Car/Gun Security
- Thread starter brutus51
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jdh
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- Jan 5, 2008
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Speaking as a LEO with 45+ years experience, the point is the fact that you 'lock' your car is totally irrelevant to a criminal!!! I think anyone who leaves a gun in a motor vehicle UNSECURED (a locked car is NOT SECURE) should be charged with reckless endangerment! Here in Bama we had several officer shot and almost all of the guns used by the criminals were taken from motor vehicles, most of them LOCKED. CARRY YOUR GUN ON YOUR PERSON OR DON'T CARRY ONE.
That is the point!
Speaking as a retired LEO I am glad you are not in a position to make that call and suspect you are in the wrong line of work.
Anchorite
Member
If I’m going somewhere where it’s off limits (like the court house) then I just leave it behind at the house. I keep a piece of rebar in the truck that’s about 3 feet or so long. I figure it will do the job if I need it.
Anchorite
Member
Many, many people leave their cars unlocked. Where I live, that’s 90% of the vehicle thefts......vehicles left unlocked.
rskent
Member
Speaking as a LEO with 45+ years experience, the point is the fact that you 'lock' your car is totally irrelevant to a criminal!!! I think anyone who leaves a gun in a motor vehicle UNSECURED (a locked car is NOT SECURE) should be charged with reckless endangerment! Here in Bama we had several officer shot and almost all of the guns used by the criminals were taken from motor vehicles, most of them LOCKED
Sorry about your friends. But I didn’t shoot them, criminals did. I get that you want to blame someone. Try blaming the criminals that shot them.
I have a steel security box that protects from a smash and grab while I am at the post office or similar locations. According to a local police officer, daytime firearms thefts from cars in our area are mostly crude smash & grabs and over in less than a minute. If a car is stolen, the thieves will have time to get the necessary tools to open any of the small security boxes but at least I would not walk into my own car burglary and get shot down with my own gun.
Ramone
Member
I use a keyed lockbox with a cable that shows nicely under the passenger seat. The car is locked and alarmed, so the goblin would have to break the window, ignore the alarm, find the box, and cut the cable. I feel that's a sufficient level of security for my purposes. I can pull it from under the seat, and open it on top of the passengers seat without having to get out of the car, so it's not obvious that I'm securing something when I use it. It'll fit a full size 1911 and a ten round spare magazine.
The boxes I use are keyed alike- I've seen them sold in keyed alike sets, but I just bought them at a LGS, where they were blister packed, and you could read the key # through the packaging, so a minute or two sorting yielded four matching key codes.
https://www.amazon.com/SnapSafe-Lockbox-Keyed-Lock/dp/B07NZWRMYQ
They're cheap, reasonably secure, and versatile. They can be screwed or bolted down, and are airline compliant.
The boxes I use are keyed alike- I've seen them sold in keyed alike sets, but I just bought them at a LGS, where they were blister packed, and you could read the key # through the packaging, so a minute or two sorting yielded four matching key codes.
https://www.amazon.com/SnapSafe-Lockbox-Keyed-Lock/dp/B07NZWRMYQ
They're cheap, reasonably secure, and versatile. They can be screwed or bolted down, and are airline compliant.
Thankfully in MS, with our Enhanced Concealed Carry Permit, there are very few places that I can’t go heeled. Of those few places that are GFZ where I might occasionally have need to visit, I try to plan said visits in advance and in those cases leave my CCW at home. On the very rare occasion when I may need to enter a GFZ on a whim, both of my vehicles have locking glove boxes. I’m not convinced that a locked glove box will deter a determined thief, but it may at least slow him down a bit.
In regards to MS’s ECCP, while it does give a gun owner the option to ignore most “No guns Allowed” signs, it does not protect him from prosecution. If an ECCP holder chooses to enter a building that, while not enumerated in law as OFF LIMITS but still posted as a GFZ, he can face misdemeanor trespassing charges, should he be found carrying concealed and refusing to leave upon being instructed to. This could result in forfeiture of his weapon and stiff fines. While our gun laws in MS are some of the freest in the county, our ECCP is not a ‘get out of jail free card’, as some (none here) have speculated.
