Cold Guns, Tropical Air

SimpleMan

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This may have been covered before, but I couldn't find anything. So I get home today, earlier than usual due to the upcoming holiday. I'm lucky enough to live in the sticks with steel plates at a measured 50, 100 and 200 yards. I'm in a really good mood and think I'd like to put a few magazines through my AR10. I take the rifle to the shooting bench, ride down to the 200 yard plate and put on a fresh coat of paint. When I get ready to shoot, my scope is all fogged up, from coming out of a 70 degree house (maybe warmer in the safe as it has a Golden Rod) to the tropical goodness of SC.

This is not the first time I have ever experienced this, but it did get me to thinking about what if I was in a situation where I had to come out and fire quickly? Now I have shotguns and pistols, and an AR15 with iron sights for yard cover, but a 1,500 yard hurried shot at a coyote or any other mongrel is possible, and has happened (I missed). How do or do any of y'all worry with this?
 
Another reason to have a nice set of BUIS dialed in.
If they are co-witnessed through the optic it would still be a problem.

Makes a great case for a quick detach scope/optic mount.
 
Yea I was thinking of either an offset set or yup, a quick detach.
 
I'm lucky enough to live in the sticks with steel plates at a measured 50, 100 and 200 yards.

Agree with what FG said regarding a QD mount and YES! You are one lucky dude in my humble opinion. Jealous....
 
You should try some Rain-X Anti Fog, works pretty good but it certainly doesn't last forever.
 
you're fighting two fronts...Humidity and temperature change. Some of the anti fog stuff helps but it doesn't STOP fogging like that. I honestly do not know of a solution that works 100% but I'm curious to see what others say.
 
I pulled my AR out the other day to glass and possibly shoot a coyote-esque canine and the scope fogged up. A quick wipe with my tshirt and in three seconds I was back in business. Am I underthinking this?
 
I carry a handkerchief to clean fog off glass surfaces. Scopes and glasses both get fogged easily. They may fog up again, but you generally have time for a shot or two.
 
What kind of scope?

Viper PST Gen 1 I guess, since they now advertise Gen 2.

I pulled my AR out the other day to glass and possibly shoot a coyote-esque canine and the scope fogged up. A quick wipe with my tshirt and in three seconds I was back in business. Am I underthinking this?

I can wipe mine off as I did today, but in a hurry it takes a second to fog up and comes back again needing a second wipe down.
 
Man... I can't imagine keeping my thermostat set at 70! That would be like the arctic at our place as we normally keep it at 78

You could always take the rifle(s) out ahead and time and let them acclimate to the temp/humidity difference. ie - Leave them in the garage for an hour prior to shooting.
 
Oddly enough, I just got one of the RMRs that are on clearance at Cabelas and as I read the instructions, it noted the lens could fog when going from cold to warm with the humidity.
 
This is the reason lenses are sealed, there is no avoiding that condensation and you can imagine it'd be troublesome on internal elements. Same thing happens to camera lenses, but they have a lot more mass so warm up slowly.
 
That's the reason that hunters up north leave their rifles outside the tent/cabin at night and don't bring them inside where it's warm....

In addition to having the scope fog, the moisture that would collect inside the firearm when brought into a warm tent could freeze when the gun was again taken outside and cause the gun to malfunction.
 
Maybe you should limit your hurried shots to ranges somewhat under 1500 yards?
Keeping a Barrett around ready to remove all coyotes within nearly a mile does sound like a worthy public service though.
 
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Maybe you should limit your hurried shots to ranges somewhat under 1500 yards?
Keeping a Barrett around ready to remove all coyotes within nearly a mile does sound like a worthy public service though.

Do you have a "Barrett" up for grabs? I may be interested.

Back on topic, I took an AR 15 out today. It's topped with a Trijicon AccuPower 2.5x10-56 and one of those scope covers that are connected on both ends by the little stretchy cords, you know, one end is yellow and you can shoot with it on if need be? It's what came with the scope. Rifle and mags out of the safe, into the shop to pick up headphones and to shooting bench. Took cover off and no fog, no wiping, ready to shoot.
 
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I reinsulated a lot of our house and the wife is using a closeline so we have cut our bill in half this summer. But our thermostat has stayed at 69.
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Like my kids, turn it down to 67 at night, gotta have a blanket and a quilt. They move out to college in a month.
 
The problem is temperature differential. One answer for summer might be to build a "warmer" box to keep the active gun in, to keep it from chilling in the A/C. Astronomer's use a portable electric thermal blanket to keep portable telescope tubes warm because condensation is a problem for them at night. So, maybe a little electric scope cozy? ;)
Since I've moved to the country, just down the road from you, I've had to completely re-think practical deployment of arms.
 
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