ltwguns.com

As I journey down the road of CCW's, I'm wondering how to secure my weapon in the car during periods when I can NOT carry/holster. I've found a couple of sites (http://www.aacfi.com & http://www.center-of-mass.com) that offer in-car gun safe's. These sites offer very similar products that look like they'd be worth consideration and should keep the "honest" thief from stealing my gun...providing the locks are decent. However, I'm searching for something that might be better quality without spending a fortune...and that would protect the gun while allowing fairly quick access should the need arise.

I'm wondering if anyone has other ideas for securing a weapon in the car. Web sites are appreciated...even pictures.

Take a look at the "gun vault". You can open it in moments, and it feels well made. I keep one next to my bed.
(Can't have my two year old blowing holes in the wall when I'm at work!:shock: )
http://www.productwizard.com/gunvaultmini.html

I have two of the ones from Center of Mass. They are well built an attach very easily to your frame or car seat. I keep one under the passenger seat and have another where my spare tire well is (Subaru Forester). May not be the most secure but they are thin enough to hide anywhere and the attachment cable would take some time to cut. So with a good alarm system and these I would feel pretty secure to leave my weapon in the car if needed. Center of Mass's staff was very helpful and I received both in approx 3 days!

Bolted into the console of my truck is a safe from R&D Enterprises (see their stuff at handgunsafe.com). One quarter inch steel, black crinkle finish, mechanical Simplex five button lock that I can open in the dark nearly as easily as looking at the four button combination in daylight.

It holds a 642 in a Kramer pocket holster and 2 spare speedloaders all the time, and is a temporary resting place for one of my 1911s, either Commander or Government length, in most of my holsters, such as an Alessi PCH or DelFatti IWB. A VersaMax II is a little too tall (wide, actually) for it.

Highly recommended for safe, secure storage.

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NRA Endowment Member

Are you bolting down to the truck floor or just to the interior of the consol compartment?
I like the look of this unit and considering getting one.
Best,
Gary

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Gary Pennington
email........ brewdog57@hotmail.com


I've learned age is a very high price to pay for maturity

I have an R&D Enterprises safe inside my center console bolted to the floor and hidden under a custom console tray.

Pros: its pretty darn burly and it aint coming out with out a lot of trouble. Lock easy to use, except I would recommend writing down your button combination somewhere b/c if you don't use it for awhile you CAN forget it and then you're SOL

Cons: Bolting it to floor is easier said than done. My mechanic couldn't use the supplied bolts, etc. and because the frame it is bolted to and the chassis body it is sitting on move independent of each other it goes thru squeaking periods and will most likely eventually need to be redone.

Next the size I got allegedly holds a full size handgun, but the fit is so tight and awkward it is kind of jammed in there

Also they have a very skimpy foam pad in bottom which does nothing to cushion or protect gun. I stupidly put my P-35 in there and in a week it had vibrated thru the foam pad and wore a flat spot on the slide front and slide rear corners. Really PO'd!

Also bolts come thru bottom inside box and are further danger to cosmetic or real damage to gun.

I would recommend this safe very much if you are willing to go the extra yard or yards to make it work. Most importantly build a custom insert and pad for bottom and sides that you are confident that vibration and bouncing will protect your gun and then size your safe to be able to accomodate your gun and this custom insert. Mine does NOT so I don't use it now and will have to buy some type of compact gun to fit in their as a backup car gun. I only carry CCW fullsize so my safe choice is only good for ? I'm not sure what its good for right now, if it were only a little bit bigger!

I hope this helps

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God Bless
45Fundi

Gary,

Mine's not bolted to the floor itself, but it's still pretty damn solid. You could pry it out, but it would take tools and time to do so. Once it's out, you're dealing with 1/4 inch steel. The fact that the safe's not even visible when the console lid is down adds another layer of security to it.

Perfect it's not, but it's a damn site more secure than leaving a gun in a glove compartment or under the seat, just waiting to be instantly and easily stolen.

Buck

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NRA Endowment Member

Thanks Guys!!!!

Your input is great!

Buck- You fit a Govt. Model in your safe... can you do this with out squeez'in it in

Best
G

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Gary Pennington
email........ brewdog57@hotmail.com


I've learned age is a very high price to pay for maturity

Gman - the model I have in my Tahoe console is large enough to hold a 642 in a Kramer pocket holster, two speedloaders, and a Government model 1911 in a trim holster (typically, a Del Fatti). A Brommeland MaxCon V, Sparks VMII, or Alessi PCH iwould all bit a bit much, dimensionally.

I lay my 1911 down on top of the slide, with the bottom of the magwell up and toward the rear of the car. Fits like a charm, is facing forward and can easily be extracted without dinging the gun or having Rule 2 problems.

As I said, this is a good product, well worth the peace of mind and convenience that it brings.

Usual qualifiers apply - I have no vested interest in the company/product, and opinions do vary.

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NRA Endowment Member

Buck......
Many thanks this item is on my short list to get!
Best to ya,
G

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Gary Pennington
email........ brewdog57@hotmail.com


I've learned age is a very high price to pay for maturity

I have no connection to the company either. I'm gonna either get a j frame or Glock to stick in there. Mine is built into my very narrow Toyota 4Runner center console. It needs to be 2 inches taller to be perfect, but only LTW smith made guns are perfect right? If you have a bigger console to work with you will be fine. I asked R&D if they would make me a custom safe to my dimensions and that is a no go. I've been tempted to build a box myself to my dimensions and see if I can have R&D just fit the combo device and lid for me. Good Luck!

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God Bless
45Fundi

Also, from the bolts and its sitting against the bare vehicle body there is alot of heat transferred to the safe. When I do this next time I will probably put 2 layers of tire tube with some insulation sandwiched between them underneath the safe to stop so much heat transfer and reduce any squeaking.

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God Bless
45Fundi

in response to 45 Fundi, I'm a locksmith/gun dealer in Arizona, I too have looked over R&D's safe designs, and they look pretty damn solid. I have 3 different safes in 3 different vehicles. However I'm not 100% happy w/ any of them. First off the Gunvault, I don't like, but have put up with it's faults from trying to find a place to put it (too large)to trying to install the 8AA batteries(not fun) to the last thing-Do Not Spill Liquid On It. Shorted itself out! My next 2 units share the same shortcoming, that cute little push-button lock. The problem is if you try to force open that lock, it won't open any more. Just had a problem after that lock decided it didn't want to open again for the second time, the first time I bashed out the hinge pin, too bad I fixed so good. The second time I had to cut the hinge off. I'm gonna check into a new style five button lock, looks similar to the Simplex that you see on the R&D unit, but it's electronic and can't be as easily broken. Also it has a built in key overide, which I like. I guess AMSEC (American Security Products) makes the lock, they can be found on the new line of Smith&Wesson safes(the portable units)

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Cave Creek Lock&Gun
William Weingard
Cave Creek, AZ

I would very much like to hear what you come up with!

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God Bless
45Fundi