Rifles in the rain *important*

[WildRose]

Condensation requires a difference in temperature and is formed on the cold object. For condensation to form inside the barrel, the temperature of the barrel would need to be colder than the air temperature.

Yep which is why it is smart to leave your rifle where it's exposed to the outside temperature rather than bringing it inside of a heated room or tent at night.

 

[RH300UM]

Yep which is why it is smart to leave your rifle where it's exposed to the outside temperature rather than bringing it inside of a heated room or tent at night.

Real hard to do in bear country!
I always run a patch through at night if I can.
Then again in the morning. Feels better sleeping with a loaded rifle for some readon

 

[Timber338]

Yep which is why it is smart to leave your rifle where it's exposed to the outside temperature rather than bringing it inside of a heated room or tent at night.

My experience has proven the opposite is true. no disrespect. Actually a good point to bring up in this discussion. I am a backpack hunter and keeping my rifle dry has been a learning experience over many many years. When you leave your rifle outside it gets just as cold as the air and even in dry conditions can be wet with dew in the early morning hours. Moisture will fall out of the air and settle on any surface that is below the dewpoint, and with your entire rifle at or below the dewpoint, even your optics will be covered with moisture.

Leaving it in a tent is also challneging because of the condensation that forms inside the tent from your breath.

But the tent is the best place I have found. I make sure to wrap the scope/action/barrel in dry clothes and keep nestled right next to my sleeping bag to get as warm as possible. The extra warmth keeps moisture away because it is warmer than the dewpoint and will be all around more dry.

As I hike through the dark in the morning and hunt in the early morning hours when the air is still very cold, I keep my scope covered with a big neoprene scope cover. The rifle will cool down as you hunt, but the cover will provide some protection against the morning dew. The cover is large enough with flaps that cover the action and helps keep moisture and dirt off of everything.

 

[parshal]

When you leave your rifle outside it gets just as cold as the air and even in dry conditions can be wet with dew in the early morning hours. Moisture will fall out of the air and settle on any surface that is below the dewpoint, and with your entire rifle at or below the dewpoint, even your optics will be covered with moisture.

I've only bow hunted while packing and never worried too much about dew since it's not like back in Georgia where I grew up. I would think covering the rifle outside the tent would keep dew off. But, again, I've not tried that.

 

[elkaholic]

Great idea from you and the previous fellow who mentioned it.

I'll try this.

I've used tape over the barrel most of the time when I hunt. Even in dry conditions.

I do wonder occasionally however, whether condensation sometimes wets my barrel surface without me realizing it.

I like this as well!

 

[elkaholic]

I have come to believe that if a cartridge is chambered and remains in the chamber during the course of a wet day that a process of corrosion or mineral build-up creates a ring around the bullet where it makes contact with lans in the barrel. There can be just enough acid in rainwater to react with the copper on a bullet or residue in the barrel to affect the bullet as it moves through the bore to cause a change in the flight of the bullet. Certainly, I am not a scientist or ballistic expert, but I have noticed a deposit around any round extracted from the chamber after spending a rainy day in the chamber.

I have seen this often. I nice green copper oxide color that can even etch a bullet to some degree......Rich

 

[hunterbob]

I am a scientist but not a physicist so I don't really know for sure what happens in the barrel all I researched is what happens in flight all I know if its raining that much I am going to a tree home or a bar and pull a cork they will be there tomorrow.

Yes sir !

 

[hunterbob]

Yep which is why it is smart to leave your rifle where it's exposed to the outside temperature rather than bringing it inside of a heated room or tent at night.

I been out in the mountains in all kinds of weather and had a Model 100 one time.. Ice had formed over the action....Rain,, freeze, and snow... It started after we got back in five miles.... Just keep the barrel pointed down, so nothing gets in it....When the shot came that day, about a mile from camp, there was no ice on it after.... I never did any oiling or cleaning on those hunts until we got back home....Then I would let the gun sit in the house, until it got room temperature , then clean and oil it... Never had an ammo issue of discoloration unless I left the ammo in my leather belt.... Still not a problem.

 

[Pdvdh]

So can someone please summarize how much of a POI change has been carefully documented in certain wet barrel situations?

Don't play in the rain enough to carefully document anything, and I suspect the same for most other prospective "researchers". I'm currently testing changes in POI with 5 different rifles over time, and in variable temperatures. I take 5 rifles out with one round for each rifle. Set up the triplicate chronographs and shoot each rifle once at 300 yards while recording MV.

