Gun Store Tips on Maintaining Accuracy in Fall or Winter Weather
Hunting is a lifestyle, and staying true to that lifestyle means hunting even when it’s cold or chilly. At the local gun store, Ottawa residents can peruse through all manners of rifles and accessories to properly outfit themselves for a chilly hunting trip. While testing the rifle in a gun range at the hunting store or gun store will allow hunters to get a grasp of their rifle’s accuracy, firing in a closed room is an entirely different experience than testing accuracy in the cold of fall or winter. Accuracy is a crucial part of enjoyable hunting, and maintaining that accuracy regardless of the weather will keep a smile on even the frostiest hunter’s face. Accuracy, simply put, is how close a hunter can fire their rifle to a predetermined target. As any gun store employee in Ottawa will tell you, a rifle is a complex machine and its accuracy may be affected by a number of cold weather conditions.
Here are some of those factors to consider when hunting in cold weather:
Air density: Because cold air is inherently denser than warm air, it creates more resistance to a bullet passing through it, as well as more force pushing the bullet off course in crosswinds. This increased density will shorten the rifle’s range by about 3% for every 2 degrees Celsius the temperature drops.
Bulkier clothing: With cold weather comes the appropriate fall and winter wear (e.g. thicker sweaters, toques, gloves etc). Wearing bulkier clothing during cold days can place your rifle further forward than normal, augmenting your typical aim. A prudent course of action to fix this would be to reposition your scope and re-zero your rifle to maintain its accuracy. Wearing gloves may also affect your trigger pull, as the glove will compress under your pressure before the trigger does. Visit your local hunting store for hunting-specific clothing.
Shoulder pressure: As an addition to the bulkier clothing section, wearing sweaters may cause the hunter to have uneven shoulder pressure when steadying the rifle. Accommodating for this extra clothing will aid in maintaining rifle accuracy.
Air moisture: Colder weather will typically bring with it rain, sleet, or snow, all of which may cause moisture to build up in individual parts of the rifle. Rifle accuracy will be affected if all of the parts are not kept in dry conditions, when the hunter will have assuredly tested their rifle’s shot.
These are just some of the ways in which cold weather can affect a rifle’s accuracy. A true hunter won’t let difficult conditions take away from enjoying the hunt and narrowing in on that perfect shot. Visit your local hunting store or gun store in Ottawa to speak with professionals about rifle specifics. If you take care of your rifle, it will take care of you.
