Bitter Cold Shooting

[Poor Private]

I never use any kind of patch in my rifled musket. I use a minie' ball(53 Enfield). It doesn't require a patch. Next questin I have is how many of you really go out and fire/hunt in extreme weather? Right now as I type this it is -10F out side with a windchill in the -20's . Am I going outside to shoot--No way, no how. I will do like they did. Huncker down till the weather gets better. Eat jerked meat and pemican. How many of us really (come on admit it) go outside in a driving rain and hunt. Sure I go out in a drizzle, or a mild snow. How I cover my nipple/ cone, is I leave the last fired cap on or I use the nipple protector that came with my 53 Enfield.
They didn't go out hunting and firing their weapons in incliment weather unless they needed to.
The best way to keep it from freezing is to- Stay at home and be on the Muzzle loading forum like I am. It's to damn cold to go out unless I have to. Opps I got to go feed and water the goats, and sheep. :haha:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Today's Shooters tend to be spoiled, but not all of us. I sponsored a New Year's Day Shoot at my club, solely to give the members an excuse to get out of the house in the Afternoon, and away from the TV parades. My secret, underlying reason was to get them to shoot their guns in cold weather- preferably below freezing, so they would learn how to load and shoot their guns.

They found that POI dropped the colder it got. Spit and water based lubes tend to stiffen and freeze the patch, before they could get the ball and patch down the barrel. They switched to use oil based lubes for their patches.

They found that there heavy overcoats make their stocks feel too long, and more difficult to mount their their shoulder or arms.

They found their hands could freeze to their barrels if they weren't wearing gloves, so they learned how to load the guns with one or both gloves on their hands. Kind of like picking up dimes with gloves on.

The percussion shooters found out just how wonderful capping tools can be.

The first year I sponsored the shoot, I was the only shooter- altho 2 other men showed up without guns, wanting to see I really intended to shoot. It took 5 years, but we had more than 20 shooters at one of those Jan. 1 shoots that year,. The match was only 3 shots, and entry fee was $1.00. We had side matches, and private bets, but we kept the main match simple. That last year, we paid money to 4th place.

So, there are people who know how to survive, and shoot their MLers in below freezing temperatures. How many actually go out into the cold? I can't say.

I have done it, Because our Deer Season occurs in December, and its so short, if you chose to not hunt in cold weather, or wet, rainy weather, you might as well not buy a Deer Permit. Illinois had for many years a special season for deer hunting with handguns in selected counties, held IN JANUARY, when Its almost NEVER warm.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I'm not happy at any temp under 10 degrees.

I'll still go out, but i'm not happy. I think 30 degrees is perfect. 50 degrees is too hot.

 

[Ian]

Our B.P.only season is the last 3 days of Nov, It can be -25c or a balmy -15c I've shot a lot of deer over the yrs and learned a lot the main thing tramping around up to your knees in snow I'M too damned old for it any more. cheers Ian.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Our B.P.only season is the last 3 days of Nov, It can be -25c or a balmy -15c I've shot a lot of deer over the yrs and learned a lot the main thing tramping around up to your knees in snow I'M too damned old for it any more. cheers Ian.

I am too. I try and enjoy hunting now. Not torture myself.

I know Canada has colder weather than where I am, but I hunt at 9000-10,000 ft, and it can get a little nippy.

 

[jethro224]

With only 10 days total, if you buy both firearm and ML-only tags, to hunt bucks with guns here in Illinois I go out every day no matter what the weather.
Then there are 7 more days in January for antlerless deer. I only go out for 4 of those days because of lack of vacation days.

The weather can range from t-shirts in the sunshine to a half an inch of ice on your coat. Sometimes in the same day! I've been out hunting in thunderstorms, tornado warnings, blizzards, and temps down to -20F. Yep, I go out even in bad weather. :youcrazy:

Mostly using Stumpy's Moose Snot, I've never been able to tell the difference if a loaded patch was frozen. I worry more about keeping the ice chipped off of the sights. :haha:
When it's really cold I keep a small tin with some lubed patches and a couple of balls in my shirt pocket so they stay nice and flexible.

 

[texcl]

We get down to around -48 to -50 every year. I usually use olive oil for hunting patches and keep them in an inner pocket. I have used lard and other more solid lubes and yes they do set up in the barrel they are always fully "deployed" with no excess lube on them when I find them on the ground, no difference in accuracy or poi. Loading is the real issue.

 

[Rod Lassey]

I just got in from the winter camp that the Ft. Union Muzzleloaders hold the last weekend of January each year. Not only do we shoot, but we camp out in the snowbanks :youcrazy:

I tend to be a traditionalist, so I use my own blend of animal grease and beeswax. Mix it thin for winter, thicker for summer. It will get pretty solid, even the thin stuff, but warms quickly in the hand. No issues shooting it, as far as I can tell.

Rod