Guns in hot cars

[SkiDevil]

It seems a bit silly, but may work. Have you considered using a cheap cooler from Walmart or Target with an ice pack or two in the trunk?

If you put the pistol/ holster inside of a bag or guncase that could mitigate the heat effectively.

P.S. I have the same car and it gets pretty hot inside on a warm Southern California day. I have no problem leaving a Glock, HK, or Smith revolver in the trunk if it's necessary. I seriously doubt the heat should effect the weapon or ammunition.

[JC5188]

It seems a bit silly, but may work. Have you considered using a cheap cooler from Walmart or Target with an ice pack or two in the trunk?

If you put the pistol/ holster inside of a bag or guncase that could mitigate the heat effectively.

P.S. I have the same car and it gets pretty hot inside on a warm Southern California day. I have no problem leaving a Glock, HK, or Smith revolver in the trunk if it's necessary. I seriously doubt the heat should effect the weapon or ammunition.

I had read somewhere that some people use coolers. Not for the ammo issue, but rather for temperature swings and humidity rusting the gun IIRC. I don’t think ice was used though.

[ST911]

Non-issue. Rotate your ammo every ~6mo.

[T2C]

I would be careful about leaving a handgun in a Kydex holster in a hot car for extended periods of time. A pistol rug might be the way to go when storing the handgun.

If the handgun gets three digit hot, I'll bet it's no fun to handle when you pick up the handgun to holster before the drive home from work. Inside the belt carry might be a little uncomfortable.

[OH58D]

Just like anyone else, I have polymer framed weapons, and polymer bodied magazines. I am guessing there have been studies which examine extreme heat for extended periods of time on these polymers, and does it reduce the life or integrity of those materials? If the vehicle is cooking on the inside at 150 degrees for days or months, what's the effect on polymer?

[yoni]

I am not sure how much of an issue it really is but I like the idea of a cooler with some blue ice blocks in it if your really worried.

I have never had a heat issue with guns, and I have been in some hot places.

[sundance435]

I suspect a lot of LE duty ammo is subjected to the same extremes or more without getting switched out regularly and even though the manufacturer won't warrant it to function in those situations, it's expected that it will. That said, shooting the loaded ammo once or twice a year is cheap insurance. When I was in LE guys were carrying duty ammo that was years old because they were too cheap to buy new stuff. Anecdotally, rangemasters would say to shoot through your duty ammo once a year, but they'd never really seen problems with guys who went longer than that. I've seen, on several occasions, duty ammo that had turned green with gunk and corrosion that still fired reliably.

I live somewhere with extremes both ways in temperatures and I've always had a polymer gun in my vehicle, usually in leather, but sometimes in kydex. I just try to shoot the loaded ammo at least once a year. Never had any misfires or anything going that route. I've gone even longer than that in the past and didn't have any issues. We had -10-20 degree days for weeks in a row and I requal'd for CCW during that time. I don't recall how long the ammo had been in there before that, but definitely at least 1 really hot summer. No issues at all. For heat extremes, I do at least try to park in shade or partial shade when possible on hot summer days, though, just for peace of mind.

While the kydex may be more susceptible to warping, I think the grade of polymer used for the guns we're carrying would have to be exposed to temps far higher than 150 for extended periods. The polymer near the barrel and rails gets far hotter than that when shooting, anyway.

[P2Vaircrewman]

I don't keep guns in the car but I do keep loaded practice AR and Glock 19 mags, both OEM and Magpul in my Suburban 24/7 365. I have a private range about 3 miles from the house so I keep the mags in the car with my other gear if I get the urge to go shoot. I live in south Louisiana so it is hot. Been doing this for years and have not had any mag or ammo issues. Ammo gets used up every one to two months. Carry ammo is either on me or in the house.

[JC5188]

Thanks guys.

I think my main takeaway is the kydex holster. Not sure why I didn’t lock in on that, forest for the trees I guess.

As far as the polymer gun itself, I don’t know how long it will last, but these types of weapons have been around forever so I’d assume it’ll be ok or I’d have read something to the contrary by now...at least regular anecdotes?

Anyway, not too concerned about the gun itself, I exercise it and keep it lubed. If I see anything going south on it, well it’s a shield. Not exactly hard to come by another.

Again, thanks for the replies.

[GH41]

Maybe time for another acronym.... CICF