If a gun was in a cold enough environment, could it fail to fire?

[MixMasterTang]

Depends. Is it direct gas or piston?

He didn't ask if the gun would cycle after being fired, but whether it would fire or not. So why would gas or piston matter?

 

[AstroManLuca]

Is it possible that, if it's cold enough, the components of the gun will shrink slightly, causing them to not work properly? Like, the cartridge could shrink a little, moving the primer farther away from the firing pin, while simultaneously the firing pin and the metal parts around it also shrink it away from the primer? Or is that effect too small to make any difference?

Like others I think the biggest issue would be extreme cold causing any lubricant to freeze and jam up the gun. A separate issue could involve it being so cold that you can't take your hands out of your gloves without risking frostbite, so any gun with too small a trigger guard would be difficult to fire. Or at the very least, it would slow you down while you take your hand out of your glove to fire.

 

[LTC8K6]

They fired okay in WW2 from fighters at 40,000 feet where it was -50 degrees.

 

[Possessed Freak]

Is it possible that, if it's cold enough, the components of the gun will shrink slightly, causing them to not work properly?

Squeeze Bore?