Draw from inside the car

[labnoti]

Carrying on the right hip, it's not impossible to draw while sitting in the driver's seat of a car, but it's not easy. I have to thrust my hips out to straighten them and draw with the seatbelt in the way. If the seatbelt inertia lock is activated, I would have to unbuckle it first. I haven't found an alternative that I like, but I'm determined to have good access to a firearm when I'm in the car.

My state law allows for loaded handguns anywhere in the car, but I'm not willing to keep one stored there until my kids are years more mature than now. I could draw the handgun on my hip and reholster it in a vehicle-mounted holster but it becomes a hassle to move it so many times and it makes maintaining concealment difficult. I don't want to be drawing and moving handguns around my car in the Costco parking lot. No thank you.

It would seem that cross-draw hip or shoulder holsters are the easiest to access when sitting at the wheel. Maybe a leg holster, but I don't see how to conceal that.

I have an ankle gun and holster and it is marginally easier to access while at the wheel than strong-side hip, but the gun has its own compromises.

I'm looking for other ideas.

 

[Jeff White]

Ankle or cross draw are the best options. I carried my bug in an ankle holster and practiced drawing it in my squad car. I carried a SW Model 36 as a bug and didn't consider it a compromise for the kind of situation that would require me to draw while seated in the squad.

 

[FL-NC]

Cops carry their handguns on the strong hip side, and they spend lots of time in their cars. Ankle holsters are problematic for a number of reasons anywhere, probably more so in a vehicle- starting with the fact that you are probably using your feet to work pedals, and you will require numerous gross movements of most of your body to access the handgun. Do you take your foot away from the pedals, or dive down below the dash? I advise strong side hip carry and practice.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

Right handed shooters are properly equipped in a car, or any other situation really, with a heavily canted holster.

Aside from enhancing concealment it also aids dramatically in a seated position.

Just food for thought....


Ankle carry I am not a fan of and cross draw the same. YMMV.

 

[Jeff White]

Ankle holsters are problematic for a number of reasons anywhere, probably more so in a vehicle- starting with the fact that you are probably using your feet to work pedals, and you will require numerous gross movements of most of your body to access the handgun. Do you take your foot away from the pedals, or dive down below the dash?

I carried on the inside of my left ankle. We never had squad cars with a stick shift so it wasn’t necessary to stop using a pedal. It was so much simpler to reach between my legs for the bug then it was to go to my strong side and maybe get tangled in the seatbelt. After we traded the Crown Vics for Chevy Impalas my service weapon was up against the aftermarket radio console the city bought.

 

[FAS1]

AIWB?

 

[Wichaka]

I use a Summer Special type holster, and have never had a problem with drawing etc.

 

[luzyfuerza]

OP, some minor tweaks you might want to consider:

1) 4:00 or 4:30 o'clock carry on a right-hander's strongside clears a seatbelt more easily than, say 3 o'clock. Also, IWB works better than OWB from this position. My IWB holster is a Milt Sparks Versa Max II, which holds the grip relatively low, close to the belt. This position is most comfortable for me in my vehicles, too.

2) The drawstroke initiates with a rotation of the upper body and hips counterclockwise, clearing room for the dominant hand to assume the firing grip. Strongside shoulder needs to be flexible enough to reach back this far.

3) Heavier open-front cover garments like a blazer can be a real problem in achieving a firing grip. If you have to cover open-front, use a light shirt and a thumbsweep motion. Even better is a t-shirt or sweatshirt lifted out of the way with the non-dominant hand.

4) You have to practice sweeping the muzzle a little to the right side on counts two and three to avoid covering your strong-side leg.


AIWB has been suggested for car carry, but I've never tried it. For those who have, does the tight lap belt interfere with achieving a good grip? Also, how do you draw from AIWB without covering parts you definitely don't want to aim a muzzle at?

 

[Chuck R.]

I've done a couple vehicular defensive classes, the most recent was with Dave Spaulding last year. This is how we drew, at the command:

1. Roll or twist your body left (counterclockwise), while simultaneously disengaging the seat-belt with your left hand. The left hand then takes the seat-belt across the body till it's completely out of the way to prevent it from getting hung up.
2. Once "rolled or twisted" clearing your weapon, establish your grip as you normally would.
3. Draw your weapon as you normally would.

The rest depends on the TGT location.

