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 Vehicle Gun Vault 
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 Post subject: Vehicle Gun Vault
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 4:04 pm 
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Location: Brooklyn Park
I recently got my P2C and after weighing the pro's and con's, I've decided that I'll carry, but I have one more issue to resolve. Storage in my vehicle.

Work won't allow me to carry either in my office or at client sites (even if client says it's okay), so I'll be storing it daily.

I've seen the portable lock boxes, but since I have electric seats, there's simply no room to stash the one of those. After some additional searching, I found this:
Image
It's 12-gauge cold rolled plate steel and is lockable. It slips right into the console and uses the factory bolts to secure it. Entire line can be seen at https://www.consolevault.com/

Has anyone had any experience with these? They're expensive, :shock: but it would hold much more than a gun when needed (i.e. took the vehicle for service and somehow my GPS went missing between the time I dropped it off and when I picked it up). It's also nice that it's a custom fit to my vehicle (which as a HUGE console...I can fit a normal sized laptop in there with tons of space left). The one downside is that I have a 12-volt port in there that would get covered up. :x Okay, maybe I can find someone with the proper tools to drill a 1-inch hole that'll fix that problem for me. One upside is that it looks like I'll be able to store a GPS, phone, laptop, and about 15-17 different guns at the same time. :D

They come in both a keyed version with a barrel lock and a 3-number combination lock. I'm guessing that the combination lock isn't as secure, but I think that it would be more convenient. Any thoughts on keyed vs. combination?

BTW, I'm pretty new to this site, but I did a search to see if anyone has asked a similar question, and found none. Please go easy on me if it's been asked before.

-BB

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 Post subject: Re: Vehicle Gun Vault
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:37 pm 
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I approach vehicle lock boxes primarily as a safety device to prevent firearms from falling into the hands of children, the uninformed, and opportunistic thieves. In this light, I've come to the conclusion that the locking glove compartment is sufficiently effective and due to their low (zero) profile more of a net deterrent against theft than the larger "vault" boxes. These nearly scream "I have something valuable inside" so unless they are of high quality and you go to considerable lengths to attach them to the vehicle I see them as a negative.

A 12 gauge box can be opened or removed in under a minute with a pry-bar in most cases. You pretty much have to get to 1/4" steel before you can slow down someone who has a plan.

You can get similar security boxes from Gander Mountain for around $40 but they are not contoured to fit the car. I have one. It's OK for what it is and I use it if for whatever reason I have to borrow a car without a locking glove compartment.


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 Post subject: Re: Vehicle Gun Vault
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:32 am 
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Location: Whittier
I use one of these : Image and really liked it as a TSA viable way to get my gun into checked baggage recently. Keep in mind what a car safe is for, you will not stop a detirmined thief (if they want it bad enough, they will just steal your car and take it apart at their liesure, take what they want and leave the hull for the police to return to you). These from Cabelas, the large is – 9-1/2" x 6-1/2" x 1-3/4" and costs $35. At less than 2" it is hard to imagine a seat it wouldn't fit under and you can retrieve it via the cable so you don't even have to fish around under there with your hands. I guess being able to fit laptop and whatnot electronics isn't that attractive to me, as I'd be reluctant to leave my laptop in a hot car or a freezing car when that time rolls around again . . . I'd rather take my electronics in with me in a reasonable tote. Of course that reasonable tote could also probably swallow that case I have from Cabelas & your gun could go into work with you (assuming you don't work behind the steril line at the airport or within a courthouse, but then the little metal box could be left in the car). IANAL and all that, but the smaller more portable box seems to fit a broader range of use at a friendlier price point.

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 Post subject: Re: Vehicle Gun Vault
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 9:38 am 
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Location: Brooklyn Park
Macx,

Yep, I have one of those. I used to use it to store a gun in the house (.22 target pistol...which no longer fits in it after adding a red dot sight). Even if I did get a larger one for my carry weapon, there simply is NO room under a seat for it. If you get a chance, look under the seat of a 2007 or later Tahoe and you'll see my dilema. There is in fact a plastic shroud covering all the electronics (seat motor, ass warmer, lumbar motor,etc) under the seat that comes right to the edges of the seat. Back seat is a different matter. I fold the seats down a lot which eliminates all of the space under there.

