Cars during summer, too hot for guns?

Been leaving my glocks in cars for years. Never a problem with gun or ammo.

In fact, just think how hot Iraq and Afghanistan get? Or how hot and humid Vietnam was!

No, your gun is good, in hot or cold weather. Especially if is a military spec weapon.

Deaf
 
My Glock has been in my hot truck plenty of times without issue. The normal heat in a car, while no doubt toasty in the summer, isn't hot enough to hurt your gun or ammo.
 
I left some 9mm rounds in the sun at the range the other day until they were too hot to even touch. I wondered if they might have cooked off if left there any longer.

Any thoughts on this?
 
Google suggests that ammo cooks off somewhere between 400-500 degrees.

The conventional wisdom is that summer temperatures won't harm the gun. However, your gun might be too hot to handle should you need it.
 
I left some 9mm rounds in the sun at the range the other day until they were too hot to even touch. I wondered if they might have cooked off if left there any longer.
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No, not even close. Mythbusters did an episode on that.

I played around with leaving guns in the sun and measuring them with a non-contact thermometer. These were the results.
 
i live in ny were if you leave tools in the car trunk over the winter you have a rusty mess to clean up in the summer. to avoid this i drilled one half inch hole in the heater/ac ducting that blows directly on the gun safe. it works great so far, two+ years and no rust.

Joe
 
Guns (metal, polymer, plastic, etc) seem to hold up ok in Iraq and Afghanistan during the summer, and for that matter in the Congo, Somalia, etc.

So one could infer that they will be just fine, with regard to cook-off, in a car in the US.

As Tom Servo noted, extra preventive maintenance against corrosion might be required, depending on humidity levels.
 
My limited experience...

I posted a similar question a year or two ago.

I wouldn't worry about the gunpowder. Everything I've read indicated that it is very stable and long lasting. Concerned? Shoot some at your next range trip and replace.

The gun most likely to be in my car is the 9mm Walther PPS.
Obviously a quality finish because there isn't a speck of rust.
I don't even bother with a light, preventative rub down with CLP.

I have already mentioned that I am partial to stainless or a high quality finishes like Walther uses for those who live in hot and humid areas.

Given that, car carry is no issue. (IMHO)
 
I DO NOT leave any wood stocked long guns, optics, or certain polymers in the car. I had a Black Buick Regal GS Turbo that would get hot enough to melt most cheap plastics.
 
as someone mentioned previously, it's the holster you should be concerned about. heat will damage leather and can warp kydex holsters.
 
Having just moved to east Texas from NJ (which in many ways is like being reborn) I've been down to the public gun range in Garland a couple times with 106 days on the thermo. My synthetic stocked Savage rifle and my Mossberg 590 were hot locked in their cases in the truck cab, but were handle-able and shoot-able, too. Kind of reminded me of how and M16A2 got in the sun back in Saudi in '90!

Ditto on the Kydex, been told that many times here already.
 
I left some 9mm rounds in the sun at the range the other day until they were too hot to even touch. I wondered if they might have cooked off if left there any longer.

Any thoughts on this?
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No danger of cooking off, but I'll bet you would have seen more velocity if you had chrono'd them before they cooled down.
 
I've had a Taurus 85 in my glove box for years, in a silicone-impregnated gun sock ... not a drop of rust, still shoots perfectly ... and it ain't cool here in central Texas ... it's weathered 100+ plus days with ease ... I swap out the ammo every few months, but the gun just keeps on ticking ...
 
I've had guns locked in my car during the summer countless times. While Indiana isn't as hot as many parts of the country, summer temps in the 80's and 90's are common and 100+ isn't unheard of in July and August. I've never had an issue with any of my guns from being locked in the car. I do, however, keep them out of direct sunlight (usually in a case of some sort) and my car guns are most often stainless.

I've actually seen guns get much hotter from rapid-fire at the range than I ever have from sitting in a car in the summer. My dad has gotten his HK P7 PSP so hot that you can hardly hold it (this gun heats quickly due to the gas-piston delayed blowback operation) and I've seen him get his Mak 90 so hot that the handguards were beginning to smoke, yet neither gun was damaged.
 
As everyone said, moisture is key. The winter can be hell on your guns. Although, "they" say that if your gun has to be kept in the cold for a long period of time, it should stay there, as bringing it into a warm environment will make it sweat and rust.

So, if you leave your gun out in the heat, should it be kept hot and gradually introduced to colder environments or is it okay to bring it in the AC? That I'm curious about.
 
I made the mistake of leaving my Ruger LCP in the center console of my car during an extended hot period. The plastic expanded so much that when I retrieved the gun it had become a Glock 30! I think if I leave my Ruger P97 in the car all summer it will become a BAR!
 
shaunpain said:
So, if you leave your gun out in the heat, should it be kept hot and gradually introduced to colder environments or is it okay to bring it in the AC? That I'm curious about.
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I have some experience with heat and humidity. My guns don't mind a bit coming in out of the heat. The problem is when you bring a cold gun out of the air conditioned car or house into the hot, humid air. It really starts sweating then and the water will accumulate anywhere the air can get to. So cool your guns as fast as you'd like, but warm them gradually.

I don't worry about humidity with ammunition. The air is really trapped inside when you load it. If you bring a cold round into the warm, humid air the outside will begin to sweat. The cold (dry) air inside the case will begin to expand and leak out around the bullet and primer if it can. The inside won't sweat because you haven't done anything to increase the amount of moisture in the case.

If you bring a hot cartridge inside the warm air inside the case will shrink and the resulting vacuum may draw some of the cool (dry) air in past the bullet or primer if it can. About the only way you are going to draw moisture into a loaded round is if you bring a hot round inside and toss it into a bucket of ice water. :)
 
The hottest recorded temp in a completly sealed vehicle on the hottest AZ summer day I have ever measured was 146 degrees fahrenheit...which is not even close to being a problem for guns or ammunition.
 
I worked on the Mexcian border in Arizona, and our long guns (Steyr AUGs, synthetic stocks) were locked in the cars & trucks for months at a time. Some guys left their handguns in the cars, and we all carried spare ammo in the cars. Never a problem. I did record 126 degrees in the shade one day - and that was outside my car.

Forget it - worry about things that can matter, and put this one to rest.
 
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