Schmood

I have a chained lockbox in my car where I store my LCP when I can't take it into a building. I got to thinking about winter coming up with the cold temperatures and how that might affect the plastic on semi-auto pistols.

I'm concerned that if the need arises to use the gun after it has sat in the car in the cold, that it might go BOOM instead of bang.

How cold is too cold to be storing the LCP, or any other pistol, before using it?

bearcatter

Good question. I have a NanoVault 200 for the same reason.

The "polymers" in firearms are said to be temperature stable, their properties change very little. That said, I would be more comfortable being more careful with a plastic gun, anyway. Especially a plastic framed autoloader, which gets several different stresses in the course of firing.

Plastic shrinks when it's cold, like most any material. Cold enough, it gets brittle. I would prefer one to at least be tolerable to my bare hand before I subjected it to the stress of firing.

I don't see a problem with synthetic rifle stocks, or the LCR grip frames. They are substantial parts, and not stressed directly when the gun is fired.

303lithgow

It doesn't get cold enough here for me to worry about but if I lived elsewhere I might be more concerned. What I have found is that the oil or grease in a gun becomes thick and will stop a gun from shooting.

handgunner2000

i would like to know more about this, also. i live in north western wisconsin and it does get cold up here! i too have a nano vault in my trucks and some times i carry my lcp i have to leave it in the truck. myhap ill shoot ruger an email and see what they have to say.

Kyle N

I guess it would depend exactly how stressed the non-metal parts are. If they are just guide rods or something of the sort it may not be a big deal. I would suspect, since most moving parts in guns are metal, there probably wont be a problem. Although my knowledge of different firearms is very limited.

wild willyLC9

My opinion is that condensation would be the bigger concern going from freezing cold to warm.....over and over. I'd hate to have some rusty internals

Just my thought..I might be wrong

303lithgow

Living in a high humidity area that is my thoughts also.

MisterFelixLC9

Are there any lessons we can take from military who have trained and/or fought in cold climates? Or is that too much of a stretch? I don't have that sort of experience but maybe somebody here does?

303lithgow

In real cold weather (below zero) they remove a lot of the oil and grease. I'm basing this on WWII field manuals and they didn't have a lot of plastic on guns back then and the plastic they did have was not a moving part.

GunLover

I've been wondering about what the cold does to the ammo also. When the temp starts to drop, at some point the trapped air inside the ammo will reach the dew point. Then you have condensation. So what keeps the primer and powder from getting wet? I'd worry more about this than the gun.

303lithgow

Assuming the seal is still good there shouldn't be any moisture inside. Most ammo plants have a controled climate and the relative humidity should be close to zero when they are made.

Iowegan

Here's some info that may be of help. Let's start with the gun itself. Most metals used in guns expand with heat and contract with cold. Because handguns typically don't have massive metal parts like a rifle barrel, long receiver, or bolt, this is never an issue. Polymer material used in handguns is pretty much immune to temperature and neither expand or contract, nor does polymer get brittle like plastic.

Oil and especially grease are your biggest enemies when it comes to function in cold weather. It's best to use the absolute minimum amount of oil ... no oil is even better and never use grease in any gun ... never, even in in warm or hot climates.

Condensation is always an issue when storing a gun in a car. As metal gets cold then warms up, moisture will form (condensation) and cause corrosion or rust on the surface of any metal parts, to include internal parts. Oil doesn't help because condensation will get between the metal and the oil and still cause corrosion. The best way to fight condensation is to keep the firearm in a sealed container ... much like a GI ammo can. This will prevent moisture from accumulating even in extreme temperature changes.

As for ammo ... not to worry about moisture getting inside with centerfire cartridges. The bullet seals with the case as does the primer. 22 LR ammo is a different story because bullets are often loose in the case and can be ruined by temperature and barometric changes that literally sucks moisture into the cartridges.

A very significant issue can happen with handgun ammo in cold weather conditions. First, all powders are much harder to ignite when cold. Magnum powders are the worst and may even squib when fired at sub zero temperatures. Besides being harder to ignite, powders for handguns are not temperature compensated like many rifle powders and will not produce normal velocities in colder climates. This is especially noteworthy for semi-auto pistols because there may not be enough pressure generated to cycle the slide. If you have an older Speer manual, they list velocity versus temperature for rifles and it is even more dramatic for handguns.

My concerns with leaving a gun in a car has more to do with theft than with climate conditions. A lockbox has "steal me" written all over it plus it's very difficult to put your firearm into service if needed when it is locked up.

303lithgow

Excellant post except I disagree on using grease. I use the military grease pots and think an M1 looks good when its greased right.

TNWNGR

I concur that the risk of theft is more of a concern than temp. Though I would be concerned with the effect of high heat on the ammo.

shootfastfun

Moss Pawn Shop (Iraqveteran8888 on YouTube) did a video on this a couple of weeks ago.

Frozen Ammo and Guns....What if? -110 Degrees F - YouTube