Shooting in the Rain

[WildRose]

I've seen and participated in many discussions on the subject of shooting in the rain before.

We always get a lot of "expert" commentary declaring that the shock wave pushes the rain out of the way and bullet never contacts it so rain doesn't affect it. That had been the standard thinking for at least several decades

On the flip side, many of us with a good bit of experience shooting in the rain have seen measurable effects on bullets including some super high speed small bullets breaking up in the rain.

Just saw a bit on the Guns and Ammo show on ODTV on the subject.

They had one of the eggheads from NM Tech on discussing it and showed super high speed video taken of a .308 bullet in flight not only striking the rain drops but showed that even after contact there was a continued affect disrupting the shock wave.

Their experiments also showed up to a 2' deviation in POI at 100 yds shooting in the rain.

Good info and something to consider when hunting in the rain.

 

[Joefrazell]

2 feet at 100 yards? Or is this supposed to be inches?

 

[Riflehunter1776]

lol. I just had this discussion at work 2 days ago, almost word for word.

another problem with rain is that, if it begins to accumulate in your barrel, there will be pronounced affect on POI. And I have had 2 instances over the years of a taped muzzle causing problems.

 

[LVJ76]

When shooting Silhouette matches I've seen a drop of 2 to 6 inches from 300m to 500m, at 200m have I not seen any variance. This is shotting a 7mm-08 with 150gr HPBT Match Kings

 

[WildRose]

2 feet at 100 yards? Or is this supposed to be inches?

2 Feet. I was surprised but they apparently did an exhaustive study on it.

 

[WildRose]

lol. I just had this discussion at work 2 days ago, almost word for word.

another problem with rain is that, if it begins to accumulate in your barrel, there will be pronounced affect on POI. And I have had 2 instances over the years of a taped muzzle causing problems.

Enough rain in the barrel can also cause extremely high, dangerous pressures because water cannot be compressed.

 

[WildRose]

When shooting Silhouette matches I've seen a drop of 2 to 6 inches from 300m to 500m, at 200m have I not seen any variance. This is shotting a 7mm-08 with 150gr HPBT Match Kings

I've watched the trace of .204 Ruger and .17 Remington's fired in the rain showing them blowing up and shelling out before hitting a target just 200yds away. First time I mentioned that here we had more than a few people swearing up and down I was crazy.

 

[manitou]

About 12 years ago, I killed a large buck at 300 yards in a very heavy downpoor. I was in a ground blind. I remember wondering if the rain would affect the bullet path at the time. Hit him right in the bread box where I was aiming. .300 wsm. I went home a researched the affect of rain on a bullet... and yes, back then the concensus was that the shock wave push the rain away from the bullet and the rain never made contact. I reckon I got lucky.

 

[Laelkhunter]

…….. And I have had 2 instances over the years of a taped muzzle causing problems.

Could you please elaborate on your findings using tape over the muzzle? I always tape my barrel when hunting in snow, and was under the impression the tape has no effect on anything but keeping the barrel clear of water, snow, and mud. I wouldn't want to tape the barrel and it end up costing me an Elk, or worse wounding and losing an Elk.

 

[Gary in MD]

Tag

 

[Mark L]

I haven't seen any significant changes in impact when raining in competitions or just playing around out to 1000 yards on steel targets. Granted it was not a torrential downpour, but it was a steady rain. Just my experience.....

For as the tape on the muzzle; I plan on doing my own testing on that performance, just haven't got a round tuit yet.

 

[Orange Dust]

I have seen both .220 Swift and .17 Remington bullets blow up on raindrops. Kinda cool looking with the 17 and no recoil. Ive never noticed it with big game bullets. The varmint guns were shooting hp's. Wonder if it matters, or if the heavier jackets and lower velocity come into play? I have never seen it with less than 4000mv.

 

[Orange Dust]

I will say the biggest problems i have had hunting in the rain are with the rangefinder. My Lecia 2800.com will not range past about 400 if it is raining very hard. Game doesnt move much when it is like this anyway unless pushed. As soon as it slacks up or stops is one of the best times to hunt if it has been going on for awlile though, so it is worth being out there. I have a break so i dont tape my muzzle. I use a thin balloon stretched over the break.

 

[Gary in MD]

I'm not sure if there's anything with this topic that can be chiseled in stone. This subject comes up from time to time with various opinions. Some bench rest shooters claim to have shot some of their best aggs in light rain. It should be pretty obvious to not let rain rain/snow accumulate in your barrel. Tape or a small balloon over the end of the barrel does it.
That doesn't mean to tape the end of the barrel like your trying to keep the post office from ripping it off, LOL - just put a light wrap over it.
Gary