Does your gun get hot after shooting?

The only handgun Ive owned that the frame got hot enough to notice, was my HK P7M13. Even that was only after a number of sustained mags and shooting quickly.

The early P7's lacked the trigger guard shield that the later guns had, and mine was so equipped.

I think the main issue there, was the P7's delayed blowback operating system, and the piston/cylinder sitting right on top of the trigger guard. The heat is right there above your finger.



While everything gets hot in some manner, I really cant remember any others that had the grip or frame around the grip getting warm or hot. Slides, cylinders, and barrels, sure, grips or frame rearward of the trigger guard, no.


I do find the revolvers tend to be hotter to handle, especially after sustained shooting/reloading cycles, and are more noticeably hot while reloading.

If you use the the method of opening the cylinder by pushing your fingers through the frame and and holding the gun by the cylinder, with the forcing cone resting on your finger, you know what hot is. Ayoobs "Stressfire" method is the better choice.

I almost made the mistake of loading and holstering my new to me carry revolver after 70 rounds at the range. That sure would have burned my ... since I carry S.O.B.
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I shoot from my holster in practice with pretty much everything I use, and normally shoot at least a couple of hundred rounds at an outing, and most of those are fried quickly and in bursts. The gun is constantly shot and reholstered, over and over, and while it does start to feel a little warm, its never been anything close to uncomfortable. Most of my holsters are IWB's, too.


If you want to feel "hot" with a firearm, full autos doing mag dumps, or sustained bursts, are about as hot as youll ever see. Even the semi auto rifle caliber guns will heat up quickly when shot quickly, and bare skin to barrel metal, and in some cases, even hand guards, is normally not a good thing.
 
James - you don't mention "what" you were shooting in terms of ammo.
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I did: Post #3: Fiocchi 124gr.

If it's steel or aluminum or whatever - it's going to conduct heat - that's what metal does.
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Needless to say, I was expecting heat to accumulate. I was simply surprised by the degree felt in the frame, where my hands were.

I've never shot a gun to a point where I cannot keep my hand in position due to the heat, and I've shot guns more than I had that day. That is all.
 
Have you ever heard the phrase,,,

Hotter than a 2 dollar pistol.

it's meant to describe something being hot,,,
As in being stolen goods.

But it's an analogy that fits.

Just last evening I took my new Bersa Thunder Pro UC9 out,,,
The last three mags of 13 I ran as fast as I could,,,
The slide didn't burn my skin or anything,,,
But it was definitely hot to the touch.

Just out of curiosity,,,
The next time I go out shooting,,,
I'll try the same with my CZ-75B and Ruger LC9.

Aarond

.
 
Yep they'll get plenty warm. My P7 will get so hot after 3 or four quick mags you can't touch it.
Say a video of a guy doing mag dumps with a full auto AK until the forend actually caught on fire.
 
I remember reading a long term ammo test about steel vs brass cased ammo, where they abused the rifles and fired mag after mag as quick as they could, trying to infuse failures.

They got the ARs they were shooting so hot that the plastic/polymer hand guards caught fire and started burning.


My CZs do not get hot from sustained fire of reasonable rates when I am at the range. They do get good and warm.

Now if I dump a mag through it quickly at the end of my trip, it will get very hot.

If I dump the first mag through the gun... It just gets warm.


So this was caused by two things... The pistol was already preheated a bit from his normal firing, and then he fired a couple mags through it quickly.

If someone is unfamiliar with metal framed pistols and rarely fires several mags quickly... Then I can see why they would be surprised by the heat.

So go on Pond... Shoot it how you want and enjoy it... Just don't be grabbing the hot bits when you are done.
 
From Pond,

Needless to say, I was expecting heat to accumulate. I was simply surprised by the degree felt in the frame, where my hands were.

I've never shot a gun to a point where I cannot keep my hand in position due to the heat, and I've shot guns more than I had that day. That is all.
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Now that you see this you can keep track of it. It is the case with all metal framed guns. The polymer framed also get "too hot to hold" but only those parts which are metal, the barrel and slide. You had not considered it before, now you can observe it. Fire your two mags rapid fire first next outing and observe and learn.

