strosfann;
Afternoon sir, it's me once more from the banana belt of Canada for sure now, but as mentioned I grew up east of Yorkton on the Saskatchewan prairies.
Drying out the felt packs cannot be emphasized enough. If they're wet the next day you're done before you start.
With my old Sorels I've always had an additional felt liner underneath the removable felt pack bootie. A couple years back I found some with a metallic foil on the bottom and they actually might be okay, but just another felt liner underneath the bootie makes a huge difference.
When I was 15, my father took me out of school to hunt moose for a week in early December. It warmed up to -35°F one day but mostly it was colder than that. We left the rifles outside for the entire time as we didn't want them to sweat because they will do that. I had one rifle rust it's bore when I brought it in from chasing deer and just put it into the gun cabinet without wiping it down. Beware of sweating firearms...
Speaking of, make sure the rifle in question has weather proof lube in all spots. There was a thread going up in the Alaska forum about cold weather reliability that had some good intel in it. Usually we'd clean the inside of bolts and the trigger out with some aerosol cleaner like Brake Kleen and then use a dry graphite type lube. If castnblast is reading this ask him what works because he still hunts not far from where I lived for awhile and where we hunted.
Dad used to use a Jones hand warmer and honestly I know I inherited them when he passed but despite repeated efforts to find them, I've been unsuccessful so maybe I gave them to a buddy who lives further north? From what I recall they're fine, but as mentioned I just use the disposable ones - Hot Hands - is the brand that Costco had in the bulk box so that's what I use. They're better than not having them for sure.
Not to be indelicate, but understand that certain bodily functions are more of a procedure when you're wearing 6 layers of clothes which need to be removed and it's still -45° out. The learning curve is pretty quick for most of us and it is possible. Be careful to remove the layers far enough away from the process to prevent contamination - if you understand my meaning.
Few things ruin a hunt faster than contaminated hunting clothes - so I hear from reliable sources.
I've got a really fast metabolism so I eat all day long when I'm in the cold. A buddy who is a fair bit larger than me - and as noted previously that don't take much - can go much longer without eating and feeling chilled.
That's it for now, but I'll likely think about more after.
Off to plow out the neighbor's driveway now sir, it snowed again and they're down in Arizona where the smart Canadians spend this part of the year.
Dwayne
