Vehicle Carrying

[razoraggie]

Out of curiosity....Does anyone here "disarm" when they enter their vehicle and place their firearm into another means of carry while in their vehicle for the sake of comfort and ease of reach?

The reason for asking is , in a way, relating to the state law of anyone (shy of criminal activity or inelligibility) to be able to carry while in their vehicles. Yes, it must be concealed, but was concealed in a vehicle ever defined? Was your personal vehicle ever defined as an extension of your personal property? I have installed a rig into my lower dash that involves a Blackhawk CQC holster flush mounted to the underwall of my intrument dash as indicated by the following pictures:




Would anyone with experience or a trusted opinion feel that I am walking a narrow line with this particular means of vehicle carry? Does anyone feel that this may be borderline "failure to conceal"?

My good friend and his father are both Troopers and feel that they would have no problem with it, but in their words..."that's me though".
Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[Mike1951]

Standing outside and looking in, can you see it?

If so, not concealed.

Either way, it's not secure.

It might do for ready access while you're in the car.

[razoraggie]

The tint of the windows is just dark enought to obscure any views of it unless you physically "window shop" with your face right on the glass. It is blocked from view on the driver's side completely and it only rides in that rig when I am travelling. Once I'm stopped, back into the IWB she goes. It is a suprisingly strong and secure rig considering the strength of Blackhawk's products and that it's secured with bolts (not screws) through the thickest part of the plastic wall.

[bdickens]

You may as well just lay the gun on your seat. No, it is not concealed in any way, shape, or form.

My $0.02

[longtooth]

I dont care for the mode of carry. Seems much more awkward to me than belt carry.

To your Q though.
I usually tell folks they worry too much about whether they are "concealed" because they fear they are "printing" too much. I am not an officer but even I do not consider that concealed even if your windows are tinted.

[legend]

I've been pulled over before and had the officer walk up to my passenger side, instead of my driver side. Would the officer see it from your passenger side?

My guess is that if a cop walked up and saw that he would probably draw, or at least be VERY nervous about it.... I've mounted a similar rig in the center console of my truck, but it is completely concealed.

[Frost]

I wouldn't risk it, even if it is reasonably concealed from outside the vehicle if you run into the wrong officer he could ruin your day really fast.

Is there enough room to mount in in a similar way between the seats?

[flb_78]

As long as it is below the glass, it's concealed to a "reasonable" person. No "reasonable" person has any business looking inside of your vehicle just like they would have no business looking inside the windows of your home to see what you have on the floor.

[yerasimos]

There is a mix of opinions here about whether the pistol is lawfully concealed as depicted in the photos in this thread's first post. However, I will go on an unsolicited tangent and suggest that it is not a good idea to carry a pistol in the car off-the-body. Why?

1. This is one additional type of draw that you will have to learn, which diverges significantly from your regular IWB draw.

2. The dynamics of a fight inside the enclosed space of a motor vehicle's passenger compartment suggest that you may find the gun out of reach after a prolonged physical struggle, because the vehicle-attached holster was dislodged from its point of attachment, or you shifted position within the passenger compartment.

3. If you ever have to hastily exit the vehicle, you are likely to leave the handgun behind.

My opinion (take it or leave it): learn to adapt your IWB draw for times when you are seated in a car or truck, using extra body movement or cover garment staging, and you should not have to worry about whether it is concealed. Furthermore, you will be more likely to find it when you need it and reach for it.

Unless you have lower back or shoulder problems, this is a practice/training issue, not a gear issue.

(Full disclosure: In the past, I used a Safepacker on my seatbelt for off-the-body carry, but no longer.)

[WarHawk-AVG]

Perhaps a bit of tan cloth draped over the back of the pistol would conceal it more