This is because metal (whether steel or alloy) conducts and retains heat much better than plastic. If the same number of rounds are fired between one and the other an equal amount of heat is being generated but will not be retained by the polymer as well. The barrel and slide will retain the heat and remain hot.

Last week, I returned to the range with my SP-01. I shot 150 rounds, in total, having mainly gone to fire .22LR.

I did some accuracy shooting, taking my time between shots. Then, for the last couple of mags, I just went for it, seeing how closely I could get the groups whilst shooting as fast as I could squeeze the trigger.
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You report that the piece was hot to the touch after that.

That's normal. Over 120 or so rounds of steady fire through the gun than two mags rapids fire. That you will notice the heat is normal.

This is the case with wheelguns as well on sustained courses of fire.

By the way, as pointed out already, instances of a handgun getting too hot to handle in combat or in self defense usage are pretty much unknown. You just don't shoot that much in sustained fire. That's a range thing.

tipoc
 
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So go on Pond... Shoot it how you want and enjoy it... Just don't be grabbing the hot bits when you are done.
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Next time I shall be more prepared. Once it gets too hot to handle I shall unpack my slices of bacon. The SP-01 has a marvellously flat slide-to-frame surface for an even heat! Duracoat is very non stick and slide serrations make for an even griddle effect...

You report that the piece was hot to the touch after that.

That's normal. Over 120 or so rounds of steady fire through the gun than two mags rapids fire. That you will notice the heat is normal.
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Is this kind of heat a danger to the recoil spring guide-rod? That is a little plastic part nestled in the midst of all that heat and commotion.
 
Is this kind of heat a danger to the recoil spring guide-rod? That is a little plastic part nestled in the midst of all that heat and commotion.
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The quick answer is "no".

A good answer is, this gives you a chance to observe that for yourself and learn.

A helpful answer is that you can replace it with a metal part should you care to. They are available and you can check on the CZ forum for that.

An observant answer is: the polymer frame (and guide rod as I recall) of your Glock is in constant proximity and contact with a hot slide and barrel and does not easily distort. Look and observe that, look at the CZ and see that and go on.

tipoc
 
hell hot

I once blistered my trigger finger on my 5.5" 44 Redhawk frame after a furious-fast 32 rd USPSA stage......
 
Polymer needs to get up to 600*F or so to start burning... Its a thermoset plastic, and they don't melt after forming.

They are very temperature stable, with little distortion, and that is the reason they are used.
 
i rapd fire the crap outta the tristar t-100, cz compact clone, i havent really noticed it getting too hot to handle, possibly because its an aluminum alloy rather than cold steel, but even shooting real czs and other full steel gun i have only noticed the slide getting very hot, not the gun itself

but cz does have the slide running inside the frame as opposed to on top of the frame like most others
 
Not unless I touch the muzzle directly. I've been burned with brass a few times but other than that I've never had any problems. Although long guns are a different story. I've had the pleasure of shooting several mags in a row on FA from an MP5 and that thing does get hot. I can only imagine what machine gunners fighting in wars must've gone through. But then again this is why it's good to have a good pair of gloves. :rolleyes:
 
I shall unpack my slices of bacon.
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Save me enough for a BLT sandwich. I have dumped 2 mags ( 28 rounds) from my CZ P-01 in fast succession and had no heat problem, but then again the grips on it are insulated rubber. You may want to change the grips to a set of Houge wrap around rubber ones.

Jim
 
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You may want to change the grips to a set of Houge wrap around rubber ones.
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The grips were fine for me too. The heat was most pronounced (read painful) against my thumb of my support hand.

The thumb sort of runs along the frame, sort of above where the trigger is. That smooth area was very unpleasant to touch.
 
Even my Buckmark Hunter 22lr will quickly get very toasty on a hot summer day, yet barely gets warm in the dead of winter.
Funny how much difference the ambient temp makes...
 
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