Just a pip
By MARJ LAW
Mark and Lara are back at the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range. They’ve signed in at the office, then walked over to the pistol range.
“No one else is here,” comments Mark.
“Well, Mark, that’s because it’s so cold!”
“It’s not that cold,” continues Mark. “We’re in Florida! Forty degrees is not cold. Not like Alaska, where we lived for 8 years. We’re getting soft!”
“I think it’s cold.” Lara isn’t backing down. “This damp cold makes it feel much colder than the thermometer says. My jacket is plenty warm, but my hands are freezing and my gun is even colder!”
“Do you think we could practice for at least a half hour?” Mark is anxious to shoot his 9mm Kimber Mako.
Lara isn’t happy, but she puts her 9mm Smith & Wesson Equalizer on the shooting bench. She begins to push rounds into her UpLula.
“Mark, my fingers are so cold, they’re stiff!” she complains. Mark doesn’t intend to agree with her, (he’s being a tough guy) so he doesn’t have an UpLula. Instead, he’s pushing each round into the magazine using the strength of his thumbs. His thumbs are agreeing with Lara. Arthritis and cold weather don’t go together.
“It’s kinda hard to hold your gun straight when you’re shivering,” grumbles Lara. “Being cold is distracting. It’s hard to concentrate when all you’re thinking about is how cold you are.”
“Lara, you’re wearing a really heavy parka. I can’t see how you can be cold.”
“You’re right. My torso and arms aren’t cold. It’s just my hands, but the parka is heavy enough. However, when I reach out to shoot, the parka is so poufy that it pulls my arms back.”
“Most of the time, it’s not very cold here in Florida,” returns Mark. “When we go back to Alaska, we’ll have to compensate for the deep cold. Stiff hands and bulky clothing will be a challenge we’re not used to.”
They shoot for a while. No one else arrives at the pistol range.
Lara shoots a few more rounds. Then, she shoves her hands into her parka pockets to warm them up. Then she shoots again.
“Mark,” she calls over to him. “My green dot is fogging up!”
Mark comes over with a lens cleaning cloth. “I’ve read about this,” he said. “In Shooting Illustrated, Steve Adelmann says: “The first problem we often encounter is the warm air inside sealed optics often causes condensation on external lenses… I also keep a clean, dry lens cloth handy in case I need to use my optics before they stop ‘sweating.’
Lara puts her hands back in her parka pockets. “Maybe this isn’t the best day for shooting.”
“Maybe not.” Steve doesn’t want to admit that he’d rather get back in their warm house, too. “But when we return to visit our daughter back in Alaska, we’re going to have to figure how to defend ourselves even in cold weather.”
“I sure would like a pair of heated gloves right now.” Lara’s hands are still in her pocket.
“We could find some special gloves for shooting,” suggests Mark. “I’d like thin gloves. Otherwise, my fat fingers won’t fit into the trigger guard. Massad Ayoob says that: ‘if you have to fire more than one shot, you may find that a thickly-gloved index finger blocks the trigger’s return, converting your six-shooter to a single-shot at what could be the worst possible time.’ Then Ayoob goes on to say: “the ‘traditional double action’ semiautomatic pistol is an excellent design for use in a gloved hand. The long, heavy double action trigger pull required for the first shot minimizes the chances of a cold-desensitized finger pulling it unintentionally.”
“And here I thought the large trigger guard was to put in both index fingers if the trigger was too hard to pull! OK, so we need to find some gloves. What else do we need to consider?”
“Since we’ll be wearing layers of clothing, we have to consider how to carry our guns,” he replies. “Here in Florida, we can wear a big loose T-shirt, or we can slide a holster into our pants pockets. We can’t carry in Alaska like we do in Florida. At a time of quick need, we wouldn’t want to be fumbling beneath our clothing to locate a gun.”
“Yes,” agrees Lara. “We don’t want to look like rubes. I can always carry in my purse. But you don’t carry a ‘man purse.’ So, if you’re decked out in your puffy jacket, how will you carry?”
“I’ll need to find a suitable holster. What if we’re hiking in snow, or in icy patches? I’ll need a sturdy holster that will keep my gun in place and is reachable,” replies Mark.
“What about the gun itself? Is there anything different about shooting and taking care of our guns when we return to Alaska?”
“We may want to see what lubricant for the guns is suitable for cold weather,” Mark replies. “Although the new synthetic lubricants will generally tolerate a wide range of temperatures,” he adds.
“Another thing we’ll have to remember is to clean the guns after our practice. I’ve read that going in and out of the cold can cause condensation affecting moving parts and mechanisms inside the gun, causing reliability issues. Some people place silica gel packs near their guns to absorb moisture. A silicone-impregnated sock around your handgun can reduce the risk of rust and corrosion on the metal parts. I’ll also get us some anti-fog lens cloths for our sights. We don’t want our lenses to have condensation on them, compromising our vision.”
“What about ammunition?” wonders Lara. “Do we use the same ammo we’re using in Florida?”
“Good question.” Mark thinks for a moment.
“I’ve read that we might want to switch to a heavier-grained ammunition for self-defense. In Alaska, we might want to change our 115-grain ammo to 125 or 147. Also, Myoob says that: ‘Hollowpoint handgun bullets tend to plug with wood, Fiberfill, and whatnot as they pass through the heavy winter clothing of a criminal assailant. When plugged with inert matter, they usually won’t expand. This fact makes larger caliber bullets popular in cold climes.’
“He also suggests using the bent-arms Weaver stance because of the bulky clothing. And last, can you imagine what he says to do?”
“I bet he’ll say to practice.” Lara rolls her eyes. Mark suggests practicing every week.
“You got it! Ayoob says to practice drawing and holstering and loading and reloading. We’ll have to practice with our heavy coats on. In fact, we ought to practice regularly while there’s a cold snap in Florida.”
“You know, Mark. There’s a reason the range is empty while it’s so cold. It’s no fun to shoot in the cold.
When we were in Alaska, we’d hear of the ‘wind chill factor.’ Seems to me that in Florida, we ought to have a ‘damp chill factor.’”
“Do we need to put a name to it?”
“Sure we do.”
“Why?”
“’Cause Baby, it’s cold outside,” she hums.
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.
