Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Is It Safe to Store Guns and Ammo in a Hot Car?

I too know an idiot that had bear spray go off in a truck.....

I have never jumped out of a vehilcle so fast!! Really kills the resale value....

Keep your firearm loaded and keep it on your person. The only time is should be in your vehicle is when you are.

Do NOT ever store a Glock in a car!

It will melt like a chocolate bar!

( that's what you guys told me...)

It is not unusual to see on the news around here of an aerosol can exploding inside of a car because of heat. I've had cans of soft drink blow up and spray the drink all over the interior. A guy had a SCUBA tank blow up in his car a few years ago because it got hot. Totaled his car and at least 1 other parked next to it. The police initially investigated it as a bombing.

I don't think ammo or guns are hurt long term because of the heat, but I wouldn't want to have to fire ammo while it is still hot though. It can easily reach 150 degrees inside a parked car, probably a lot more in some situations. Ammo is usually loaded and tested at around 70 degrees. I'd imagine that if shot at 150 degrees or more some could be overpressure and unsafe. After the same ammo cools to a more normal temp I'd think it would be fine.

I buy 12 gauge trap reloads for $40.00 a flat and just keep them in the trunk of my car until I shoot them. I don't think that causes any problems.

In Africa, we always kept rifle ammo in the glove box of the land cruiser and that didn't hurt anything either. People say, though,that some PHs who keep ammo in their hunting cars for years or even decades end up having problems because the powder tends to clump together, reducing velocity. Also cordite, which has not been used for 50 years or so, was very temperature sensitive and pressures could rise if you fired it when hot. this is one reason the old British big bore loads were loaded to low pressures.