Shooting antique pistols at winter time ???

If it's a revolver, make sure it's not oily, I messed up a little spring shooting my revolver at -14 or so a couple years back. I stopped using oil and put some powdered graphite in it instead, but it took me a long time to find a new spring. It was a Dan Wesson model 15 .357, not really an antique, but I think it's a couple years older than I am :)
 
From first hand experience I've shoot my blackpowder antique handguns in the wintertime, but only in a semi heated indoor range. Not sure I would outdoors. The biggest challenge was getting the borebuter warm enough to cover the cylinders.

All cleaning was done at home.

Brian
 
If you promise not to laff, since around 1979 I've been using an emulsified hand/skin cream called E45 as a lubricant in my percussion revolvers. Being an emulsion, it washes away, taking all the black powder crud with it. I've used it down to -15C as well, and although it gets pretty stiff, it does not go solid like Bore Butter. You can get in in most drug stores.

Get a small tub to start with - I bought a 5kg tub from a pharmaceutical wholesalers about ten years ago and have hardly made a dent in it, even though I regularly shoot around a hundred or so .44cal ball on a guest day - once a month.

Aucun riant, s'il vous plaît, mais depuis 1979 j'ai utilisé une crème de la main émulsionnée appelée E45 comme un lubrifiant dans mes revolvers de la percussion. Être une émulsion, il emporte, en prenant tous les restes de la poudre noirs avec lui. Je l'ai utilisé aussi jusqu'à -15C, et bien qu'il devienne assez raide, il ne va pas solide comme Beurre du Calibre. Vous pouvez arriver dans à la plupart des magasins de la drogue.

Obtenez qu'une petite quantité l'essaie dehors - j'en ai acheté 5kg dans un grand récipient plastique d'un grossistes pharmaceutiques il y a approximativement dix années et a fait à peine une marque dedans, bien que je tire régulièrement autour de cent ou donc balle .44cal un jour de l'invité - une fois par mois.

tac
 
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I do most of my shooting in winter and have only had trouble with heavy grease in temps to -40. Light oil has been fine for me.
 
Verry good !

Thank you all for your help ! I own a webley MK1** and au french 1892 i both reload for them. I was just wondering if thoes old girls made of old time steel would handle the cold weather shooting as moderne one do.

Cheers !
 
My favourite time of year to shoot my 1895 Swiss mod1882 revolver, and everything else, is the winter. The only issue is that Remington brass fits pretty tightly (just enough rim clearance without binding in the summer), but with cold's expansive forces, Remington brass can be a problem. Starline, no problem. The revolver handles it all in stride.
 
My favourite time of year to shoot my 1895 Swiss mod1882 revolver, and everything else, is the winter. The only issue is that Remington brass fits pretty tightly (just enough rim clearance without binding in the summer), but with cold's expansive forces, Remington brass can be a problem. Starline, no problem. The revolver handles it all in stride.

Good to know ! I fell a lot safer using my presious antique revolvers in the cold now !

Thanks !
 
My favourite time of year to shoot my 1895 Swiss mod1882 revolver, and everything else, is the winter. The only issue is that Remington brass fits pretty tightly (just enough rim clearance without binding in the summer), but with cold's expansive forces, Remington brass can be a problem. Starline, no problem. The revolver handles it all in stride.

Maybe I need another coffee ( OK, I'm having another 3 in the next bit!), but cold contracts metals...heat expands them no?
You are probably refering to the brass being tighter, due to brass vs steel rate of contraction. Google foo 'Freezing the balls of a brass monkey'...which doesn't stand up on closer scrutiny either.
As I'm Rednek Oilpatch I think I'm somewhat versed in abuse and reactions of metal at extreme cold.
It won't shatter like you are worried about. I've seen 6.25" drill collars weighting 135 kg /m ( 9m average length...that's heavy!) 'Air mailed' onto a catwalk when laying them out ( in extreme cold ). No shattering happens.
But just you stretch a Barbed wire fence too tight when building it in the summer...it'll break when it gets cold most likely. That's the contraction right there
Weird Rednek science lesson #1, LOL.
Stay safe
 
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Verry good !

Thank you all for your help ! I own a webley MK1** and au french 1892 i both reload for them. I was just wondering if thoes old girls made of old time steel would handle the cold weather shooting as moderne one do.

Cheers !

WW1 didn't stop for winter.
 
Maybe I need another coffee ( OK, I'm having another 3 in the next bit!), but cold contracts metals...heat expands them no?
You are probably refering to the brass being tighter, due to brass vs steel rate of contraction. Google foo 'Freezing the balls of a brass monkey'...which doesn't stand up on closer scrutiny either.

LOL... I guess you're right... now I have to figure out why my Remington brass seems to bind my revolver in the winter... :)
 
Maybe I need another coffee ( OK, I'm having another 3 in the next bit!), but cold contracts metals...heat expands them no?
You are probably refering to the brass being tighter, due to brass vs steel rate of contraction. Google foo 'Freezing the balls of a brass monkey'...which doesn't stand up on closer scrutiny either.
As I'm Rednek Oilpatch I think I'm somewhat versed in abuse and reactions of metal at extreme cold.
It won't shatter like you are worried about. I've seen 6.25" drill collars weighting 135 kg /m ( 9m average length...that's heavy!) 'Air mailed' onto a catwalk when laying them out ( in extreme cold ). No shattering happens.
But just you stretch a Barbed wire fence too tight when building it in the summer...it'll break when it gets cold most likely. That's the contraction right there
Weird Rednek science lesson #1, LOL.
Stay safe

I like your redneck school ! Any recruting soon ???
 
Any surface lube on the cases or externally lubed bullets like the French 11mm can be tough to shove into the chambers when it's cold.

Shooting muzzle loaders or cleaning in serious cold needs some adjustments such as adding methanol to your moose milk.

Other than that it's mostly a matter of what your fingers can stand.
 
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