Bad Weather Shooting

Kramer1113

Kramer1113

New member
Today is January 27th.
High today was 70.
Wednesday the 29th it will be a high of 48 rain and wind.
Wednesday is my range day.
I know many of you have much worse weather. Do you shoot in bad weather?
When expressing my excitement about the up and coming range day the people at work asked why I would go to the range on such a bad day.
The reply was simple, I have no control over when I may need to fire my weapon in defense of myself or my family.
Anyone out there doing any bad weather shooting?
Umm, Outdoor shooting... It doesn't count if its -35 outside and your at an indoor range.:smile:
 
Kramer,

I've been battling this myself. I usually don't care what the weather is like when I'm shooting outdoors for exactly the reasons you give. What if I'm wearing gloves? Can I still shoot? What if it's rainy and my hands are wet? Can I still shoot? What if its cold and my fingers are starting to get numb?

But lately it's been in the negatives and wind chills are around -20 degrees. So, I've not been going out. :)

Brutally cold winter for Pittsburgh lately.
 
It was almost 40 about 10 days ago. Ran 50 rounds through an AMT Backup outdoors. I just bought a Ruger GP100 Match Champion. As soon as it gets over freezing I will be out shooting it. Right now it is -9 with wind chills of -20.
 
I haven't gone in cold weather yet, though I plan to soon so I can try out different gloves. Cold is an issue for me... it doesn't take freezing weather for my hands to go numb, and sometimes then become very painful. I'll probably keep range sessions fairly short, depending on the temperature. Don't want to get too klutzy! :)
 
We be 14 tomorrow morning. The wife and I usually don't train in inclement weather. Especially at an outdoor range. BUT.....we do train under multiple scenarios so the weather won't change our round placement due to snow of frigid temperatures. I rarely ware a glove on my strong hand if out in town.
 
I love "bad" weather-the range is usually deserted. When I was a cruising sailor there was no option of going home, so we adjusted our clothing to suit the conditions. Same way with shooting.
 
Kramer1113 said:
Today is January 27th.
High today was 70.
Wednesday the 29th it will be a high of 48 rain and wind.
Wednesday is my range day.
I know many of you have much worse weather. Do you shoot in bad weather?
When expressing my excitement about the up and coming range day the people at work asked why I would go to the range on such a bad day.
The reply was simple, I have no control over when I may need to fire my weapon in defense of myself or my family.
Anyone out there doing any bad weather shooting?
Umm, Outdoor shooting... It doesn't count if its -35 outside and your at an indoor range.:smile:
Click to expand...
A sultry 10 below zero here in Battle Creek, MI. I'm envious.
 
The last "Bad weather" I shot in was 20+ mph cross winds. If you don't think 20+ MPH winds will move your shots you need to give it a try!
 
"48 rain and wind" isn't too bad. Just dress accordingly in layers and with GORE-TEX outer shell. Nothing more fun than standing in the mud in drenching rain and shooting at clay targets that drift away in the wind. :smile:
 
Kramer1113 said:
The last "Bad weather" I shot in was 20+ mph cross winds. If you don't think 20+ MPH winds will move your shots you need to give it a try!
Click to expand...

Try this with a .17 HMR round... don't ever try to sight a scope on a .17hmr if there is any wind. It will make you want to gnash your teeth and bang your head.
 
Kramer1113 said:
Today is January 27th.
High today was 70.
Wednesday the 29th it will be a high of 48 rain and wind.
Wednesday is my range day.
I know many of you have much worse weather. Do you shoot in bad weather?
When expressing my excitement about the up and coming range day the people at work asked why I would go to the range on such a bad day.
The reply was simple, I have no control over when I may need to fire my weapon in defense of myself or my family.
Anyone out there doing any bad weather shooting?
Umm, Outdoor shooting... It doesn't count if its -35 outside and your at an indoor range.:smile:
Click to expand...

Yes, yes and hell yes. You should train in all weather, especially bad weather! If you've got the time & money and see a bad weather day approaching, plan to shoot on that day. I've trained in 100+ degree, blistering desert heat... high winds, heavy rain and even sleet & snow. Training in such environments is what made me decide to always wear gloves when training (I like mechanics) and one of the things that helped me choose the AK as my go-to combat rifle. Everything you are good at in good weather, you're going to struggle with in bad weather unless you train that way.

