TexasCHLforum.com

Summer is around the corner. Is it safe to keep a gun in my vehicles on a hot Texas day? I don't carry at work so I leave my gun in my car.

It's pretty common around here. It'll be fine.

I leave my gun in the trunk when I have to. I always try to park in shade if I can find it. Never had a problem yet. That said, I usually err on the side of caution and have a leather holster for it rather than kydex, although kydex would probably be okay. I know Comp-tac has had warnings on their website about leaving kydex holsters in hot cars during the summer.

Been leaving mine in the Texas heat for years now, but only when necessary.

I only have kydex holsters. Even the IWB Minotaur, that did have some leather for the backing still had kydex. However, when I was wearing that and had to disarm I kept the holster on and just left the gun in whichever vehicle I was driving that day. I used to keep a thermometer inside the truck and the hottest I think it ever got was around 140. I don't think that's hot enough to melt kydex or even change it's shape. Although, I've never left in direct sun in the vehicle. I still doubt it would be hot enough to cause any damage.

So, IMHO, leaving your gun in your vehicle in the summer is no more at risk than any other time of the year. Thieves

I keep mine in a lock box under the seat. It is shaded and somewhat insulated by the padding in the box so it doesn't reach branding temperatures for when I reholster upon returning. I wear my holster, so it is not exposed to the temperature extremes. JMPHO.

Thanks for the information. When I leave my gun in the car, I use a MIC holster. It's 100% Kydex.

This has been talked about here a lot in the past. Put it this way, the gun isn't going to melt and the ammo will be fine! We have all heard the stories of soldiers in Iraq that carry ammo in vehicles all day in the 120+ temps in the shade, let alone in the sunlight on hot metal floors. 140+ easy. Ammo doesn't cook off either until much much higher temps. My friends uncle had some old 7.62x39 rounds from the early 80s that were in his shed. Thirty years and they fired no problem! C-dub is right, your worst enemy are thieves! IMO moisture and water are much bigger concerns then heat.

I don't worry about the heat, i worry about the thieves...

jl39775 wrote:Summer is around the corner. Is it safe to keep a gun in my vehicles on a hot Texas day?

As long as a thief isn't lurking.....

texanjoker wrote:I don't worry about the heat, i worry about the thieves...

http://www.consolevault.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't have the option of leaving mine in the car. Parking lot bill didn't help teachers much.

I like the console vault, but on the cheap I just took my extra fobus holster and secured it with screws to the inside of the console. Not only allows me to store my Glock 23 in a handy place while traveling, but also gives me a short term storage location. I also have a lock box under the back seat, but not too handy to get to in a crisis.

jmra wrote:I don't have the option of leaving mine in the car. Parking lot bill didn't help teachers much.

I don't mean to highjack the thread but I also hate to start new ones for a related topic. School parking lots are a pain. The Texas parking lot law overlooked schools, so presumably anyone carrying under MPA would be in violation in a school parking lot. It is also covered under the federal gun free school zone for anyone without a Texas chl. Most ISDs in the state follow a standard set of rules set forth by the TASB. These mimic the state laws regarding weapons on campus and generally state it is a violation of district policy, subject to termination, for an employee to possess a firearm on the district's property. What I am missing though is this: if a school employee with a chl has a vehicle parked on district property, and has a firearm locked in the trunk of the car or in a safe box inside where it is not visible from the outside they would be violating district policy, but under what rule or law could the district authorities insist that the vehicle be opened for inspection? Seems like the rule would be unenforceable because a police officer would not have probable cause that any state or federal law had been broken, and local policy is just that, and anyone terminated because someone 'thought' they might have broken a rule would have a field day with it. Just wondering because I know that a number of folks here are school employees.

gdanaher wrote:

jmra wrote:I don't have the option of leaving mine in the car. Parking lot bill didn't help teachers much.

I don't mean to highjack the thread but I also hate to start new ones for a related topic. School parking lots are a pain. The Texas parking lot law overlooked schools, so presumably anyone carrying under MPA would be in violation in a school parking lot. It is also covered under the federal gun free school zone for anyone without a Texas chl. Most ISDs in the state follow a standard set of rules set forth by the TASB. These mimic the state laws regarding weapons on campus and generally state it is a violation of district policy, subject to termination, for an employee to possess a firearm on the district's property. What I am missing though is this: if a school employee with a chl has a vehicle parked on district property, and has a firearm locked in the trunk of the car or in a safe box inside where it is not visible from the outside they would be violating district policy, but under what rule or law could the district authorities insist that the vehicle be opened for inspection? Seems like the rule would be unenforceable because a police officer would not have probable cause that any state or federal law had been broken, and local policy is just that, and anyone terminated because someone 'thought' they might have broken a rule would have a field day with it. Just wondering because I know that a number of folks here are school employees.

I don't know about state law, but our handbook states that our vehicles are subject to search at any time. Refusal would result in termination. I leave the gun at home for the simple fact that I am on a HS campus and dogs are run thru the parking lot unannounced several times a year looking for contraband in student cars. My luck one would hit on my vehicle which of course would be followed by a search.

jmra wrote:I don't know about state law, but our handbook states that our vehicles are subject to search at any time. Refusal would result in termination. I leave the gun at home for the simple fact that I am on a HS campus and dogs are run thru the parking lot unannounced several times a year looking for contraband in student cars. My luck one would hit on my vehicle which of course would be followed by a search.

Unless you use a different vehicle to go to the range or have yours detailed after each range trip, would those dogs not trigger on residue? Of course, they'd probably have to search within a few days of your range trip, else whatever residue is there will have dissipated. Seems to me it's probably a needless worry.

Please don't get me wrong. You've had to make a judgement call regarding your safety verses your livelihood. I respect that and am very grateful I don't have to make that decision.