Experiencing all weather and conditions

[u/WILD_Hawkeye9]

Do you ever really put your gear through it's paces?Obviously its a great time going out on the range, ripping through mortgage payments worth of ammo in the sun and short sleeves.

Im talking about going out shooting when its so damn cold out the air stings the moment it hits skin and the idea of loading a magazine is the worst thing you could possibly imagine. Going out when its raining, windy, just overall miserable. Getting your gear dirty.

One of the most reliable pistols i own, north of 5000 rounds on it and i can't remember a time where i had a genuine failure that wasn't mag spring related or some kind of user error teaching new shooters. I had it out this winter, one of the coldest days all winter, way colder than ever shot in before, and it wouldn't fire 3 rounds without a stoppage. I've only ever used the same products to clean and oil my guns for years now and everything else ran as expected. Just racking the slide you could tell it felt way more stiff and sluggish than it should've. Once i got home, going to take it apart and see whats up, it ran just as smooth as butter.

So i guess don't always assume your most reliable gear is always going to be the most reliable in every condition.

I honestly can't wait to try and replicate that this winter to figure out why it suddenly became a liability in the cold. It felt like its oil was getting tacky in the cold, but none of my other guns were getting that, using the same exact bottle of oil in the same conditions.

I'm sure there's lots of stories like that out there of our gear surprising us in the worst ways lol

[u/CanadianBoyEh]

I intentionally go to the range on cold winter days. The super cold days mean it’s a 99% chance I’ll be the only person there all day. I’ve had no issues with feeding, firing or ejecting yet, going all the way down to -40C. Just a decreased MV, but that’s to be expected.

And during hunting season, rain or shine, I’m still going!