Guns and roller coasters

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Good thought, Yoda. Some amusement park rides, like roller coasters, make it very very difficult to carry safely. Unless you have some secure way to carry that would ensure your firearm could not come loose you should stay off those types of rides. They're one of those exceptional situations in which carry is unsafe.
 
The title of this thread made me feel like a kid in an amusement park... with a gun :)

Forget the Walmart walk, new right of passage - CCW on rollercoasters - when you KNOW you've reached command over your EDC :D
 
Don't most amusement parks have little lockers all over the place especially near the roller coaster specifically for things you can't take on the ride? Just lock the gun up in there. I think you'll be fine unarmed for a few minutes on the ride. People may get robbed at amusement parks and the parking lots but someone please find me a story of a someone getting robbed ON the rollercoaster. :p
 
If I was gonna carry in a roller coaster then I would pocket carry in a pocket with a zipper.

There may be some sort of retractable pistol lanyard that would help to secure a holstered gun to your belt in the event that it slipped our of the holster.
 
What were you carrying? A Ruger LCP or a Desert Eagle 50AE. I would have carried also. Wouldn't bother me a bit. There are some people that are going to complain or critic everything that is brought up. All the 'what if' stuff makes me go crazy. If a frog had wings he wouldn't ............:neener:

kenken
 
There is quite a difference in roller coaster cars, some one sits in and is pretty well enclosed well above the waist while others suspend the rider on a padded seat from above. None of them are designed with packing a gun in mind when they think passenger retention so while you are waiting in line take a good long look at how any apparatus contacts the body.
If it is a non permissive area and you feel the need to carry while still enjoying all the fun then I would pocket carry with an empty chamber and then charge it up in the bathroom on the way back to the car. Losing your gun on an amusement park ride should be reason to forfeit your carry rights IMO.
The other danger of course is a ND while you are being jostled around which would no doubt cause you some trouble even if no one was hit, say that won't happen! have you read todays headline about the off duty cop whose gun went off while a young woman was hugging him?
 
Don't most amusement parks have little lockers all over the place especially near the roller coaster specifically for things you can't take on the ride? Just lock the gun up in there.
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I'd think it would be somewhat difficult to discreetly pull this off. Drawing your gun from the holster at a crowded amusment park could result in a different ride than you were expecting. At lot of NDs in public places are caused by someone fiddling with their gun instead of leaving it in the holster. At the same time, lockers at places like that aren't terribly secure.
 
guns and roller coasters are, IMO, worse than guns and alcohol. Security at the big FL theme parks is a lot greater than you think - leave your gun in the car or hotel safe
 
guns and roller coasters are, IMO, worse than guns and alcohol. Security at the big FL theme parks is a lot greater than you think - leave your gun in the car or hotel safe
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I think a few others pointed out that the security only works so well, especially between the park and your car.

In my rig, I wouldn't carry on a roller coaster. I prefer kydex to leather, and while I trust my kydex rig to handle my day-to-day stuff, I don't trust it to hold the gun while I'm doing loops and corkscrews. If I were to start going to amusement parks, I probably would pick up a good retention rig, but as it is I'm fine not going on roller coasters.
 
...and of course there was a sign at the entrance to the park emphasizing that no weapons were allowed, but I conceal carried into the park anyway.
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If we don't respect the private property of others how can we expect them to respect our property rights? Their park, their rules.
 
If we don't respect the private property of others how can we expect them to respect our property rights? Their park, their rules.
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Well, good heavens how we've beaten that debate to death! But...follow the law.
 
BullfrogKen
Nickel Plated, I'm not sure how you'd get it in and out of there unnoticed.
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Go to the restroom, unpack in stall, drop in bag, drop bag in locker. Reverse on the way out.

I'm thinking something horrific will happen in the parking lots one day and the happiest place on earth will have a huge lawsuit on their hands.
 
I hate rollercoasters so that will never be a problem for me. But as Sam and some others mentioned. If you are using good equiptment, that gun should not be going any place. My iwb stuff is all Mitch Rosen, Galco, De Santis, all with strap thumb breaks. Thos are the safest way IMO to carry, or the same type in an IWB holster. My new CCW Breakaway pants solved a lot of problems with carry. I keep mentioning them because they are so great I want you guys to try a pair. The price is less than a decent holster, and you have two holsters built in, plus two secure pockets in the cargo models, and two rear pockets. The front are lined with a rubber material with velcro to adjust the depth and clearence of the weapon. And when you want it out, you twist your hand and two snaps allow the side of the pant leg, to break away thus allowing the gun to come straight out. It sit's way down as far as you desire to set the velcro. You can have it down to your knee.I had a glock 30 and a steel emp 40 in the front pockets, Just to see if they printed. My wife said I see nothing. So there you go, Just get a good belt to hold up 4 lbs of guns Lol
 
I think you are overestimating the amount of G forces or whatever that you are subjected to on a roller coaster. They are made so that 99.9% of the population can ride them safely, in "one size fits all" retention vehicles, that must work absolutely 100% of the time. They are not that violent.

