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Dogfish858
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Loc: Western Canada
Extreme Cold
      #371306 - 11/11/22 12:59 AM

Yesterday I was hunting in -31 C with wind and light fog for combined values of about -39 C. Darn cold. Lots of deer. However, my rifle wouldn't behave. It wouldn't feed properly and in a couple notable cases, wouldn't fire -- it acted like the safety was on. This is in a P-H Safari based on a VZ 24 action, Recknagle trigger. Last year in warm weather it was perfect. The rifle is not lubricated but that has never been an issue. I've had Sakos freeze to inoperable in this weather but has anybody had this issue with any other Mausers?

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85lc
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Dogfish858]
      #371307 - 11/11/22 01:41 AM

Dogfish858,
That is too bad. What could have caused your rifle to not function. I always thought (and read) that problem was due to frozen lubricants but, as you say, the rifle isn't lubricated.

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RB


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Dogfish858
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: 85lc]
      #371309 - 11/11/22 01:57 AM

On thinking on it I think the cocking piece was frozen in place because re cocking would get rid of it. Happened twice while aiming at a deer.

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Ripp
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Dogfish858]
      #371311 - 11/11/22 03:18 AM

Quote:

Yesterday I was hunting in -31 C with wind and light fog for combined values of about -39 C. Darn cold. Lots of deer. However, my rifle wouldn't behave. It wouldn't feed properly and in a couple notable cases, wouldn't fire -- it acted like the safety was on. This is in a P-H Safari based on a VZ 24 action, Recknagle trigger. Last year in warm weather it was perfect. The rifle is not lubricated but that has never been an issue. I've had Sakos freeze to inoperable in this weather but has anybody had this issue with any other Mausers?




has only happened to me a maybe twice in my life hunting in extreme cold.. I took the bolt out of the rifle and put it inside my jacket for a while to warm it up a bit..them pulled it out and dry fired it a couple times.. worked for the rest of the day that time...

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ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..


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Igorrock
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Dogfish858]
      #371313 - 11/11/22 03:23 AM

When hunting in such cold conditions the old rule is cleaning all oil away from rifles lock. This has been tested in Finnish Winter War when our guns worked properly but russians didnīt.

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Ripp
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Igorrock]
      #371314 - 11/11/22 03:25 AM

Quote:

When hunting in such cold conditions the old rule is cleaning all oil away from rifles lock. This has been tested in Finnish Winter War when our guns worked properly but russians didnīt.




+1.

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ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..


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Dogfish858
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Ripp]
      #371316 - 11/11/22 03:35 AM

Duly noted. I'll take it down and wash it in alcohol. I thought I had it clean enough. The whole rifle was like a different rifle from last year when at this time it was 10+C during the days.

--------------------
But what about you? he asked. Who do you say I am?

Edited by Dogfish858 (11/11/22 03:38 AM)


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Omnivorous_Bob
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Dogfish858]
      #371317 - 11/11/22 03:41 AM

I think alcohol, carb cleaner, or acetone will throughly degrease it. Only other suggestion is to leave it cold after you do so, outside, on a porch, unheated garage, etc. Bringing a cold gun inside can attract condensation that can then refreeze, and it doesn't take much ice inside a bolt to cause just enough friction to be an issue. If you bring it inside just be sure it is there long enough for any moisture to evaporate.

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DarylS
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Dogfish858]
      #371318 - 11/11/22 03:42 AM

That's a good idea. It doesn't take much oil to seize it up.
Trouble some of us has found with our muzzleloaders, is breaking main springs in -40 weather. We stopped shooting in that weather, some decades ago.

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Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: DarylS]
      #371342 - 11/11/22 03:11 PM

Not a problem here! I'd die in such a temperature.

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John aka NitroX

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DarylS
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: NitroX]
      #371361 - 12/11/22 03:02 AM

The air sparkles with ice crystals - it's quite beautiful. Just don't breath too deeply. Caribou chased by wolves freeze their lungs.The coldest we've seen here was in the 1990's -56C. Bit of arctic air sweeping down. Only 2 of us showed up for day shift out of about 35 people. No one else got their cars or trucks running. I was running a Chevy Blaser Diesel at the time. It was plugged in to the block heater, but it took a blast of ether to get her fired up and running.

