Question about securing a car gun

[Dr_2_B]

Hi All,

I'm not exactly a noob. I've been carrying daily on my person for 10+ years. My question is about the car gun. I've heard several people on THR defensively assure others that their car gun was secured. Are there legal ramifications involved in this? My car is locked always, and I'm under the impression that covers my liability if the gun is stolen. Is there something more I should know? I live in Indy.

 

[Puppy]

There are some car pistol safes that can be bolted under the seat or installed in your glove box for some additional security.

http://www.kcsafe.com/Handgun4.htm is one of them.

 

[Lennyjoe]

My car is locked always, and I'm under the impression that covers my liability if the gun is stolen

Does it? Please don't take offense, but I'm not a big fan of leaving a gun in a vehicle. Especially here in Tucson. Plenty of bad folks breaking into cars every day here. I'd feel terrible if someone stole a gun that I left in the car and used it to harm another person. Now, if I lived out in the sticks where a rifle hanging in the back window of a truck was common place, I'd feel a bit better about leaving it there.

If I had to leave a gun in a vehicle, I think a safe like the one mentioned above would be the way to go. Out of site, bolted down and accessible to the driver.

I'm a CCW'er as well and if I have to go to a place where I cannot carry then I'll leave it with the wife while I run in to conduct business. Either that or I will go to another place where I can carry.

Other opinions may vary but living in a big city with high crime like I do, well I would rather not leave them one of my guns that I purchased with my hard earned money.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Plenty of bad folks breaking into cars every day here.

Do they ever break into houses in Tuscon?

Seems to me you need to take reasonable precautions for keeping your guns out of the wrong hands. For an automobile, I think having the gun out of sight and the car locked would be OK. Keeping it in bolted-down car safe would be better, but no matter what you do, the right criminal will still get what he wants.

I think as long as the gun is locked, you have very little liablity risk if someone breaks the lock or window and steals it. Many many people have guns in their automobiles, but I know of no one who has a car safe.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Do they ever break into houses in Tuscon

Yep, sure do. But, all of my guns are in a 1000lb safe.

the right criminal will still get what he wants

No denying that!

 

[Croyance]

The right criminal may get what he wants, but he has to know that there is something to target first.
Further, most are of the quick smash and grab variety, no sublety involved. No need to make it easy for them. A locked door is only a broken window away from theft.

Even if your legal liability is covered, you are out your insurance deductable, time both for filling out your complaint (and waiting for the police to arrive) and for the repair. Even with a loaner, you will have to spend time waiting either for the garage to get the right glass & replace, or a truck to be at a time & place.

 

[carebear]

http://www.center-of-mass.com/

Order online or I just found them at Sportsman's Warehouse last week as well.

Should work against a non-snip/cutter-possessing smash and grab thief.

Only $30-odd dollars.

 

[RustyShackelford]

www.packing.org Traveler's guide to Firearms Laws

For questions about CC/secured carry of handguns in vehicles I'd check www.packing.org and/or get the 2006 ed of The Traveler's Guide to Firearms Laws.

I'd keep the pistol clean and with an empty chamber to be safe.

Rusty

 

[roscoe]

I have got one of these for quick trips out of the car. I hope the crooks don't have wire cutters with them . . .

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Pro...13&parent_category_rn=4501757&vcat=REI_SEARCH

 

[SaxonPig]

I know some folks freak at leaving a gun in the car but it's a reality for some of us. The building where I work is prohibited by state law so I either leave the gun in my car or risk being a convicted felon.

I have one of those plastic coated steel cable locks (like bicyclists use) and it's looped around the seat frame of my P/U. My carry piece is a stainless semi-auto so I run the cable through the trigger guard and take the magazine with me leaving the disabled gun on the floor under the seat cabled to the frame. A smash and grab thief will not get the gun. It's the best I can do under the circumstances.

 

[10-Ring]

I too am not a fan of leaving a loaded firearm in a vehicle...how secure are our vehicles anyway just because we've locked them up. I'm in an industry where I meet ALOT of people who have had their vehicles, stolen, broken into or vandalised...what I've learned is that cars are for transportation, not for securing valuables!

