cold weather effect on shells?

[satchel3006]

I went duck hunting this morning and it was -4 degrees or so. I shot a few ducks today but my shells made the weirdest noise insted of the standard boom (don't laugh i'm going to try to explain the sound) it was more like a peeeeooong sound I was using a mix of remington sportsmans No 2,3, and BB's and it didn't seem to matter they all made them same noise. I've used these shells before with no problem. But this time I ended up shooting 2 ducks and I lost both of them (I feel like crap about losing ducks) both of them seemed like solid hits. It could've been my shooting but i'm kina curious as to what was going on with my shells. Thoughts?

[carpsniperg2]

I have shot many shells in - weather and never had a problem. If you were knocking them down, i would say the shells were fine. was there any chance you were hearing a echo off of somthing close by?

[krout81]

Check this out this guy did a test on some shells and also noted that some of the shots sounded different
http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=206093

[ducksdoom12]

I had some older shells that I through in my gun yesterday to blast a chuck of when we were picking up decoys cuz I had not shot the gun all day, the older shells made that same kind of sound u are talking about and only moved the chunk of ice about an inch. I did that 2 times thinking I just missed somehow on the first shot and the same thing happened, so I through in one of my newer winchester shells and it blew it to dust. not sure if it was because of the weather or not, but sounds like it was the same situation as you had.

[WDFW-SUX]

Some of the cheaper brands dont work well in the cold....RIO comes to mind but there are others. Its about the quality of the powder that they use... If hand loads are doing it its because there old or light charges.

MAKES SHURE THE WAD CLEARS THE BARREL WHEN YOU HEAR THE "WIERD NOISE" OR YOU MIGHT GET A TRIP TO THE ER!

[h2ofowlr]

I haven't had any issues.  Moisture is the killer for the shells.

[ducksdoom12]

the shells I was having issues with were some old snow goose loads that my grandpa gave me, he said he got them in saskatchewan on a goose hunt he went on a long time ago.

[270Shooter]

I shot all kent 3" 3's yesterday and it was -11 when we started. Didnt have any misfires expect when my gun wouldnt shut all the way (benelli click) or when my fireing pin had some ice in the hole, didnt allow it to hit the primer hard enough. Put in a remington shell that had a different primer and that cleaned the ice out. Didnt notice the ducks not getting hit as hard either. But they all finished 5-25 yards away.

[ducks55]

I shot all kent 3" 3's yesterday and it was -11 when we started. Didnt have any misfires expect when my gun wouldnt shut all the way (benelli click) or when my fireing pin had some ice in the hole,

Thats why you dont buy Benellis 

[270Shooter]

I shot all kent 3" 3's yesterday and it was -11 when we started. Didnt have any misfires expect when my gun wouldnt shut all the way (benelli click) or when my fireing pin had some ice in the hole,

Thats why you dont buy Benellis 

Haha when its that cold I can't really blame any auto for not functioning very well.

[ducksdoom12]

my benilli went without a hitch in the 9 degree weather up in ferndale the other day. (this was after i stoped trying the shells that did not work) did not have an issue with cycling or firing

[ducks55]

I shot all kent 3" 3's yesterday and it was -11 when we started. Didnt have any misfires expect when my gun wouldnt shut all the way (benelli click) or when my fireing pin had some ice in the hole,

Thats why you dont buy Benellis 

Haha when its that cold I can't really blame any auto for not functioning very well.

You can blame Benellis because my Beretta didn't miss a beat. 

[ducksdoom12]

my benilli went without a hitch in the 9 degree weather up in ferndale the other day. (this was after i stoped trying the shells that did not work) did not have an issue with cycling or firing

haha, ment to say beretta.

[Jhaze1812]

Cold weather effect on shells.


Being a Tank Gunner, I know a little bit about temperature effects on powder. Cold weather can slow the burn on powder causing a slower moving projectile. Hotter weather can increase the burn time on the powder causing faster moving projectiles. If you have a cold shell it can cause it to burn slower, effecting your burn time thus effecting your shot and the sound. When we fire tanks we have to enter the outside temp and the ammo temp in order to get a proper ballistic solution for our rounds. I know shotgun pellets don't travel 4000m but the shot can be slightly effected by colder temps even at close range. I have noticed that I need more lead in colder temps then when it is in the 40's or so. Ballistics are a funny science. The sound you herd could have just been slower igniting powder, brittle plastic caused by colder tems or just different enviromental factors....

[Crispy]

MAKES SHURE THE WAD CLEARS THE BARREL WHEN YOU HEAR THE "WIERD NOISE" OR YOU MIGHT GET A TRIP TO THE ER!

Great point. Last year my dad was shooting some old shells and one just didn't sound right (more of a pop than a bang). We checked the barrel and the wad was still in there.  Strange sounding shells should always get a barrel check just to make sure you're around to shoot the normal sounding ones