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Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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jgrabow
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: DarylS]
      #371366 - 12/11/22 03:40 AM

I started a new job 1985 and missed Wisconsin deer season. My brother borrowed my pre 81 BLR in 358 Win. Thanksgiving day in northern Wisconsin the temp was -33C. Needless to say the rifle was frozen solid. He drove a full size Ford Bronco. The snow was deep enough that he moved snow when opening the doors. An older person from his work place accompanied him on that trip but had bad knees and could not hunt in that deep snow. He decided to ice fish since they stayed at a resort on a lake. He said he never had such fantastic fishing in his life. He was clearing the ice from the holes he drilled in the ice with his bare hands and ended up with frost bitten fingers. Some of the hazards playing in those conditions.

Edited by jgrabow (12/11/22 03:42 AM)


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tinker
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: DarylS]
      #371367 - 12/11/22 03:52 AM

Quote:

The coldest we've seen here was in the 1990's -56C.




Damn!

That's cold

I think our walk-in deep freezer at the lab was -35c
That was pretty cool, -56 is a whole different level of cold

Lowest we get here in the high desert is in the negative teens Fahrenheit

We too get the ice crystals suspended in the air
Really neat optical effect

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mckinney
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: tinker]
      #371379 - 12/11/22 09:16 AM

Would graphite lubricant be of any use in these situations?

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FlatTop45
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: mckinney]
      #371384 - 12/11/22 11:21 AM

Here in South Texas, whenever the temperature drops below 60 Fahrenheit, most people are digging out jackets and sweaters. So to us, extreme cold would be the temp dropping below freezing longer than a few hours.

However, I do remember reading an article in National Geographic long ago about a man who was traveling solo across the Arctic by dogsled. He mentions carrying a rifle in case of Polar Bears (in fact he had to kill one that got way too nosy!). He mentions soaking the action in Kerosene to lubricate and keep it from freezing up. As I said, I have zero experience when it comes to that kind of cold, but that's what he said.

Being more of a "Tropical Bird" myself (I prefer to hunt and fish wearing shorts), if I ever were to experience cold like that, my balls would crawl so far up inside me, it would be August before they dropped again!!!






J

Edited by FlatTop45 (12/11/22 11:29 AM)


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3DogMike
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: FlatTop45]
      #371388 - 12/11/22 12:43 PM

I have read accounts of GI's and US Marines during the Korea war in bitter Winter cold cleaning their weapons with plain old MOGAS (gasoline) no extra lube at all. The days of M-1 Garand, M-1/M-2 Carbine, and 1911 .45 Auto. Heaven only knows what the Norks and Chinks did in the same situation.
- Mike

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eagle27
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: 3DogMike]
      #371400 - 12/11/22 03:12 PM

The presences of light fog indicates there was still moisture in the air despite the very cold temperature and even the act of breathing warm moist air over your rifle when bring it to shoulder could lead to condensation freezing around the firing pin and spring enough to lock it or slow it down. Even if the firing pin is driven forward, it doesn't take very much in slowing it down (lightning the blow) to result in misfires.

Even if all oil is cleaned out of the bolt and off the spring and firing pin, that won't prevent condensation that forms inside the bolt from freezing. Maybe a spray of de-icing fluid before a 'cold' hunt would help. This type of fluid gets rid of ice and prevents it reforming for a while.

Just tell the deer to hold on while you get out your spray can and de-ice the bolt!!!!!!

Edited by eagle27 (12/11/22 03:15 PM)


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Rule303
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: mckinney]
      #371402 - 12/11/22 03:39 PM

Quote:

Would graphite lubricant be of any use in these situations?




Graphite powder yes, graphite grease no. Also, as said, any moisture that gets in could cause the problems.

The moisture and oil freezing caused problems with Fighter aircraft machine guns/cannons in the tropics in WW2. When they got up above 20000ft the gear would freeze up and only some or no guns would fire untill back down where it was warmmer.


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Dogfish858
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Rule303]
      #371413 - 13/11/22 02:48 AM

My inclination is that an action cleaned with white gas and brought to a good polish would be the best and probably the slickest action in the cold as you'd get a ball bearing effect as the metal hardened in the cold. The tolerances would change a measurable amount too. It's helpful to hear that just breathing on it would jam it up. That makes sense.

