Went to the outdoor range up north this last weekend. This is my favorite place to shoot. It's a modest county sand pit (that is rarely used) that is a free to use open range (also not used very heavily). Lots of room to shoot and usually no one there.
It was supposed to be a nice day and my son had a brand new CZ rifle he wanted to try out so I said we could go shoot, ahhhh the sacrifices we make for our kids right? (never mind the fact I had a brand new KP345 was itching to try ... my first .45). So we loaded up a nice selection of toys including the new rifle, a couple 9mm (of course), the KP345, and my old standby favorite, the Marlin .22 magnum. Add a good selection of ammo, a few targets, and a large bag of cans and we were all set.
Well the weather fell short and the temp was only 18°F with 30 to 40 MPH winds (which put the windchill below zero). I figured it was going to be a short trip to the range but at least we could try the new guns a little. It was pretty chilly when we first got there, in fact I turned the heater on high and left the truck running for a while with the back open so the heat would roll out on us (gotta love utility vehicles with tail gates). the heat was nice while we were gearing up but once we started shooting, the cold went away and I turned the truck off. We were having so much fun the cold just didn't bother us anymore. We were joking that people driving buy were probably commenting 'Look at those crazy guys at the range on a day like this'. We ended staying there for over 2 hours, maybe closer to 3. We went through the whole darn bag full of cans (way more fun than crushing them). We shot until our toes were freezing and starting to hurt. By the end I was trying to time the shots with the shivering. My last round I set up a bunch of cans and loaded a 9mm magazine for the 92. One can in the back was being difficult and I wasn't about to let it win. When I loaded 5 more rounds to take care of it, my fingers were so cold I could hardly get the bullets into the magazine. Luckily the can went down on shot #2 so I didn't have to reload again.
When we got back my wife asked 'Was it cold?'. Yes! It was freezing, but we had a blast. One of the funnest trips ever to the range! Never would have thought we'd have that much fun in the winter with all the snow and cold.
All of the guns ran flawlessly and the can carnage confirms why I love the 92 and the Cougar so much. Even at 20yds the cans are easy targets and both guns still rate 100%. And that new KP345 ... ok, now that is one fun gun!
So if you think it gets to cold to go shooting outdoors, think again.
It was supposed to be a nice day and my son had a brand new CZ rifle he wanted to try out so I said we could go shoot, ahhhh the sacrifices we make for our kids right? (never mind the fact I had a brand new KP345 was itching to try ... my first .45). So we loaded up a nice selection of toys including the new rifle, a couple 9mm (of course), the KP345, and my old standby favorite, the Marlin .22 magnum. Add a good selection of ammo, a few targets, and a large bag of cans and we were all set.
Well the weather fell short and the temp was only 18°F with 30 to 40 MPH winds (which put the windchill below zero). I figured it was going to be a short trip to the range but at least we could try the new guns a little. It was pretty chilly when we first got there, in fact I turned the heater on high and left the truck running for a while with the back open so the heat would roll out on us (gotta love utility vehicles with tail gates). the heat was nice while we were gearing up but once we started shooting, the cold went away and I turned the truck off. We were having so much fun the cold just didn't bother us anymore. We were joking that people driving buy were probably commenting 'Look at those crazy guys at the range on a day like this'. We ended staying there for over 2 hours, maybe closer to 3. We went through the whole darn bag full of cans (way more fun than crushing them). We shot until our toes were freezing and starting to hurt. By the end I was trying to time the shots with the shivering. My last round I set up a bunch of cans and loaded a 9mm magazine for the 92. One can in the back was being difficult and I wasn't about to let it win. When I loaded 5 more rounds to take care of it, my fingers were so cold I could hardly get the bullets into the magazine. Luckily the can went down on shot #2 so I didn't have to reload again.
When we got back my wife asked 'Was it cold?'. Yes! It was freezing, but we had a blast. One of the funnest trips ever to the range! Never would have thought we'd have that much fun in the winter with all the snow and cold.
All of the guns ran flawlessly and the can carnage confirms why I love the 92 and the Cougar so much. Even at 20yds the cans are easy targets and both guns still rate 100%. And that new KP345 ... ok, now that is one fun gun!
So if you think it gets to cold to go shooting outdoors, think again.
Yes, you are nuts, BUT, I was in the first academy class to qualify in the snow, if you can imagine it snowing in Tucson. I had no jacket, and qualified with a 247 out of 250 in shirt sleeves in snow fall. Aaaand I won't ever try that again, either. 