So far I couldn't begin to answer that question in dry conditions, other than all five rifles display distinguishable POI change over time. Some of it is likely due to variable temps. Some of it may simply be the nature of the beast. And some of it could be that my rifles have light enough contour barrels that I'm willing to haul them around while backpack hunting.

I have no plans to test wet barrels. What I learned so far is the value of confirming POI in the field at the hunting grounds just prior to hunting, if one intends to hit game at long distances.

 

[elkaholic]

Don't play in the rain enough to carefully document anything, and I suspect the same for most other prospective "researchers". I'm currently testing changes in POI with 5 different rifles over time, and in variable temperatures. I take 5 rifles out with one round for each rifle. Set up the triplicate chronographs and shoot each rifle once at 300 yards while recording MV.

So far I couldn't begin to answer that question in dry conditions, other than all five rifles display distinguishable POI change over time. Some of it is likely due to variable temps. Some of it may simply be the nature of the beast. And some of it could be that my rifles have light enough contour barrels that I'm willing to haul them around while backpack hunting.

I have no plans to test wet barrels. �� What I learned so far is the value of confirming POI in the field at the hunting grounds just prior to hunting, if one intends to hit game at long distances.

I use to shoot my 30/375 S.I. almost everyday a week before season. I had 2 targets and shot 1 shot at each. One for cold bore and one for followup. The groups were equally good (around .2") but the follow up was always 1/2" different poi. (high and Right) This really boosts confidence on opening day and gives a sure correction for a followup shot......Rich

 

[tbrice23]

Don't play in the rain enough to carefully document anything, and I suspect the same for most other prospective "researchers". I'm currently testing changes in POI with 5 different rifles over time, and in variable temperatures. I take 5 rifles out with one round for each rifle. Set up the triplicate chronographs and shoot each rifle once at 300 yards while recording MV.

So far I couldn't begin to answer that question in dry conditions, other than all five rifles display distinguishable POI change over time. Some of it is likely due to variable temps. Some of it may simply be the nature of the beast. And some of it could be that my rifles have light enough contour barrels that I'm willing to haul them around while backpack hunting.

I have no plans to test wet barrels. �� What I learned so far is the value of confirming POI in the field at the hunting grounds just prior to hunting, if one intends to hit game at long distances.

In your research have you noticed a notable vertical POI shift from bright sunlight vs heavily overcast ?

 

[elkaholic]

In your research have you noticed a notable vertical POI shift from bright sunlight vs heavily overcast ?

Can't answer for Paul, but I have seen it often. It isn't always vertical but relates more to angle of the sun on the target. I have learned to try to sight in when it is overcast before hunting season......Rich

 

[Pdvdh]

In your research have you noticed a notable vertical POI shift from bright sunlight vs heavily overcast ?

The sun never gets higher than about 15* over the horizon this time of the winter up here in never never land. So bright sunlight is one of the few factors I can dismiss.

So far I've shot in these temperatures: -1*, 6*, 13*, 22*, and 27*F.

I think temperature is affecting POI. I may have a better idea when the temps increase, but that will take another 2-3 months. POIs seem to be shifting slightly at 300yds just about each outing. So I'm still scratching my head. When all is said & done, I hope to learn something useful that I can benefit from going forward.

For the time being, I'm at least generating good MV versus temperature data for each of these 5 rifles. And that data pool will only increase.

No way am I gonna test wet barrels. I can't even get it sorted out with dry barrels!

 

[RockyMtnMT]

The sun never gets higher than about 15* over the horizon this time of the winter up here in never never land. So bright sunlight is one of the few factors I can dismiss.

So far I've shot in these temperatures: -1*, 6*, 13*, 22*, and 27*F.

I think temperature is affecting POI. I may have a better idea when the temps increase, but that will take another 2-3 months. POIs seem to be shifting slightly at 300yds just about each outing. So I'm still scratching my head. When all is said & done, I hope to learn something useful that I can benefit from going forward.

For the time being, I'm at least generating good MV versus temperature data for each of these 5 rifles. And that data pool will only increase.

No way am I gonna test wet barrels. I can't even get it sorted out with dry barrels!

I am interested in this as well. The last two hunts over the last two weeks it seems as though we may have been hitting a bit low for the data. This is very hard to verify in a hunting situation as the variables are way too many to get good data. It is just a feeling that we had after the two hunts.

Steve