Crappy Weather in Forcast

amlevin · Nov 15, 2010

According to all the weather experts this is a "La Nina" year. It is supposed to bring lower temperatures and higher than normal precipitation. For those not familiar with the Northwest, that usually means lots and lots of rain and even snow down to the level of I-5.

Crappy weather like this brings the following question, "How do you carry when it is raining or snowing? Do you go ahead and Open Carry or do you merely Conceal while raining or snowing? If you continue to OC, what precautions do you take to protect your firearm? Extra Cleaning Sessions with more oil? How about choice of holster?

I can remember when I first started carrying and my carry gun was a blued steel 1911 in a military flap style holster. The Leather turned slimy in the rain and I had to disassemble, clean, and oil regularly but still got some rust on internal springs. To keep the holster from suffering from the wet I used a boot sealer popular with mountain climbers but it attracted all kinds of dirt.

Today I am lazy. I just conceal with a raincoat.

What do the rest of you do today?

.45ACPaddy · Nov 15, 2010

Throw a jacket over it while outdoors, remove the jacket when I get indoors. If I'm at the store I'll either hang the jacket over my arm or toss it in the cart. It's a matter of what's practical. If it's cold and rainy, I'm not gonna freeze and soak my ass for the sake of OC. But as soon as I get inside, it's at a comfortable temperature for just a t-shirt, so I remove my jacket.

cbpeck · Nov 15, 2010

I never worry about a little drizzle on my carry guns, but if it is truly raining I typically CC.

I think another important question this time of year is what type of ammo people carry. Some people fear that hollow points will penetrate poorly through winter clothing so they switch to round nose or fmj rounds. Its something to discuss in another thread if it hasn't been done already.

diesel556 · Nov 15, 2010

That is actually one of the reasons that I added a Glock to my collection. It gets very wet when I'm OC'ing in the winter here in Seattle, but I rest easy knowing that it will come through it unscathed as even the internals are coated in Tenifer. Glocks may not be aesthetically pleasing to all, but I didn't buy it to look good! I even purchased an OC raincoat, so that I could stay dry while my gun got wet. It's VERY useful (and warm!). See this link for a list of them: http://www.lapolicegear.com/5taja.html.

I've carried successfully this way for over 2 years now. I don't like carrying my carbon steel firearms in the snow/rain (i.e. 1911), and have never attempted to with my stainless steel firearms, so I can't comment on those.

SpyderTattoo · Nov 15, 2010

Better be careful, the springs in the Glocks are not coated. Those can still rust up on you and possibly break.

diesel556 · Nov 15, 2010

SpyderTattoo said:
Better be careful, the springs in the Glocks are not coated. Those can still rust up on you and possibly break.

Thanks for the tip! I break it down regularly, and have never noticed corrosion. I HATE rust, and open my safe just to look for it on my firearms sometimes (I haven't found any yet!). Perhaps my Glock has resisted corrosion because of my maintenance schedule, or because I don't sweat on the gun, and the rain/snow is low in acidity? I'll definitely keep on eye on the springs in the firearm/magazines based on your warning.

For those who do have issues with rust I found the following two posts with products you can use (this post and the one below it):

http://pistolsmith.com/glock-pistols/1956-glocks-do-rust.html#post17214

Metalhead47 · Nov 15, 2010

Since I generally only get to do so on weekends, I'll go out of my way to OC at this point. But if the weather's going to be crappy I'll break down & wear an overshirt.

Planning a little drive this weekend over the North Cascades before they close it for the winter, looks like it might be snowing the whole way there & back

Is it mean to hope for another "snowpocalypse" for the helpless sheep down in Seattle?

gogodawgs · Nov 15, 2010

.45ACPaddy said:
Throw a jacket over it while outdoors, remove the jacket when I get indoors. If I'm at the store I'll either hang the jacket over my arm or toss it in the cart. It's a matter of what's practical. If it's cold and rainy, I'm not gonna freeze and soak my ass for the sake of OC. But as soon as I get inside, it's at a comfortable temperature for just a t-shirt, so I remove my jacket.

Same here, when the weather is bad, a coat will probably be on until I get inside.

amzbrady · Nov 15, 2010

when I was towing on the beach, and it would be pouring and the winds would be a blowing, I just got used to going home after a tow, and firing up the air compressor, and stripping my Taurus down, blowing the sand out of it, then cleaning it. It was unavoidable. Even concealed sand would get packed in it. That and having to lay down and crawl under a car to hook it up. Thats why I bought a stainless.

Ruby · Nov 15, 2010

Metalhead47 said:
Since I generally only get to do so on weekends, I'll go out of my way to OC at this point. But if the weather's going to be crappy I'll break down & wear an overshirt.

Planning a little drive this weekend over the North Cascades before they close it for the winter, looks like it might be snowing the whole way there & back

Is it mean to hope for another "snowpocalypse" for the helpless sheep down in Seattle?

Be careful what you wish for, we all have to deal with the weather, roads and traffic, sheep or not!:lol:

OlGutshotWilly · Nov 15, 2010

Metalhead47 said:
Since I generally only get to do so on weekends, I'll go out of my way to OC at this point. But if the weather's going to be crappy I'll break down & wear an overshirt.

