Summer Shooting
 

First, It's my understanding that a hot barrel is bad for accuracy. Can anyone explain why this is the case?

Second, do you shoot in the summer? I live in KS and it won't be cool now until October. Furthermore, my range is only open from noon till
6 pm.

Last week I was shooting a Rene with PRB with mixed results. It was around 90. By the time I would think a little, swap and reload the barrel was still warm / hot.

Can I draw any solid conclusions from these sessions? Any advice for the summer shooter?

I'd hate to shelf them for the summer. The thought of playing golf is not that appealing and my wife needs me out of the house doing something.

If using sabots the barrel heat from shooting on a hot summer day can really cause havoc, especially if using BH209 and not swabbing. I was putting my GM54-120 in the truck with the AC on last summer to cool it down. If you must shoot in the summer go early and give the barrel plenty of time to cool down between shots. Its been in the 90's the last few days here. Definitely too hot to shoot IMO.

I live in Arkansas and the summers are hot here, Omega is correct about the heat affecting the sabots. You can not just keep shooting as the barrel heats, some times I have to wait as much as 6 minutes between shots. My solution is to take several guns and to shoot one shot in each so the have a chance to cool. Of course that means several targets must be posted and keep track of but it seems the best solution for me for now.

Yup, like them fellas wrote, one does what one has to do. What lemoyne suggested is how i manage through the summer.

Also I have noticed that if I sight in a gun during the summer I have do a final tweeking to it during Sept when it starts to cool down. Just try to shoot in the morning. Your range doesn't open till noon which could be a probably. Maybe look for a different range or if you have State or BLM land. I know in MT you can shoot on State or BLM. Get a range finder and set up a range that you can set up.

You can shoot in the heat. Just pay attention to the barrel. Grab it sometimes and if it is hot, it will let you know. I also shoot numerous rifles during the summer giving the others time to rest and cool down. I know one person that takes a cooler full of ice (and beverages) and towels. After he shoots he wraps that barrel in an ice cold towel to help cool it faster. He claims it does work. I've never done that extreme, but I will set them in the shade.

This is not such a severe problem when shooting roundball, although even they get effected. But sabots definitely show signs of barrel heating. Just make sure that before hunting season, you check the rifle and it might need a little adjustment. These guys as usual are right on the money with their advice.

You have to slow down, and let the barrel cool.

I don't get the heat some of you do though.

I shoot very little in the heat of summer. I hate the heat and it's just not fun for me.

When I do shoot in the heat and I'm shooting for groups, I take multiple guns to kill time in between shots for the load I'm testing. The TN heat is brutal in the summer and sometimes I have to wait 15-20 mins between shots.

In my personal experience, I believe my guns do not shoot as well in the summer and I know I don't.

I try and do all of my testing in Jan and Feb after all the hunting seasons end. That way I don't die from the heat and I get a more accurate reading of what the gun/load will do in hunting weather.

There's only one way to shoot in this heat.

better use a little extra sun block!

Nobody explained why to the the dear boy. I am not an expert by any means nor am I a metalurgist but let me try to explain this to you. Steel expands at a rate of .000007" per degree F. Therefore, if you have a 1" diameter barrel which is nominal at 68*. At 100* that barrel would be (100-68)x.000007" or 1.00022". Now this is outside diameter which, although very small, will increase pressure at any contact points along the stock which will change the harmonics of the barrel. Now add this same expansion rate to the bore will cause the bore to become smaller in diameter which also changes the amount of friction on the bullet as it travels down the barrel.
Then you have to add the increased temperature from continued firing and there you have it - a change in accuracy and or point of impact.
But don't let that stop you from shooting in the summer. Practice, practice, practice makes you a better shot.

Thanks Bronko,

I knew there was an explanation. When it gets scorching I'll sit it out but for now I will mess around. It's not like I'm going to site a gun in now and not shoot until deer season.

All of that may be true Bronko. But it shouldn't make much of a difference in the long run because targets expand also and the bull is bigger. :wink: :s2:

LMAO Semi. I should have known you would come back with something humorous. I guess I deserve it for all the times I take a crack at you.

It gets hot here in the summer. i just take 2 rifles as some others here seem to do. i leave very early in the morning and don't seem to have a problem with the heat.shorter earlier shooting sessions with more frequency, seem to be the answer for myself in the summer months.in fact the lil lady and i have a outing planned for the morning. we will be out shooting by 6:00 or 6:30 in the am.. Ray

semi, what I do to keep the heat off me in the summer is have the wife put here HOOTERS t-shirt on and stand close to me and provide me with shade. HEAT not the type that ignites and burns down shanties but the type that excites and brings down panties. sqezer 6-11-11

Pictures would help :happy0001:

I don't like shooting in the heat, but I still do sometimes. I bring 2 rifles and alternate shooting, taking breaks. It is still good practice and fun, but I've found that I usually need to have an extended range session in the fall when the weather is cooler to do my final sight in. Sometimes the POI changes, sometimes a load that shot well in the summer doesn't do as well with cooler weather and vice versa. If it's 90 degrees of less, I will consider going out and shooting. Over 90, forget about it...

I walk down and draw a circle around the shot I just took.

Keeps me from getting bored, and taking the next shot too fast.

I walked over a mile on my last shooting session. :D

To heck with walking back and forth to the target LOL. I take my rifle over under the shade of a tree and let it cool down. Along with myself.

Buena Vista is cool.

I'm no fool. I don't pick hot places to live. :)