Shooting in the rain

rem74283

rem74283

Regular
Rating - 100%
16   0   0
Location
Hamilton Area, Ontario
With the upcoming Ontario skeet shoots coming and the weather forecast changing daily I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be competing in the rain.

Who's done it and what were your experiences like. Any problems I should be prepared for?
 
rem74283 said:
With the upcoming Ontario skeet shoots coming and the weather forecast changing daily I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be competing in the rain.

Who's done it and what were your experiences like. Any problems I should be prepared for?
Click to expand...


Clip a towel on the back of your vest do not touch glasses ignore the drops get some blinders if you don’t have any.

You ask about experiences and I can tell you, it isn’t raining hard until you can see the streaks of shot. The more right answer will be of course someone has been more wet or they don’t shoot practice in the rain and that will somehow compare to a tournament.
If you can Ignore the weather you have most half beat all ready.
 
rem74283 said:
With the upcoming Ontario skeet shoots coming and the weather forecast changing daily I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be competing in the rain.

Who's done it and what were your experiences like. Any problems I should be prepared for?
Click to expand...
My experience comes from shooting sporting clays where you can't trot back to the club house between rounds. The immediate problems that come to mind are fogging glasses, slippery hands and sodden score cards that fall apart. The longer term problem is rust on your gun.

If you are going to shoot in the rain get proper rain gear. Lightweight rain jacket, pants, boots, gloves and a hat with a large brim. If you use a shooting vest wear it over your rain jacket. I've found the rain gear can interfere with my mount. I'll have a couple pairs of gloves with me and something to wipe my glasses between stations.

Don't fall into the temptation of a "bad weather gun." If you are going to shoot your best use what you'd use on a sunny day but don't put it back in the case when you drive home. Upon arrival take it down and dry it out completely with hair dryer or similar device. Depending on how wet it is you might consider taking the stock off and drying the trigger mechanism. Don't forget to take out your choke tubes and dry them to avoid rusty threads. I let the gun sit out of the safe for several hours open until it dries completely and oil it before it goes back into the safe.

Don't complain about the weather. Everyone else has too shoot in it too and if they think it doesn't bother you that's a competitive edge. You might also consider getting a little rainy day practice. Years ago, I beat a much better shooter in quite foul conditions because he never shot in bad weather and couldn't handle windy and rainy conditions.

Finally, if you see lightning or hear thunder go inside. Otherwise that nice shotgun becomes a very expensive lightning rod.
 
I wear goretex pants and a close fitting goretex jacket, waterproof shoes, and a large brimmed goretex hat to keep water from running down the back of my neck. The longer you can stay dry, the easier it is to keep shooting without being effected by being wet and cold.Take some small towels that you can change out between rounds, as they get wet . Have several lens cloths available to clean your classes between rounds.
 
I bought a good breathable rain coat with a hood. Shot in it on Sunday with the hood over my ballcap. Had to adjust the hood a bit when I mounted my gun but otherwise not bad. Ran straight to station 7 and made the mistake of thinking I was home free. Missed low 7. Kicked myself for that one. Disappointing 24 but good rain experience. Looking forward to the Oshawa 200 on Saturday.
 
If you are going to shoot registered skeet, it is not a matter of if you will have to shoot in the rain, but when you will have to shoot in the rain.

-Always bring your rain gear regardless of the weather forecast. Every time it shoots I hear someone complain that they didn't bring their gear because they didn't think it would rain.
-If it is threatening rain as you are about to go out, bring your gear with you to the field. Nobody wants to sit in the rain waiting for you while you run off to get it mid round.
-Make sure that you can shoot in your rain gear. Don't figure it out for the first time during an event.
-I like to wear rain pants to keep my lower body dry. I don't usually wear a rain coat as I haven't found one that I'm comfortable in. Upper body usually gets wet.
-A cloth or paper towel for your glasses can help. Figure out what works for you. I bring a few sets of glasses. I can get through about 2 rounds per pair with a towel.
-Depending on how hard it is raining, a towel to keep your ammo dry (less wet) and/or a towel to keep your gun breach less wet.
-Bring a change of clothes unless you want to spend the day wet.
-Make sure you bring supplies to clean your gun afterwards. You don't want to put your gun away wet and leave it.

Brad.
 
I know that between stations you are supposed to keep the action open but in the rain is there anything saying I can't have the action closed and the muzzle on my foot to keep the rain out of breech.
 
rem74283 said:
Because the rules say the action should be open or because you think I'll shoot my own foot?
Click to expand...

Open or out.

Pretty basic safty rule.

Not being an ass to you but forsure that isn't going to go over well.

Don't over think and smash some targets...

