cold weather ammo

W

william gaynor

Active member
When the temperature falls below freezing does it have an effect on the performance of the gun powder in a shell and if so what is the best commercial ammo to use for cold weather hunting ?
 
I used to do a lot of reloading and used a lot of Dave Fackler's data via Ballistic Products Inc. Dave said the Federal 209 primer was the hottest American made primer you could get and seeing ballistics from identical loads with different primers Federal was the hottest back then. I suspect that the Federal is still the hottest and I use Federal loads almost exclusively during real cold weather. Another trick is to keep your shells in your pocket and change them out with the ones in your gun from time to time.

Back in the day I had several slow cookers when using Remington primers with a Blue Dot powder load. Since the arrival of non toxic shot I have pretty much quit reloading waterfowl loads and have found the factory loads as good or better than anything I could whip up.

I still reload for target ammo and Dove and find a 1 1/4 oz of 7 1/2's for late season Doves a great load.

Guess I'm sorta recommending the Feds for extra cold weather.

Hope you have a great season,

Harry
 
Bill, I agree with Harry on the Blue Dot reloads. I had a bunch of early steel reloads with BLuse Dot just barely make it out of the barrel. Haven't shot factory loads much at all in the last 35 years so I can't help there. Keep them warm though and they are happier.
 
What Harry said. I keep 5 or 6 in my wader chest pocket, which is under my coat to keep them warm. As I use those, I replace them with ones out of the box. I had one blooper so far this year with my 28ga reloaded hevi shot..I was wading out after a crip bluebill and it just bounced off her at 20 feet. McMiller was quick on the trigger and Graybearded her while I was checking for a wad in the barrel. It was about 60 degrees out so cold didn't have anything to do with it..looked like a light primer hit. I never had a problem with factory steel from any maker in my 12ga. guns.
 
One other thing to keep in mind is that the birds are now packing an extra layer of fat and feathers that they didn't have in the early season.... especially those resident Canadas. So moving up a shot size, and keeping your shots closer is more important.

I'd say that has more affect than anything, especially with the new shotshells.
 
i put a couple of disposable hand warmers into my shell pocket -- keeps em warm enough and have had no discernable difference in performance
 
I have hunted cold weather, below freezing and sometimes below zero, all my life and it never occured to me that cold temps might effect the performance of my shot shells. Now I have an excuse for missed birds, when it's cold anyway. I just use factory shotshells, I load my own rifle loads. I usually use Remington steel shot or Bismuth for my old double gun, I shoot over decoys, so most of my shots are within 30 yards. I actually haven't noticed a cold weather effect.
 
No offense to y'all, but I think you might be over-thinking it. The ten or twenty degrees difference between temperate and freezing makes a big difference to us but, given the temperatures at which primers and gunpowder burn, I can't imagine that it has much effect on ballistics.
Certainly, I have never noticed any difference or any rise in mis-fires when it gets cold.
It wouldn't surprise me if someone finds some science to prove me wrong, but of all of the many, many variables that go into making up a successful duck hunt, this is not one that I would focus on.
I do agree with the suggestion of going up in shot size - that seems logical to me.
But whadda I know about cold weather... ;-)
All the best and have a great late season,
Dano
 
Yep, temperature...cold and hot makes a difference in shells. Put some in a ziplock and freeze them, put some others close to the furnace and some at room temp...take them out and shoot them over a chrono and you'd be amazed. The ammo companies test their shells at different temps so that they go bang when cold and not BOOM when hot. I don't know all the science behind it but there is quite a bit.
 
Ha, ha - I knew that as soon as I exercised my opinion, someone would have some facts to make me look silly... Thanks for that, Lee. (joking)
I do stand corrected. The temp of my shells is now on my list of things to consider (but near the bottom, after wind, weather, decoys, camouflage, hot coffee, lunch etc., etc.)
All the best,
Dano
 
It's not something that nags me in the blind. Factory ammo is so good anymore that it's pretty much a non issue.
 
Unless your shooting target rifles over 100 yrds or taking long range rifle shots of 300 yrds or more forget the temperature change. Yes your shell velocity will drop as temperatures drop but from a practical stand point shotguns are dealing with patterns at close range. Do your part and the shell will do it's. Of greater concern is clothing impacting your shooting. The gun will potentially mount differently as the thickness of material on your shoulder increases. Any change in the relationship to your eye or your freedom to mount & swing the gun will affect your shooting way more than the velocity change due to the dropping temperature.

Scott
 
Oh Hell, Come on guys! What are Y'all calling Cold? + 30 ? 0 ? How about my shotgun and rifle ammo works fine dow to my cutoff for fun and running around on a snow machine at about - 20. Calling Varments, shooting grouse and ptarmagin, just ain't no fun below that.

Any one shooting ducks at that temp?
 
The real problems were in the old days with super slow magnum powders and a selection of two or three primers...probably paper hulls too. I wonder if condensation of taking the shells from your den at 70+ degrees...right out into 0 to 30 degree weather may have been a factor. I usually leave all my stuff in the truck from opener to when I remember to take it inside at the end of season. Had a windchill of 9 here today, this is getting to be a winter like when I was a kid.Damn Global Warming...hey, maybe the high fuel prices stopped everyone from driving so much and fixed the environment.....
 
I would think that the chemical engineers who work for ammunition manufactures take in to account cold weather. Factory loaded ammunition contains special blended powders to make sure they work in all conditions. Other wise people would say brand x ammunition sucks or worse yet a shooter has a dud that just pops the primer and lodges a wad 3/4 down the barrel the person shooting doesn't realize and jacks another shell in the chamber pulls the trigger it goes off full charge- blamo bad day!!!! Good day if you’re the lawyer representing the client that got hurt. I also think factory target loads are hotter than necessary because the manufacturer wants to do everything it can to make sure their ammunition functions properly in semi- automatic shotguns even if the users is clueless about how and why this type of shotgun works. Ammunition manufactures reputation rests on the precieved reliability and safety of their product. Reloading is a whole nother story. Ballistic Products post temperature information in a lot of their reloading data.
I have hunted late season geese in Minnesota and Pheasant in North Dakota in cold weather as far as I am concerned and never had blooper with any factory ammunition. I have used 40 year old ammunition such as paper winchester mark 4s in 10 F weather. They cycle fine in my sweet 16 A5 (although I did have a box of modern Fiocchi golden pheasant and a cleaning rod nearby).
I have killed birds with alot off different brands of ammo. I have always liked federal premium and winchester supreme both in lead and steel. My buddy in North Dakota won’t shoot anything but remington his brother on the other had roots thru the blinds and truck seats at the end of the day and collects all the loss ammo from everybody else. He never shots the same brand twice in a row he kills more birds than anyone I know.
I have had hand warmers in my pockets that also contained ammunition and doubt that it keeps ammunition warm once chambered in the gun. Seem like a cold steel chamber against the brass cartridge head would suck out what little heat was in the cartridge from a hand warm pretty quick. There is very little insulation properties to a shotgun shell- rifle cartridge even less.
 
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