I never thought there was such a thing as weather too bad to go shooting. But as I get older, and now that I own some acreage of my own, it turns out there is such a thing, and for a number of reasons.
First of all, I’m getting too old to freeze my fingers off, trying to wedge another cartridge into the magazine of my old Model 94 Winchester. The spring on the magazine cover is extremely tight, either despite or because it’s over 100 years old. When my fingers get cold, they feel like they’re going to break right off when I try to cram a cartridge in there. And that’s one task you simply can’t do with gloves on.
Then there’s the moisture factor. When it’s nasty outside, I really don’t want to have to walk all the way out to my range. I prefer to drive over there, keeping my guns safe and dry in the vehicle as I go. But when it’s this wet out, the truck leaves deep ruts through my pasture. These ruts become rivers when it rains, and with every downpour, more of my land washes down the hill to the neighbor’s place.
So yes, there is such a thing as weather too bad to go shooting. Granted, if it’s raining, snowing, hailing, or just cold when I go hunting, I’ll gut it out and go anyway. I probably ought to get out there in the rain and sleet and do some practicing.
Of course, if I do, then I’ll have to come back in when I’m done and give the guns a really good cleaning. You don’t want to leave any water on your guns after you’ve used them in damp conditions.
It’s probably safer to stay inside on these wet, cold days and save the shooting practice for nice days.