-56 (coldest I've felt is -52) is a terrible cold. It's not immediately noticeable but probably most closely feels like sitting in ice water -- at first it's fine, but then shortly after you find that you're cold all over and to the core, and you know in your gut that if you don't get warmer soon you'll die. It feels dangerous. But as Daryl said, it is beautiful, with perfect clarity and ice crystals sparkling in the air. Surprisingly, there are a ton of birds around in the winter.

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Ripp
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Dogfish858]
      #371421 - 13/11/22 01:19 PM

As to cold..not quite as cold as Daryl..but 2010..drove to West Yellowstone Montana..left Bozeman it was -38F..by the time I got to WYS it was being reported on the local radio anywhere from -62F to -64F...never shut my vehicle off while I was there..refueled, added some addl gasoline antifreeze to the tank and made it the 90 miles back home..felt miserably cold

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Ripp]
      #371424 - 13/11/22 03:31 PM

Damn we need a bit of global warming ... Cool spring this year. Lovely. Maybe 18°C today. Brrrrr!

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"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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DarylS
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Ripp]
      #371435 - 14/11/22 03:30 PM

Quote:

As to cold..not quite as cold as Daryl..but 2010..drove to West Yellowstone Montana..left Bozeman it was -38F..by the time I got to WYS it was being reported on the local radio anywhere from -62F to -64F...never shut my vehicle off while I was there..refueled, added some addl gasoline antifreeze to the tank and made it the 90 miles back home..felt miserably cold




Methyl hydrate (fuel line antifreeze) is necessary, for sure. I was up Williston Lake at a logging camp in the late 90's, where we never shut the vehicles off.
The temp was pretty low, too low to work outside, -52 C seems to me. That's about -61F or so.
A logger, truck running low on fuel drove over to the pump and when he grabbed the pump handle, the hose broke off at the pump, spewing fuel oil. He got it shut off and grabbed the other hose on the other side of the pump. Same thing happened.
Better luck at the other pumps, either newer hoses, or out of the wind. Wind at that temp is a killer.
Problems with breaking truck frames, springs, etc. Steel give up at those temps.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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Rule303
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: DarylS]
      #371436 - 14/11/22 08:49 PM

Quote:

Quote:

As to cold..not quite as cold as Daryl..but 2010..drove to West Yellowstone Montana..left Bozeman it was -38F..by the time I got to WYS it was being reported on the local radio anywhere from -62F to -64F...never shut my vehicle off while I was there..refueled, added some addl gasoline antifreeze to the tank and made it the 90 miles back home..felt miserably cold




Methyl hydrate (fuel line antifreeze) is necessary, for sure. I was up Williston Lake at a logging camp in the late 90's, where we never shut the vehicles off.
The temp was pretty low, too low to work outside, -52 C seems to me. That's about -61F or so.
A logger, truck running low on fuel drove over to the pump and when he grabbed the pump handle, the hose broke off at the pump, spewing fuel oil. He got it shut off and grabbed the other hose on the other side of the pump. Same thing happened.
Better luck at the other pumps, either newer hoses, or out of the wind. Wind at that temp is a killer.
Problems with breaking truck frames, springs, etc. Steel give up at those temps.




So do I


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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Rule303]
      #371437 - 14/11/22 08:54 PM

Quote:

Quote:



Problems with breaking truck frames, springs, etc. Steel give up at those temps.




So do I




Me2!

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"


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Ripp
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: NitroX]
      #371443 - 15/11/22 01:26 AM

This popped up on FB memories this morning..10 years ago but remember it well.. was a balmy -24F that morning when we started to hunt..and hike up the mtn in search of mule deer..


231185_564759143539277_1824151744_n by A Hoffart, on Flickr

Gatorade didnt last long..
15177_564759256872599_537060757_n by A Hoffart, on Flickr

Ended well...
148508_564759076872617_714984258_n by A Hoffart, on Flickr

Its been a hell of a winter start so far in this area.. way below normal temps and lots of snow which is good..need a lot of snow to fill the creeks and resevoirs.. but man.. going to be a long one if this keeps up..

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ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..


