I am new to the sport of shooting and I have a new dilemma now that summer is just around the corner. If I were to leave my Glock in the trunk of my car along with magazines and ammo so that I could go to the range after work would the extreme temps that a car can reach during the sunny summer months cause any problems with any or all of the components? If so what steps could I take?
I have not had any problems with this in Georgia since '93 with the gun secured out of direct sunlight. I have heard a polymer gun sitting in the sunlight in a locked car in AZ in Summer can be damaged severely. I don't really know the validity of this.
“Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais
Kydex can deform in your trunk
I never had any problems leaving Glocks in my vehicle 365 days a year in South Louisiana.
I'm with JBP55. I've kept Glocks and other guns in locked cars with rolled up windows in Lousiana year round, Oklahoma summers (Todd can testify to those!), Texas Hill Country when it was 110, and so on with no damage to guns, ammo, or gear.
"PLAN FOR YOUR TRAINING TO BE A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE INSTEAD OF HOPING THAT REAL LIFE WILL BE A REFLECTION OF YOUR TRAINING!"
Thanks to all who answered. If anyone else has any info please keep the responses coming. I want to have as much info as I can get on this topic so I don't place myself or others in harms way. I also don't want to wreck my newly purchased equipment.
FWIW, the trunk won't reach the same high temps that the car will itself. The interior of the car becomes a greenhouse due to the glass windows, which is why putting a shade up makes such a difference. The trunk will get warmer than the ambient air temp, but not a lot. If you are really worried about it you can put stuff into a cooler with an artificial ice coldpack.Originally Posted by Brutane
"PLAN FOR YOUR TRAINING TO BE A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE INSTEAD OF HOPING THAT REAL LIFE WILL BE A REFLECTION OF YOUR TRAINING!"
I know it's not the same thing, but I had a loaded M4 carbine that would ride right up against the 1114 HMMWV transmission during the summer in Iraq. At times it would feel like it would burn through my pants. Never had a round cook-off and it always test fired into the berm ok. I'm sure service grade hand guns and ammo are equally resilient to high temps.
This will be my 3rd Las Vegas summer of having to keep my M&P in the car during the day; no problems thus far. I have a lockbox under the seat. As stated, do not leave kydex in the car.
"I think we ought always to entertain our opinions with some measure of doubt. I shouldn't wish people dogmatically to believe any philosophy, not even mine." - Bertrand Russell
Repeated heating cycles can damage ammo after awhile, or even the first time if the temp is high enough.
That being said I have not seen that happen yet with ammo in a trunk. If you stored the gun and ammo in a cooler in the trunk then even without ice or whatever in it the cooler would keep the heat expose down on your gear.
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