[TARNATION !!!]

David: I have yet to use a hammer gun but as for all the rest, when I clean them, all parts get a light coat of gun oil. For sliding components on pumps or autos they don't get wiped nearly so thin. The way my new GHE is performing, I'm thinking the others may not see the light outside the steel tombs this year. So far, the cold has not caused me gun problems, just hand problems. But, I persevere.

A couple years back with a new to me VH, I thought I was having a cold issue. The safety slide became more and more difficult to operate. I set it aside and carried on with the backup gun (always take two). When I got home, I dismantled the VH and found the problem was not frozen goo, rather the slide pin had disengaged. It may have been the first time that gun was ever opened, so it got the full treatment and reassembled with the pin properly in place. It has worked flawlessly since, even in the cold.

I know in late December, much to Kay's consternation, I will be out there testing my cold tolerance again. Nothing quite like roaming around on snowshoes and having a rooster explode out of cover with a shower of snow glittering in the sun lit but frozen world.

Cheers,
Jack