Road Rules: Vehicle Carry Solutions

Smart options for safely and discreetly transporting and storing your weapon in your vehicle are plentiful, if you know where to look.

An excerpt from shoot-on.com by Steve Statham

A concealed carry permit opens a lot of doors for bringing along your handgun in your day-to-day travels, but not all of them. A CCW permit isn't some magic pass that can be used everywhere. A daily carry routine can often be broken up by trips to schools, post offices, or other places where handguns can't be taken. At those times, weapons need to be stowed securely, and usually that means in your vehicle.

Additionally, some states have strict laws regulating how weapons can be transported. And the danger of thieves breaking into your truck is always a risk. With that in mind, we thought it was worth taking a market survey of the current state of the art when it comes to vehicle carry products. We sought out a variety of options for safe vehicle carry and spoke with industry insiders about what people should look for when selecting safes and custom vaults for their daily transportation.

The importance of safe vehicle carry is particularly timely now. The Covid-19 outbreak and resulting uncertainty has sent a lot of first-time gun buyers to their local gun stores. If you're one of them, welcome! Consider this article a small part of your continuing education on the responsibilities of gun ownership. But even experienced gun owners might be surprised at the variety of vehicle carry options on the market and may want to reevaluate their own safety strategies.

"Although firearms are a means to defend yourself, they can become your worst nightmare if you don't safeguard them," said Matt Miresmaili, owner of Titan Vault. "If you carry a gun in a vehicle, it's better to be in a locked safe that you have quick access to."

"We know as gun owners we're responsible to the community," said Scott Bonvissuto with Console Vault. "We need to stow our weapons responsibly so that they're not stolen, and God forbid used in some awful way. The onus is on the individual gun owner to secure their weapon when they can't carry it."

Much like purchasing a gun itself, choosing a vehicle safe is not a one-size-fits-all proposition.

"Figure out what your needs are, and which storage solutions are going to meet those needs," said TruckVault's Maddie Campbell. "Some people only have a small handgun that would best go in a console product; some want to keep their firearms stored in their vehicle unattended, in which case, they should be buying the most secure storage solution in case of an attempted break-in, and others need to maintain access to their spare tire or keep some space available in their truck bed, and not every storage solution provider is able to accommodate for these unique needs - we do though, of course."

Fortunately, there are a surprising number of options available for safely and discreetly carrying and storing a gun in a vehicle. Here is what we found:

CONSOLE VAULT:
Console Vault is about as aptly named a product as you'll find anywhere. It is, indeed, a sturdy 12-gauge steel safe that fits entirely inside your vehicle's factory center console.

"We started business back in 2002. We call ourselves the original in-vehicle safe," said Scott Bonvissuto, Senior V.P. of Sales and Marketing at Console Vault, and one of the original founders and owners of the business.

"The number one advantage is, all our applications are custom designed to fit into each specific application," he said. "If we design a unit for the Chevrolet Silverado, for example, the one with captain's chairs, that unit is specifically designed to fit inside that center console like it came from the factory."

Another obvious advantage to the Console Vault is that, with the entire works concealed within the factory console, it is not visible to any smash-and-grab miscreants peeking in the window.

The Console Vault is available with a barrel key lock, keyless 3-combo lock, or a 4-digit mechanical lock. No modifications to the vehicle's console are required for installation.

Console Vault is also noteworthy in that they are an OE supplier to Ford and Toyota, and acquiring the ISO and IATF certifications to supply the big boys requires a whole other level of quality control. Aftermarket buyers, therefore, get the same high quality level that the automakers receive.

The Console Vault is available for a wide variety of applications, both domestic and foreign, although selection is mostly limited to trucks, vans, and SUVs.

"I get so many requests for the Ford Mustang," Bonvissuto said. "I would love to make one for the Mustang, but the problem is, by the time you made something that would fit in that small cubby, you couldnt put a small thing of Kleenex in it."

Most applications carry an MSRP of $269, plus your choice of safe lock.
This is an excerpt from shoot-on.com