A good reminder for more expericed shooters that we all had to start somewhere and to correct but not be little new shooters.
 
rem74283 said:
I know that between stations you are supposed to keep the action open but in the rain is there anything saying I can't have the action closed and the muzzle on my foot to keep the rain out of breech.
Click to expand...
Open or out is the rule but even if it weren't water will still get in the breech. You have to walk on to the field and off and the action must be open. Instead of resting a closed gun on your foot, you could hold it as you usually do and place a piece of waterproof cloth over the breech. FWIW, in the UK where they get more rain than we do they just shoot as they usually do and make sure their guns are thoroughly dried afterwards.
 
Ok. So basically I need to get a bunch of shami cloths and keep one over my ammo pouch and one on my gun. Then have a stash put aside for after the rounds are done.

Might just put the shells in the pocket of my waterproof jacket and save myself a bit of hassle. One box at a time shouldn't be a problem.

Do you guys go into the houses to keep your ammo bags dry and wipe down your glasses between rounds?
 
rem74283 said:
Ok. So basically I need to get a bunch of shami cloths and keep one over my ammo pouch and one on my gun. Then have a stash put aside for after the rounds are done.

Might just put the shells in the pocket of my waterproof jacket and save myself a bit of hassle. One box at a time shouldn't be a problem.

Do you guys go into the houses to keep your ammo bags dry and wipe down your glasses between rounds?
Click to expand...
You don't need the cloths. Rain won't hurt your ammo for the brief time you are out there. Rain won't hurt your gun provided you don't put it in the case wet and thoroughly dry it out when you get home. Shooting in the rain otherwise is not that big a deal. Duck hunters do it all the time.
 
rem74283 said:
Ok. So basically I need to get a bunch of shami cloths and keep one over my ammo pouch and one on my gun. Then have a stash put aside for after the rounds are done.

Might just put the shells in the pocket of my waterproof jacket and save myself a bit of hassle. One box at a time shouldn't be a problem.

Do you guys go into the houses to keep your ammo bags dry and wipe down your glasses between rounds?
Click to expand...

It is somewhat common to leave bags in the house... if it can be done so that it doesn't disrupt the other field or operation in general.

I wouldn't worry about the gun and ammo getting wet too much. If you can easily avoid it, then great, but when the rain is really coming, there is nothing you can do. As others have commented, yes, you still need to keep your gun open when not on the pad.

Don't over-think it, but still try to be prepared. I would recommend focusing on 2 things:

1) Clear the rain off your lenses so that you can see.
2) Keep a consistent mount/grasp of your gun.

The ability to concentrate as water runs over you and all your gear is what separates the great shooters from the good shooters.
 
bmcrae said:
It is somewhat common to leave bags in the house... if it can be done so that it doesn't disrupt the other field or operation in general.
Click to expand...

I only started competing last year and shot at some local clubs over the winter. I usually see a table of some sort near the high house that we reload at between rounds. I was asking I it was the norm to keep your bags inside the high house during the rain to keep stuff dry. Might be a silly question. Don't know how it would disturb other squads though.
 
Be prepared that it is a lot harder to shoot in a jacket that has a hood, instead of a baseball cap in good weather.

Don't start worrying about the fact you have a multi mortgage payment gun out in the rain. Its a tool and doing what it was designed for, even in the rain. I like hard cases that have the egg shell foam in them. When you get home, just open up the case to dry and let any condensation form if its cold. Then clean when you can.

And of course remember that its supposed to be fun, when its raining, everyone is handicapped. Just go and shoot your best.

C
 
Cardamonfrost said:
Be prepared that it is a lot harder to shoot in a jacket that has a hood, instead of a baseball cap in good weather.

Don't start worrying about the fact you have a multi mortgage payment gun out in the rain. Its a tool and doing what it was designed for, even in the rain. I like hard cases that have the egg shell foam in them. When you get home, just open up the case to dry and let any condensation form if its cold. Then clean when you can.

And of course remember that its supposed to be fun, when its raining, everyone is handicapped. Just go and shoot your best.

C
Click to expand...

I shot on Sunday with my hood up over my ball cap. The hat helped keep the hood up and a few times when I mounted my gun I had to pull at the side of my hood and then press the gun to my shoulder and my vision was clear. I only shot one round but the hat/hood helped keep the rain off my glasses a bit.
I almost ran straight. Hopefully I can duplicate that the next time I'm out in the rain. Haha
 
rem74283 said:
I only started competing last year and shot at some local clubs over the winter. I usually see a table of some sort near the high house that we reload at between rounds. I was asking I it was the norm to keep your bags inside the high house during the rain to keep stuff dry. Might be a silly question. Don't know how it would disturb other squads though.
Click to expand...

It depends where the door and fence are. If you need to walk onto the field beside you, then no it wouldn't be OK.

Not a silly question at all. When it is pouring rain, I do try to put my ammo bag somewhere dry. Sometimes it is possible, sometimes not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom