How cold can it get and still shoot

[Crazy.kayaker]

I'm wondering just how cold can you shoot ammo in. both rim fire and center fire ammo. Winters here can get pretty cold up around the 3000-6000 ft elevation. I know you have to be careful with your gun barrel in really cold weather.

 

[Amphibious]

shot both in -40C without issue. use a good synthetic oil in your rifle though.

 

[stubblejumper]

The effects of cold on making gun barrels brittle to the point of splitting when fired, have been greatly exaggerated by some people.

 

[Nine]

I've shot in sub -40C weather with no probs.

Prop the gun in a corner with a fan on it to acclimatize. Clean it after it's at room temp.

 

[Crazy.kayaker]

shot both in -40C without issue. use a good synthetic oil in your rifle though.

I use Hops #9 would that be good enough or should I try something different?

The effects of cold on making gun barrels brittle to the point of splitting when fired, have been greatly exaggerated by some people.

I was more thinking about shooting like on a range where you don't shoot one or two rounds off but a few dozen. I'd take extra care so I don't damage the barrel such as hot cold extremes. I also know the guns have to be able to take the temperature differences but no reason to abuse your gun.

 

[tiriaq]

.22 rf becomes rather anemic in extreme cold, and the bore willl foul quickly. CF will lose some velocity.
Concerns have been expressed about double based powder, and certain stainless steel used in rifle barrels.

As far as coming indoors is concerned, I preferred to leave my rifle cased, until it reached room temperature. I would then clean it. This reduces the amount of condensation on the rifle; the only available moisture is what is trapped inside the case.

 

[Amphibious]

I use Hops #9 would that be good enough or should I try something different?

it's not the greatest. I use Whipeout for my bores, dry teflon spray for my semiauto's and 0w30 full synthetic motoroil for my other rifles.

simple green and a toothbrush when things need a really good scrub.

 

[geologist]

I degrease my rifles for winter conditions. I just dis-assemble the bolt and drop it in a solvent to remove the oil, give everything a light going over with a toothbrush. Re-assemble when everything is dry and Bob's your Uncle for conditions from -20 to -45 C.

 

[Northman999]

i've shot military 5.56 and 7.62 at -65 celcius; no chrony's or anything to determine velocity, but everything worked. Just remember to keep you firearm free of lubricant.

 

[Crazy.kayaker]

Free of lube. I guess I'll have to call Winchester and get a manual for my .308 same with my .22 but call Henry. Thanks for the help I was worried I would have to stop shooting this winter if it cold too cold and not hunt the winter rabbits

 

[TimberPig]

Free of lube. I guess I'll have to call Winchester and get a manual for my .308 same with my .22 but call Henry. Thanks for the help I was worried I would have to stop shooting this winter if it cold too cold and not hunt the winter rabbits

I am willing to bet, you will decide it is colder outside than you wish to expose yourself to, long before it is cold enough to cause issues with your firearms. The biggest issues for your gun, as already mentioned, relate to oil gelling and causing misfires. Clean the gun well removing all old oil and re oil sparingly with a synthetic lube. You should have no problems.

Chamber pressures can drop in cold weather as well, which affects velocity and bullet drop. You may need to re-sight in or hold higher in cold weather, depending upon temperatures when your rifle was last sighted in.

 

[H4831]

Crazy.kayaker, It dosen't get cold enough where you (and the general area where I) live to even remotely think about not shooting. For the severest of cold weather here you should degrease the action, mainly the firing pin, and go do your thing.
In the part of northern Canada where I grew up temperatures regularily went to 40 below and sometimes 50 below. The homesteaders shot moose and elk all winter to feed their families. They cleaned their actions with kerosene in the fall and didn't oil them until spring.
Also, many homesteaders, plus all the trappers, left their rifles outside all winter, so they wouldn't rust from getting hot and cold. They just hung them on a nail by the outside door, before they came in.
And amphibious, I don't mean to be picky, but was wondering where you shot when it was minus 40?
I don't think it has been as cold as minus 40 in any place in the general Prince George area, and south of that in BC, in the last, maybe 40 or more years.

 

[cosmic]

CK - Are you confusing Hoppes #9 solvent, and Hoppes gun oil? If you've been using the solvent as lube most of it evaporates in a day ...

 

[geologist]

I've seen a 10/22 gum upand it was only -20C. It wasn't mine so I don't know how dirty/oily it was. All I know is that I got all of the rabbits that his dog flushed that day with my unlubed Mossberg 500!

 

[Crazy.kayaker]

CK - Are you confusing Hoppes #9 solvent, and Hoppes gun oil? If you've been using the solvent as lube most of it evaporates in a day ...

Says it's gun Oil not solvent
I use guns smoke foaming solvent in the barrel I always put a few patches over the firing pin and then pug up both ends with another patch to keep it where it belongs. I have yet to strip down and clean either of my Lever Actions (.22 and .308) don't have the manuals yet and don't know guns well enough to try it blind but I needed to know what I have to do so I can still shoot during the winter. Anyone here familiar with how to strip down a M88 and an Ithaca 72 (think Henry H001 their basic .22 lever).

 

[XXXXX]

Hmmm I was at the range earlier today and it was -22c with the wind chill factor. I got a lot of stovepipes and a couple misfires, as well as some magazine feeding problems.

I use G96 oil.

Am I reading correctly that for winter shooting there should be no lubricant whatsoever in the action?

 

[Jay]

Hmmm I was at the range earlier today and it was -22c with the wind chill factor.

Windchill factor is purely felt by living creatures, not machinery...

-10 & blowing like hell is still -10 for a piece of machinery...

Cheers
Jay

 

[Nine]

I use a very light coat of "gunslick" graphite grease.

 

[Amphibious]

Am I reading correctly that for winter shooting there should be no lubricant whatsoever in the action?

i've used a very light coating of 0w30 fully synthetic down to -35 in my bolt rifles without any issues.

had my 10/22 out to -20ish without problems (only semi I have). I use a teflon drylube spray in it.

 

[Eagleye]

I have not seen it at -40ºC in Prince George since I returned to the area in 1985, but prior to that, in the Fraser Lake area, we had a couple of days where the mercury dipped below -40ºC. I actually shot a moose when it was -35ºC.[LEH late cow draw] Another cold hunt was in the Pink Mountain area, for Bison. We hunted in -42ºC weather for a couple of days, but I shot the Bison on a day when it had "warmed up" to -38ºC On that Bison hunt, we had a couple of guys hunting from the sunshine coast. Neither of their rifles would fire when in the cold, and they had failed to get shots away a couple of times during the hunt. Needless to say, they were a bit frustrated. On an evening in camp, I stripped both rifles' bolts and cleaned all the oil out of them, substituting dry graphite in very minute quantities. Next two days saw them each bag their Bison. Oil of any kind can impair the strike of a firing pin in cold weather. Best to have none in the bolt at all. As for rimfire, some types of ammo are not very good in cold weather. I like the ammo specifically designed for sub-zero temps [Lapua Polar Biathlon, for example] since it tends to be consistent, even in the cold temperatures. Regards, Eagleye.