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Posted: 12/15/2008 7:22:35 AM EDT
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Well we have a air temp of -23 with persistent constant winds of 13mph to 18mph, so if my calculations are correct, that somewhere around -50 to -55 with the windchill.
WHat better day to go out to the range? I am planning on taking all my firearms and seeing how they handle the cold. I plan on letting them sit in the cold for about 20 min while I set up at the range so they are nice and cold when I start. Then I will do a rapid fire mag dump, fire 10 shots spaced one second apart multiple times, and then run them in a USPSA course im setting up. Then I plan on shoving some snow in the receivers and mags. What else should I do to test their cold weather performance? aside from keeping my @$$ warm 
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1. Just be sure that no snow or ice gets into the barrel, don't want a kaboom! 2. Don't freeze your nuts off! Of course the gun doesn't know anything about wind chill, it simply cools off to the actual temperature a little quicker than if there was no wind. +1 I'm going to the range tomorrow. Temp will be in the low teens, so not nearly as brutal as your test, but I have to start somewhere. |
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Well it was actually a pretty decent day of shooting. The new Del-Ton AR ran 350 rounds flawlessly. The glock 17 jammed a few times, dont know if it was cold related or not. 200 rounds through the PT1911 like butter, but there was a very noticeable shift in point of aim vs point of impact as the barrel heated up after 2 or 3 mags. |
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Dudes. I passed on shooting last week because it was 40 degrees in SE TX. Too cold for a day at the range. I can sympathize with that being a that I am a AZ desert rat, but there is nothing like taking your AR-15/M16 (or AK for that matter) out on a snowy night to burn some tracer ammo. I used to do just that in some nearby secluded canyons and fire the tracers long distance along the snow-covered mountain sides. |
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just for reference I went shooting on Sat and it was like high 20's low 30's if that.
My pistol firing pin was frozen. I didnt get it at first, but my friend looked at it and seen the pin hit the primer, but not hard enuff. I let it sit on the defroster for a few and shot like a champ. My AR, well that was jamming a little on feeds for some reason. I dunno if it was the cold, or a combo of that, a new extractor and PMC ammo which I never ran before. For the most part is shot great, but was being testy on a feed problem on like 4-5 rounds. My trusty old shotty gave me no problems thouh :) |
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just for reference I went shooting on Sat and it was like high 20's low 30's if that. My pistol firing pin was frozen. I didnt get it at first, but my friend looked at it and seen the pin hit the primer, but not hard enuff. I let it sit on the defroster for a few and shot like a champ. My AR, well that was jamming a little on feeds for some reason. I dunno if it was the cold, or a combo of that, a new extractor and PMC ammo which I never ran before. For the most part is shot great, but was being testy on a feed problem on like 4-5 rounds. My trusty old shotty gave me no problems thouh :) Its extremely important to degrease weapons before using them in sub-freezing weather. |
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Quoted: ThisQuoted: just for reference I went shooting on Sat and it was like high 20's low 30's if that. My pistol firing pin was frozen. I didnt get it at first, but my friend looked at it and seen the pin hit the primer, but not hard enuff. I let it sit on the defroster for a few and shot like a champ. My AR, well that was jamming a little on feeds for some reason. I dunno if it was the cold, or a combo of that, a new extractor and PMC ammo which I never ran before. For the most part is shot great, but was being testy on a feed problem on like 4-5 rounds. My trusty old shotty gave me no problems thouh :) Its extremely important to degrease weapons before using them in sub-freezing weather. Also windchill has no affect on a gun, just on us. |
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This
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just for reference I went shooting on Sat and it was like high 20's low 30's if that. My pistol firing pin was frozen. I didnt get it at first, but my friend looked at it and seen the pin hit the primer, but not hard enuff. I let it sit on the defroster for a few and shot like a champ. My AR, well that was jamming a little on feeds for some reason. I dunno if it was the cold, or a combo of that, a new extractor and PMC ammo which I never ran before. For the most part is shot great, but was being testy on a feed problem on like 4-5 rounds. My trusty old shotty gave me no problems thouh :) Its extremely important to degrease weapons before using them in sub-freezing weather. Also windchill has no affect on a gun, just on us. Windchill affects anything warm (gun barrel), it will wick away warm temps at the pace of the wind chill to the point of bringing it to the actual temp. I recently heard on some news story that the wind chill chart was totally wrong, that in reality it would compare to a colder temp. I have always said I'll take zero over a wind chill of zero any day |
