Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Functioning in sub zero temps

Sam, Everybody wants to be a cowboy till its time to do cowboy [bleep] !!!!!!!!!!!

Great report, lots of useful info. You don't know what works or fails until you experience it yourself. Last Saturday I was shooting w/ friends in mild temps of about 20*. I was wearing light gloves and twice had the tip of a finger catch in the magwell of my Glock.

We keep postponing our trip to Salmon until daytime temps reach the 20s.


mike r

I've been using motor oil on my pistols and AR as well now that you mention it and I haven't had anything seize yet.

I had a brief affair with Fireclean and Froglube but went back to motor oil. No complaints.




Dave

I will use a chain saw to occasionally make a new hole(+2 feet ice) but it's way easier for everyday use to pack an axe in the pickup(regular cab) compared to a stinky saw. Good exercise anyway, depending on the temp it takes about 100 good swings to reopen a 1x3 foot hole.
And if it snows a little at night there is always way less ice in the morning. Snow is an uber good insulator.


Chains won't shatter but they will ice up quick when they get wet(do not stop until you're done..). And don't break through to water until you're just about done or it can be messy!

AZ, the 'romance' disappears real quick!

But we're spoiled now.


Super warm heaters in the F350's and round bales....

When my brother and I were young we caught the tail end of the small square bale era. Now that was work, and real fun in a blizzard!

They look good. They'd look real good on my FJ-40.

I'm surprised to hear they're steel, they look like Aluminum.

A buddy clears trail for the iditarod... says chains shatter awful easy at some certain temp so they just shut down the maintenance if it gets that cold.

Thanks for the info. Was just wondering. Can only imagine what happens with a saw when you finally get to the water.... I know what happens here when we cut stuff under water on rescue stuff in a hurry...

Sorry Jeff.

I've run one down to -40 to -50 in Fbx. Never shattered a chain. In fact never even heard of it until this thread.

That sounds like a Reality TV statement.

ETA:
After a minute of idle, the chain should be plenty warm to not be stressed. At those temps they will stretch a lot when warm and if the bar is not not loosened when done, the chain will tighten enough that they could break.

ironbender;
Good evening to you sir, I hope this finds you and your fine family doing well.

We used to cut firewood on stupid cold days back in my Saskatchewan days and I don't recall ever having any chain breaks either.

That said, one did want to use winter bar oil for sure - stripped the plastic oiler drive gear out of my Pioneer saw running too heavy a viscosity oil.

Can I use the term "running" or not?

True story, a buddy picked up my present Husky chainsaw from a pawn shop in Alberta - so no user's manual. I'd used it for a few days in summer and couldn't figure out why my left hand was always so hot using it. Eventually I looked up a manual online and found that of all things it's equipped with a bar heater.... who knew?

There is a switch for it, but it wasn't marked for function or even on/off - but it IS now!

All the best to you all this year ironbender.

Dwayne

Cool story Dwayne!

HNY to you folks.

I spent 18 months at a Missile base outside of Anchorage in the middle 1970's. We were at 4000 feet above see level and our biggest issue was the wind. On a really cold day or night the wind played hell with us walking around a Missile section "guarding" it.

http://nikealaska.org/summit/SiteSUMMIT.html

Lost a deer one time using a borrowed .243. 3 different rounds just lite primer strikes due to oil making firing pin movement sluggish


Cold weather takes different equip and skill sets

Bitter cold is related to Murphy and is an unforgiving beatch

She'll bite you if you give her an opening

Back in my younger days one of our annual winter projects was cutting ice off the lake and stacking it in the ice house. We used layers of sawdust for insulation between the blocks,by the time we got to the bottom layer it would usually be mid-August and at least half of the original block would still be there. We always used chain saws to cut it with - never a problem with breaking chains. A heck of lot of work though.

drover

Drover,
I can believe it! I wish I could find exactly where in the Stanley area the station is located-the one that reported 43 below zero?

Could well be, I trust spencer ,but then again I don't recall if they actually shattered them, or were told to quit before it happened. I believe it was close to -50/60 at the time.

I'll have to get on him now, seems like a cheap way out of working, eh, boss, the saw will shatter... LOL.

I know it dang sure won't down here, not in our friggin 85 degree temps lately...

Gotta Love Stanley!

In spite of those temps, if I could convince the bride to move to Challis or Salmon, I would do it in a heartbeat!

I hear ya. If I could swing it, Challis/Salmon or even Stanley would suit me fine.


EDIT: I just bought a nice down bag rated to -40*F and I am itching to go up that way and try it out. Stay cold, dang it, stay cold!

I never got anything hot with a Bic lighter, other than the hand I was using to shield the wind with. I know that people love them, but not me. A Zippo will work,in the wind.

My motivation for outdoor tasks seems to end at -20, other than grabbing another arm load of firewood. I've been in -45 ambient, just no fun and have been in -30 ambient with the wind chill dropping it to -90 and I understand why the native peoples have multiple names for cold. You can also appreciate that extreme cold is a palpable dangerous force not to be trifled with.