But I digress. Back to guns/ammo left in a vehicle. I feel it’s best to avoid the situation all together if possible. If not, or if unavoidable on the reg, then a secured locking storage container of some kind makes tons of sense to me. Again, not convinced that a locked box (glove or otherwise) will stop a thief, but it’s better than leaving that hog leg stashed under the front seat.
Just my $0.02
In regards to MS’s ECCP, while it does give a gun owner the option to ignore most “No guns Allowed” signs, it does not protect him from prosecution. If an ECCP holder chooses to enter a building that, while not enumerated in law as OFF LIMITS but still posted as a GFZ, he can face misdemeanor trespassing charges, should he be found carrying concealed and refusing to leave upon being instructed to. This could result in forfeiture of his weapon and stiff fines. While our gun laws in MS are some of the freest in the county, our ECCP is not a ‘get out of jail free card’, as some (none here) have speculated.
But I digress. Back to guns/ammo left in a vehicle. I feel it’s best to avoid the situation all together if possible. If not, or if unavoidable on the reg, then a secured locking storage container of some kind makes tons of sense to me. Again, not convinced that a locked box (glove or otherwise) will stop a thief, but it’s better than leaving that hog leg stashed under the front seat.
Just my $0.02
I look at it this way.
Lock your car. That makes it a little harder to get into.
Stay away from sketchy places. That makes a big difference.
There are various ways to secure your firearm in a vehicle. The problem with most of them is there is no safe way to do so while sitting in your car seat, and usually it is going to be fairly obvious what you are doing to someone who happens to see you fumbling around under the seat.
Lock your car. That makes it a little harder to get into.
Stay away from sketchy places. That makes a big difference.
There are various ways to secure your firearm in a vehicle. The problem with most of them is there is no safe way to do so while sitting in your car seat, and usually it is going to be fairly obvious what you are doing to someone who happens to see you fumbling around under the seat.
bdickens
Member
Speaking as a LEO with 45+ years experience, the point is the fact that you 'lock' your car is totally irrelevant to a criminal!!! I think anyone who leaves a gun in a motor vehicle UNSECURED (a locked car is NOT SECURE) should be charged with reckless endangerment! Here in Bama we had several officer shot and almost all of the guns used by the criminals were taken from motor vehicles, most of them LOCKED
That's pretty extreme.
Zaydok Allen
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- Feb 12, 2011
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So let's say a person can not afford a big gun safe that is impractical to steal. Or let's say they can't fit one in their studio apartment. They also feel, that lock boxes and gun cabinets are not actually secure either and are a waste of money. They do not have kids.Speaking as a LEO with 45+ years experience, the point is the fact that you 'lock' your car is totally irrelevant to a criminal!!! I think anyone who leaves a gun in a motor vehicle UNSECURED (a locked car is NOT SECURE) should be charged with reckless endangerment! Here in Bama we had several officer shot and almost all of the guns used by the criminals were taken from motor vehicles, most of them LOCKED
So by your logic, locking their doors and windows to their home is inadequate, and therefore they should not be allowed to own firearms unless secured in a receptacle you find appropriate. They be denied their 2A rights because of this? Seems to me locking up their home is a reasonable precaution against theft if that's all they can manage. Is a small lockbox that can be carried off and opened later acceptable? Does it have to be a locker or safe of some kind that is bolted down?
Guess those folks should be charged with a crime, hey? Guess they should have their rights taken away or denied because they aren't living up to your standards.
Sorry, but your reasoning is a slippery slope that in some ways plays into the antigunner propaganda machine. A person locking their vehicle or home, who is also ensuring kids do not have easy access to firearms is not committing any crime. I would genuinely feel terrible if ANYONE is injured or killed with a theoretical gun that has been stolen from me. But I'm not going to carry a gun into a prohibited location, and I'm not going to stop carrying a gun for protection because I might have to briefly leave it unattended in a locked container out of sight. Advocating the removal of rights without a crime being committed is unconstitutional.