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Lube issue:
I put some Break Free CLP in a small container and left it out on my porch overnight one winter. Next morning the thermometer beside the container said minus 20'F The oil did not seem any thicker than a sample I kept inside overnight. Other oils may not perform as well, I haven't tested them. |
| When I was younger and more "enthusiastic" I did most of my hunting after it snowed. I've had a AR out in even colder weather than we're experiencing now and it worked fine. I ran it totally dry. Later my dad told me about how they used pencils (graphite) in Korea to keep the Garands working. |
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Well we have a air temp of -23 with persistent constant winds of 13mph to 18mph, so if my calculations are correct, that somewhere around -50 to -55 with the windchill. WHat better day to go out to the range? I am planning on taking all my firearms and seeing how they handle the cold. I plan on letting them sit in the cold for about 20 min while I set up at the range so they are nice and cold when I start. Then I will do a rapid fire mag dump, fire 10 shots spaced one second apart multiple times, and then run them in a USPSA course im setting up. Then I plan on shoving some snow in the receivers and mags. What else should I do to test their cold weather performance? aside from keeping my @$$ warm it would have been a better try if you left the guns out in the cold for a few hours at least. |
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When I was younger and more "enthusiastic" I did most of my hunting after it snowed. I've had a AR out in even colder weather than we're experiencing now and it worked fine. I ran it totally dry. Later my dad told me about how they used pencils (graphite) in Korea to keep the Garands working. Graphite lube will destroy an AR. |
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I did actually run over one with my truck once. Curb weight at the time, approximately 10,400#. Gun was in an Eagle soft case; PRI forend, LMT SopMod stock, TA11F. Backed up right over it, dead center. Still runs perfectly and the ACOG did not even lose zero. I was at the Whittington Center, so maybe the altitude had a positive effect.
Don't have an airplane anymore, maybe I can get my partner to try it. For the sewage test you are on your own. My guess is it would not be a big deal though. |
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I tested my CMMG 14.5 middy and Interarms Tantal last year on one of the coldest days of the year. Left them and the ammo outside for about 4 hours and then put them in the bed of the truck and headed out to the woods. Everything ran fine.
I should note that both of these guns were lubricated with CLP before being put outside. Yes, that is -29 below zero measured on the barrel. This winter I am going to test the LMT I bought this summer. For lube on the LMT I have been using Slip 2000 EWL. 
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I shot my rifle last winter when it was -15f. I did some rapid fire to warm it up and than let it sit with the carrier locked back and dust cover open for about an hour with snow coming down. The snow melted into the receiver and then re-froze. The first round I loaded would not seat properly so I ejected it. The round actually had ice stuck to it. After I checked for obstruction I then loaded another round in and this time it seated in the chamber. I fired the first shot with the rifle away from my face but after that it thawed and fired flawless.
The rifle I built with CMT M4 upper, CMT m16 carrier, Double Star light 16" chrome lined barrel, and LRB lower. I run Militec for lube. I had an Eotech on top but have found that it doesn't like subzero temps so I put an Acog on and the Eotech will go on my "indoor" rifle. |
A very light coat of CLP is all you need for lube in ANY weather condition on an AR15 or AKM variant. Dont run it dry. Dont run it soakin' wet. Oh, and firing pins dont "freeze", they get clogged. I bet there was some grease or gummed up/fouled up oil around the firing pin and the cold weather stiffed it up. MINIMAL oil. 
Leave the grease at home in the garage for the cars. All of it. |
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I was just curious. I'd never heard that before. I'll poke around some more on the topic.
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I'm not familiar with graphite destroying an AR. Fill me in on the particulars please. Aluminum and graphite is a bad combination. If you ask Quib nicely he may post the warning from PS. |
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