Persons at high risk for unacceptable behavior may steal it from your vehicle. There were 423 stolen jfrom vehicles ust in Albuquerque last year; police say it's not slowing down this year. Gun-related stickers on vehicles there seem inadvisable.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
Hundreds of guns were stolen from inside vehicles last year in Albuquerque.

The exact number, 423, was surprising to some residents who spoke with Action 7 News this past weekend, but police officers said they’re not surprised. They say no matter the number, even one unattended gun in a car can have serious consequences -- especially if a convicted criminal who isn’t supposed to have a firearm gets their hands on it. 423 guns taken from Albuquerque cars last year

I do not leave guns in a car unattended.

Seems like it should be common sense not to leave any firearm in a vehicle but some folks are lacking in that area.

Just one more case of stupid gun owners .

It’s never a good idea to “hide” a gun in your car.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Sometimes you have to make a choice, leave your EDC firearm at home or lock it in your vehicle when you are going into a building where firearms are prohibited. It's a tough choice, but I have had to put my EDC in the glove box, lock the box, and make sure my vehicle is locked and parked in a highly visible spot. But, there have been cases in Virginia where firearms were left where they could be seen and were subsequently stolen.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I have a small safe that I use in my vehicle. I do not store the guns in there except when I go somewhere where a concealed weapon is prohibited. It is bolted to the floor under a back seat in my pickup.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

My only option would be to unload it and put it in a case then take it with me into the libraries and the gym* I habitually visit. I've been told it's legal to transport in those areas, just not carry in them.

*Don't tell me to get a different gym. I like mine.

I was looking at a Ford Ranger pickup and it could be ordered with a locking floor or console "safe". Pretty cool. Truck was way too much money for a small truck however. Maybe if I hit the lotto.

Our local news had a similar news story.
I cringe every time I read a thread where someone mentions 'Their Truck Gun' without saying if it's locked up.

I have a gun safe in my truck, but as others have already mentioned, it's only used in the rare instances when I need to go into someplace I can not CC.

While test driving a GMC Sierra once I lifted up armrest and asked salesman of seat lifted up for more storage. He says yes the handgun storage also locks with a key. I guess he knew why I was asking lol.

We discussed this several years ago.

There were those that professed that they were not responsible for the actions of thieves. They would continue to leave their guns inside their vehicles unsecured.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

I have a few different car safes. I rarely need them but on occasion they are better than a glovebox. They have a heavy cable and are hidden enough to be somewhat hard to find unless you have time and almost lay down in the car. I know that Safes can be compromised but, it’s going to take time and you will need some type of tools. I also try to pick parking areas that are well lit, populated and not a bunch of hiding places.

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Two Handguns every day

Console Vault in my vehicle. will protect against a break in and grab, but someone with time and tools could defeat it. my vehicle is in a locked garage when not in use. many years ago i lost 4 guns from a vehicle robbery. my carelessness.

I have the cable retained lock boxes in the vehicles that get used from time to time. When I need to go into a particular place that prohibits carry the gun goes in the box and car is always locked. I will take that risk rather than go the rest of my outing unarmed.

I tend to follow the same process, “lock it up if I can’t carry it.” That said, I purposely use a cable locked safe in an out of the way spot in the car/truck. I do not lock it in a console or glove box, because that will be the first place to look. It’s NOT handy, or good for quick access - but it won’t be stored there when it needs to be accessible.

I’ve had 7-8 cars broken into over the years.A thief can break in,search and be gone in under a minute. Breaking a window is easy

You Sir, need to move!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

You do know they make lock boxes specifically designed to secure a hand gun in a car right?

I remember that discussion

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Retired Career Security Guard

Please read Post#6 and on.....😁

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

My bad. I read the post before but I didn't notice you wrote it.

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Retired Career Security Guard

Not a problem. I do it to by not reading all the post. Some tend to ramble on.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

The only time I leave a gun in a vehicle is if the law doesn't allow me to carry into the location. At that point it's the law makers fault.
I use a small lock box with a cable around a seat post but that's all I'm doing.

Until these law makers realize it's their fault guns get stolen nothing will change.

Before anyone starts, I work for myself and signs mean nothing in this state, so it actually is the lawmakers fault a gun is in my vehicle and not on my body.

What cable and lockbox do you use?

What sign?

I secured my very first S&W with a heavy duty motorcycle cable lock under the seat of my Dodge Diplomat. They stole whole car.....I bet that gun is still chained under the seat (the cable went down and looped around the car frame (I cut the holes myself).

I am not responsible for the actions of criminals, but if I catch them....I will intercede.

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On the Oak Savannah

I just went out to the truck to look, the key says "Maverick" and there are no markings on the box itself.

I bought a few of them about 20 years ago. I use one for my J-Frame BUG and another for my M&P 9, they are keyed alike.

It's enough to keep honest people honest and my conscience clear in the case of a break in.

Have you ever noticed the NO GUNS placard on the doors of a US Post Office? So what do you do when you have to go inside to send a package or deal with a notification left in your mailbox?

What would YOU do?

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Formerly Model520Fan

My postmistress is a nice lady; she has never once asked me to empty my pockets.

As to the topic at hand, I try to not get too wound-around-the-axle regarding what other people do. Everybody has to make their own choices based on their own unique situation.

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Mark Lathem

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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Ain't This Fun Though?

If you can't get away with having it on you, the least you can do is not just put it in the center console or glovebox. That's the first place thieves target. A lockbox can be useful, but again, being discreet about disarming and putting it away would be another thing.

If the places you frequent don't have metal detectors and actual security checking you, makes your choices... I prefer don't ask, don't tell, when dealing with my carry habits. It's no ones business but mine, really.

Most shootings also notably happen in "gun free zones". I am not advocating to "break the law" but some laws are ignorant and can endanger you... YMMV.

