Re: OT -- It wouldn't have gone down that way in a TEXAS zoo
- From: dazed and confuzzed <dedmann@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 01 Jan 2008 21:46:13 -0600
Lee Bell wrote:
It's probably too cold to go outside and shoot, or perhaps too cold for the
guns to go off.
No, they are white, middle class and don't have a phallic complex to
compensate for on NYE. :)
Some of the fools shooting their guns in the air here are also white and middle class. I'm not sure of their phallic status and prefer to keep it that way.
Yes, it can be damn cold on NYE in Wisconsin. Sometimes as cold as
-18F, not an impediment to guns though. Besides, the gun would still
be warm from inside or the holster if they carried it. I think you
have to get down to about -30 or so before you have to worry about
misfire. Not sure. In that case I'd worry more about the whole thing
blowing up. You'd have to wear protective gloves to handle a weapon
that cold. If you wanted to keep your skin on your hands.
Of course I wasn't serious about too cold to go off, but your point is an interesting one.
I have no idea how cold it has to get before a gun will misfire due to temperature. I can tell you that I have no desire to be anywhere it gets that cold. Temperature does, however, have a significant impact on the powder in bullets, something I have to watch out for regularly in the bullets I reload for competition. USPSA competition is based on a combination of speed, accuracy and power. They have established minimum power factors based on the product of the projectile's weight in grains and it's muzzle velocity in feet per second. If you understand energy, you probably realize that these power factors are not a good measure of energy. Power factor is a straight line relationship, increasing evenly a bullets get heavier, velocities get higher, or both. Energy is not a straight line relationship. It's a curve that, because it's based on mass and the square of velocity, increases more with increased velocity than it does with increased weight. Power factor is normally divided by 1,000 to make it easier to deal with. For minor calibers (scored less favorably), a minimum power factor of 125 is required. For major, the power factor has to be 165.
Anyway, most powders perform differently depending on temperature. Temperatures in south Florida don't vary a lot from summer to winter, but temperatures only a hundred miles or so up the coast do. I load my minor caliber bullets to a 135 power factor and my major caliber bullets to a 175 just to be sure that I don't fail to meet the standard when shooting matches in the winter or in the central part of the state and, even more important, ensure my rounds have what it takes to reliably cycle the pistol in all conditions I might encounter.
Lee
If it's cold enough, you have to be careful as to which lube you use on your firearm. RemOil stops moving at/near -10f. Triflon is good to below -20F.
I have had a 1911 and a lever action fail to function at extremely cold temps due to lubrication issues.
--
“TANSTAAFL”
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America: Ironically, the safest place to be anti-American.
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"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences." - Proverbs 22:3
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