Specific reasons some people keep handguns in cars?

[Ignition Override]

Are they specific, such as a possible carjacking, or even a race riot, no matter how remote the possibility?
These have been the only two reasons for me. Quite frankly, a new reason came to mind watching the news today: more and more news point to the spread of people motivated to kill for ISIS/Daesh etc. Their only contacts appear to come from a computer.

Are there other specific motivations, or just as general protection?

I'm having trouble remembering having read any list of other reasons, hence what easily can be seen as a dumb question.

 

[rskent]

On the way home from work one day. Setting at a traffic light. Cars in front,
both sides, and in back. No way to drive away. A guy is outside screaming at
me about how he is going to kill me. OK he's kicking in the door of my truck.

I think it was at that moment that I decided I wanted a gun in my truck.

 

[guyfromohio]

Ask Reginald Denny. I bet he would have liked to have had one.

 

[MedWheeler]

The reasons stated pretty much sum it up.

A far more remote possibilty, but still a possibility, is to re-arm after a defensive shooting encounter in which one's firearm has been seized. Even LE agencies typically re-arm their officers after a shooting incident; some will have a gun brought to the scene so the officer doesn't have to leave it with an empty holster.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Yes.

I keep a handgun in my car when I cannot otherwise keep it on my person, where it belongs, or when I'm headed to the range somewhere with a load to go shooting.

Other than these instances...no, I do not keep a handgun in my car.

 

[Al Thompson]

Years ago I had a dedicated car gun, but working at a LGS soon convinced me that was a bad idea. We had a large number of folks come in to find out their guns serial number as someone had stolen the gun out of their cars.

 

[Davek1977]

It puts me at ease, what other reason do I need? I don't leave it there 24/7, nor do I have a "dedicated car gun" but having a firearm in my general vicinity rarely seems like a bad idea

 

[FLNT4EVR]

I never leave a gun in my car, never. Car break ins are increasing every day. Every neighborhood is seeing it more and more, and the police just can't be everywhere at once.

 

[Walkalong]

what easily can be seen as a dumb question.

You did pick a couple of pretty far out possibilities. People have guns in cars for protection from thieves/muggers/etc, etc. To say they do it for the chance to kill for ISIS is a bit out there.

Whether they should leave a weapon in a car unattended at times is a healthy debate worth having, but to say they can only be doing it for those far out reasons is a bit much.

 

[jmr40]

In 1992 a good friend of mine returned home in the middle of the day to find a strange car parked in his driveway. He parked at the end of his long driveway, in a very rural part of the county, and called 911 on his cell. While waiting for the police the thief circled through the woods and surprised Jerry waiting in his truck and killed him with his own gun taken from the house.

He moved Jerry's truck so he could get away. Police arrived in time to get a description of the car and he was arrested later that day about 20 miles away. Currently serving life with no parole.

There is a firearm in my vehicle at all times. I can't always have it on my person, but I don't arrive home unarmed.

 

[ACP]

The only time I've ever unholstered my firearm and left it unloaded, with a trigger guard lock on it, locked in a glove box in a locked car, was going into court.

Otherwise it stays on me.

Gun in a car? Yeah, I've got one. WHEN I'M IN THE CAR.

 

[iblong]

I prefer mine on my person under mine and only my control,years ago I kept a long gun in my truck but not anymore.
I do keep a cable locked gun safe in my truck in the advent I have to enter
a federal bld or something.

 

[45_auto]

the thief circled through the woods and surprised Jerry waiting in his truck and killed him with his own gun taken from the house.

Is anyone but me still trying to figure out how having a gun in his truck would have done Jerry any good at all?

Seems to me that being aware of his surroundings would have been MUCH more helpful.

 

[chicharrones]

Is anyone but me still trying to figure out how having a gun in his truck would have done Jerry any good at all?

Seems to me that being aware of his surroundings would have been MUCH more helpful.

I think you hit on part two of what jmr40 may be meaning. Part one was that jmr40 wants to be prepared with a firearm if needed. Part two, is of course, don't be comfy because you are sitting in a locked car.

