CCW or leave it in the car?

F

Firepower!

New member
Hi
If you can legally CCW in your locality, would carry the weapon on your person or leave it in the car?

I am asking this question because I see many folks leaving their weapon in the car even when they have the permit to CCW. It is mostly because either they think the odds of needing one is low or just for comfort.

What is your opinion on this issue? Does your locality influence your decision?

Regards
 
I have a permit but there are limits on the places we can lawfully carry in our state. There are also some federal laws about places we can't carry. In addition, our state allows businesses to post very specific signage indicating that CC is not permitted. If we ignore those rules and get caught, we can lose our permit, pay a fine and/or possibly be sent to jail depending on which rule we break.

I prefer to obey the law as much as possible, even if I don't agree with it. Because of that, I'm forced to leave my weapon in the car often. If I can legally carry it into the establishment, then I do.
 
I carry everywhere I can legally for a reason. No idea why someone would carry only part of the time unless its the law/work issue
 
I carry on my person wherever I can legally do so. when I got the the post office I leave it in the car. I don't take it to work at all because I'm not allowed to bring weapons on post, even though when I get to work they issue me an m16 and m9 beretta.
 
Mine goes where I go, there are times when I leave it in the car if I can not legaly carry it into where I am going. That is a very short list of places that if I go there it is a quick in and out thing. My girlfriend sometimes leaves hers in the car because she knows that I have mine on me. (Like the times when she is dressed to kill. That dress leaves no place to hide anything on her body. :cool: No complaints from me on that one):D
 
I don't agree with leaving guns in the car, however if you are forced to for some unforeseen reason make sure to get a good car safe. Nothing would be worse than coming back to your car to find that your gun has be stolen.
 
May just be that...

... some people are worried more about areas they transit than the areas where they actually spend time.

This assumes people leave it in the car when the law doesn't require them not to carry.
 
It's not very likely that anyone is going to break into my vehicle looking for valuables. It's a ten-year-old truck with over 200K mi. and it shows. It doesn't have fancy rims, GPS, I-pod, fuzzbuster, or even an aftermarket radio. There's always half a bag worth of trash in the floorboards and I don't leave anything valuable in plain sight. It's a rare occasion for me to be out after dark and I pretty-much keep to low-crime areas. All that said...

I haven't really considered getting a safe for my vehicle up 'till now but I probably will. It was illegal to have my CCW in my vehicle at work but now it's legal. I'm thinking about a vehicle safe to add some liability protection for myself and to add some cushion between me and my bosses should it ever be discovered. (Even though it's newly legal and we don't have a policy banning it, I still don't think it would be warmly received.)
 
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I really hate to leave a loaded handgun in the car when I'm not allowed to carry. I just don't go where I can't legally carry, unless I leave the house unarmed, it is a dilema.
 
Personally, I feel I'm far more likely to need the gun outside the car than in it, so it comes with me unless its illegal for me to carry.

My work doesn't allow me to even have a gun in my car while parked on the property. I don't like it, but I obey it. If I go out after work, I go home first pick up my .45 and carry it.

Zac.
 
When I made the self commitment to be armed for self defense, it meant be armed. Didn't mean just carry until the novelty wore off and it wasn't fun anymore. It didn't mean play guessing games with re: to where I thought I might need it, or am I more or less likely to need it in the car or out?

For some CCW licensee's, that "commitment" amounts to "criminal assault roulette"--in other words, not much at all.:cool:

If I have to disarm myself to go into a building, that's what the lock box in my car is for---so I can immediately rearm myself and go about my business. For those who feel that they might as well be disarmed the whole day because one place on their schedule precludes them from being armed, then that's their call. Not mine.
 
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i don't mean to hijack the thread but the topic begs another question. when you CC do you use a strap on holster or a slip on quick detachable holster? it seems many of the most favorite holsters thread on the belt rather than the quick detach type. what are the favorite quick detachable holsters? maybe the type of holster or the comfort of the holster has a bearing on way people either choose to wear all the time or leave the gun in the car.
 
Whenever I legally can carry, I do carry. Most of the time when I need to leave my gun in the car because I'm going somewhere I can't carry it, I just leave my holster on. I usually won't be gone long, and I use a Milt Sparks VM2 IWB holster so it's not too obvious, and it's still covered. Of course it has snapping straps if I want to take it off.
 
I usually won't be gone long, and I use a Milt Sparks VM2 IWB holster so it's not too obvious, and it's still covered.
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The VM2 is one of my favorites and I wear one often. It can be unsnapped quickly. I always stick the holster and mag. pouch in my vest, so that, say, when I'm done with the Dr., etc., my gear is back on after a quick trip to the bathroom-- or in the stairwell if necessary. Just need to get my pistol and mag.'s out of my car lock box and quickly re-arm.

A 642 BUG normally accompanies me for such occasions, hidden in my vest (not at the gym), and the vest is always with me. Had an Xray tech take my vest once to hang it up. She said "wow that's heavy what's in there a gun just lay down over here Mr. Wells." :D


I've been putting a holster and mag pouch on in the gym for 15 years with people around me. If anyone noticed, they didn't say a word. Can be done very unobtrusively with your body turned away just right.

The snaps, if they fit properly are for taking the holster off quickly. Not for snapping around belt to put back on unless you like fighting it.

Snap loops, then insert holster in pants in proper position. Don't skip belt loops or snap loops.

The Blade Tech combo with Tech Lok on the other side, is also quick on and off for SureFire and mag.

Another holster I like has a slotted pad and no snaps. It's almost as fast on and off.
 
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My first reaction to this post was, "Huh?" I can't imagine leaving a weapon, especially a loaded weapon, unwatched in a locked car regardless of permit status -- guns are worse theft magnets than laptop computers! But I live in a state where carry is legal most places, even in banks or restaurants that serve alcohol, so I'm rarely in a situation where I can't legally carry.

If I am going somewhere where I can't carry, I either leave the gun with my husband at home or, if he won't be home, lock it up somewhere safe. When I travel to California for work, for example, open carry is either illegal or inadvisable most places where I go and so I don't take the gun with me. When we both are traveling in California, we lock all of our guns up, not at home, but in a storage facility that has secure storage for guns. While the guns are insured, neither of us is willing to risk having them stolen and used for crime.

Unless I am going somewhere where carry is illegal, though, I carry it with me. That's what it is for.
 
I'm in the "wear it wherever it's legal" crowd, but I'm not the boss of OP's grandpa.

do you use a strap on holster or a slip on quick detachable holster
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I use an IWB with snap-closing belt loops, but I don't take my holster off when I go into an airport or post office. I secure the gun in the car and leave the holster in place. I figure if I am dressed appropriately to conceal a gun, the empty holster should be concealed at least as well. And even if someone is sharp enough to make the holster, I am not aware that empty holsters are illegal anywhere. When I get back to my car, it is much easier to holster the pistol than to reposition the holster from scratch.
 
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