Is it ever too cold for trap shooting?

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rob350

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Well i meant to try some trap shooting at the end of fall, but the trap throwers at the range were broken and wont be replaced until the spring.

So hopefully next week i will have time to drive to my cousins and get his thrower and take it to the range.

Does the temperature effect the clays or anything? Or just as long as your trigger finger still functions your good to go?
 
We shoot here all winter long regardless of temp.. I remember one year we had to dig over three foot deep holes to find the stations and would have to climb in and out of the holes to shoot. By late winter you could almost lay your gun on the top of the snow bank.That was a real cold year.
 
If your eyes are sensitive to sunlight, don't forget a good pair of glasses to deal with it. Man, the blue sky and white snow can be annoyingly, if not painfully, bright.
 
Cold weather can cause all kinds of grief.....

Some machines don't perform well (or not at all) when the temperatures drop down to Canadian temperatures.

The original Materelli design really didn't work well below freezing. However they have addressed this by adding a bigger capacitor, and recommending different gear oil (I don't have the specifics for this).

The wear and tear on springs will be higher when it is colder, and it isn't uncommon to break them on different machines.

From there you have to deal with snow removal, and ice on the shooting stations (you really don't want to slip when you have a loaded gun). Access roads to clubs have to be plowed. You would ideally have heat in your clubhouse.... The overhead to keep a club open is much higher. Also, your shooting volume typically goes down, so you have less income coming in to offset the higher overhead. Some clubs simply shut down for the winter months as a result.

Fortunately I shoot at a club that is open year around. I would hate to have to shut down for an extended period of time.


Brad.
 
rob350 said:
Does the temperature effect the clays or anything? Or just as long as your trigger finger still functions your good to go?
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Very cold weather is said to make the clays harder to break. Many shooters move from #8 to #7.5 shot in the winter.

Some shells can behave differently in cold weather. It is not uncommon to hear an off sounding shell in severe cold. If something sounds radically wrong check the barrel to make sure the wad isn't still stuck in there.

Gun fit changes too with layers of clothing and you have less freedom of movement. Semi-automatics can sometimes start to run into problems particularly if the lubricant isn't suited for very cold temperatures.

It's also not as much fun. Wind chill is the problem. Most trap fields are quite open and I can recall some very unpleasant cold and windy days shooting winter leagues particularly in Hamilton and Waterford.

But even so it's still better than staying inside. :)
 
Ok, would my browning light 12 still perform properly?

Would keeping the majority of clays inside a warm vehicle be good enough?
 
rob350 said:
Ok, would my browning light 12 still perform properly?

Would keeping the majority of clays inside a warm vehicle be good enough?
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The Browning should work fine but the only way to find out for sure and that's to get out and give it a try.

I would not keep the clays in a warm vehicle. The minute you brought them into the cold you might have a condensation issue and they could freeze together. Leave them in the trunk and use heavier shot.
 
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Some shells can behave differently in cold weather. It is not uncommon to hear an off sounding shell in severe cold. If something sounds radically wrong check the barrel to make sure the wad isn't still stuck in there.

You are right on about that claybuster. I forgot about the number of increased poppers as we call them. In fact thinking back many of the semi guys switch to using their overunders during these cold months so they can make sure no wad was left behind.
 
We've shot in temperatures that I'm certain were approaching -40, but we keep the club house closer to +40 with the wood stove.

Scores definately drop with the heavier clothing that changes gun fit, and restricts movement. However we still shoot any time of the year someone gets the urge to go out and shoot.
 
Our club stays open all winter and we have shot in minus 40's temps. Yes the colder the weather the more it affects the targets. Rick Lawry explained to me how they're targets are made for an optimum break at a temp of 70 degrees fahrenheit. Once you are in the minus' the targets get HARD! I have seen guys drop them on concrete and not break. In the spring we do a round-up of all the unbroken targets that have laid in the snow all winter and have some fun with them off the manual machines. I have seen targets picked up with over a dozen pellet holes in them that didnt break!!!:eek: Personally I go with 3 dram 7.5 for all my winter shooting including skeet!!;)
 
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Treat yourself to a holdiday and come to the warm side of the Rockies;- Radium Hot Springs. Santa Claus shoot Dec 27, New Years shoot Jan 2. We shoot if temp is -12 or warmer at 9am on shoot day. Machines seem to work fine at that temp. Check out our web site at www.lwdrodgun.org
 
Covey Ridge said:
I would love to see a pic of one with that many holes.
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You don't think that is common??? :confused:This spring I will get you many pictures some with more than 12 holes and together. Every spring we go and pick up all the missed targets also and have a day or two of free rounds. Nothing to see them peppered with holes and still together
 
3macs1 said:
You don't think that is common??? :confused:This spring I will get you many pictures some with more than 12 holes and together.
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I do not know if it common or not! What part of what I said has got you confused? :confused: I do not pick targets all that often. When I have, the most I have seen is 4 or 5 holes. Sure I would love to see some with even more than 12 holes:D
 
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