Weathering the Broken Links

Discussion on the open carrying of firearms has been pretty popular the past couple years.  I don’t know how many times I’ve run across various discussions for or against open carry.  The discussions always talk about the element of surprise, deterrence, ease of access.  I really don’t want to get into a debate as I don’t favor one or the other on principle.  But I think I have yet another factor that I don’t recall seeing mentioned in this endless debate:  the gun’s temperature.

It get’s damned cold where I live.  I’ve not done much outdoor shooting in the winter, but I’ve heard quite a few stories of autoloading handguns not functioning properly in the colder weather.  It’s sometimes attributed to choice of lubricant and sometimes to ammo that doesn’t perform well enough at lower temps.  Regardless, I imagine it can be an issue if you’re not carrying a wheel gun.  I can see this being a rationale for concealed carry in cold climes?   After all, many, modes of concealed carry keep the gun closer to the body, under cover garments and coats, and not as exposed to the elements: i.e. warmer and more likely to function correctly.

I suppose your leg might not kick off enough heat to warm up that ankle holstered gun if that’s how you carry.  I don’t, so I can’t do the experiments.  But I do say that when I carry IWB, my gun stays nice and warm even when it’s 10 degrees below.

Yes, of course if the gun is covered up enough to stay warm it’s not as accessible…but remember I didn’t really want to start the debate again.  I just wanted to point out that I don’t recall ever having heard this argument.

One last thought, I bet there are a bunch of cops and non-cop OC’ers out there who don’t maintain their guns a lot and who haven’t “winterized” them who are carrying some cold guns that aren’t going to work so well if they really have to use them when it’s 0°F or even colder.

Reminder to everyone who carries: go forth and winterize that handgun, just in case.