind shooting in the rain. The hard part is going 200 yards downrange to replace targets

That part is annoying, all right.

Personally, though, the part I hate the worst is trying to get the targets to stay up in the first place.

Soggy targets, sagging, ripping, and falling off the target stands. Ick.

We hate that so much that my buddy and I actually went and bought some corrugated plastic to cut out our own IPSC-type targets for shooting in the rain. Much nicer.

pax

 

[Rockrivr1]

When it's raining, I pretty much give up on hanging paper targets. That's when it's time to break out the coffee cans or plastic juice jugs. Target is always moving if you hit it.

 

[Third_Rail]

The targets were soaked so thoroughly that they lost their rigidity and bent over. It was kind of cool, if you scored a COM shot, you also scored a head shot on the pass through.

Hahaha... that must've been amusing.

 

[Heraclitus]

Rain? What's that?

Actually, we do get washed out once in a while in Southern Texas; but that never kept me from going to the range.

Gnats in their season will.

 

[El Tejon]

Fie! If it's not raining, you're not training.

Love to go to the range in the rain. I have the place to myself. "The weather is so bad that only crows and El Tejon are out in this."

Keeps the less dedicated away. Or should I say committed? No, wait, I should be committed, I mean dedicated.

El Tejon, calling from the green and fertile Wabash River Valley, busying building an ark.

 

[dairycreek]

This is Oregon!

Oregonians don't tan - they rust! Good shooting

 

[Ben Shepherd]

If I''m doing 100+ yard serious target work, I quit.

But defensive training, I keep right on shooting. I want to know my guns that are on the defensive sise of the collection will run in any weather without a hitch.

When it's windy, rainy, and cold and you call still hit 80-90% of your shots even though you're shaking and cold, you go home feeling warm, fuzzy, and a little more secure in your abilities.

Plus that's good practice. After all it's classic hunting weather, isn't it?

 

[Quartus]

No, wait, I should be committed,

We are too polite to argue with you, Tejon. Besides, we agree!





Training in raining is good training. You may quote me. I just made that up, could you tell?


OR, as my old battalion commander used to growl, "RAIN! Now THAT'S real INFANTRY weather!

 

[sm]

Us Dumb Skeet shooters shoot in anything except lightening. Of course there was that time my 3 man squad was shooting really well during a tourney, raining hard enough to make the clays "quiver in flight". We never heard the tornado sirens ( focused and concentration). We finished our last box to realize we were the only idiots on the field. The other 4 fields were clear and all persons were either pointing and gawking ,or had taken cover.

"We were watching, and keeping tabs, didn't want to break the concentration, never seen 3 boys each run 100 straight in a storm before". [match director]

I guess it may be a toss up who is dumber, a duck hunter or skeet shooter...I'm both...double dumb I guess.

I learned early to not clean my glasses but to shoot "between the drops on lens". Snow throws a bit of a wrinkle...shot in snow too.

Sometime I have to "dirty" my glasses just to see...clean don't seem right.

Now on targets I use binder clips or clothes pins that have weed eater line run at top and below target. [ actually the target edges fit inside a good 3" or so] Heavy wax cardboard like meat comes to a butcher works well.

Cheapest target is Alumninum foil. Tear off a pc , the weed eater line is tight and the clips hold in place. Easy to wad up not being soggy and falling apart when time to clean up.

To really cheat instead of using a marker,or orange dot...just cut out the center of wax cardboard or heavy aluminum foil. If all the shots stay inside the 5" "hole" ( meaning you ain't missed ) one does not have to change the target.

I finally Got a pc of Heavy wax cardboard and covered in heavy foil with a hole cut out in center. I then went to a pc of sheet metal and this lasts a long long time. The top had holes and strung the weed eater line ( in and out like weaving), additional support with binder clips even though heavy enough to stay put I binder clipped the bottom in case the wind kicked up.

I think I got addicted to binder clips with all this playing...err...testing.

Adjust "hole" to fit needs and skill. Saves Targets...get to use the same one a long time ...beats having to walk down and change...Ok so I cheat.

I also figure it might not be 70* dry and sunny if all heck breaks loose. So I contunue to train and shoot in all kinds of weather. I want to know the guns runs no matter what. Well they do run in rain, snow and mud.

If they ever start giving "style points" for falling in mud, snow and such I gotta chance to make up points. I'm told I fall, bounce and "splat" pretty good for an old fart- manage to keep muzzle down range in process