If I didn't think my holster would allow for something like a roller coaster without the gun falling out I would get another holster.

I set the retention on mine so that I can turn it upside down and shake, and the gun doesn't come out. A roller coaster would have zero chance whatsoever of even coming anywhere close to knocking it out.

If I was worried I either wouldn't ride the coaster, or more likely, wouldn't carry in the park.
 
guns and roller coasters are, IMO, worse than guns and alcohol.
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I'm not convinced anything is worse than guns and alcohol... unless it's roller coasters and alcohol...

I wouldn't be worried about the retention factor. If your holster HAS a good 'positive retention' device (not friction-fit only), I'm quite confident it will tolerate more Gs without damage than your cardiovascular system can handle. What MIGHT cause it to break loose is a sudden shock (acceleration/ deceleration hard enough to break something- like a car accident). Obviously, roller coasters are SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED to avoid that sort of thing... they're supposed to be 'scary', not dangerous. In short, IF your holster has a solid retention lock or strap, I think you'll break/ pass out before your holster breaks or your gun drops out.
Opinions on CC in areas where the business doesn't want you to but can't prosecute you for it... that's an argument outside the scope of the OP's question, IMO.

edited to ask: gym, ccw BREAKAWAY PANTS? ... never heard of ... trying not to imagine ... giggling madly to myself ...
 
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What MIGHT cause it to break loose is a sudden shock (acceleration/ deceleration hard enough to break something- like a car accident).
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I did some testing of that one too. Passed with flying colors! My wife was REALLY upset about her Expedition, though.

A pal of mine did the test involving laying down his Kawasaki. Broke some ribs and got pretty thrashed, but his gun stayed put, too.
 
Yes, and as you surmise, their holster and method of attachment is designed for g's, and to stay intact even during the violent experience of ejection.
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All holsters are designed for g's. Maybe not so explicitly, but a retention holster positively attached to your belt won't go anywhere. Even a regular IWB setup can withstand a lot of g's. One poster mentioned turning upside down and making sure their gun doesn't fall out. That's 1g. Shake it up and down....multiple g's. Run around the block. Several g's right there every time you pound pavement, I have read your knees absorb 4 to 8 times your body weight in impact force. At least some of that has to translate to the weapon on your hip. I would reckon that running would jostle a gun as much as a roller coaster. We just don't notice it as much because our bodies are built to run and withstand those abrupt impact forces, whereas the continuous positive, negative and lateral g's of a rollercoaster are more foreign to us (and thus more thrilling). In any case, it's the negative g's to worry about (assuming the gun is oriented such that to pull it out is to pull it up) and although it may feel like a roller coaster pulls a lot of negative g's, -1 at the most, but in reality most roller coasters probably only achieve the effect of weightlessness (0 g) which by definition will not have a pulling force on your gun.

I am not saying I would do it, chances are I wouldn't carry into the park at all (people tend to get wet in amusement parks). But saying it is as irresponsible as guns and alcohol or some such stuff seems a little harsh. It all comes down to the ride, the way you are strapped into that ride, and your holster/method of attachment. If I pocket carry my LCP (under 1 lbs) in front pocket of some jean shorts, that thing ain't coming out, especially on a roller coaster where the safety bar pins against my thighs right below the waist (and you know they come around and push it one notch tighter too!)

Also, one comment mentioned carrying without one in the chamber. Any drop-safe gun should be safe on a roller coaster. Jostling and g's aren't nearly as dangerous as a drop onto a hard surface from a few feet.
 
There are many types of roller coasters and as many ways to keep you stuck in them. While I doubt there is enough G force involved to shake a gun from a good holster I can't say the same for the hardware that holds us into or onto the seat. Various bars, pads, or straps could possibly hook the grip or a clip on the holster and due to the configuration of the safety equipment you may not even be able to reach it to re adjust or catch it. The seats were designed without input from gun carriers so they may not be very accommodating. As to pocket carry with an empty chamber while in the park, I just think it would be a good precaution since you have know idea what kind of pressures will be applied to the pistol until you are right there having a bar shoved down over your lap. To me it is a chance I would take if I felt I needed to ride every coaster in the park and still be armed.
 
X-Rap, that post reminded me of this story from Larry Correia's blog, regarding a very poorly designed seat at an amusement park ride:
http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2010/06/17/lagoon-its-what-fun-is-until-it-kicks-you-in-the-groin/

I don't think the holster would rip the gun from you. Don't they try and keep you from moving around much while you're on them? Not a big amusement park fan so I wouldn't know much for sure, but I'd think the safety bar would be more likely to pin the gun to you than take it off.
 
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