Best way to store a gun in the car

[Alimony Bob]

You don't have to worry about "snatch and grab" if you get your windows tinted dark enough as almost everyone in the deep South does. Then get a gun rug the same color as your interior and keep the pistol wedged between the seat and console. This works best for old guys with no kids but the car's got an auto lock anyway so if I'm not in it it's locked.

 

[HardShell]

PLEASE be sure to LOCK the thing somehow. Glove box, car safe, something. Your "security through obscurity" (backpack, KFC, etc) solutions scare me. (I prefer physical security WITH obscurity too!)

I have a "Secure-It Handgun Storage Safe:"

http://www.amazon.com/Secure-It-Secure-It®-Handgun-Storage-Safe/dp/B000HBB15U/

I secure the cable that comes with this around one of the front seat bolts. The box itself hides under my driver's floor mat. Easy, discrete access (pretend to be tying your shoes), but somewhat secure.

Its this a perfect solution? No. Anyone with a pair of bolt cutters could cut the cable easily. However, it should be enough to stop an amateur "smash and grab" type of car break-in. It will also keep the gun safe from pilfering fingers of any children or inexperienced friends.

ALSO, this has the advantage of being easily removable for carrying into a hotel room or sticking in your briefcase to take with you, and still being "secure" from folks playing with it.

I'm open to suggestions if anyone has a better solution, btw.

I bought a half-dozen of these a few years ago and tested them with a variety of guns and vehicles for a big review/write-up on Arfcom -- great products for the money IMHO.

As stated above, they won't stop a dedicated thief with a bolt-cutter and a little time, but they should stop most smash-and-grabs (WRT the gun, at least).

I now have one in each of my vehicles -- even though my wife and I always CCW on our persons, they are there JIC.

I have also used one before in hotel rooms that didn't have wall-safes.

 

[Mags]

I hide mine in an undisclosed easily accessible vehicle compartment. Forgot to take it out on a few occasions on my way to work, of course 2 of those occasions I was selected for a "random antiterrorism search" and the gate guards never found it. I don't lock said compartment I just don't advertise. I don't leave anything in plain sight not even spare change in a cup holder. It would really burn my but to have my window broke in for 2.50 cents worth of change but druggies will do anything for a quick fix.

 

[GRIZ22]

Thats pretty much what I do except I put it in a small zip case then lock in glove box to keep it legal.. just locked in glove box isnt legal in my state so I got the case

I put mine in the glovebox, and lock the doors

I have problem with guns being locked in gloveboxes. It may meet the legal definition of secured but it really isn't. Most gloveboxes have a plastic door which can be defeated easily with a screwdriver. It's been over 30 years since I was a local police officer working in patrol but I remember every car that was broken into had the glovebox rifled through. Locked it only makes the thief believe you have something valuable in there. You lock the car? That's easily defeated with a rock through the window.

I have an inexpensive safe I got a Harbor Freight for about $25 and ran a heavy duty cable through the back (cable connects inside safe). Cable gets attached to something solid in the car or even the spare tire (ever try to run down the street with a small safe attached to a spare tire?). Not the best setup but portable from car to car.

Some cars have access panels that are velcroed or snapped to give access to tail lamp bulbs. You can hide the gun in there.

The best option would be a lock box that is premanently fixed to the car. The one in the link Liberty1776 shows looks good. You could do this with the safe I use but have several cars I drive so I'd need a safe for each.

 

[HardShell]

see where i pointed those arrows? underneath the center console along where your right leg goes, there is that plastic "siding". if you look in your car or trucks blueprints and what not, something tells me that there is not much underneath there and that means that you could discreetly cut out a little portion of that that your handgun can fit into. fashion a drawer set up, and line it with some soft fabric and slide it back into there. probably wouldnt even notice any of it at all. or you could try that on another part of your truck or car.
just a thought

Cool solution, but one should always check local laws before doing this -- I know for a fact that such contrivances are illegal in some jurisdictions.

 

[withdrawn34]

These are pretty popular.

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

If you don't have those complicated power seats, you could probably put it under your seat and wrap it around your seat mounting brackets with a steel security cable. It won't keep out a Navy SEAL, but it should make it too inconvenient (or invisible) of a target to smash and grabbers.

Be careful about the glovebox. If someone is watching you and sees you put something in the glovebox and lock it, they might spend some time to try to break in... otherwise normally, smash and grabbers just get whatever is in sight, and will try the glovebox - but will give up quickly if its locked. Their goal is quick hits, just a few seconds per car.

Also, with the "under the seat" box, practice removing and putting a weapon in there. You need to be able to do it in a way where your muzzle isn't sweeping passengers or your legs (or other parts of your body). That could be a bit of a challenge.

 

[txGreg]

You might want to check this guy's stuff out...
http://www.advancedpistolsafes.com/

I see him at gun shows in the Dallas/Ft Worth area all the time. I'm not sure if he mentions custom orders as being available via the site, but he does in person.

 

[alanwk]

I just bought a small pick-up truck with no storage space. It's a '95 Dodge. I intend to modify either the floor or door of the truck and install a hidden lock box. It sounds like a lot of trouble, but it's not really that hard if you can use basic tools and have access to a welder. Doing so not only conceals the weapon from anyone who might break in to steal the stereo, but also, if done properly, gives a layer of protection that will deter most thieves even if they find the box. After all, most auto break-ins are done in less than a minute. The guy breaking in wants to grab what he can as quickly as he can. Sitting around in a parking lot attracting attention to himself while trying to pry something loose is a good way to get caught.

Right now I lock it in the glove box and lock the truck if I have to leave my weapon while I go inside a building, but that's far less than ideal because the lock on the glove box is easy to break, and it's probably the second place a thief will search.

For the most part I avoid places where I can't carry, but that doesn't work so well when I have to spend the morning sitting around someplace like the VA clinic.

Try working at a VA facility like my wife and I do. Total bummer.

 

[Quoheleth]

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

$35.

Q

 

[Kangspec]

car? truck?

http://www.consolevault.us/