Best way to store your handgun in your car for self defense?

[Tobatola]

I would tell anyone that asked me that the best way to store a handgun in your car would be in a holster on your person. That said, my wife is habitually "forgetting" to wear hers for various reasons, and I want her to have self defense options. I'm looking for suggestions on how I can help make a handgun available for her but not rely on her carrying it on her person in a holster. To complicate matters, she drives a minivan that often has kids in it so any solution would need to be secure. I'm not a big fan of the glovebox for obvious reasons, although it may come to that.

Any suggestions or advice?

P.S. I'm posting this here instead of the women and guns forum because properly storing a gun in your auto applies to men and women equally.. Edited May 5, 2015 by Tobatola

[DixieDawg]

I made a rig to put my wife's in a holster mounted just below the steering wheel it keeps the pistol easily accessible

-Psalms 91:4-

[Jeb48]

I put one of these console vaults http://www.autosafes.net/ in my pickup. There is room for a gun on top of the safe under the console cover and you put it in the safe if you need to leave it in the car. Not an ideal location for access while in the car, I'm still thinking that out and may mount a holster on the side of the seat.

[teecro]

If your wife will not quit "forgetting" to carry on her person then there truly is no safe "accessible" location in a car that could have kids roaming around in it. Sure you can put some sort of vault in the van but that only serves as a storage location and will do you/her no good in a time of need....

[Dolomite_supafly]

You really need to talk to her about it. Try to impress upon her that she is the only person that can protect the kids from an attacker while away from you. I hate to fear monger anyone but it is better to fear monger than to let them become a victim.

Also, make sure her holster is comfortable. Most people who only carry occasionally do so because it is uncomfortable. If all she has is a plastic holster that is probably why.

One thing that might get her carry more often is to have a custom holster made for her. Perhaps in her favorite color or with her favorite design or even some bling. Nothing wrong with a blinged out holster that she would show off to her girlfriends. Then when you figure out what she would like give it to her on a special occasion. Just like a nice necklace or ring she will wear it if there is a sentimental connection. Women do not like black or plain things, they want things that make them feel prettier and if a holster does that she will wear it all the time. And if she gets it from you, as opposed to buying it in a store, she will have no choice but to carry it to prove to her girlfriends what a great guy you are.

[Tobatola]

Thank you for all the suggestions. After 22 years together I realize how realistic (or unrealistic) it is for me to change her behavior. Maybe I asked the wrong question.. :)

[Grayfox54]

A few years back we had a couple of cops hanging around the shop while their vehicles were being serviced. We got to talking guns and such, Somehow the subject of guns in cars came up. They both told me that the vast majority of stolen gun reports they get were where a firearm was stolen out of a vehicle. I never leave a gun in a vehicle. I strongly suggest that you don't either. 

[300winmag]

I would avoid leaving a gun in a car where others, especially kids, can get it.  Most armed robberies take place when people are walking from a building to their car in a parking lot.  A gun doesn't do much good left in a car.

[10-Ring]

My wife is the poster girl of bad carrying practice.  Most of the time I can find her pistol under her drivers seat, sometimes it's in a holster.  Often times it is unloaded and sometimes it contains a partial magazine.  I'm still trying to figure out how this happens.  I bought her a nice holster but to my knowledge she has never used it other than to protect her gun from the crumbs and lint that accumulate under the seat of her car.  The gun has never been cleaned because she lost the key required to break it down long ago.  Honestly I can not imagine a single scenario where the gun would ever be useful to her, especially since she never knows if it's loaded, chambered, etc.  I lecture until she tells me to shut my mouth, I just hope that she wakes up before something happens where she actually needs it. 

 

For me I usually just stick it either in the door pocket, sometimes I stick it in between the seat and the console, sometimes laying in the storage compartment in front of the console and last but not least if nothing else there is always a gun in my console.  These may not be the best practices and your results may vary but it's worked okay for me.  Seriously the key is accessibility without scaring any LEOs that may pull you over.