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DarylS
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Ripp]
      #371450 - 15/11/22 02:47 AM

We've stepped into a warm snap - temps up near freezing this morning. It was actually quite warm up at Dawson Creek over the weekend. Got up over the freezing mark with bit of a Chinook.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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Ripp
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: DarylS]
      #371451 - 15/11/22 03:35 AM

Quote:

We've stepped into a warm snap - temps up near freezing this morning. It was actually quite warm up at Dawson Creek over the weekend. Got up over the freezing mark with bit of a Chinook.




Thats good news..saw this morning the next few days are gonna be brutal but then warm to mid 30'sF.. I'll take it..

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Ripp]
      #371452 - 15/11/22 03:43 AM

Damn I had to put on a warm shirt and a vest tonight!

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"


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Dogfish858
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: NitroX]
      #371455 - 15/11/22 03:52 AM

Yeah we're supposed to be up to 9C again over the weekend.

In Canada that's t-shirt weather. T-shirt, shorts, sandals...and a toque. Not kidding either.

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DarylS
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Dogfish858]
      #371464 - 15/11/22 08:10 AM

My kids used to take their coats off as soon as they got around the corner and out of sight of the house at -20F. It wasn't cool to wear a parka to "high school".
The odd thing, is they rarely ever got sick. I can't remember them "down" with a cold or the flu.
There's a fellow at the local rod and gun club wears shorts & running shoes year around.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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Omnivorous_Bob
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: DarylS]
      #371468 - 15/11/22 10:57 AM

Quote:

My kids used to take their coats off as soon as they got around the corner and out of sight of the house at -20F. It wasn't cool to wear a parka to "high school".
The odd thing, is they rarely ever got sick. I can't remember them "down" with a cold or the flu.
There's a fellow at the local rod and gun club wears shorts & running shoes year around.




When I lived near Fairbanks, after a winter of -30 to -60f, when it would get up to +20f or so in spring all of the high school kids at the bus stop at the end of my street would be decked out in minskirts for the gals and tank tops for the guys, standing there in the snow.

One April I flew down to LA with a buddy. It was sunny and 35 when we left so we were in tshirts, and 65 and foggy in CA. Everyone was in down jackets and sweaters and staring at us. Then after a summer in Iraq that regularly hit 120s I shivered and wore fleece when it got down to mid 80s in 'winter.' Its all what you're used to I suppose. Bob

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DarylS
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Omnivorous_Bob]
      #371472 - 15/11/22 11:52 AM

I've noticed that, Bob. Vacationing in Hawaii with the odd day, VERY odd day in the high 60's and people wearing jackets and sweaters - in beach weather!!
I do NOT handle extreme heat very well at all. 80's are full blast air-conditioning weather for me.
High 70's I find quite distressful.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: DarylS]
      #371484 - 15/11/22 06:39 PM

Quote:

I've noticed that, Bob. Vacationing in Hawaii with the odd day, VERY odd day in the high 60's and people wearing jackets and sweaters - in beach weather!!
I do NOT handle extreme heat very well at all. 80's are full blast air-conditioning weather for me.
High 70's I find quite distressful.




Without converting. I'm guessing that is winter here ...

It's been raining a lot here, the 5 minute attention span climate change believers think the world is ending ...

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"


Edited by NitroX (16/11/22 05:34 AM)


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DarylS
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: NitroX]
      #371505 - 16/11/22 04:04 AM

Had to be 6 years ago, that AOC said the world was going to
end in 12 years, so I guess we've only got 6 years left.

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Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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Omnivorous_Bob
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: NitroX]
      #371506 - 16/11/22 04:18 AM

Daryl, I'm with you. I'd much rather have the cold too. My 1st year living in western AK the high for the summer was 62f/17C and I thought it was perfect. I think its the rapid temp changes that throw you off. In the interior of Alaska everything depends on what air mass is coming through and the temp could easily change +-30C or more over night. When it would go from -40 to +25F in a day or two it felt warm even though it wasn't.

Early one June in Fairbanks it hit 90f/32c and I felt absolutely baked so I thought I'd jog to a lake about 2 miles away for a swim then jog back. Got there and it was still 3/4 covered in ice! The air warmed rapidly but 2m of ice takes time. Bob

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DarylS
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Omnivorous_Bob]
      #371519 - 16/11/22 08:41 AM

Ice is not off many of our lakes until well after the warm weather hits, some years.
I well remember it being too hot (104F) 40C by the middle of May to go for a MC ride, yet the local lakes still had over 3' of ice on them.
That was between the beginning of the late 1970's ice age and the global warming scare of 1998.