 

[DMSHEPARD]

I would stronly advise finding out the law regarding guns left in vehicles. Here in MA I am required to be "in direct control of my firearm at all times." My police cheif says that means it has to be on me whenever I leave the house, and CAN'T be left in an unattended vehicle. This is a problem if you have to go in a federal building, Post Office, or other restricted place. So if I had to go to the PO, I basically can't carry all day.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Having gun firmly secured inside car is beter than not, but in my area the biggest risk is of the entire car being stolen. Doesn't mater if gun is origionally targeted or not.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Most burglars are snatch'n'grab and sometimes the
least you do will foil them. We are usually not dealing with
cat burglars from some caper movie. We are usually
dealing with dumb desperate losers.

For instance, if someone kicks in my door while I am away
and makes a run to the home entertainment section for
the VCR or the DVD, they will see no clue that there
might be guns in the house if they stayed to look around.

Take the keys and lock the car. That will block most.

 

[bruss01]

I'm not currently a CCW holder, so this situation has never come up for me personally but -

You're out running errands and have your carry gun on you. One of your errands takes you somewhere that, for whatever reason, you cannot take your firearm inside. It's a busy area, people are coming and going, etc, and you don't want to spook the sheeple, risk a "man with a gun" call to the local police and potentially complicate your day - as I said, you have errands to run. You also do not want to advertise, "hey there's a gun being left in this car, come get it!" How do you discreetly remove your firearm from your person, and safely and privately secure it in your vehicle?

I'm thinking - leave the area for some more "private" venue, perform the transfer, then return, and reverse the process after you leave the "gun free zone".

Anyone had any experiences in this regard, pleasant, unpleasant or complicated? Alas, it seems the life of a CCW holder was never meant to be an easy one.

 

[Croyance]

If you live in, or are running errands around, a city, there just aren't so many safe private venues. Because I'd feel like an idiot if I were jumped after locking up my sidearm.

 

[Captain38]

My CCW In and Out of Vehicle Routine

When I'm running errands, I always carry a S&W Airweight snub in a Kramer pocket holster until I have to enter a Post Office, police station, courthouse, etc. and need to TEMPORARILY leave it behind in my SUV. Problem is, my vehicle doesn't have a lock on the glove box.

This is what I do before going inside. I slip holster and all out of my front pants pocket and stash it away while still seated behind the wheel. I've found it very convenient to place the firearm in the map pouch attached to the rear of the front passenger's seat. It's not in the very first place some stranger would look for it, yet it's readily accessible if I should decide I quickly need it. My vehicle has darkened rear windows preventing anyone from seeing into the rear portion of the vehicle and this allows me to do this without attracting unnecessary attention. Note: Having a deadly weapon in this part of an occupied vehicle is legal in my state ONLY if you have a CCW permit. It may or may not be legal in your state.

The big thing is to remember to retrieve it from there when I return and want to re-arm myself. I usually wait, however, until I get to my next stop to do that if I know it's only going to be a couple of minutes away. My routine when I get there is to open the driver's door, step to the ground and while still shielded between the vehicle and the door, drop the rig back into my pocket all in one more or less continuous motion.

It's a lot easier to do than to describe but it's worked for me SO FAR.

 

[Cosmoline]

Keep a Mosin carbine in there and just remove the bolt when you leave. Problem solved. Plus, the bolt doubles as one heck of a pair of brass knuckles.

 

[Captain Bligh]

I am generally against leaving a gun in a car as a standard thing. It's more of a risk than I am willing to take.

Like others, I have entered places that my carry gun can't go. At those times, I place the gun and holster in the glove box and lock it. I lock the car and set the car alarm. If I am going to be away for any period of time, I also take the magazine with me, leaving the gun unloaded. If someone steals the gun, they are going to have to go through some additional effort to use it immediately. They can't immediately harm someone else or have an accident themselves with a gun they don't know how to operate. I don't know if that gives me any less liability but my conscience feels better knowing that they would have to take additional deliberate action of obtaining a magazine and ammo on their own.

 

[Dr_2_B]

thanks for the feedback