From Fred:
This does not pretend to be a complete list, but should get you pointed in some good directions.
Let's cover yourself, and then your equipment:
Yourself
First rule: Bring MORE clothing than you'll think you need - no problem with having some extra in the car - and better to have it when you need it, than not have it. So, bring extra overcoat, sweaters, scarves, gloves, socks - along with those nice (when you need 'em) pocket and foot warmers - and use them aggressively (I have put them on top of my shoulders inside my coat, in my shoes, under my toes, and in my coat pockets or in my gloves to warm my hands). There's good cold weather stuff out there: the knit caps you can pull down to protect face and neck (the military style wool ones are really good!), the pull-over hood that can be used to protect face, or head and neck, or pulled down around the neck (sorry, don't know how to spell "tocque").
Plus the usuals: water, lip balm, and what else? I'd say extra thermoses - one with hot chocolate and another with hot coffee and a third with hot soup - again, bring more than you think you need.
Equipment: you want to keep your stuff soaked in cold and leave it cased to avoid condensation when taking it into a warm house, until it warms up.
I don't know much about scopes and cold weather. Who can tell us? Better to keep them cold? Better to keep them warm?
Certainly, I would keep ammo warm - in your pocket, or in an insulated container. It will work in really cold weather when cold-soaked, but again, I don't have a lot of experience with cold below 10 degrees - can someone chip in with their suggestions?
Bare skin on cold enough metal is always a no-no. There may be temps so low you will keep your trigger finger in your glove, and lose a bit of sensitivity...
Protect equipment from blowing snow, grit, etc by keeping it protected from the elements. Your range safety officers will let you cover and uncover your equipment when they need to check and clear it, then recover.
Ammo is prob already in waterproof containers - keep the lids closed - and gun cases sealed - don't leave 'em open to the weather.
If slushy conditions are expected - and even if not - a large or small broom to sweep snow off your mat would be nice - and a towel to give it a final drying wipedown periodically.
On the firing line, if it's cold enough, a sleeping bag to put under, and then pull over you, might be worth trying.
Ok, this gets things started.
When we get done, let's have a pretty decent list...
We don't need a bunch of cold Appleseeders out there this winter. We want warm, happy Appleseeders, ready to carry the ball further down the field.
From Nickle:
About extreme cold and equipment.
Scopes, once they're cold, keep them that way. They will either fog, or they won't. Once outside, if they don't fog, you're good for the day, as a rule.
Lubrication. The word here is as little as possible. Thinest skim coat of lube possible is good. Even dry is said to be not all that bad, for the most part.
Coffee. Bad Ju-ju. Hot Chocolate and Hot Soup. Coffee and Tea are diuretics, and will cause you to have to "go" all the time, which makes you feel cold.
From Bedford:
Here is what I do. It may not work the best for everyone, but works for me. An important thing to remember is not to pack so much clothing on that it impedes the circulation - good circulation keeps you warm!
I wear 1 pair of silk long underwear (top and bottom), then 1 layer of thin wool long underwear. If it is really cold (below 0) I will put on thick sweat pants and a thick sweatshirt over this.
I use a swiss army overcoat and snowpants. These are windproof and as long as I stay reasonably active nothing else is needed on my body.
For my feet I use a pair of silk socks under a pair of medium wool socks inside my sorel boots.
For my hands I like to use a 2 layer system: fitted neoprene gloves inside heavy snowmobile mittens. I put the mittens on whenever I don't need my fingers free. I shoot with the left mitten on.
For my head I have a hat that has a brim like a ball cap. It also has a face mask and covers the ears and neck. I need the kind that has an open mouth and nose or my glasses fog. Make sure you can get at your ears to put plugs in without taking off your hat.
Any exposed skin (eyes, nose, mouth) I coat with a layer of Mary Kay night cream. This is the best I have found at preventing frost bite.
Most ear plugs get very hard in the cold - they hurt to get in. When I am shooting by myself (as is usually the case!) I just leave them in until I am done shooting. If I need to take them out to hear range commands I only take one out and tuck it along my neck so it stays warm.
For my rifles I don't do anything different in winter. I use the red grease from Fleet farm and it doesn't seem to freeze up. On my ARs I use regular motor oil. The most common equipment problem I have had is snow getting in the rear sight.
Scopes will stay clear if you leave them in the cold. Once cold, they will fog if you bring them inside. The same goes for your rifle. Beads of water will form quickly on your rifle. If you don't get it warm and dry before you go back out it could freeze up. Also, you can wipe the water off, but until the rifle warms up, more water will form on it. Therefore, I leave my rifle outside until I am done. During deer season, I leave it out all week long. The same goes for ammo. Ammo works fine in the cold. However, if you bring it back inside cold it will sweat. If you bring it back out before it dries, you could have problems. If I was doing a 2 day winter Appleseed I would leave my rifle and ammo in the jeep overnight and not clean the rifle until I got home.
I don't use a mat in the winter because they slide around too much. I do use a jump case to set my rifle and other equipment on.
From JoeZ:
Shooting in the cold (10 degrees or less) requires only small adaptations to your normal routine. Bedford pretty well nailed it but let me interject some thoughts here.
Breakfast and snack with meats of high fat content. Sausages of any type work best. This will warm you for hours.
Keep clothes loose, especially in the boots.
Wear silks, wools, or wool/poly blends against your skin, no other material, not even that cotton T shirt. At 0 or less add a layer.
A wind proof outer layer is a must. An extra layer in your pack is highly advised. Shooting 5 shots and walking back and forth 25m in 18" of snow every 5 minutes is alot warmer than laying prone doing ball and dummy for 45 minutes.
Two layers for the hands is a must. Base should be waterproof or wool(works wet) and outer should be mittens.
Wear a face mask and use the cream,if your properly turkey-necked, AR charging handles make funny looking frost bite shapes on your nose.
Wear a turtle neck or scarf to tuck your earplugs in.
I've used air tool oil(corrosion and water resistant) and MilComm(MC2500 oil, TW25B grease both good to -70 f ) both in my AR 10 with success. Here I must disagree with most and say put lots of lube on your AR. If you think you've lubed it enough, put some more on. I'm in Wisconsin though so dust is almost never an issue. Grease the locking lugs, the cam,trigger, and between the carrrier rear and the buffer. Oil the four sliding surfaces on the carrier and be sure the gas rings are dry. With this regimen I've shot AQT's to 14 below zero with the rifle and ammo left outside overnight.
Most importantly, try shooting cold before the actual AS date. You may find and fix a problem that would otherwise ruin a whole weekend.
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![[devil]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/015.gif "Devil [devil]")
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I wanted to run this weekend with open sights. But nothing is keeping me away from this weekend, so, my LTR is going to be scoped. Gives me an 'excuse' to sign up for another Appleseed when the extended front post arrives 
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