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Go ahead... make my day.

^^^^^^^^exactly what Magnum said. Sign? What sign?

Those are the same irresponsible idiots who ultimately then complain about safe storage laws being passed. They get the government they deserve and the rest of us just have to live with it. It’s not a big deal with a well crafted safe storage law, but they are not always well crafted laws.

Unfortunately that kind of ignorant self centered “but mah rights” attitude also has carry over to other irresponsible behavior with guns that results on cries for more gun restrictions.

It’s in our own interests as responsible gun owners to educate and or adjust the attitudes of those irresponsible gun owners.

There are some basic common sense steps you can take to prevent theft of a handgun if you have to leave it in your car, in increasing order of effectiveness:

1) lock your car;

2) keep your vehicle rental car clean so that there is absolutely nothing in the car that might even tempt a thief to break in. They will usually select a more lucrative target.

3) Keep your gun well out of sight. Under the seat is safer than n a center console or glove box, as that is at best the 3rd place the will look not the first or second;

4) A lock box can b had for under $30 that will let you keep the gun on n the box and the box out of sight under a seat and cable locked to the seat frame. It’s not theft proof, but the thief will have to have cable cutters with them, and that’s unlikely;

5) A box that bolts to the floor is even more secure, but it again needs to be out of sight. Whether that works or not will depend on how far your seats slide;

6) You can buy a console safe that bolts to the body of the car inside your console. They are model specific but they are not cheap ($300 or so). They are very theft resistant and work for anything you might leave in the console.

Read recently in the City just North of me that used to be
Houston.. had over 4300 guns stolen from cars in 2023.

Old copper trick before days of gun safes for vehicles.
Old pair of handcuffs. One through the trigger guard
one through the steel frame of the seat that is bolted to the floor.

Handcuffs sound good but they need to be the moderner sort that can’t be picked so easy. And handcuff keys can be found all over. Maybe one of those “kryptonite” bike locks…

Interesting subject. Again. I have taken the slide and mag off my gun before and just left the frame to be stolen, if found. I do see a ton of pickup trucks with all the "I have guns" stickers across the back windows. Pretty cool, but not when you live in or around the city. The PGH City criminals don't wander too far away from the safety of the city.
My gun is concealed when I conceal carry. I've gone into places like the Post office and nobody knows the difference. When I worked for the PGH School District my gun stayed home; usually. Just use common sense. When we travel out of state I bite the bullet and leave firearms at home. Knives are better than nothing.

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There's a Monster on the loose

And some folks allow their guns and other high value items to be stolen for both insurance reasons and to pay off debts to friends..

Were i work, we have an annoying problem of cars being robbed. Ironically it seems ONLY the drug dealers get robbed.

If you want to be a real Secret Squirrel about it stop a few blocks before your destination and lock your gun up. Then complete the drive to your destination.

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Retired Career Security Guard

Dang, where do you work? A pharmacy? Hey, as long as it's other folks getting ripped off...

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There's a Monster on the loose

I feel the same way about those signs that say things like “this property protected by Smith & Wesson”. It’s just advertising you have firearms in the home.

This. Only when necessary (ie entering a building where carry is verboten) and then in a locked metal safe out of sight in a locked vehicle.

OTERO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - An inmate escaped from the Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center in La Junta late Thursday night while receiving medical attention.

The Otero County Sheriff's Office said 38-year-old Ronald Collier from Gillette, Wyoming, allegedly overpowered a deputy and security officer Thursday night around 11:30 p.m. and ran away from the hospital wearing a black and white striped jumpsuit with handcuffs.

Authorities are on the hunt for an escaped inmate in Otero County, believed to be armed | KRDO.

According to the news story Mr Collier stole an unlocked van from somebody's driveway right outside the hospital in which the owner had an unsecured handgun stashed under the driver's seat. We now have an armed convict running around Otero County.

Actually, he probably drove back to Gillette.


On a side note, one of my supervisors when I worked for G4S had been a corrections officer for several years and he was the guy G4S always called to do prisoner watch at Memorial Hospital.

His number one,Ironclad, no matter what rule was that he always put leg irons on the prisoner and chained them to something unmovable I usually the bed.

UPDATE The prisoner was captured in Roswell New Mexico

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Retired Career Security Guard

1/2 dozen locations lol

Always assumed it was true, but interesting to see that I am not alone in how I deal with the issue.

I have a steel gun safe with key locks secured by steel cable to the frame of my cars. Each are hidden under a false floor panel and if I want to get really stealth there’s a hidden compartment under a second false floor. Iif you didn’t know there was a false floor you’d probably never notice it. I keep my gun in it if needed and extra cash, wallet and my watch if in a questionable area. These safes are inexpensive and would seriously slow down a thief.

If we leave a pick-up truck full of gun stickers in the driveway is that considered illegal bait?

What helps solve this problem is the end of all gun free zones that are enforced either by legal restriction, "policy" or screening procedures. If you want the public to patronize your facility, the carry of arms will not be restricted.

I have a console vault made by Tuffy. It was sold through the Ram dealer and they installed it. Tuffy sells models for various applications.

Tuffy(R) Security Products - Consoles, Lockboxes and More!

Nope. If the property owner doesn't want armed folks on his/her property, that's his/her right. Don't like it? Stay away.

In Colorado Springs not even the police are allowed to carry a firearm in the secure area of the Municipal Courthouse.

I did security for the Courthouse. I carried my gun but I was there in the middle of the night.
I saw a couple of cops in the basement one night with their guns. Same thing, it was the middle of the night and nobody was paying me to enforce the Firearms rules in the courthouse.

I was eating lunch in the break room one night and found an 80 year old copy of Robin Hood in the book exchange. I still have it.

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Retired Career Security Guard