Or maybe part two should be part one.

 

[JTQ]

Specific reasons some people keep handguns in cars?

Because criminals often have a hard time passing background checks and it's much easier for them to get guns out of my car than from the local gun store.

Al Thompson wrote,
Years ago I had a dedicated car gun, but working at a LGS soon convinced me that was a bad idea. We had a large number of folks come in to find out their guns serial number as someone had stolen the gun out of their cars.

Apparently this has become such a problem in my area, the local sheriff has taken to the airwaves to do public service announcements reminding people not to leave guns in there cars. He does caveat the statement that if you absolutely must leave a gun in your car, make sure you have it locked up in a secured vault, hidden, and keep your doors locked.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I do not keep a gun in my vehicle. A fist sized rock will get you inside a locked car and a criminal could have your gun and be gone in minutes.

I carry my gun on my person.

 

[Nom de Forum]

I have full size Glocks in the gunsafes in my vehicles . They are anchored to the vehicle and have Simplex locks. These safes cannot be seen through the windows. There is little possibility that I will need to unlock these safes to get a pistol but as we all know, when you need a gun nothing else is a good substitute. I primarily use the extra space in these safes to store my small CCW pistol when I cannot lawfully carry it into a building. I am not concerned about smash and grab burglars because it is improbable they will have the time and tools to remove the safes. My vehicles are garaged at home, are rarely stolen models, and I don't park them in high crime areas so I am not too concerned about GTA.

 

[improperlyaged]

when you need a gun nothing else is a good substitute.

Probably one of the best things I have seen on this forum and an idea I live by. I have tried to tell my dad this again and again as he believes guns should be kept locked up and ammunition locked separately. I have tried to tell him when you need a gun, you have never needed anything more than that gun.

 

[kayak-man]

I like having a gun in the car because I usually carry AIWB, and I like to have something that I can get to faster and without taking off my seatbelt. It's also nice to have for those times when I'm going somewhere that I can't carry, but I know I have something for the drive there and back.

 

[GBExpat]

Specific reasons some people keep handguns in cars?

For years when I was carrying a 9x17 I had a 9x19 handgun (same model+xtra mag) in each of my garage-kept cars' gloveboxes.

After I gave my last car to my niece for college (I still have a 2008 pickup), I stopped the practice. The only handgun in my pickup is my carry piece. I still keep an extra mag in the glovebox along with the pepper spray, though.

 

[Walkalong]

They make all kinds of gun safes for vehicles, some are pretty sturdy. I would strongly suggest using one if you feel the need to keep a gun in the vehicle sometimes.

No, it doesn't guarantee it can't be stolen.

 

[BSA1]

My company is on the edge of gang truf and next door to a major medical center where the majority of bangers are taken after they get shot. I don't get off work until late at night and I have to drive about a mile through gang truf. My employer will not allow carry inside the building. The parking lot is ok though.

 

[herrwalther]

I never leave a gun in my car all the time. Car break ins are increasing in my area, even way out in the sticks where I live. The only time a firearm is in the car is when I go into a courthouse or some other forbidden area THAT IS ENFORCED. And I am not even sure I will be doing that practice much longer. My wife's cousin was robbed at gunpoint in the DMV parking lot yesterday.

 

[mgmorden]

I don't so much have a "dedicated car gun" so much as I generally keep my carry gun in the car.

Reason being: I can't carry at work. If I choose to go somewhere after work I don't have the option to be armed without either a) going home first, or b) keeping the gun in the car. I choose B.

The reality is that car breakins are relatively rare around here - and less so if your car doesn't look like it has "valuables" in it. I drive a 9 year old Hyundai that's definitely seen better days. As long as I don't leave something obviously in the open the chance is pretty remote that it'll be targeted.

 

[AlexanderA]

A dedicated "car gun" is bad idea. If the vehicle gets stolen (or even simply broken into), you have just armed a thief. A vehicle is a place to park a gun temporarily, when you can't have it on your person.