Vehicle Carry methods?

I used to be concerned about my ability to access my weapon while in a vehicle. I always made sure my covering garment went over the seatbelt and I never had an issue. I spent a few hours sitting in my garage and practicing my draw stroke. Of greater concern was striking the steering wheel when addressing a threat on the driver's side.

Over time, I had the opportunity to get some training and to put that training into practice. I had an overseas deployment where there was considerable attention focused on how to deal with a threat when you are in a vehicle. Based on my experience, I am not sure being able to access your firearm in the vehicle is as big a deal as I once thought or everyone seems to believe it to be.

As has already been mentioned, driving out of a problem is generally your best defense when in a vehicle. Leaving yourself enough room to maneuver, adjusting your mirrors properly, locking your doors and remaining alert will provide a greater degree of safety than a special "car-carry" holster. Even the smallest cars have a surprising amount of power that can be used to remove you from a bad situation. I had the opportunity to observe an older chevette push a Ford Expedition about 40' into an intersection from a dead stop. (Both occupants were uninjured.)

If I am in my car and I need to access my weapon, it is probably because my vehicle has been disabled. Exiting said vehicle will be a priority and a pre-requisite of exiting the vehicle would be to remove the seatbelt, eliminating the issue.

Try this:

When entering your vehicle:

1. Lock doors (you have now placed a barrier between you and a potential threat but you retain the ability to access your weapon.)
2. Start vehicle and place in gear (you can now drive away from a problem; this is now your primary method to deal with a threat requiring deadly force)
3. Seatbelt on (restricitng access to your weapon) I frequently put my seatbelt on as I pause to exit the parking lot, not in the parking space.

When exiting your vehicle:

1. Seatbelt off (improving access to my weapon)
2. Vehicle in park, ignition off (weapon is now my primary method to deal with a threat requiring deadly force.)
3. Unlock doors and exit vehicle.

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Rock and Glock said:

(six plus years of competitive martial arts), but still "only" 26.

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AKsrule said:

Wearing a cold weather coat and a seatbelt sort of makes
it hard to retrieve a pistol carried in normal fashion , so I
lean towards ALSO having a second "car gun".

Who else here does this , and how/where do you stash it?
And do you sometimes use any type of secure container in your vehicle ?

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Rock and Glock said:

ExSoldier762: Good point, Sir. As a matter of background, she was ready to test for her first level black belt when a broken ankle interrupted, followed by the "demands" (academic and social:danceban: ) of college. She competed at the US Nationals for five years prior to that, under the TKD NGO. She won the national title in sparring two years running in her weight and age class.

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ExSoldier762 said:

The smart play is to NEVER get the Blackbelt! If she does and she uses it, it better be a lethal force situation, because if it's not she'll be facing the exact same charges as if she'd used a firearm. In this case, SHE becomes the weapon. Sounds like a Hollywood script, but it's the truth. I'd rather get the training to advance thru the belts, just not officially testing and getting it documented....

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