Weather and shooting

Hand warmers are a solid idea. Part of my problem here was simple lack of planning. I hunt, and I have hunted in 5 degree weather before, and dressed appropriately (under armor, shirt, sweater, fleece jacket) with the right kind of gloves and boots. When I stepped out of my house that day it didn't seem THAT cold, so I wore shoes and a lighter pair of gloves.

What I have learned is that I need more practice shooting in adverse conditions. I've shot my rifle in bad weather a fair number of times; but I don't usually shoot pistols in this kind of weather. It is always around hunting season when it's cold and so my interest shifts towards rifles. I need to re-focus, because truly pistol shooting is the most important skill of the three (Rifle, shotgun, pistol.) I need mental focus to beat the shaking hands and feeling the trigger through the numbness.

That said, I need to plan my trips better too so that I don't end up in quite such a situation again. One thing I will say is that I did keep all my shots on an 8 inch shoot-n-c (I think it was an 8-inch) so I was still within the realm of "practical" accuracy for a human size target.

My responses to the thread have been slow, only because I have a lot to think about. Thank you all for your advice.
 
Azak,
It's probably not that you've become acclimated to cold.
It's that you've become numb and lost all feelings in your extremities.
Being frostbit all over will do that.
 
I have had good experience so far with Under Armour coldgear liner gloves, I shoot with them in 10-15 degree weather with good results. Like others have mentioned, you are "on the clock" so to speak when shooting.. it's only a matter of time before you develop some trembles and your hold control begins to go away and you are just wasting ammo. I do all of my magazine loading and note taking in the pickup with the heater going so I can recharge a bit.

With a rifle I'll always wear a heavier glove on my non firing hand, it keeps me shooting steady longer. I like to do a moderate amount of cold weather target work with my rifles, I deer and coyote hunt with them and it's normally cold when I'm using them.

I agree that keeping the core warm is essential, along with the feet. I'm a fan of my Muck boots (I happen to be a full time farmer/cattleman so Mucks come with the territory), and I have one of just about everything that Carhartt makes I think.
 
Not being able to properly feel the trigger is a safety problem and it doesn't help your shooting !
With an insulated glove I open the finger and remove the insulation just from the first joint of the trigger finger .Then you can feel the trigger but keep the rest of the hand warm. For colder times between shooting use a mitten over the glove.
 
Can you not shoot inside?

Having the right gear for the cold is key. Get a good mat to shoot off of instead of the ground. That will help a lot with the cold and wet. Depending what kind of outdoor range you are shooting at, I've seen people shoot out of tents and cars.
 
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It's been cold here, but at least in the woods I'm out of the wind. Being a 1 minute walk from my warm house also helps as I can go in and warm up between sets.
 
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For cold weather shooting, I have used

the wool knit, "thinsulate" line gloves available from most hardware stores or D3 gauntlets with wool liners.
The extreme cold weather long johns and good old fashion USGI field jacket with liner, and either a L.L. Bean gray THICK wool watch cap or black thinsulate lined balacava(covers the neck).
Boots are Sorels or Irish setter thinsulate lined.

Firearms are cleaned and lubed lightly or dusted with graphite.
 
double up!

Its not nearly as cold in mo as up there.. however, Something I do, is get 2 or 3 pairs of the cheaper gloves i think they are nylon.

Anyhow put one pair on like normal, and layer 1 or 2 other pairs over that with the finger tips cut out. it will keep the majority of your hand warm and your finger tips will be covered with a single layer but youll still be able to bend each joint.

also, get a cozy scarf, wrap it up around your head and tie it under neath your neck. put your ball cap over it and your head gear on over that. The scarf will help keep the wind from biting the head so hard, and it's not too thick that you can't still wear head gear for the sound. The hat will help keep it in place. If you do it right it will actually HELP you in a training since, because you can wear it so that it's in your peripheal vision, therefor blocking your peripheal view which is a great training tool.

obviously still wear layers under your coat, and a scarf around your neck. youll feel like a stuffed animal... but everything is still thin enough for movement... but thick enough or covered enough to block some of the wind and cold.

I worked outside for 2 years in all types of weather for 15 hours a day and i was pregnant for 6 months of it, even during the winter and this is what I did to stay warm but still have the movement I needed. Youll look silly as hell.. but you won't be nearly as cold and your shot will go back to normal.
 
Zero to teens during the day here today with plenty of work to be done outside. I've found that rubbing a big dab of vaseline into my hands, followed by light liner gloves, and topped with heavy gloves helps prevent split fingertips at the end of the day.
 
I shoot at an outdoor range, I try not to let the cold influence my shooting times. I practice with my EDC twice a week out doors and dry fire drills indoors. When at the range, I wear wool half gloves with surgical gloves underneath, and hand warmers in my pockets. As for the rest of my body, wool layering workes best for me.
 
Never thought of it as anything tactical as a child up until about a few years ago, it all made sense to train in different environments outside. Rain, wind, night, cold, etc. What I haven't had the chance to train in is snow. Miami...
 
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