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Old October 1, 2012, 03:10 PM   #26
pete2
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Keep kidding yourselves that semis are as reliable as revolvers, There's 2 kinds of semis, those that have jammed and those that are going to jam.
Extreme cold will make it more likely to fail vs the revolver. It's nature of the beast. Semis are cheaper to manufacture and hold more rounds, inferior to revolvers in all other respects.
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Old October 1, 2012, 03:41 PM   #27
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Umm....

Are you planning on leaving it outside or something and then going out to get it?

I assume you will be carrying it CCW. If it is cold enough that ice is forming on while you are carrying it under a concealing garment, you are probably already dead...
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Old October 1, 2012, 07:36 PM   #28
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It really depends on the weapon and the environment as well as the mode of carry. One extreme example it riding a snowmobile in sub zero weather (think -40), the gun (if exposed on your hip) will be encased in ice. the H&K's we were issued fared just fine. Glocks on the other hand could be a problem if the ice ran down and froze the striker. My answer was a shoulder holster and a pocket gun, kept them all out of the ice.

A revolver could have an issue in that environment as well.

I have used Mobile 1 synthetic lubes exclusively for years in the bitter ND cold with no issues.
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Old October 1, 2012, 07:52 PM   #29
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If I'm carrying, the gun is under my clothing. Why would it freeze?
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Old October 2, 2012, 08:16 AM   #30
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It shouldn't! Don't you like the feeling of the warm gun when you put your hand on it?
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Old October 4, 2012, 02:57 PM   #31
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if revovlers freezing up was such a big concern, then every mil supr nagant revolver would be in unfired nra condition
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Old October 4, 2012, 03:27 PM   #32
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Quote:
the Nagant revolvers made for nice hand warmers, always worked, whereas the Lugers just seized up in the cold.
It had more to due with the differences between how the Soviets and Germans treated their weapons for the extreme cold. If I'm remembering correctly, the Germans used plain old gun oil and the Soviet troops used a mixture of gasoline and gun oil. If you're really worried about it, get some Swiss Automatenfett or Waffenfett it's designed for use by their troops in the alps.
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Old October 4, 2012, 03:39 PM   #33
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Why not carry a J frame in your weak side jacket pocket (in a pocket holster) and your G26 strong side in a holster? That way you won't have to worry about which firearm is most reliable as you will have both with you.
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Old October 4, 2012, 04:09 PM   #34
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Yes sir, the old Chicago reload. If you must expose a gun to freezing temps and it must work then strip all of the oil out of it and run it dry. I have spoken to vets from the Krean War and they told me they were instructed to run their guns dry. I have also seen several references in U.S. Army field manuals that instruct troops to do this.
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Old October 6, 2012, 10:20 AM   #35
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There is a good reason the military uses a different lube for artic conditions than for temperate climates. Also, recommended is running dry in freezing/sub zero conditions. No lube is way better than the wrong lube.

The Germans had trouble with ALL their machinery the first Russian winter they met. They simply were not prepared for it. What worked ok in a German winter froze in Russia. They also learned that German horses would die at -4 C while Russian horses lived at -20 C!


One thing not mentioned, and potentially working against the auto pistol is the effect of extreme cold on ammunition! Ammo has less energy in extreme cold. It is possible for cold to reduce the power of the ammo to the point of unreliable function in an auto pistol. even a dry one. Not common, but possible. A revolver doesn't care about that.
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Old October 6, 2012, 05:22 PM   #36
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Are the pistols kept in a house with a humidifier then taken out in the cold os the moisture can freeze? Remember your high school physics of humitity and temperature and keep it in mind with your guns.
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Old October 6, 2012, 06:42 PM   #37
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I've done a lot of cold weather shooting (MN) and never had any trouble with any handgun as far as reliability goes.
I'm much more concerned about how the gun handles with numb, stinging fingers or with gloves on.
Some revolvers will pinch your gloves between the frame and trigger, preventing the trigger from reseting. That happened many times to me with K frame Smiths.
My cherished Freedom Arms 97 has such a light trigger that it's hard to shoot safely with numb fingers. The trigger guard is also very small.

I've found 1911s, USPs and Glocks to be the easiest guns to load and fire effectively in bitterly cold weather.
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Old October 7, 2012, 06:23 AM   #38
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revolver is less prone to malfunctions in any weather.
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Old October 12, 2012, 04:24 AM   #39
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9mm

Quote:
9mm

Location: Land of the Free
What do you know about mechanic's? Were are you from, and were do you live?
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Old October 13, 2012, 06:20 PM   #40
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Having lived and worked in North Dakota for the last 17 years I have been using what my late father who was a mechanical engineer recommended; Mobile 1 5w30 and have never had any problems.
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Old October 13, 2012, 11:12 PM   #41
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Just a question, but what is it on a revolver that you think is going to freeze ?
I can think of "nothing" at all. Not being sarcastic, I can truly not think of one thing on a revolver that would ever freeze up.
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Old October 20, 2012, 08:30 AM   #42
Lost River
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My experience differs from many here.

I have had revolvers freeze up.

Example. I was hunting in temps of 10 to 15 below, carrying my model 29 in an EPS tanker rig under my goretex shell, over my down jacket. Took a spill in the deep snow. I brushed the gun off and continued on.



When it came time to use it, I found that I could pull the hammer back, but the cylinder would not rotate at all. Frozen in place. Even after taking my gloves off and trying with bare hands to get it to rotate, it would not move a fraction. Rock solid frozen.

It was just the right environment between the layers of my outer shell and jacket, combined with typical cold winter temps to lock it up.

I ended up going back to my truck and unthawing it on the truck's dash, while I continued hunting with a Glock 21 .45. I took some spills with the G21, but was able to unload it, blow out the snow and continue on.

I am a fan of both platforms and an accumulator of .44 caliber N frames, but I will not say that revolvers are more reliable than modern autos. My experience that ranges from the desert sands of south west asia and the middle east to the extreme colds in the mountains of the northern Rockies has given me a different view.



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