TargetTalk

it was FREEZING at the range today (~5°C) and everyone were shaking. CAN'T blame the cold so I wonder what's your experience shooting in extreme weather condition?

Wear an insulated/fleece vest to stay warm while keeping your arms less restricted than a heavy coat, and use handwarmers. It's hard to shoot well when your trigger finger is numb, and the metal of the pistol will get cold & suck the heat out of your hands. Our range ventilation heater died, and I shot a practice last Friday when the range was at about 8C. Not fun.

At one time, polar fleece hand/grip covers were allowed for free pistol, but the new rules require nothing covering the wrist, which the old ones did. It's tricky to do a pistol cover with a semi-auto...

Just put on your "BORN TO SUFFER" shirt and tough it out.

...or a Zippo hand warmer in a pocket close to your chest.

Better yet, the hand warmer AND the "Born to Suffer" shirt!!

About 50 years ago, the college team I was on shot in the Greater Boston Pistol League. One of the club ranges was under construction, and had no heat beyond a propane "torpedo" heater, located in a large open area, well behind the firing line. We were shooting in January or February, there was snow on the ground, and it was probably close to 0C outside, with a good breeze from the ventilation system.

The matches started with a 5 minute practice period. Our Coach issued us each an extra 50 rounds of .22 ammo, with instructions to blast through it during practice, and then keep our hands warm on the barrels of our pistols. Worked quite well, actually...

I shoot centerfire rifle at 200 yards in a spring league, and have kept my hands warm on my barrel in quite a few matches. The timing always seems to work out well, with the barrel just warming up about the time I am starting to losing feeling in my fingers.

At a 25m std pistol comp on an outside range in the winter where most of us were slowly freezing from the feet upwards and my trigger finger was so cold it felt it was burning a Russian competitor saw me struggling and commented "cold was a state of mind" - I use that a lot now but I'm still flaming getting cold!

Drdinglab wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:40 pm CAN'T blame the cold so I wonder what's your experience . . . .

Have you considered paying the electric bill?

Hope this helps!

Stay indoors and shoot 10m AP instead

Hello-

We shoot outdoors year round, in Ohio; even though we have an indoor range.

Some years we have three feet of snow on the range.

In fact, we qualified all of our staff one February in three feet of snow and at about 0 degrees Fahrenheit. It was a challenge that tested the ability of our shooters. It was a memorable experience. Each of us, shooters and instructors, took something different away from the training. It was definitely not the same as indoor shooting.

Other years, we are standing in mud past our ankles. Some days the fog is so bad one cannot see the range.

What we do have is paved lanes (that grow over every year) a covered area at 50 yards that can shelter 50 people, and a fire-pit. Note- the fire-pit. We always have a fire, in the fire-pit, even on hot days to control range waste and to cook lunch. On cold days we warm our hands in between shot strings.

(What you cannot see in the photo to the left of the range, is a spring fed pond that is 30 to 40 feet deep and somewhere close to 10 acres in size. The pond also is about 6 feet higher than our range, and floods the range in inclement weather. That pond can be a nemesis, in the spring and fall… To the right are more firing lanes,..)

How can one expect to shoot, and survive, in adverse conditions if one never practices in adverse conditions?

I forgot to say something about how we train on the days when it is 108 degrees in the shade with no wind (our range is in a bowl gorge); but then, you asked about when it is cold out,…

Fire, is your friend! Keep the fire burning and warm up between every qualification/competition round!

A number of these same shooters also train for, and shoot, Olympic pistol and Bullseye pistol. Their experiences on the outdoor range translate to their competitive ability.

Best regards,
m1963

Photo is of one of those foggy days,…I was back at the 50 yard line when I took it.

One thing that is common in New England for offhand (standing) 200 yard centerfire rifle is heated shooting houses with gun ports. Several clubs hold matches every weekend all winter long. You'd need taller ports for pistol, and your hand would need to be outside, but the rest of you could be warmer & out of the breeze.

It can get a little ridiculous. My wife & I went to practice rifle in late March one year, and it was snowing. Not heavily enough to obscure the targets, but the flakes were huge & icy. I was looking through the spotting scope coaching my wife when I say a small explosion in front of her target. She had nailed a snow flake with a .223 inches in front of the target. The face of the target was shredded around the shot from flying ice fragments. I really wish I had kept the target...

I wear a battery operated heated vest, made by Ororo.

Best $150 I've ever spent.

We've got snow at the outdoor range.
I bring a thermos of hot green tea.
Warms me up and has no caffiene!

6string wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 12:17 am We've got snow at the outdoor range.
I bring a thermos of hot green tea.
Warms me up and has no caffiene!

Neither does a few nips of good bourbon (for you "wet" shooters).

Feather jacket is the only way to go. light and warm. And proper gloves.

6string wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 12:17 am We've got snow at the outdoor range.
I bring a thermos of hot green tea.
Warms me up and has no caffiene!

Don't kid yourself. Some green tea has almost the caffeine content of weak coffee.

I double checked Rover's claim. Bourbon is still caffeine-free, the bonded stuff even more so.