Very cold weather

[Richard58]

What's the coldest weather you guys have shot ur pistols in and how did they hold up. Thinking of going to see brother in Alaska since I've retired now and been wanting to see that neck of the woods. He works on the pipeline for Arco oil and getting some time off which im going to let him show me around abit. Wondering what type of lub would be good for a glock 26 or maybe just stick to a revolver?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[SIGguy229]

Hmmm....don't know. I've heard that using a dry lube is best, as the cold doesn't affect it as much as a wet, oil based lube. Militec-1 is what I've used in the past in Afghanistan...where I was, it got down to 20*F.

[GutshotJohn]

I've shot in 10 below (not fun). Guns are very very finicky in that weather. One suggestion I might have is not to bring it in and out of the indoors and just leave it outside if that's an option.

[ksholder]

I have no personal knowledge on this issue. It does seem that if you are going to be carrying your weapon that it will be next to you and, therefore, nice and warm until you pull it out. JMHO

[archer51]

The gun should handle the cold without any problems. The catch will be the lube you use. Use a non-petroleum lube that will not thicken up in the cold.

[Kilowatt3]

Anyone tried Lock-Ease?

[Pro2A]

I've shot in the single digits. The only issue I had was condensation when I came inside. It is important that you clean and oil your gun after coming in from the cold or risk rust. As for shooting, I've shot my Garand, 1911 and my .270 in the cold and they were just as accurate as if it were 80 degrees.

[wmhawth]

I'd think Gunzilla or Ballistol would do ya in extreme cold. 10 degrees above zero is about as cold as I've done any shooting.

[VBVAGUY]

I know when I was in the US Army in Germany and in the field shooting our M16's, M60, and SAW's there were some winters that it got down to -10 to -15 degrees F and we used Miltec-1 on our weapons and it worked fine. Happy New Year and God Bless

[Richard58]

Maybe the best thing is to just take my stainless revolver and forget the auto thing in that cold. Didn't think abt being warm under the coat then bringing out in the cold then back in warm, rust is bad enough besides worring about lube causing problems. Myself I have shot firearms here in North Carolina at around 12 degrees F* but I was thinking abt what we call d*** cold then 12 degrees F*.

[OldVet]

You didn't say what time of year you plan to visit and where you go in AK makes a difference too. I lived in Ak for 3+ yrs in Fairbanks where it was routinely 15-30 below during winter (all day!). At those temps, 4-legged creatures are not a threat, and most 2-legged ones tend to stay inside.

It's not the gun that freezes, it's the lube. I've seen cars going down the road with the front wheels locked up tight because of frozen bearing grease. A revolver will stifffen up just as a pistol will. A Glock with dry lube or a "light" application of synthetic oil (5W Mobil 1 Is good) will do the job if kept under a coat in the worst of cold. Are you concerned about 2-legged protection or 4-legged threats?

Also, don't "clean & oil" your firearms until they warm to room temperture! The heating/cooling is what attracts moisture to metal and it can become trapped under oils if not "pre-warmed." If you're in the interior (Fairbanks), the humidity is so low during winter (around 5%) that there's very little moisture in the air. Most homes have humidifiers to keep things from drying out. Static electricity is a real shocker there.

[hardluk1]

I have shoot a couple of my pistols when -5* and they run fine. I do only use synthetics lubs and they do not stiffin like regular oils do. A buddy has fire most all has firearms at or below 0* hunting and also uses breakfree clp with no issues.


Glocks can run the slides dry just fine but a drop or 2 of breakfree clp on other points that wear and you will be fine.