Hunters, we're just not all there.....

slimjim

Ok, one leaves the firearm outside during cold weather hunting. That must also mean use thin oil and no grease.

What about the ammo? When I hunt elk in cold temperatures, I keep the loaded magazine in my pocket to keep the bullets warm. I loose 60 fps when the temps drop into the 20s which affects POI at longer ranges.

eeyouelder · Member Joined: Jan 26, 2005 Posts: 123 Location: Quebec

The Inuit rangers were issued Lee Enfield, in 303 British, since the 1945's. A couple of years ago (2010 or 2011) they decided to change these for other more modern bolt action rifles. The rangers that I have known do not lubricate these rifles and they function very well in the extreme arctic cold.

Aloysius

SJ, you should watch the Google map of Belgium and try to draw a line of a mile without crossing a road or touching a building. Then you understand why we use a high seat and limit our shots to very short distances. On that place of yesterday evening I can look for several hundreds of meters, but I wouldn't dare to shoot at something on 200 m because then the angle with earth is too sharp to avoid a ricoce.
And at distances of 50 - 100 m, who cares about 60 fps losses? I'm much more concerned about hitting branches and risk the bullet would not burry itself. At these distances I could kill roedeer with a .22 LR, but the smallest caliber I'm legally allowed to use is the 222 Rem (minimum 5.6 mm diameter and minimum 820 Joules energy at 100 m).

Grant

Slim, I just use my Vorre in 270 Win. I found that the Lucas gun oil is the least effected by cold that I've found so far. You are correct though, keep the gun in the cold until you're done or you'll get fogged scopes and condensation issues. I also keep the ammo in an inside pocket to minimize the problems with cold powder.

I hunt in ugly cold every year due to where I live. Once the end of October rolls around, you can expect temps to dip to -40 at any time. The colder the weather, the more critters you see also. My favorite temp is around -10 to -20 ish. Cold enough to get the critters moving well, but not too cold as to make the day tough on me. This past weekend was only nasty due to the unusual high humidity for that low of temp.

Elvis

eeyouelder wrote:

The Inuit rangers were issued Lee Enfield, in 303 British, since the 1945's. A couple of years ago (2010 or 2011) they decided to change these for other more modern bolt action rifles. The rangers that I have known do not lubricate these rifles and they function very well in the extreme arctic cold.

yip the good old SMELLY sure is a reliable old gun. she will funtion where others wont dare to tread. mud,grit, heat or cold and it will still go bang most every time.

Aloysius

Elvis, but I would appreciate it more when the locking lugs were in front of the bolt, same position as the Mauser-action...

are you shooting the .303 Br? Any loads using a lead bullet you want to share? I'm planning to try some non-sized 180 grs .308 bullets when the weather gets warmer.

Elvis

that old rear locking action is just fine and dandy, but be aware it will group different ammo in different places. havent owned an old smelly for many years but put alot of ammo through them when I was younger. Ive heard of guys having good results with .311 projectiles designed for the 7.62x39mm in the .303 brit. from my understanding the rifles will like one weight of projectile more than others and the early hunters here in NZ were using 220grn loads I believe!!! big and slow and very good on deer. millions of red deer ,fallow, pigs goats etc etc have been shot with ex military/war surplus .303 in this country back before we got all fancy and got new flasher guns etc etc it is a great calibre.