RickAnderson
Custom
A month ago I visited family during a cold snap in Pennsylvania. It was 20°F and I left my firearms locked in my car, so they cold soaked more than 24 hours at below freezing temperatures....
My XD-M Elite OSP 9mm refused to fire, 6 rounds, ejected each and not a single mark on the primer of each.
My 1911's and Rugger .22lr all fired in the cold.
So only the Striker pistol exposed to those conditions failed to fire in the cold, all the others were Hammer pistols. Days later when it had been warmed up and at room temp it fired with no issues.
And, my tendency to use grease and heavier oils when cleaning and lubing my pistols is probably behind this. A quick check of several of the lubes I use, are recommended for temps above 40°F.
Although I used a lighter 10°F oil on the striker, the rest of the pistol is wet with thicker oils that probably mix and work their way into the striker. Most likely the oil thickened in the cold enough it was resisting the striker and slowing it down enough that it did not have the momentum to travel forward enough to hit the primer.
I'm about to leave for a XMAS visit and have cleaned and lubed my pistols with a lighter 10°F oil over the entire pistol. But the weather reports now says the weather is going to be 3°F, so I'll let you know.... ...I'll be shooting my new XD-M Elite OSP 10mm, leaving the 9mm behind this time....
My XD-M Elite OSP 9mm refused to fire, 6 rounds, ejected each and not a single mark on the primer of each.
My 1911's and Rugger .22lr all fired in the cold.
So only the Striker pistol exposed to those conditions failed to fire in the cold, all the others were Hammer pistols. Days later when it had been warmed up and at room temp it fired with no issues.
And, my tendency to use grease and heavier oils when cleaning and lubing my pistols is probably behind this. A quick check of several of the lubes I use, are recommended for temps above 40°F.
Although I used a lighter 10°F oil on the striker, the rest of the pistol is wet with thicker oils that probably mix and work their way into the striker. Most likely the oil thickened in the cold enough it was resisting the striker and slowing it down enough that it did not have the momentum to travel forward enough to hit the primer.
I'm about to leave for a XMAS visit and have cleaned and lubed my pistols with a lighter 10°F oil over the entire pistol. But the weather reports now says the weather is going to be 3°F, so I'll let you know.... ...I'll be shooting my new XD-M Elite OSP 10mm, leaving the 9mm behind this time....
