Trigger control with cold hands

Wapiti1

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How do you manage it with really light triggers when you have no feeling in your finger?

I shot yesterday. It was 30F 80% humidity and a steady 8mph head on breeze. Then it sleeted on me and my hands got numb cold. Because I'm stupid, I stayed out in it and kept shooting.

I has 4 rifles to shoot with varying trigger setups. My shooting with a 1lb trigger rifle went in the tank, but I was still shooting to my normal standard with a 2lb trigger rifle. I couldn't feel that light trigger at all, and it made me punchy. No control of the break at all.

Jeremy
 

Formidilosus

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How do you manage it with really light triggers when you have no feeling in your finger?

You don’t. A 1lb trigger is a game trigger, not a field trigger. Even 2lb single stage triggers are difficult in bad conditions. I have yet to see I person that doesn’t have problems with light triggers in very cold weather. About 2.5lbs is where a field trigger starts, and two stage triggers dominate in bad conditions.
 
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Wapiti1

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You don’t. A 1lb trigger is a game trigger, not a field trigger. Even 2lb single stage triggers are difficult in bad conditions. I have yet to see I person that doesn’t have problems with light triggers in very cold weather. About 2.5lbs is where a field trigger starts, and two stage triggers dominate in bad conditions.
And yet, you see so many talk about their 1lb (or insert light weight pull here) trigger preference for their hunting arm. And so many see that and think it is correct or needed.

I'll admit it is a leading question from a range day that reminded me why I don't have light triggers on anything for hunting.

Jeremy
 

Formidilosus

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And yet, you see so many talk about their 1lb (or insert light weight pull here) trigger preference for their hunting arm. And so many see that and think it is correct or needed.

Because people don’t use their gear under anything resembling difficult or adverse conditions. A PRS match isn’t “use”, nor is F-Class or shooting in good weather on a range. All of those things are good, and can help hunters/field shooters in the shooting part, however they are near totally devoid of obstacles and problems that arise in austere conditions. People think 1 pound TriggerTechs are great for the same reason they think “custom” actions and full metal chassis are awesome.

1lb single stage triggers are golf course triggers.
 

Wrench

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I've seen and heard of a lot of sub 2.5# triggers freezing....but add 2 pounds to that and the frozen trigger stories get pretty far between.

I killed bulls last year at -15* with a factory kimber trigger worked by me and +20*f with a jewell....and I sweated the jewell the whole time.

The hardest part for me in sub zero is the time between tossing my glove and hitting the go hook....bur!
 

tdhanses

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I always wear the first lite wool fingerless gloves, seems to help and thats about all i wear unless it gets really cold then i’ll wear the their grizzly mitts, i remove the mitt before shooting.

I also think we all are affected by temps differently, my fingers seem to be fine in really cold temps.
 
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I guess maybe I should start hunting the golf course then according to some people? Good thing I don't always take to heart some of the crap that people say. For a guy with lots of knowledge its amazing some of the things you say Form!! As for the OP's question, I carry a disposable hand warmer in the cuff of my gloves to help keep my fingers warm for shooting. If placed on the bottom of your wrist in the cuffs it will be amazing how warm your fingers are
 

Formidilosus

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I guess maybe I should start hunting the golf course then according to some people? Good thing I don't always take to heart some of the crap that people say. For a guy with lots of knowledge its amazing some of the things you say Form!!

I do not base my answers on what I can do, or what a one off person can do. I base them off of seeing a relatively large sample size. I watch people, not just a few, every single year in very cold mountainous conditions screw up time and again with very light triggers. These are not amateurs. How many times have you shot and practiced for an extended time in the conditions that the OP described? What do you do when you don’t have a disposable hand warmer?

There is no benefit to a 1lb trigger in a field rifle. If someone can not shoot a 2, 3, or even 4 pound trigger in a 7-9lb rifle competently, they have shooting mechanics issues that a 1lb trigger isn’t going to fix, but instead tricks them by seeming to mask it.
 
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This will be my last post about this, anything else I'll send a pm. Where there's a will there's a way, I've used my backpacking stove to warm my hands, I've lit off a ball of pyro putty to help warm my trigger hand up enough before. And I've never said I can't shoot a higher poundage trigger, I just prefer a lighter 1. Not sure what you mean by extended but I've spent 3-4 days in the back country during cold/snow shitty weather for deer multiple trips. And the same goes for most of the guys I hunt with and practice with. Not going to argue the fact that a light trigger and a light rifle are both items that require tons of practice!!! In 2020 I laid on the frozen ground long enough waiting for my shot that my bibs had actually frozen to the ground i was on.
I agree that a light trigger isn't a magical fix all to shooting, and you should practice in every environment you plan to hunt in if at all possible. I don't just practice on blue bird days, I practice in blowing snow, hammering rain, 90 degree days and every thing in between.
 
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