It was Halloween of 2018 when I responded to my first multiple homicide. The shooter, who is now serving life in prison, murdered two and shot two more. After fleeing, he went on to murder one of his accomplices. Criminals, such as this previously convicted felon, don’t legally acquire firearms. As the investigation proceeded, it was determined he acquired the firearm by stealing it from an unlocked vehicle.
Many within the firearms community have said it before and it needs to be said again — your car is not a holster. It’s also not a safe — and was never designed to be. Normally, there is no criminal culpability for the gun owner who leaves their firearm in their vehicle. However, there is something unsettling about knowing your firearm was accessed so easily and later used to harm others. Personally, this is not a position I want to be in.
When transporting firearms in a vehicle, there are some considerations gun owners have to keep in mind. As always, the legal aspects of “No Gun Zones” may place you into a predicament of keeping your firearm inside your vehicle, if you so choose. I provide no guidance legally except to give sound advice born from experience on how to minimize, or prevent, your firearm from being taken by society’s miscreants.
Advertising
There was a time I was a young man and showered the back of my vehicle with stickers promoting my various interests in firearms, outdoors, and other causes. After some wise advice from a firearms instructor (thank you Massad Ayoob), I quickly peeled those stickers off my car and haven’t put one on since. Why not put bumper stickers on your car? The answer is simple: it’s an obvious advertisement to thieves of what is potentially inside.
The counter-argument is that it’s a deterrent. It may be a deterrent to some, but it has no deterrent effect when the vehicle is unoccupied. If the vehicle is occupied, the more brazen criminals of society see it as a warning on how best to approach your vehicle if they desire it or the contents within. Simply put, stickers advertising your interests should be applied with the caution a sober and sane individual gives to getting a tattoo. Think about it, think about it some more, and think about it again. Bumper stickers serve as advertisements as to what prizes may lie inside for those looking for a quick grab.
The contents of a vehicle are just as critical to consider as the stickers outside of the vehicle. A bag left in plain view, no matter how invaluable to you, can seem valuable to a criminal. I make a concerted habit to leave nothing in view in any of my personal vehicles when they are parked and unattended. Give no criminal the opportunity to see a quick smash-and-grab opportunity and the odds drift more in your favor over the car with a backpack, wallet, or ammo box left in plain view. This is the next step in adopting the classic “gray man” argument into daily life. Be the person no one pays attention to. Take the same level of care in your vehicle’s appearance and contents.
Storage in the Car
For those who carry daily, a firearm on your hip becomes as common an accessory as a phone, wallet, or keys. Once seated in a vehicle, especially for prolonged periods, discomfort over a firearm digging into your hip, crotch, or otherwise becomes significantly more prevalent. This is perfectly understandable. Many of us stow our firearms in a position where it’s easily accessible. For long drives, I will occasionally stow my firearm in a modified PacMat holster from CrossBreed on my center console. Nevertheless, this holster is an advertisement for the contents of the vehicle and is removed and stowed upon arrival at my destination. The Velcro backer could signal to a thief there are things of value, but is unnoticeable from an exterior view.
Glove compartments, center consoles, etc make for easy storage locations within the vehicle for a firearm. However, locks are broken with a small pry bar with minimal effort. A glove box, center console, etc. are not recommended storage locations for a firearm. If a firearm must be stored inside of a vehicle, an enclosed and secure trunk is arguably the best location absent some kind of secure storage device. However, an SUV doesn’t offer protection since most trunks are open. Cars aren’t much better as rear seats fold down and allow for easy access to the trunk in most instances. Unfortunately, firearms storage in a vehicle is not as secure as taking it with you when the options are only the vehicle’s features. As a result, many seek to store their firearms in other ways when they must be left unattended in a vehicle.
Lockboxes and Pistol Safes
If money weren’t an option, a safe bolted to the vehicle in an inconspicuous location is the best option for secure firearm storage. I have a small pistol safe that is used for airline flights. The safe includes a wrapped steel cable to secure it to a fixed object. Besides how easily the lock can be defeated, the cable can be cut using a $20 pair of bolt cutters from Harbor Freight. Criminals are dumb, but they do come prepared. Most criminals I’ve encountered that conduct thefts from vehicles carry an impressive toolkit in their backpack to quickly gain access to a vehicle and, even more quickly, obtain items inside. The cable and lock box do little, or nothing, to prevent them from meeting their goal. They only extend the period of time they have to dedicate to committing the theft.
What do I do then?
One answer is to invest in quality, durable, and stout safes for securing your firearm. This is not a cheap venture. However, the cost can be offset by where the firearm is stored. Don’t place it under your seat, in a glove box, or another likely area that a criminal would look. Store the firearm in an area where someone is least likely to find or access it. This is the worst-case scenario if you must store a firearm in a vehicle. However, it is not recommended due to the risk at hand.
“Gray man” is the name of the game. Ideally, never store a firearm in a location where a passing person has 30 seconds unhindered to tamper with a vehicle. The firearm should go with you. If not, make your car uninteresting. Limit the bumper stickers. Don’t keep items in view in the car that could potentially contain anything of value. The goal is to not be a victim or make yourself open to being one. For those who concealed carry, that’s a primary reason why many choose to keep a firearm on their person. Make yourself hard to be a victim, much less a target, and always remember, your car was never designed to be a holster or a safe. Firearms shouldn’t be stored inside as if it were.