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"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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szihn
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Ripp]
      #371699 - 22/11/22 03:47 AM

I have seen some adjustable triggers give those kind of problems at times. Most men look to the bolt, spring and firing pins but at times the problem is snow having melted and leaked into the triggers and turned back to ice. If the sear piece is allowed to move some but not enough the cocking piece drags on it and slows down causing light strikes. If the rifle is left in the fired position with some of them the sear piece can freeze in the downward position and then the rifle will not cock at all. Or ice can fill the space in-between the coils of a springs and not allow the parts to work because the spring is now braced and can't compress, or may simply not expand out more with full force.

All of the after-market adjustable triggers can be made to have cleaner breaks and many can be adjusted to have lighter breaks then Mr. Mauser's original Military triggers, BUT when worked over to a good break and set to have no back-lash and a short 1st stage, the old 2 stage military triggers are (and probably always will be) the most reliable ones ever made.

If you have an adjustable trigger installed on a Mauser it can be a good idea to take the action out of the stock and when warm give it some blasts with carburetor cleaner to get all the oil and all the water out. Blow it dry with a compressor or even a can of compressed air like they sell at computer store and put it back in 100% dry, or do what I have done and use automimic transmission fluid as a cold weather lube. Ice will grab to clean steel but steel lubed with ATF is hard for ice to hold onto well. It gets chipped off much easier then dry steel.

The coldest temps I have ever hunted in were about -45 F and in the cases where I did use adjustable triggers cleaned and lightly lubed (and with air blown through to remove all excess lube) I have not had any problems. My old 338, my 375H&H and both my Mauser 270s and my 25-06 all have adjustable triggers in them, but I have never had such a problem as you described. However I have seen such things a number of times with other hunters and their rifles and triggers, and as a gunsmith I bet I have had 20 come to me asking me to fix their guns only to find they worked just fine by the time they got them to my shop.

In nearly all cases it's a matter of too much of the wrong lube (or grease) or ice blocking the guts from moving well. In some case I have been able to blow water out of the triggers in my shop. It's water in my shop, but out when they were hunting at -15 to -40 I guarantee it was ice.

Getting snow around the bolt and then operating it a few times drags some snow over the rear tang, and gets it over the sear on the trigger. Let that get warm in a truck or car, tent or cabin one time and it flows into the trigger. Then take the rifle out again and you can have a problem.
That's the reason I do recommend a light coat of AFT on the trigger guts. Dry steel and ice bond easily and hard. But you can push on a frozen drop of water on ATF lubed steel ---and it pops off easily.

As for me personally I have built most of the guns I now own with re-worked military triggers for this very reason. #1 using the old triggers allows for a smaller mortis in the inletting so that makes for a stronger stock to take recoil and #2 by installing an over-travel pin inside the coil spring I can eliminate almost all backlash.(leaving about .005" is all) Stone the cocking piece face and the sear to proper angles and set the front foot of the trigger to give only about 1/8 of 1st stage and I get a good 3 pound trigger that breaks clean. Not as good as the target triggers but still very good and extremely reliable. Such a trigger is plenty good for all shooting with a possible exception of actual bench rest competition and yet it's the stuff of legend when it comes to reliability.

Anyway.......food for thought.
I hope it was helpful.

Edited by szihn (22/11/22 03:55 AM)


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Dogfish858
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: szihn]
      #371773 - 25/11/22 01:11 AM

Certainly helpful.

In this case there's a Recknagel trigger in the rifle, though I have also switched to the original military trigger on most of my Mausers because they are so efficient and when tuned, superior. I am finding I increasingly dislike the 'breaks like glass' feel of single stage triggers. Timneys especially I find have a 60 grit internal finish.

I do use ATF on my rifles. What I think happened with this rifle is condensation formed then froze on the cocking piece or in the trigger. It's rarely humid here but this day was both cold and humid. I switched to another rifle for the really cold days.

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Rule303
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: szihn]
      #371786 - 25/11/22 10:30 AM

szihn thanks for posting that. I for one had not considered the trigger. Mind you it never gets down into the negative numbers in Australia like it does in the US and Europe.

