Keeping Concealed While Driving
Concealment while walking around is easy, but where concealment becomes challenging is when doing other things - such as concealing while driving. As with other forms of concealment, there are different strategies one can employ.
There are also compromises that have to be made. Everyone has to make their own decisions, but here are some ways you can keep concealed while driving.
Concealed Carry While Seated In The Car
One of the easiest ways to stay concealed while driving is to conceal like one normally does - by concealing their holster on their person, but just concealing while sitting down in the car.
However, this takes some doing. There are many ways of positioning a pistol on one's waistline that are as comfortable as can be while standing, but while sitting can be awkward. Small of the back carry, for instance, is easy until one sits down; one can sit directly on one's pistol. Further forward on the hip, a forward cant can make it easier to sit with one's pistol. That's why the FBI cant is a thing.
The price, of course, is that it's not as easy to access a pistol on one's waistband while sitting than it is whilst standing. Posture can help to a degree - sitting without reclining can make this easier - but only so much.
Employ A Car Holster
There are also a number of car holster products available. Often they are nylon pancake holsters with various methods of attachment - usually elastic straps - for a firearm to be lashed to a seat front, under the steering wheel or another part of the cabin.
In truth, this is one of the better options for car concealment, as the pistol is easily within reach and can be more safely secured.
Storing A Pistol In The Glove Box Comes At A Price
Naturally, one of the first things you'd think of is storing one's pistol in the glove box. It's a natural fit. It's the perfect size of compartment to keep a gun concealed and isn't too difficult to reach.
State law may preclude storage of a loaded firearm inside a vehicle in certain manners, so check your local laws.
If one is bound and determined to store a pistol in a glove box, there are a few things that should always be done. First is to use some sort of trigger guard coverage, such as a pancake holster. You know the really cheap ones at most gun stores? This is about the best use for one. You wouldn't want to carry with it, but it will keep the trigger guard covered.
However, there are a few drawbacks. First, access is impeded by having to open the compartment, which may be complicated if one needs to get at it in a hurry. Secondly, if you interact with police, you should disclose that the pistol is stored in the glove box BEFORE reaching in. Upon disclosure, keep your hands in plain sight and ask the officer how they wish to proceed.
Use a Holster Mount
Better than a car holster is an actual holster mount. A holster mount is a docking station for a holster that attaches to an appropriate surface in the vehicle - the center console is a highly logical location, or under the steering wheel.
This creates a docking station for a pistol that's much more fixed than a car holster normally is. There are fewer holster mount options on the market than there are car holsters, but some - such as, and not to toot one's own horn, the Alien Gear Cloak Dock - are incredibly versatile.
Stashing A Gun In Door Sill Compartments Or Between Seats
Another common method of concealing a pistol in a car is to put it in the door compartment or between the seats. These appear, just as with in the glove box, to be natural places to conceal a pistol and in fairness they CAN conceal a pistol from view very well.
A pistol CAN be more easily accessible than the glove box, depending on circumstances. However, this method is not without drawbacks.
First, a holster of some sort should be deployed; just as with a glove box, a cheap nylon pouch holster can suffice, so long as there is adequate trigger guard coverage - though this is not necessarily an optimal method of securing a gun in a car. Care should be taken to avoid excessive vibration and bouncing around.
A gun in between seats can be held more securely, but adequate trigger guard coverage is essential. Any object that can get in the trigger guard can cause an accidental discharge. Additionally, if sufficient room exists between a seat and the center console, the gun could potentially be pushed far enough down to drop under the seat itself, where the same dangers exist.
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