In the Seattle area they stop shooting action pistol matches in the wintertime. Here is the calender for the Snoqualmie Rifle Club. Notice that in October they have an Action Pistol match on the second Saturday but nothing on November or December. For the Northwest Section of the USPSA notice for December there are no matches at Custer, Kitsap, Marysville, or Renton.
Here in Idaho we have matches all year long. The first time I shot my STI at a match here it was -10F. I was careful to lubricate it for the weather and I had no problems. Some others were shooting as if they had single shots. The slide would come back and usually eject the shell casing but then it would creep forward so slow that it would stop when it tried to strip the next round off of the top of the magazine. They would have to manually assist their gun by slamming the slide forward with the heel of their hand after every shot.
Last week at the IPSC match it was fairly warm, in the upper 20’s, but there was snow on the ground. No big deal. We had one of our larger turn outs and since it was so warm…
Those Seattle area shooters are all WIMPS!
It’s true.
When you design a course of fire, if it incorporates a hazard of some type (sand or water) or an obstacle (simulated wall, fence, etc) you must also come up with a point penalty number to the final score for the course if the shooter refuses to engage it.
I’m not talking someone who cannot physically complete the hazard/obstacle, I’m talking about someone who refuses to go prone even though he has been instructed to take cover and the only cover is 18in tall. Or someone who refuses to go over a fence because “they don’t feel like it”.
It is also part of the reason I no longer feel “The Need” to compete any longer. I may not be the spry yoot I used to be, and I may look like a fool and take forever and a day to get over that fence, but when I’m told the course, I’m going to finish that course if physically possible.
The weather this weekend in North Idaho was a pussycat.
Shooting well in adverse conditions is a must, if you can find them.