What a mess

[gascolator]

So I was trying to do the "right thing" and trigger/action lock the SR22P in its case during storage and transport.

I find that the nice little Master combo-trigger lock that is great for my long guns is wider than the case that handily fits the pistol and two magazines. The case won't close right. And the Ruger U-bolt action lock that came with is larger than the case and just won't fit. Damned if I'm going to get a case 3 sizes too large just to accommodate locks.

So the locks are the straw that breaks the camel's back and runs the whole safe transport plan off the rails. (Can I mix you a metaphor cocktail as well?)

I'm not crazy about carrying the unloaded gun and ammo together in close proximity where someone could take it, and the ammo, load the gun, and then use it on ME to take the gun AND the car.

I'm almost concluding that the safest (for me) way to carry the pistol to the range is open-carry, loaded, in my retention holster. That way the gun becomes the means to defend itself against anyone who'd abuse it, since I trust me.

Am I over-thinking this, or is there a virtual light-bulb over my head?

I still don't know what I'm supposed to do when in between points "A" and "B" I have to make stops where, by property owner edict, I can't carry open or concealed. Hide the case under a stinky horse-blanket?

[nateebobo]

if you have an ltcf you can 30 loaded handguns and 15 unloaded with cases of ammo holding them down on the dashboard of your car if you want to assuming you can still see over the pile of stuff. whats the problem, your just freaked out about having a loaded gun in there not on you? leaving it in there while going to a store between range and home? you are carrying a larger weapon for defensive purposes, right? i would hope so and that you can draw said weapon if someones LOADING YOUR GUN TO STEAL YOUR TRUCK WITH OBVIOUS HARMFUL INTENT i do believe that would justify self defense and qualify as intervening a felonious act. but then again im an idiot, so who knows. get a smaller gun lock from the local p.d., they hand them out like its haloween.

[PennsyPlinker]

I do not lock any of my guns, ever, although I do lock them up at home. However, if I were in your spot and wanted to transport the gun locked up, there are a couple of options. Get a locking case. Or, get a soft rug, which if you don't know, is a fabric bag with a zipper for your gun. That should give you enough room for the lock that came with the gun. I like using these for transporting handguns, as it protects them and takes up less room than hard sided cases.

[cakeshooter]

If you're just going to the range, I don't understand who is going to take your gun. Not sure the reason for all the locks. Do you have a LTCF?

When I go to the range, I just throw all my pistols in my range bag...except my LC9 which is in my handbag, loaded and ready to go.

[NShortino]

I take it from your post that you don't have a LTCF, hence not being able to just carry the gun loaded. In that case, my first question would be, why not go get a LTCF. If you can afford a trip to the range, you can afford the $20 for the application.

For the sake of answering your question, I'll assume you're under 21, or currently in the process of getting your LTCF, or have some other reasoning. My suggestion would be to skip the individual gun locks and just get a decent hard case and a lock to go on it.

If you're super paranoid about the whole case getting stolen, then I would suggest disassembling the firearms and separating the pieces. I'm not sure the specifics of the law on what parts are and aren't considered firearms on their own, but I think certain parts you could keep with you, that way even if the case is stolen, its not an operable firearm. Or you can always just disassemble them in the case, which would definitely slow someone down if they stole it and wanted to use it on you, though I think that situation is pretty unlikely anyway.

[AudioGuy]

I still don't know what I'm supposed to do when in between points "A" and "B" I have to make stops where, by property owner edict, I can't carry open or concealed.

By this quote it seems apparent to me that you have a LTCF and just don't want to get in trouble with a business owner who forbids firearms. Easy. Make no stops. I always open carry with a retention holster when I go to the range, it's not that big of a deal. And if I bring more than one, I just keep the excess in a case, unlocked, in my trunk which is locked. I guess I don't understand where you might be stopping between the range and your home that you're worried about someone breaking into your car, stealing your firearm, and using it against you, but I would advise you don't stop there if you feel this scenario is at all probable. Otherwise, just weigh your options against the risks and take the least risky option.

[gascolator]

I have a LTCF, so I have all of the options open to me.

Just sort of realized that when I couldn't get the locked gun in the case that I might be "swallowing the spider to catch the fly" in some sort of vain procedural quest for imaginary safety. It was one of those "what the hell am I doing?" moments. Yeah, the case is lockable, but it's cheap plastic so can be ripped open as fast as a piece of cantankerous Tupperware. I.e., you might break a nail.

Could it be that the safest transport for a hand gun is in fact directly on the owner's person, in his immediate control, and ready for use?

[AudioGuy]

Look at it this way: where can you put the gun that would give you the earliest warning that someone is trying to steal it, and put you in the best position to prevent such an act? But I think you've already figured that out. I hope.

[PennsyPlinker]

Could it be that the safest transport for a hand gun is in fact directly on the owner's person, in his immediate control, and ready for use?

That depends on how many handguns you happen to have in your vehicle at that time. Two or three, yeah, but more than that gets to be heavy.

[gascolator]

Thanks, guys.

I think I'm just in the process of becoming a 2A "strict constructionist." If for no other reason because all of the regulations and rules and practices and BS things that are supposed to accommodate the general public's learned perception that "guns, particularly hand-guns, are dangerous" even in the hands of law-abiding and responsible individuals actually make us less safe! To say nothing of wasting a lot of time and effort.

Crap.

How didn't I get this before?

I've never worried that my condo-dwelling neighbors see me load a soft-covered rifle and ammo bag into the back of the vehicle on my way to deal with varmints at the barn.

So maybe I shouldn't care if they observe a holstered hand-gun on my hip when I'm on my way to shoot it, and deal with whatever questions do or don't come up if and when they do.