If it becomes a law that guns in vehicles must be secured in a secondary locking container, ok, then charge people if they aren't following the LAW.
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guyfromohio
Member
Carry always or don’t carry at all is flawed logic. It’s simply not possible in my life. I hold a relatively high position in a company with an office full of a typically liberal demographic. After about a year there, nearly every member of that office-based team has their CHL and it is no longer a WFZ. But I have kids in school. I can choose not to carry at all, or I can lock my gun in the glove box and then lock my car door.....or I can be an absentee parent. I choose the lesser of those evils. If a law-breaking law-breaker breaks the law breaking into my vehicle, I can’t help that. I sure hope none of the little girls molested by their uncles wore skirts in that jurisdiction, because they surely would be at fault for their attacks.
I dont know wth some of you expect us to do with this "keep it on your person, or not at all" mantra
Look, I would LOVE to. It's not like I like fiddling with a object that requires careful handling in order to not have a negligent discharge in the confines of a track cab. It's not like the gun got too heavy for poor widdle me, and i needed a break from it.
You know who mandates that I jump through these hoops? The government. I dont mean that in a tinfoil hat way. I mean that before I head into a government building to pull permits (I'm a contractor), the police officers manning the door require that I dont bring anything sharper or more dangerous than a pen as I am scanned through a metal detector to make sure I'm safe enough to cut a hundred dollar check and walk out with a piece of blue paper that says I'm qualified to dig a hole.
So, if locking my gun in my truck and it possibly being stolen in broad daylight is a big safety issue for police officers on the beat, then they need to have gun checks at the door like a saloon so that I am not required by law to go unarmed into a government building.
Look, I would LOVE to. It's not like I like fiddling with a object that requires careful handling in order to not have a negligent discharge in the confines of a track cab. It's not like the gun got too heavy for poor widdle me, and i needed a break from it.
You know who mandates that I jump through these hoops? The government. I dont mean that in a tinfoil hat way. I mean that before I head into a government building to pull permits (I'm a contractor), the police officers manning the door require that I dont bring anything sharper or more dangerous than a pen as I am scanned through a metal detector to make sure I'm safe enough to cut a hundred dollar check and walk out with a piece of blue paper that says I'm qualified to dig a hole.
So, if locking my gun in my truck and it possibly being stolen in broad daylight is a big safety issue for police officers on the beat, then they need to have gun checks at the door like a saloon so that I am not required by law to go unarmed into a government building.
I dont know wth some of you expect us to do with this "keep it on your person, or not at all" mantra
Look, I would LOVE to. It's not like I like fiddling with a object that requires careful handling in order to not have a negligent discharge in the confines of a track cab. It's not like the gun got too heavy for poor widdle me, and i needed a break from it.
You know who mandates that I jump through these hoops? The government. I dont mean that in a tinfoil hat way. I mean that before I head into a government building to pull permits (I'm a contractor), the police officers manning the door require that I dont bring anything sharper or more dangerous than a pen as I am scanned through a metal detector to make sure I'm safe enough to cut a hundred dollar check and walk out with a piece of blue paper that says I'm qualified to dig a hole.
So, if locking my gun in my truck and it possibly being stolen in broad daylight is a big safety issue for police officers on the beat, then they need to have gun checks at the door like a saloon so that I am not required by law to go unarmed into a government building.
I know that not every state is equal when it comes to gun laws, and while my state, MS, may be lacking in a whole lotta ways, I’m grateful for the 2A freedoms we enjoy here. I’ve worked every day for 22 years now in courthouses around the state. Until a few years ago, you could get fined for just having a gun in your car in the parking lot. Thankfully, a few members of our legislature decided to change things and enacted our Enhanced Conceal Carry Permit law. ECC allows people like me, private citizens, who frequent courthouses to carry on our person. We can’t go everywhere in a courthouse, no court rooms or employee only areas, but we can access any generally public areas. As you’d expect, there’s been a lot of backlash from anti-gun minded judges around the state who have tried to subvert the states laws, but our states Attorney General and Supreme Court have shut them down. Knowing how well we have it here, 2A wise, makes me feel for my fellow 2A patriots around the country even more.
