Winter - keep a rifle cold, or bring it inside?

[recurry]

Hi All,

I do a lot of winter hunting, so I end up leaving my rifle in the trunk of my car in pretty cold temperatures. I've always been under the impression that leaving the rifle out in the cold is better than bringing it back indoors every night, because it gets covered in condensation if I bring it back into the house and then I end up having to clean it inside and out each time I come back from hunting...

Am I right, or is it worse to leave the gun in the cold continuously rather than bringing it back into a warmer environment?

Cheers,

Russ

 

[kraigWY]

Re: Winter - keep a rifle cold, or bring it inside?

I believe in the ""leave it in the cold theory. I spent 22 years in Alaska, 20 in LE and during this time I was also in the NG.

I carried a CS Rifle in my police car. I left it in the trunk. I did have to be concerned the having to wipe fog off the scope. We I got a call, I'd put the gun in the drivers compartment so I could keep the glass wiped down while responding. The action itself was kept dry. I did keep non-moving parts covered with "RIG".

In the Guard we did most of of training in the winter. We kept our rifles outside the 10 man tents which were heated with Yukon stoves. If the guns were brought inside, they would sweat, and imediately freeze when taken outside.

If we were doing extensive firing, we'd fire the guns dry until they warmed up, then use "LAW" or griphite. After firing we'd clean all oil and moisture from the gun and store them outside.

Pistols/revolvers didn't present that much of a problem. I carried a revolver in LE. I kept moving parts dry, and again "RIG" on the surface. In the Guard, I was an officer and carried my 1911a1 in a tanker style shoulder holster, which kept the pistol next to the body and warm. But I did keep it dry (oil free) on the moving parts. If I did any extended shooting, then I would add a bit of oil (LAW) to the slide and rails.

For surface of all guns I used RIG. Its great for keeping moisture of non moving surfacies.

 

[patriotoutlaw]

Re: Winter - keep a rifle cold, or bring it inside?

I keep mine in the cold....

 

[Jhnmdahl]

Re: Winter - keep a rifle cold, or bring it inside?

Free cryo! Maybe that explains why Wisconsin has more than it's fair share of barrel manufacturers.

 

[Tripwire]

Re: Winter - keep a rifle cold, or bring it inside?

Guess I've been screwing up all these years...

Went out 'yote huntin' this evening, negative digits with the 20 to 30 mph gusting windchill (IOW, too damn windy and cold for 'yote huntin' in these parts, they had sense enough to stay in a hole somewhere).

Our rifles are on the kitchen counter right now with the bolts out, BC's flipped up, pods extended, and ammo standing in a pretty pile nearby. Yep, it all sweated up and the glass fogged over as soon as we brought 'em in but it's been several hours and I'm betting heavy odds they all warm and cuddly now. Cerekote and SS is/are wonderful things. Our stuff has been shitloads wetter on a rainy day.

That said, I do leave loaded muzzleloaders in the cold, but that's just to make sure the load isn't compromised with condensation in the breech. Muzzles are always taped, and flash holes plugged. Fires every time......

 

[Headgear]

Re: Winter - keep a rifle cold, or bring it inside?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That said, I do leave loaded muzzleloaders in the cold, but that's just to make sure the load isn't compromised with condensation in the breech. Muzzles are always taped, and flash holes plugged. Fires every time......</div></div>

Dido that! It's muzzle Loader season in IN now and I keep mine in the garage so it stays cold but is still locked up. I learned the hard way years ago trying to shoot a deer with wet, mush powder from condensation from taking the gun in the night before and the deer was grateful.

 

[recurry]

Re: Winter - keep a rifle cold, or bring it inside?

Thanks for the replies and insight. I feel better about leaving it out in the cold all the time now.

One thing I've noticed about my Remington 700 is that if I leave the bolt open and it's out in below zero temperatures overnight, the receiver seems to shrink to the point where the bolt can't be closed, lol. This never happened on any of the other bolt rifles I've owned, so it must just be something to do with tighter tolerances maybe... as long as I leave the bolt closed, everything is fine, so no big deal either way I guess.

Cheers,

Russ