Tips for shooting in the cold?

[rdhood]

I'm going to the Appleseed in Waco (GA)  tomorrow.  High tomorrow in he low 40s, windy, cloudy.   Any tips for shooting in the cold?

I am planning on bundling good and have insulation against the ground.  Should I cut the finger off of a glove for shooting or something?

[Whippet]

40 deg is shorts weather here in Michigan, but I guess temperature is relative. 

Insulation between you and the ground is most important.

Dress in layers

Warm had that works well with your hearing protection

Wear warm gloves and take thin gloves too. You can wear the thick gloves over the thin ones and then take off the thick (or both) glove from your trigger hand while shooting. You can keep the thick glove on your support hand while shooting without causing any trouble.

Hand warmers for when you are not shooting. You can put them in your pockets while shooting IF they don't interfere with your shooting positions.

I'm sure others will have more ideas.

Enjoy the event.

[cswhitfield]

rdhood,

Congrats!  You are going to one of the best venues Georgia has to offer along with some of the best instructors anywhere.  Make sure you are insulated from the ground.  Wear good warm boots/shoes.  Dress in warm layers that can be easily removed and put back on.  Waco gets some pretty good breezes even when wind is not predicted so prepare for that.  In the cold I normally leave my support hand glove on and take my trigger hand glove off for firing.  You could use a a thinner glove for your trigger hand with the trigger finger cut out.  There will be times when you are sitting or standing still so a heavier coat that you can get into and out of quickly is a plus.  You still need to hydrate even in cooler temperatures.

You can blame the weather on franklinfarmer.  He always wishes for weather challenges to test our mettle.  By the way remind him there is (or was) a fire barrel behind the berm.

csw

[SteelThunder]

The 2 things I care about most when in the cold are hands and feet.  I have expedition weight Sorel pac boots that I wear with liner socks and thick wool socks.  I typically have 3 layers of gloves.  Thin liners, a fleece mid-layer and a shell.

Then again, mid- to low-40's feels warm to us here in MI.  I wouldn't have anything like this.

[Audrey]

Hand warmers are excellent; we got a box of "Little Hotties" from CostCo in November. Keep those trigger fingers dethawed! Wool socks are a must. Layers, layers, layers. I recommend a warm hat that'll cover your ears too!

[Oz]

+1 to Whippet's comment on making sure your hat/hood/etc. works with your hearing protection.  Even a little fleecy layer or a sweatshirt hood between earmuff-style hearing protection and your ears significantly compromises the protection.  And we want to be sure you enjoy hearing LOOOOOOAAAAD! loud and clear at your next Appleseed!

[BeSwift]

1) Ground insulation from cold and/or wet.. Shooting mat/carpet remnant AND a tarp.
2) Dress in layers (overdress and then remove layers as needed), hand warmers and a hat that will stay put (i.e. not fall in your face when slung up in position/doing a transition/putting on your ears, etc.)
3) Thermos of hot something to warm your bones (plan on drinking lots of water too).

I do some of my best shooting in the cold... so should you!  BeSwift

[Miller]

A fleece vest will help keep you warm without interfering with slinging up.

A windproof layer will do wonders for your comfort.  A set of Frogg Toggs works great for cutting the wind as well as shedding rain.

And old sleeping bag or a heavyish wool blanket will be good to keep by your chair.  Just drape it across your shoulders to add a nice warm layer during history breaks.

A thermos of hot soup for lunch goes a long way making the day better.

Ditto a thermos of hot cocoa, tea, or coffee.  Just don't over do the caffeine and get jittery.  Caffeine jitters tend to open up your groups.

Don't try to tough it out if you start feeling the effects of the cold.  If your hands are getting stiff or teeth are chattering please take a break to warm up.  Better to skip a course of fire and tackle the next with warm hands and do it right than to prone out shivering and miserable and get frustrated. 

And do us all a favor...
Keep an eye on the shooters either side of you and if you notice one of them struggling with the weather a bit say something.  Your instructor team will be watching but another pair of eyes is always a good thing.

[Hinermad]

All good advice, but some additional things I learned as a Boy Scout:

1) Corrugated cardboard is an excellent and inexpensive ground insulation, except when its wet.

2) If your feet are cold, put on a hat. Tight socks or boots may also contribute to cold feet by restricting circulation.

3) Stay hydrated, but if your bladder is full you're using precious energy to stem the flood that should be keeping you warm. Drain regularly.

4) If storing firearms or ammunition in an airtight container for the long term, one of those air activated hand warmers tossed in before you close it up will scavenge the oxygen out of the air and help prevent rust or corrosion. (Okay, I didn't learn that in Scouts but I still think it's neat.)

Stay focused on the task at hand and you won't notice the cold.

Dave

[Miller]

Oh, and the best tip for staying warm?

When you are heading to and from the target line....

QUICKLY QUICKLY!!!!!!

[Danno]

At my last AS this past Dec., I used several 3/4" thick 2'x2'  interlocking rubber exercise mats to make a 4'x6' shooting "platform".
The thick mat will provide insulation from the cold ground. The rubber lets your elbows "sink in" to provide very stable prone position.

Enjoy

[Pitmaster]

I find that my hands get dry when out in the cold so the night before I wash them with a moisturizing soap an put on a lot of good hand lotion. Bag Balm seems to work the best. It also helps prevent cracks from skin drying out.

[dart67eb]

Side straddle hops.  In cadence...

[jimmythegeek]

This is something my kids do that drives me crazy: they are congenitally unable to learn from experience of being cold.  They are equally dumb about this from the 5 year old up to the 15 year old.

If you are warm in the house, that does not mean you will be warm outside.  If you are warm when the air is still, that does not mean you will be warm when it picks up to 15 mph.  If you are warm for 10 minutes, that does not mean you will be warm after 3 hours outside.  If you are warm doing heavy exercise like walking rapidly uphill, that does not mean you will be warm standing around. 

I am not directing this snark your way.  I just have too much to unload on my kids so I'm dumping it here.  Sorry...

40 degrees is pretty normal shooting weather in Western WA.   Here's what I do:

Two layers of pants - jeans are ok, but rainpants over.  They'll stop the wind and wet.  Rain jacket, fleece jacket, fleece vest, warm shirt.  Wool or fleece hat you can get your shooting earmuffs around.  Use your raincoat hood to keep your head dry.  Loose fitting boots with 1-2 pair of socks, bring spares because feet dump a lot of moisture and I find no matter what Gore Tex claims, they'll be wet even if the boots are dry.  This will add up to a couple of inches of insulation for your core and should suffice for even colder conditions.  Keep the core and head warm and the feet and hands are a lot easier.  I bike to work and even around 32F I often shed the gloves after 4 miles/20 minutes. 

The thing my kids don't get is that all those layers are heavier, and more binding and less comfortable than shorts and a t-shirt...until it's cold, which it is.  When you are working hard or in shelter, you can layer down and vent that extra heat, but you can't layer up with what you don't have (unless you go with your dad, and your dad is me, and he gives you some of his stuff.  Again.).   

A blue ensolite pad is about 3/8" thick and people have slept in the snow on them.