I'm reasonably sure the law around here is that locked in a secure vehicle is OK. I actually park on the street just in case. I know the big hullabaloo where I am pulling permits has to do with the fact that the court rooms and a few holding cells are connected to the civic center and they want to keep it secure.
Thanks to this thread, I have ordered a Console Vault for the car.
I have been leaving the firearm at home when driving to hospitals, etc.
That will no longer be necessary, and we will be able to stop elsewhere on the way home.
I have been leaving the firearm at home when driving to hospitals, etc.
That will no longer be necessary, and we will be able to stop elsewhere on the way home.
Garandimal
member
Wrap it in a shop rag, and leave it in an open box with a small hammer, a old pair of pliers, and a roll of masking tape.
On the seat or load-bed... safe as houses.
GR
On the seat or load-bed... safe as houses.
GR
When pressed to enter a government building in an area Where I wouldn’t care to leave my gun alone in the car ... I follow the advise of the county sheriff: unload, take the slide off the frame; pocket the mag and slide and leave the stripped frame in the car. (Although actually he told me to take the frame into the building as well since “it’s just parts” ... I think he’s wrong there so I leave the serialized part in the car.)
Granted, if you live in a more populated area and they have metal detector or searches, they probably would frown on finding even pieces of a gun... but here it works.
Granted, if you live in a more populated area and they have metal detector or searches, they probably would frown on finding even pieces of a gun... but here it works.
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Pat Riot
Contributing Member
In my vehicle I discovered a hidey hole that a small slim Stack-On pistol safe can reside with the cable secured so that even if a dirtbag found the safe they couldn’t easily yank it free and they definitely could not use a tool to cut the cable.
In my wife’s vehicle I secure a Stack-On pistol safe under the seat, but I rarely use her vehicle so I think I have done that twice.
On my motorcycle I have locking hard saddlebags. I do not leave a gun in them but I have that option if needed if I ever found myself in a situation that it became necessary. I would not have a gun on me if I knew ahead of time that I would have to lock it in a saddlebag. Transferring a gun in public might be a bit sketchy.
In my wife’s vehicle I secure a Stack-On pistol safe under the seat, but I rarely use her vehicle so I think I have done that twice.
On my motorcycle I have locking hard saddlebags. I do not leave a gun in them but I have that option if needed if I ever found myself in a situation that it became necessary. I would not have a gun on me if I knew ahead of time that I would have to lock it in a saddlebag. Transferring a gun in public might be a bit sketchy.
FlSwampRat
Member
To be honest, how many times has your vehicle been broken into when you're out of it for an hour or less when there are no inviting valuables in plain sight on the seats floor or dashboard?
I make sure my weapon is secured before I park and get out at the post office, courthouse, etc. Like blocks away. No one at those facilities sees me with a gun or making obvious movements like stashing something under the seat.
Only time my truck that I've had for 15 years has been broken into was by AAA because I was a dummy and locked my keys in it.
FlSwampRat
Member
Do you mean my PU with mountain mud on the tires or her Volvo S60 T5?
No, a 17 year old Ford Pinto. I had one in the late 90's because my Mom insisted my main transportation not be my Harley while my wife's car was secondary transportation. Anything I carried in that was worth more than the car.
I do have to admit, that was another vehicle that never got broken into.
Actually now that I think about it the only time any vehicle of mine was broken into was because something either visible (wife's Cerwin Vega car speakers) or something I'd been seen putting in the trunk (camera gear).
There's something of a cottage industry in the unlawful entry of cars parked near courthouses, stadiums, RV and boat shows, etc.
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The news coverage of the RV shows, etc. mentions the widespread taking of guns,
The Console Vault for my car just arrived.
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