IF to your front or left side: Move the pistol towards the TGT going OVER the steering wheel either establish your support hand grip, IF the tgt is to your front. Continue over and establish your support hand grip past the steering wheel IF the tgt is to your left.

IF the TGT is to your right, you move your body against the drivers door, and establish a two handed grip.

For all of the TGT locations we practiced the removal of the seat-belt to ensure our ability to get out of the vehicle.

A couple good takeaways from the Spaulding class were the use of chairs prior to going live. We did a a lot of dry runs sitting in chairs and simulating seat-belts and steering wheels before ever entering a vehicle. Another cool trick was his use of a long stick that was held close to students to simulate a steering wheel/dashboard, which you had to clear while drawing.

Prior to the last class, and having an idea what to expect based on my previous class and watch some of Spaulding's videos, I bought a plastic lawn chair W/arm rests for my range and a couple of us spent some time practicing. One thing I did work on that helped was using a Center Axis Relock (CAR) "like" presentation for the confined spaces of the vehicle. It was probably more like shooting from a compressed high ready position, but it worked pretty well on some of the TGTs.

Currently I carry AIWB and it is much, much, easier getting the pistol into action. When getting into the vehicle I place the seatbelt behind the gun, but actually when doing the draws as I was taught it's a non-issue cause the seatbelt is removed as part of the draw-stroke. Also AIWB due to the guns position is a little easier IMHO to avoid muzzle sweeping myself as I can come straight up between myself and the steering wheel. I literally draw right into a high compressed ready, then the body twist into TGT.

 

[MedWheeler]

As a left-handed cop, I had an easier time drawing a full-size service weapon, but somewhat of a harder time presenting it, having to practically thrust it out the window. Only remember doing it once, when I rolled up on a kid I thought was carrying a collapsible fishing rod, but was carrying an AR when he turned to face me (it was an electric water gun; remember those back in the eighties?)

Now, I carry a smaller gun at 8:00, and a yet-smaller gun at 4:00 (both are Kel-tecs, though it doesn't matter.) Since both are after of lateral center, and smaller than an openly-carried service sidearm, I'd probably have an equally-difficult time presenting either.

Gonna make it a point to revisit this for practice soon.

 

[bearcreek]

Another vote for appendix.

 

[lemaymiami]

Y'all are looking at this from the wrong point of view - in my opinion. Instead of drawing a sidearm while seated in a vehicle - I always made a point of never allowing someone to approach my car without stepping out of the car to greet (or deal) with them, period. In a 22 year career on the streets down here in paradise (south Florida...) during a very bad time (1973 to 1995 - the height of the party...) we did do some wild and crazy things and we lost three officers a year - every year (counting Dade or Miami and Broward or Ft. Lauderdale as a single entity for officer deaths)...during my 22 years of service. I got tired of going to funerals pretty quickly - and of course funerals are for the living...

Seriously I can't stress enough how very bad it is to be inside a vehicle with an armed opponent outside the car... very bad stuff indeed. In all the vehicle chases I was involved in - including against armed opponents I never found or needed the ability to reach for a weapon while moving... All of that didn't happen until the patrol car was stopped. Never, repeat never, allow someone you suspect of having bad intentions to approach your car with you sitting like a nice fat pigeon behind the wheel of your car.

I'm long out of police work and have not carried a sidearm even once since then but to this day, I exit my vehicle to face anyone approaching it. At least that way I have the ability to maneuver if a problem arises...

 

[bearcreek]

Y'all are looking at this from the wrong point of view - in my opinion. Instead of drawing a sidearm while seated in a vehicle - I always made a point of never allowing someone to approach my car without stepping out of the car to greet (or deal) with them, period.

That's generally good advice I think, but it's not always possible, especially for non LEO's with no backup. There very well may be times when the best thing to do is to stay in the vehicle and use it as a weapon, or there may be times when getting out of the vehicle may be suicidal, even when or possibly because of holding a pistol. Think of a riot/violent protest type of situation.

 

[Jenrick]

Appendix is the simplest option for working in a vehicle. It works well for LH and RH shooters, and you can access your weapon even if the seatbelt is locked tight. Make sure your lap belt is setup as a lap belt and not a waist belt as most people do. That clears your holster, take any cover garment you have and make sure it is not pinched down by the seat belt.