Some of the most fun I've ever had while running the drills was in the snow in NM. There was about two inches on the ground already and it was still coming down as we were getting started. After a run each we were wet and cold... that's when you really learn whether or not you've perfected a procedure! That's also when you find out if you actually have a battle-ready carbine... adverse weather. I advise everyone who's capable to run all their CCW or rifle drills in bad weather, repeatedly if you can. Just don't drop the gun next to your buddies.... heh.
 
Oddly enough, the winter storm that is brushing through the SE presented an opportune time to go shooting yesterday with a friend of mine. We went out for about two hours for some simple carbine and handgun drills followed with some jack@ssery of sorts, y'know... just having fun and not caring about doing anything right. We brought a couple of .38s, a 1911, an AK, M4, Mosin, 20ga coach gun, 10-22 and a Remington .223 bolt gun and had a blast outside in the cold rain. On the crappy side, I'm sore as hell and will have to take a down day to let my back recover...

Now, where's my Oxy...?
 
I love it! I usually have the range to myself. Plus I agree with all the other comments listed above about being confident to use your weapon in any situation with or without gloves. I also like to see how my handloads perform in windy conditions. I just always make sure to give my guns an extra good cleaning and oiling after the session.
 
When I was still in corrections the range officer didn't care what the weather was on the scheduled qualification day. His attitude was you don't get to pick the weather at the very time that you need to use your weapon to defend your life.
 
Fortunate enough to be able to shoot on my own property and have an established small arms range set up. This give me the opportunity to shoot anytime I want and have been known to stop cutting grass to shoot a couple of mags and then go back to cutting grass. Pick up fresh mags when I get something to drink and do it all over again.
~
Never really thought about the inclement weather thing because I shoot when I want too, not when I have made arrangements to go to the range.
~
Even my Mini 14 and AR are set up for short range since the home is situated in such a manner that my field of fire ending at the woods line is no more than 30 yards out.
~
I do notice a difference in cold weather with all the clothing, gloves and slippery terrain, but it is all worth it. I enjoy shooting, period.
 
It was more fun than cold yesterday for us. It was 43 degrees. For Florida it was a cold day at the range.
Just to put things in perspective I was born in Minnesota and raised in Toledo Ohio, so I know cold. Still, after 25 years here in Florida 43 is cold.
We gave the kids those hunting hand warming packets, it seemed to save their day.
This brings me to my next question.
What kind of gloves are you using?
It would have been nice to have some gloves. A good pair of gloves would last me the rest of my life considering the limited use they would see.
 
Kramer1113 said:
It was more fun than cold yesterday for us. It was 43 degrees. For Florida it was a cold day at the range.
Just to put things in perspective I was born in Minnesota and raised in Toledo Ohio, so I know cold. Still, after 25 years here in Florida 43 is cold.
We gave the kids those hunting hand warming packets, it seemed to save their day.
This brings me to my next question.
What kind of gloves are you using?
It would have been nice to have some gloves. A good pair of gloves would last me the rest of my life considering the limited use they would see.
Click to expand...

Grey Mechanics... Had 'em for years.
 
Kramer1113 said:
It was more fun than cold yesterday for us. It was 43 degrees. For Florida it was a cold day at the range.
Just to put things in perspective I was born in Minnesota and raised in Toledo Ohio, so I know cold. Still, after 25 years here in Florida 43 is cold.
We gave the kids those hunting hand warming packets, it seemed to save their day.
This brings me to my next question.
What kind of gloves are you using?
It would have been nice to have some gloves. A good pair of gloves would last me the rest of my life considering the limited use they would see.
Click to expand...

Seriously? Hand warmers at 43 degrees. Geesh. :smile: I generally don't use those unless I'm out hunting for hours and its very cold (below freezing outside) for the whole day.

If you get a good pair of mechanics gloves (many brands out there now) they have good finger grips on them and don't have bulky excess material. They aren't the warmest gloves, but you don't need that where you are.
 
I train myself to adapt to all different sorts or weather. I train in rain, snow, cold, hot, and everything in between. Kramer1113 is right that you don't get to control when you may need to use your skill set, so it's best to train yourself to take on any type of weather you may encounter.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk
 
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