Too hot to shoot

[hso]

There are a number of things you can do, but not all of them are desirable to everyone.

Acclimate to the high temp/humidity by spending more and more time outside so your body adjusts. This takes about 3 weeks to be fully effective, but you can see a change in as little as 3 days.

Adjust your shooting schedule to the early cool part of the day. The lower the temp the less you have to adapt to.

Shoot in the shade. If you have to bring your own, do it.

Use cooling clothing instead of your standard heavy jeans and shirts.

Use cooling bandannas and "towels" really work at keeping you cool. Keeping a cooler with chilled water to wet these cooling garments is another way to fight the heat.

While we want to not take anything by mouth if we could transfer lead to ourselves we can bring a sealed cooler of chilled drinks and use wipes on hands and face before drinking the chilled water. Keep the core cool and you can keep the rest of your comfortable.

If you're very sensitive to heat invest in one of the phase change vests that you can wear and will keep your core cooled. They're now popular with motorcyclists to wear under leathers.

 

[bikerdoc]

I do early morning or after 6 in the evening with lots of hydration. Best thing I bring is a 2 quart canteen.

 

[Hardtarget]

I stopped in to see what I'd previously posted.
Today, ( 6/26 ), I worked with my son. We cut 12 yards. Temp was 93-f...so I should not ever complain about taking my time to shoot 100 rounds from the nice covered benches. I mean that cooler of water and Gatorade and ice just about five feet away...

Mark

 

[Liquidring]

I put up the umbrella on the table, get a bottle of cold water and then ask my wife to crack the back door open and put the fan in it to blow the cold air from the house on me, then get told where to go and how to get there.

 

[shiftyer1]

I open the kitchen window and use the window frame as a bench, until she catches me!

 

[TattooedHunter]

Get one of these:

https://www.google.com/search?q=bat...GZDboATS07aoCQ&ved=0CIYBELMY&biw=1327&bih=602

 

[Safety First]

Yup, jut toooo hot/humid

 

[Walkalong]

We had a drop in temps here and it was in the high 80s today instead of the high 90s like it has been. Woohoo. Shot a few rounds too. Then went fishing.

 

[smithman 10]

Cooler days

It's gonna be cooler Sunday afternoon so the wife and I will head to the range to shoot my CMP Garand and maybe a .22.

She loves that M-1 and shoots it pretty well.

 

[ljnowell]

On my way out the door right now to burn up 300 38 wadcutters for practice. We are in the middle of a cold snap right now in IL. At 6:45am it's 61 degrees. Just about perfect I would say.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Crazy hot match this past Sunday, a LOT of people noticed a jump in their heart rates. It was a grueling day.

Hydrate hydrate hydrate.

 

[rduchateau2954]

Indoor archery ranges, or take the handguns to indoor gun ranges.

 

[TwinReverb]

TONIGHT WE SHOOT ... IN HELL!!!



In all honesty, I'd shoot no matter what the temperature. Unless it were in hell. Then I'd have second thoughts. In the USA, no place gets too hot.

 

[dubbleA]

It's going to be in the low 90's here today but I plan on knocking the dust off of a 50 BMG this afternoon. Might shoot some suppressed stuff tonight after the sun goes down.

 

[Schwing]

I don't mind the cold but I will admit that the heat keeps me away from the range. We have pretty wild swings in temperature here where I live. I have seen it in the -10 range in the winter and 108 in the summer.

Like others, I hit the range early. When it hits about 95, I call it a day.

 

[Garrobo]

I go to the

house and watch a ball game and drink beer.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

feel sorry for you guys in urban areas....I got a friend that shoots out of his bedroom or kitchen (and lets me too) also another good spot from my camp house....sit in a/c and shoot if we want to. got good spotting scopes, can shoot more than 400 yards if we want to and no worry about any people being beyond that....so good to live in Texas and be around open range.....literally.

 

[joem1945]

Can't take the heat anymore. Couple of heat strokes years past. I shoot in the AM when it get too hot for me I head to the AC lodge to cool off.

 

[Swampman]

I guess I'm lucky, it seldom gets over 44 degrees here and I've never seen the humidity a bit over 100%.
I'll admit that I'd probably feel cooler if the metric system had a way to put lower numbers on the humidity level though.

Otherwise I'm with Ironicaintit, the heat and humidity I can stand, the mosquitoes, chiggers, red wasps, fire ants, ground hornets and ticks are what bother me.

 

[agtman]

* * * Otherwise I'm with Ironicaintit, the heat and humidity I can stand, the mosquitoes, chiggers, red wasps, fire ants, ground hornets and ticks are what bother me.

Dude, the concept you're struggling with is called "bug spray."

Deep Woods OFF is also good for keeping the skeeters & ticks away, or at least going toward the other guys.

 

[Swampman]

Dude, the concept you're struggling with is called "bug spray."

You could soak for a week in 100% DEET and it wouldn't make a bit of difference when you touched off a round within 15 feet of a ground hornet nest, lay down on an unseen fire ant nest, or shot off a bench with a red wasp nest hidden under it.

Bug repellent only works against things that are trying to EAT you, the ones that are trying to KILL you don't really care how you taste or smell.

They are singularly unimpressed with modern chemistry.

And aside from that, the oil in bug spray makes high humidity heat even worse, it prevents sweat from evaporating and then they mix together and get into your eyes. I use the stuff out of necessity, but I don't like it.

Sorta like shooting when it's 105 degrees and 100% humidity outside.
Better to shoot at dawn in the summer, before things start to get too ugly.

 

[agtman]

You could soak for a week in 100% DEET and it wouldn't make a bit of difference when you touched off a round within 15 feet of a ground hornet nest, lay down on an unseen fire ant nest, or shot off a bench with a red wasp nest hidden under it.

Well, true, ... but our range maintenance people, as well as club members when setting up to shoot, are always checking benches, tables, and surrounding areas (like overhangs) for wasp/hornet/yellow-jacket nests, and the like, during the spring & summer shooting seasons. If found, appropriate insecticide-based measures are taken.

Fire ants aren't present in this region, but I'd sure be scanning the ground carefully before proning-out with my tender tummy on top of the home of something that was likely to come up biting or stinging.
Common sense.

 

[AK103K]

Sorta like shooting when it's 105 degrees and 100% humidity outside.

Aww, thats just summer shooting. That just teaches you to shoot with sweat balls burning in your eyes.

Just like 10* with wind blown snow teaches you to shoot while shivering and wondering if thats the trigger your finger is on, or something else. Wait, do I even still have a finger?

Bugs? phhfftt. I guess all these little distractions just separates the fair weather shooters from the serious shooters.

 

[Hookeye]

Hot and midday.................less shooters on the range.

 

[Plastikosmd]

Bug repellent only works against things that are trying to EAT you, the ones that are trying to KILL you don't really care how you taste or smell.*


Made me lol