What do you do when it is >100 degrees outside?

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Flakbait

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The current drought is bring temperatures > 100 degrees in most parts of Texas. There is no relief in sight until October according to the latest weather projections. Most indoor ranges are limited to handguns. What do you do when its too darn hot outside to shoot?
 
Wear shorts. Shoot. Bring water.

It was near 100 here yesterday and humid as it gets and we had a nice Ruger Rimfire match at Caswell Ranch. Water and Gatorade were in just about everyone's hands, but nobody dropped dead from the heat.
 
Yes it is scorching hot.

There are several indoor ranges that have ranges that will accomodate a rifle around the DFW area.

Winchester on the east side of Ft. Worth has two 75 yard indoor lanes.
 
What do you do when its too darn hot outside to shoot?
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Same thing I do when its to cold, shoot. :)

While "climate control" is a wonderful thing, it can also be detrimental in the big picture. What will you do when something goes wrong, and it fails?

Me thinks some need to get out more and experience "the real world" thats outside the box. :)
 
You go shooting in the heat. What else is there?

During summertime temps I like to shoot early in the morning. I'll normally get to the range just minutes after it opens and post targets post-hast. Lots of targets so I can sit under the shaded firing line and josh with the other early risers and get the shooting done during the calm of the morning.
 
Same thing I do when its to cold, shoot.

While "climate control" is a wonderful thing, it can also be detrimental in the big picture. What will you do when something goes wrong, and it fails?

Me thinks some need to get out more and experience "the real world" thats outside the box.
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This ^.

Thing is, it was supposed to rain all day yesterday here. Rain or shine, the match was on and I was shooting it. As it turns out I didn't get soaked by the rain but by my own sweat, but it was a great match anyhow (placed 3rd).

Same thing with hunting. If it rains, I hunt. If it snows, I hunt (particularly like that, though rare that I get the opportunity here in NC). If it's 95 and humid, I hunt (bow season) and get covered with ticks and chiggers.

Just the nature of being an outdoors oriented kinda person. You prepare for and put up with whatever the outdoors happens to bring your way.
 
Go to the nice cool indoor range right down the road which is about a 15 minute drive. Which also has 4- 50 yard lanes.
 
We shot from about 9:30 to 11 this morning (in central Texas). My shooting bench is under a shed roof, and we'd shoot one rifle and put it aside to cool and shoot another one. We went through the 220, 270, 260, and 223 and then shot the 357 Mag for a while, and then back to the 220 and 223. It wasn't so bad, except for the part where everybody else left and now I have to clean all the guns, but I can do that in the air conditioned workshop. All in all, it was a fun morning. Happily, all my rifles shot as well as I had bragged that they would, though the 260 was a bit of a disappointment.
 
AK103K makes a good point, especially if you target shoot at long range. What you see through a scope, such as mirage, and how your body functions w/r/t breathing, pulse, vision etc all do funny things in extreme heat or cold. Like when your on a F Class firing line and it's 100+, no shade in sight, and after pulling targets all day. I shot such a match last year and went through about 2 gallons of Gatorade. By my last relay my head was pounding so bad it was all I could do to focus on the target let alone go for a score. But... It was a valuable learning experience!!
 
I was a stationed at Fort Hood twice and did a lot of shooting at a decent outdoor range just south of Hood.

I would often go as early as the range opened.

Have and drink plenty of water.

Use gloves and elbow/knee pads (depending on what kind of shooting you’re doing).

Have something to cover your firearms…steel gets hot in direct sunlight.

Keep a cravat/bandana handy to keep sweat out of your eyes.

Make sure to spray some fog cleaner on your glasses/goggles.

Have and use a hat and sunscreen on exposed skin.

The humidity has been a bitch here in the SE. My son and I go to a free range out in Sumter National Forest. It’s now a nice covered range, but the humidity is tough to deal with. I know some have mentioned it, but it’s good to practice your shooting in less-than-ideal conditions. It’s hard to focus for zeroing, but extreme conditions really help you focus on your techniques…as long as you’re doing it safely. I’ve had to stop shooting a few times as I was soaked and couldn’t keep the sweat out of my eyes, flies/mosquitoes were such a distraction as to be a safety hazard or I didn’t have enough protection from the sun and my firearms were way too hot to handle without gloves.

If I’m training someone, with the kids/wife or trying to zero in a rifle I prefer more comfortable conditions. When it’s just me (and now my son), it’s not just “recreational” it’s training. I enjoy shooting regardless of the weather…but I always make safety a priority and stick to my “training” plan as best I can. Just remember, the worst day at the range (weather-wise or even performance-wise) is still better than the your best day at work (unless you work at the range:D).

ROCK6
 
What Txhillbilly said about going to the gun shop reminded me of the young guy that was just here shooting with me. Nice kid and good shooter, but he unfortunately had a house fire and lost most all of his guns (and everything else). I asked about the fire and what he did when he woke up and discovered his ceiling burning. He said that he ran to his mother's room, kicked in the door and yelled at her to get out and then he saved his Sako Deluxe in 338 Mag, with the Swarovski scope. All that got saved was Mom and the Sako. I think his priorities were in order, as long as Mom was first on the list. I haven't seen his Momma, but the Sako is gorgeous.
 
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