Rifle/Ammo Issues in Cold Weather?

Hey all,

Had a late cow elk hunt this past weekend where it was pretty dang cold...as in 2 degrees in the morning. I had left my ammo and rifle out in my car (enclosed) over night.
When out in the field, I tried to work the action to chamber a round and the bolt was reeeeeaaalllly hard to close.

I was using a Rem 700 in .300 WM and Federal Premium ammo, which have always fed and shot very well. It felt like I was shooting reloads that hadn't been fully resized.

When I got back home that night, in normal temps, all the ammo fed perfectly and everything was back to normal.

Is anything wrong? An ammo issue? A gun issue?....Or should I just not go hunting anymore in 2 degrees? lol


"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."

Probably just the lube got a bit stiff.


Several years ago in the San Luis Valley of CO, temps got down to -30 for a few days. Jeep was plugged in for sure, but, and kept it in neutral because I knew the gear lube would make it tough to shift. Just after it started the gear oil in the transmission/transfer case was cold enough that the jeep rolled forward a few feet, even with the transmission in neutral.

If you are going to hunt in a extreme cold area, there is several things you need to do to insure your firearm will function.
Strip it down and remove all oil and any other lubicants from it. This includes the trigger assembly and remove the firing pin & spring and remove all oil from it and the channel it sits in. If you need a lubricant on any parts, use dry powder graphite lubricant.
I have seen triggers seize up and not function, and firing pins freeze up in it's channel and not fire due to oil and freezing temps.

RELH

Thank you both on the replies. I was hoping it didn't suggest something was wrong with the rifle/ammo.

I understood the frozen lube issue with semi actions; but it sounds like bolt actions aren't immune either...maybe just minimized.

Good advice. Thank you both for the insight!



"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."

We routinely hunt in below zero weather here in Northern Wisconsin without any problem whatsoever. As has been said, keep the lube light and try to keep from bringing it in and out of warmth to eliminate possible condensation (it sounds like you did that). If you do bring it in from extreme cold to warm take it out of the case.