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PatagonHunter
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Rule303]
      #372006 - 04/12/22 06:15 AM

Agree 100% szihn!!!

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yukonphil
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: PatagonHunter]
      #372681 - 27/12/22 04:59 PM

clean your rifle and use graphite powder will work use of winter chain saw oil (need a little drips) will work as well.

what im doing when i want to test a rifle for winter i put it in the garage when it is -40c or f (outside) it is the same and will know which rifle is working or not when ready for bison hunting ... so far my preparation has worked great.


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Dogfish858
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: yukonphil]
      #373533 - 28/01/23 02:40 AM

That makes good sense.

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: szihn]
      #373537 - 28/01/23 04:12 AM

Steve, what is ATF? Thanks.

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Rule303
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: NitroX]
      #373551 - 28/01/23 09:13 AM

Quote:

Steve, what is ATF? Thanks.




Automatic Transmission Fluid.


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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Rule303]
      #373552 - 28/01/23 10:17 AM

Thanks.

How do break open shotguns and rifles fair?

I believe I was told not great in extreme cold?

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Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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Jim_C
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: NitroX]
      #373565 - 28/01/23 03:01 PM

I was out with my Parker SxS this year in -30C weather. Gun fired OK, #4 buck still kills coyotes. The gun was torn down in the fall, all the internals given a wipe of 0W20 Mobil 1 synthetic, and reassembled. Then the outside gets waxed with whatever hard wax I can source from the local auto parts store.

Break-open single shots do about as well, except I'm too lazy to tear them down: I just flush them with mineral spirits and lube with a drop or two of Kroil. Guns with external hammers usually have enough impact to fire, if they are clean and not gooped up with grease etc.

Savage 219 rifle (30-30) and similar rifles seem to need some detailing in the firing pin channel: anything in there seems to slow or jam the firing pin.

Don't know how much of that will transfer over to some of the guns with closer tolerances, but I would expect them to be more problematic. In seriously cold weather, I want a milsurp Mauser. I'm still trying to figure out how to keep my 1100 functioning in sub-freeing weather.


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DarylS
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: NitroX]
      #373566 - 28/01/23 03:06 PM

Hmm- thought I had posted to this, just ahead of Rule303's last post.
ATF- the original synthetic oil.
I have used Amsoil 2 stroke oil as a lubricant in the winter time. Like their motor oil & even their gear oil, the 100:1 synthetic 2-stroke oil stays liquid at temperatures no one hunts at.
The coldest for me was -56F on a moose hunt. Trigger and lock worked fine, but I was concerned over the main spring breaking.
That happened to some of the guys at a mere -40. Yeah - we quit that foolishness.

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Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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Rule303
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: DarylS]
      #373598 - 29/01/23 09:38 AM

It would be a special order to get a thermometer in Aust to read that low.

I have learnt a bit from this thread and no, it's not that some are lunatic enough to go out in those temperatures.


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Dogfish858
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Jim_C]
      #373741 - 02/02/23 10:32 AM

In that cold I definitely found an advantage in the huge oversized bolt knob and the military trigger. Just being able to feel the bolt handle and trigger, for a start. My hands when they get cold feel 'clunky' and rigid to the point for instance that I can not type after getting my hands cold. It's an odd feeling.

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DarylS
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Dogfish858]
      #373745 - 02/02/23 11:19 AM

We quit shooting the black powder trail walk in -20 and colder temps due to mainsprings breaking on our rifles.
There for a while (OK- we were a LOT younger) anything down to -20 was just fine. Yeah - speaking Fahrenheit. Now, it has to be very close to the freezing line ie: 32F or 0C. Above it a LOT better.

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Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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szihn
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: Ripp]
      #373749 - 02/02/23 12:40 PM

It was here too.
Today is the warmest day I have seen since December 19th It was 22F above zero today. Here is a pic of the thermometer yesterday at 9:00AM
Cold this morning by Steve Zihn, on Flickr

And that's about 20 degrees warmer then it was at the coldest----- which was about 15 days ago.

Since I have lived in Wyoming this is the 2nd coldest I have seen it get.


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Dogfish858
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Re: Extreme Cold [Re: szihn]
      #373752 - 02/02/23 01:14 PM

Far out. I think I'm a good 16 hrs north of you and it hasn't been terribly cold for a while now.

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