In the postings about Korea/Chosin and cold weather affecting rifles,thought it might be helpful to post our cold weather handling techniques:
First, after you are zeroed and cleaned at you last range session you de-grease and UN lube the waepon.. get all the excess oil etc off and out of it. Weapons can and will fire 'dry" (have never experimented with dry lubricants)
Second, once the gun is exposed to the cold leave it there. We don't take our rifles into the campers.. they stay in the trucks (locked up) when we get back to camp to keep condensation off of them and to prevent the scopes from fogging up or forming condensation which can freeze on the optics.(the heater in the truck works slowly enough that it does not seem to cause problems in the morning)
Its been cold enough here in colorado for your HAND to STICK to the bare metal of your rifle, so remember to wear gloves. Ive seen FROST and ice form on my barrel and reciver before, and had my hand STUCK to a barrel once.
Given really adverse conditions I've seen when I bought my new rifle I bought one in stainless with a plastic stock. even so its possible to extract a GREEN looking bullet from the chamber when you get back to the truck. always take a cleaning rod and kit with you to camp. If you get one of those "water/snow down the barrel resulting in corroded ammo.. clean the barrel and chamber thoroughly, wipe off the excess and finish with repeated dry patches, TRY to do you cleaning outside if you can.
If your rifle is "camoflauged" for snow remember that water and ice can get under that stuff.. clean it agressively when you get home.. don't let tape or cloth that hold moisture to stay in contact with the metal for prolonged periods.
Feel free to add more tips/reply/respond...
Hope the info helps,
Dr.Rob
First, after you are zeroed and cleaned at you last range session you de-grease and UN lube the waepon.. get all the excess oil etc off and out of it. Weapons can and will fire 'dry" (have never experimented with dry lubricants)
Second, once the gun is exposed to the cold leave it there. We don't take our rifles into the campers.. they stay in the trucks (locked up) when we get back to camp to keep condensation off of them and to prevent the scopes from fogging up or forming condensation which can freeze on the optics.(the heater in the truck works slowly enough that it does not seem to cause problems in the morning)
Its been cold enough here in colorado for your HAND to STICK to the bare metal of your rifle, so remember to wear gloves. Ive seen FROST and ice form on my barrel and reciver before, and had my hand STUCK to a barrel once.
Given really adverse conditions I've seen when I bought my new rifle I bought one in stainless with a plastic stock. even so its possible to extract a GREEN looking bullet from the chamber when you get back to the truck. always take a cleaning rod and kit with you to camp. If you get one of those "water/snow down the barrel resulting in corroded ammo.. clean the barrel and chamber thoroughly, wipe off the excess and finish with repeated dry patches, TRY to do you cleaning outside if you can.
If your rifle is "camoflauged" for snow remember that water and ice can get under that stuff.. clean it agressively when you get home.. don't let tape or cloth that hold moisture to stay in contact with the metal for prolonged periods.
Feel free to add more tips/reply/respond...
Hope the info helps,
Dr.Rob