BTW, I don't keep a laptop in the console. I could, but I don't. I learned the lesson of keeping a laptop in a vehicle in extreme weather long ago. :oops:

I do realize that a safe will not stop a determined theif. It will only slow him/her down. That would be true of ANY gun safe in a vehicle, not just the one I mentioned. But from what I've seen, most car thefts tend to be of the "smash-and-grab" type. Anything that slows them down tends to get ignored and they go for the low hanging fruit and then move on to the next victim.

As a side-note, I have a buddy who had a locked safe in his car similar to the one you have. He was at work and came out to a broken window, missing change, and only the cable end of his car safe. I don't know how they cut it, but they did. Luckily he carried at work and the safe was empty at the time. Were they to do the same thing with the one I'm considering, they'd be running down the street with my console. That may look a bit suspect. :)

And yes, I could pick up the one you mentioned and put it in my brief bag and bring it into work (which would probably be best), but there are other times when I'd like to stow the gun when I'm not carrying my brief bag around.

I know, it's all about compromise. I'm still deciding what that compromise is going to be. The console vault looks like the winner at this point, but still looking for people that have some expreience with it.

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 Post subject: Re: Vehicle Gun Vault
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:36 am 
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Ah, a Tahoe. Yeah, plenty of room in the console. . . & it sounds liek you've got the other bases covered. Cool. Go for it and let us know how it turns out, whether best since sliced bread or otherwise. Afterall, a knowledge base is only good when it is expanding.

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lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become
a law unto himself; it invites anarchy .” Olmstead v. U.S., 277 U.S. 438


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 Post subject: Re: Vehicle Gun Vault
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:46 am 
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My 1/20th of a dollar:

#1 - Secure the safe to the frame of the vehicle from the inside of the safe, using whatever mounting holes are provided, and in such a way that your method of mounting the safe is inaccessible from the out side. Reinforce the mounting bolts with washers or an additional plate of steel that fits the bottom of the safe. Make sure it's solid. If it's possible, keep the safe out of sight in an area that a thief won't see with a passing glance but in a place that's easily accessible from the drivers seat.

#2 - Don't rely on electronic combination safes. They will fail. Usually at the worst possible time, in the worst possible place. Sometimes it might just be a dead battery, sometimes it might be the heat or the extreme Minnesota winters frosting the circuitry, oftentimes electronics just go bad. My electronic combination unit got slow-roasted due to its proximity to my radio gear; fortunately, I found this out before I desparately needed to defend myself. It's now a key-only unit.

#3 - Replace the keyed lock. Consider whatever security the company puts in a "shipping lock"; the most basic lock installed to keep the door from flopping around in transit. Alternatively, consider it an "honest mans lock"; a lock that will keep honest men honest, but will do little to slow down a determined thief. As an example, with no training and no previous experience, I was able to defeat a barrel-key (or tubular) lock in less than 5 seconds on my first attempt while tired and slightly buzzed. (The best locks to replace yours with would be Medeco locks. They're among the industries best, and if properly maintained, pick-proof.)

#4 - Store a key for the gun vault at a trusted family members house other than your own. Nothing sucks more that inadvertantly locking your gun-vault with the vault keys, car keys and house keys inside and finding out the battery just crapped out. Bad news.

#5 - Vehicle alarm systems are cheap these days. Get one. It doesn't need to be fancy-just something that will honk a horn and flash headlights. Consider it the "skin of the onion". Also, if you're going to get a vehicle alarm system, swap the window decals with someone who has a different brand of system. This will keep "professional" thieves guessing as to methods of circumventing your system.

#6 - The last thing I can come up with right now is *DON'T ADVERTISE*! Don't let it be know that you have a firearm in your vehicle-not to coworkers, not to bosses, not to gas station attendants, not to pan-handlers or mormons... The firearm you lock in your safe is a family secret to be told only to anyone who has reached the level of responsibility where you'd throw them the keys and say "make sure you fill the tank when you're done". *The only exception to this would be if a cop pulls you over and asks specifically if you have a weapon/firearm in the vehicle.

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 Post subject: Re: Vehicle Gun Vault
PostPosted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:05 pm 
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I have a console vault in my Dodge Ram. It is the keyed model, and uses an unsual lock type. I don't know what it's called, but it isn't your average tumbler lock.

They hold a lot more than you think.

I had one of the cabled clamshell "safes" before buying the console vault. The cable can be cut with sheet metal snips (or a bicycle brake cable cutter), and the box itself can be opened with a claw hammer. I did both to mine. I would avoid them.


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