Is it safe to leave your firearm in your vehicle?


advw

New member
Hey everyone,

I've been debating on wether or not I should leave my firearm in my vehicle (if theres a no carry zone) for a long period of time. My main concern is the heat factor. I never crack my windows when leaving my car even if it is hotter than hell outside. So question..is it at all possible for a round to get so hot that it can fire? I've never heard any cases.. but would like to get some input on this! Thanks!
 

Your car would literaly have to be in flames before a round could go off, then assuming you keep it loaded and a rd chambered the rounds in the mag would most likely go off before the cambered rd, in which case it would just explode the grip of the pistol, if the chambered rd got hot enough then the gun would fire, I do not know the specific temp it would take to pop off a rd, but like I said the inside of your car would have to be on fire, in other words don't worry about the gun being in the car
 
I know many folks take their guns to work with them and lock them in their glove compartments while they are working. I have yet to hear of a case where they have gone off inside there. So it should be ok.

I have had a box of 30-06 rounds in mine and they have yet to explode and we have had some days here where it has hit 90 degrees.

I am not what you would call and expert though so you might wish to talk to someone who runs a gun shop.
 
Where I work I cannot have a firearm which means I have to keep my gun in the car while I'm in the office. To solve the problem I have a gun safe that is cable locked to the frame of my car. The gun is unloaded and the ammo kept separate from the gun. Never an issue for the ammo or gun (Glock) and I live in the Mojave Desert.
 
Interesting, was this made to be bolted down? Or did you modify it a bit?

The type I use can also be used in air travel, securing the safe to the inside of the suitcase. Here is a link to a similar product.

Link Removed
 
I leave my glock 23 and have left my g17 in my truck while at work I normally don't leave one chambered just in case but have not had any problems and heat index has reached well over 100 here in Iowa
 
If bullets were that sensitive to heat, the manufacturers would have already put a label on their ammo boxes saying to store the rounds within a certain temperature range.
 
You are safe from a round going off but your gun's lubrication will take a beating in the heat.

I'd recommend a more rigorous visual inspection after it has been stored in an elevated temperature. Some guns work better dry - for awhile - but it wouldn't hurt to relub more often.
 
Interesting topic. Last night this was the same question I had in mind before I went to bed. (I only saw this topic this morning.) It was because my laptop downstairs was on all day and my gun was behind my laptop where the air from it made it hot. Then I thought of the would-be temperature in my car today if I go out and happened to be in Illinois. Will my gun survive? Or my ammo?

Thanks for the replies so far.
 
I'd be concerned with theft. I had a LEO buddy of mine (US Marshall) have his Beretta M9 stolen out of his glove compartment.
 
Mythbusters did a show once where they tested the heat tolerance of ammunition. They put the ammunition in an oven at 450 degrees until the ammunition finally popped and fizzled out. It didn't fire off like it would have had it been fired from a gun.

MYTH:::Bullets can explode with lethal force if they are stored inside a hot oven.:::MYTH

BUSTED
The Mythbusters placed a .22 caliber, .44 caliber, and .50 caliber bullet inside an oven. All of the bullets exploded once the oven was hot enough, but none of them were able to penetrate the oven. Without a gun barrel to contain and direct the propellant gases, the bullets did not develop enough speed to pierce the glass or steel portions of the oven. The shell casings actually caused more damage than the bullets.

Now in the event that you store your GUN (loaded) in hot temperatures

MYTH:::::A gun can fire a bullet with lethal force if stored inside a hot oven.::::MYTH

CONFIRMED
The Mythbusters placed a loaded .38 caliber revolver inside a hot oven pointing towards the oven door. Once the temperature was high enough, the gun automatically discharged and sent the bullet out of the oven, which could potentially kill anybody who happened to be standing in front of the oven.

So to simplify: It takes a lot of heat to make bullet go pop. I know lots of people store ammunition in vehicles that can get up to 120 + degrees without incident. Now if left in a hot atmosphere for long periods of time (1 month - years), the powder can break down making your ammo less effective.

 
The type I use can also be used in air travel, securing the safe to the inside of the suitcase. Here is a link to a similar product.

Link Removed

So mounting it under the driver's seat would be ok, i suppose the back would be too.. Is that where you have it mounted?
 
It is 110 dewgrees in Dallas today and I have had both a gun and bullits in my car allday
 
I use an Autosafe made by SentrySafe mounted in my center console. It has already withstood the effots of a thief to crack it open. The one I have can hold a subcompact (G36, HK SK) or any pocket gun.

As far as ammo cooking off, as other have pointed out - if your vehicle were that hot you'd have a lot more to worry about than your firearm. You'd need to call the FD in order to put out your car/truck.
 
I live in hot as florida and leave my firearm under my drivers seat and have not had any issues in 5 years!
 

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