How could they hit anything !

[tj3006]

It was mildly cold and damp here in Portland today.
   I decided to go and shoot. 2 hand guns and my 7x57.  I went to my mountain. it is about 35 miles west of my house. It was colder a lot colder , and windy as hell !
I laid my old 98, across a rolled up sleeping bag, on the hood of my jeep.
  My 1st shot was great. But before long I was shaking like a leaf, I fired 5 shots, 1 was sort of bad one was real bad. 
  I went down to the bottom of the mountain and shot my handguns after that.
On the way home I could only think of the soldiers at the battle of the bulge , and even worse the soldiers and marines at the frozen Chosen. 
   I know damn well they were a bunch colder then I was.  In Korea about 50 degrees colder.  How can you shoot ?  An M1 is heavy, but that front sight had to be dancing around in that ring pretty hard. 
    Again i thank god there was peace when I was of service age and I thank all   service members and Vets , my life has been so easy ! ...tj
 

[dutchman]

Now imagine someone shooting back at you -----

[Fowler]

I bet when the shots started going off the last thing they thought about was how cold they were. They had all night and weeks prior for that ...

[tj3006]

Fowler,
My point is trying to hold steady when you are shivering. ...t

[junebug]

Now imagine, being on a mountain in Alaska with wind driven rain and sleet beating you in the face at the end of a several hour stalk. The prize of a lifetime is 50,100, 200 yds. away and you have worked your whole life for this moment. Could you hold it together ,stop the shakes from the cold and adrenalin long enough to make the shot?
I second a big THANK YOU to all the Veterans out there who have served our country so well!

[bigbrowndog]

I’ve shot matches in very cold temps, below freezing and down to single digits. Good gear does wonders, and these days we have very good gear, but the most important thing I’ve found is mental toughness and attitude. Once you think your miserable and cold there is no relief until your mental status is relieved.
That said, the mental fortitude of the Greatest generation and Korean era folks must be unimaginable to most these days, gear back then was minimal compared to today, and yet they persevered.  I have the utmost respect for them.
Trapr

[taffin]

My friend Jack Lewis was a longtime editor and publisher of GUN WORLD. He was in Korea and after that he would never go anywhere there was snow or cold. He lived in California and then retired to Hawaii. Back in those days most of the gun companies still had seminars for writers and editors. One time Jack went to a seminar and when he got off the plane it was snowing. He went into the airport up to the ticket booth and said give me a ticket out of here right now to any place that is warm.

[ericp]

I think its largely a matter if what you're used to. I'm from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and I am comfortable down to about -10 ambient. By that I mean I go about my normal business including going to the range dressed appropriately . A pal from North Dakota isn't particularly impressed until 20 degrees colder.

The old guy fought at Chosin and described it as the hardest fighting he was ever a part of with hellacious weather. However, he said he would rather be freezing up in the mountains than boiling with every sort of creepy crawly in the Pacific Islands like he had in WWII. He was brought up in Northern Ontario.

Eric

[x101airborne]

I had to go through Cold Weather Training at Ft. Drum, NY before I could be deployed to the desert. (I still dont understand why.) Once you know how far you can push your body and what REAL cold feels like it is amazing how your body and mind shrug off pain and discomfort. Knowing the difference (to the individual) between pain and discomfort is key to surviving. If I am uncomfortable, suck it up. If I am in pain, fix it. True misery is wearing a bear suit while digging a ditch (makes you sweat in your gear) then remaining absolutely still for 4 hours. After doing that a couple times you will sort out what is uncomfortable and what is pain. I would rather be uncomfortably cool than sweat in my gear in freezing temps.

As to the respectful comment about the front sight dancing, I bet front sights were dancing on both sides of the front. And like you, I thank all the Vets that went before me and all those picking up the torch I could no longer carry. Better to fight over seas than allow the fight to come to our doors. 

[tj3006]

I would think it is safe to say Marksmanship suffered greatly when the shooters were shivering. Y

[nicholst55]

I recall shooting on -20F days in Alaska. Fire one round, jump back into the running truck to warm up, repeat as needed! That was 'pleasure' shooting, not 'work' shooting. You just stayed outside and sucked it up when firing for work. This was at Fort Greely, AK, US Army Cold Regions Test Center, in 1987-88.

[NathanHale]

Like Yogi Berra said. “ 90% of this game is half mental”. I think the difference btw the two examples, you on your mountain and the soldiers at The Bulge or At Chosin, is the fact that they were facing certain death if they lost. You were facing discomfort. Their mentality was not only for their lives, but that of their brothers, their nation and their loved ones. Just like if you are faced with a misguided youth trying to break in to your home and defile your family. Failure is not an option.