Autoloaders for waterfowl in winter ice conditions

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scaleguy

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Hi all,

Im new to hunting, and have an SX3 that im debating trading in on a A400... but my experienced waterfowl hunting buddy keeps scaring me off the autoloaders, saying that around the water they ice up.

Is it true that in the cold they become quite unreliable? Is one a better choice than the other in these conditions?

Thanks!
 
Shoot What you got and dont worry about it.
Unless you like spending money and chasing horror stories of yore.
Keep your gun clean and lube according to the manufactures recommendations.
G-96 is your guns best friend.
One last note, if your gun ices up , why is it in the water and are you swimming with it?
Tight Chokes,
Rob
 
G96 all the way. The only trouble I've ever had with guns in the cold and wet was when they were way over lubed. I bought a new pump 12 ga one hunting season, seemed functional and I was in a rush so I never bothered with disassembly. That thing froze up so bad I couldn't eject the shell in the chamber. The action was full of what had to be WD40 or some other abomination, frozen and wadded into a ball of goo.
 
HAHA, well I dont intend to go swimming with it. He mentioned a few situations where his brothers browning maxxis froze up. One is when the steel is cold enough to have condensation form on it and freeze. The other is just splashes in a canoe getting on/in it or incidental water getting splashed onto it in various situations.

But anyway, from the sounds of it, it isnt a major concern. Thanks for the replies!
 
I've hunted geese in freezing rain with no issues using autoloaders , as mentioned just use a good gun oil and go easy on the lubrication, as a side I use synthetic gun oils as they reportedly are less temperature sensitive.
 
The thing with autoloaders out duck hunting and why your friend didn't reccomend it, they do get dirty, and lets say you set it down, get dirt in the action, it can cause the gun to malfunction if it gets in the right way. Some don't want to take that chance cause they know it will be thrown around in the water and dirt and a pump is hard to stop, i've had mine bad once it was loaded up with a bunch of sand that i set it down on, sounded and felt like sandpaper in it, but never failed to fire or cycle. Other autoloaders have small gas ports and tight tolerances on things and some don't take much to get them to stop moving.
 
Use a good quality synthetic lubricant and you should have no problems with cold weather. Mobil 1 0W40, for example, has a pour point of -54C.
 
Don't listen to your buddy. Stay away from axle grease, and clean it occasionally. A light lubing is all an auto needs.

Every auto that I've seen jam or freeze up in poor conditions, all involved the action being full of crap (sticks, dirt, gobs of grease, cattails, etc). My favorite one was a fella that #####ed how his 11-87 was a POS. Once the action was cleared of all the twigs, dirt, and cattails, it works like a charm. Today that fella is a guide and outdoor writer!
 
Get your self the auto loader you want and can of G96 .clean and lube the gun on a regular basis and your gun will work as it should .
 
I've used my SX3's in -15c on a spring geese hunt and they worked like a charm. Go easy on the lube and it'll be just fine. The only time where i've had any issues is when i tried using light target loads on a december grouse hunt. With regular hunting load, the cold has never been an issue.
 
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I think pumps have more moving parts than semi's. Two drops of oil on the bolt slides is the only lube you need on an SX3.
 
I've put about 6 different Benelli's through hell and back over quite a few years and hunted in all kinds of conditions. Never had one freeze up, or quit working period.
 
I use a pump, my buddy's Browning auto has frozen up on him a number of times I do not know why but it does. He has switched to a pump as well. I should also state my friend is an avid hunter who cares for his guns like no one else I know, they are kept clean and stored in a climate controlled enviroment. He tried everything but it is a reoccurring problem with that gun
 
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