Planning a little drive this weekend over the North Cascades before they close it for the winter, looks like it might be snowing the whole way there & back

Is it mean to hope for another "snowpocalypse" for the helpless sheep down in Seattle?

Not mean at all! In fact, I am hoping for it. I love the snow. Had 18 inches on the ground two years ago at Christmas. Considerably fewer drivers out on the road to contend with. I don't have the luxury of not going to work so i'm out there no matter what the weather or conditions.

In this weather, I tend to keep the 1911 covered up.

Bill Starks · Nov 16, 2010

I'm not really a cost or jacket kind of guy so I OC 99% of the time that I am out. I hate having a jacket on while driving and if I run into a store I get too hot, so it's just easier to wear long sleeves. Usually you'll find me in long sleeves if it gets that cold or bad.

diesel556 · Nov 16, 2010

SpyderTattoo said:
Better be careful, the springs in the Glocks are not coated. Those can still rust up on you and possibly break.

I just broke it down and inspected most of the springs. The 20SF looks like it is in great shape to me! If you see anything I missed please let me know.

Click for a larger version

ETA: In addition to OC'ing it in the winter, this has been my training gun when taking classes like Ayoob's LFI at the Firearms Academy of Seattle (they are anti OC btw, but have some great courses). It has easily had a few thousand rounds through it. I have extra parts in my bag ready to go, but it doesn't look like I will need them for quite awhile :banana:.

Jim675 · Nov 16, 2010

diesel556 said: SNIP "I just broke it down and inspected most of the springs. The 20SF looks like it is in great shape to me! If you see anything I missed please let me know."

It does look recoverable. I think the magazine spring could be made to fit in a proper magazine, which would then of course be fitted into a 1911 frame.

diesel556 · Nov 16, 2010

Jim675 said:
diesel556 said: SNIP "I just broke it down and inspected most of the springs. The 20SF looks like it is in great shape to me! If you see anything I missed please let me know."

It does look recoverable. I think the magazine spring could be made to fit in a proper magazine, which would then of course be fitted into a 1911 frame.

Har har :lol:. I can't deny that the 1911 is a beautiful machine. In fact, I have a custom CCO in 10mm that I have been waiting on for close to a year now :cuss:.

ETA: I'm still chuckling.

Metalhead47 · Nov 16, 2010

diesel556 said:
I just broke it down and inspected most of the springs. The 20SF looks like it is in great shape to me! If you see anything I missed please let me know.

Click for a larger version

ETA: In addition to OC'ing it in the winter, this has been my training gun when taking classes like Ayoob's LFI at the Firearms Academy of Seattle (they are anti OC btw, but have some great courses). It has easily had a few thousand rounds through it. I have extra parts in my bag ready to go, but it doesn't look like I will need them for quite awhile :banana:.

...what sort of bullets are those?

Metalhead47 · Nov 16, 2010

Ruby said:
Be careful what you wish for, we all have to deal with the weather, roads and traffic, sheep or not!:lol:

Well most of us don't completely flip out & blame the gov't when there's a little ice in the road. We just deal with it. If you live in Queen Anne and drive a Prius with summer tires, well that's the risk you take :uhoh:

n15wb said:
Not mean at all! In fact, I am hoping for it. I love the snow. Had 18 inches on the ground two years ago at Christmas. Considerably fewer drivers out on the road to contend with. I don't have the luxury of not going to work so i'm out there no matter what the weather or conditions..

I honestly don't really remember how much we had here at home. It's blocked by the memory of going up & down I-5 for two weeks with chains on

. Made some nice overtime tho.

END_THE_FED · Nov 16, 2010

Metalhead47 said:
Well most of us don't completely flip out & blame the gov't when there's a little ice in the road. We just deal with it. If you live in Queen Anne and drive a Prius with summer tires, well that's the risk you take :uhoh:

Kind of reminds me of a guy I saw during all that snow we had two years ago.
I was in capital hill walking up hill and heard the sound of tires slipping on the road.
I glanced to my right and saw a small sedan and noticed he had chains on the rear tires, the front tires were spinning as he was sliding backwards down the hill.:banghead:

sudden valley gunner · Nov 16, 2010

M1Gunr said:
I'm not really a cost or jacket kind of guy so I OC 99% of the time that I am out. I hate having a jacket on while driving and if I run into a store I get too hot, so it's just easier to wear long sleeves. Usually you'll find me in long sleeves if it gets that cold or bad.

I'm the same way.

Ruby · Nov 16, 2010

Metalhead47 said:
Well most of us don't completely flip out & blame the gov't when there's a little ice in the road. We just deal with it. If you live in Queen Anne and drive a Prius with summer tires, well that's the risk you take :uhoh:

I honestly don't really remember how much we had here at home. It's blocked by the memory of going up & down I-5 for two weeks with chains on . Made some nice overtime tho.

I was trying to be funny, Metalhead. I don't flip out or blame anyone, I just deal with it. If the roads are truly bad, I stay home. Not worth wrecking the car or getting hurt, then not being able to work when the roads are good. I was born and raised in the Midwest so I know about winter weather. I worry about other people who don't know how to drive in it. It may be an interesting winter!:lol:

Crappy Weather in Forcast

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