Stearing Column Holsters

[AaronRidley]

Would anyone know of a good quality steering column holster or something that can go under the dash for a 1911? Asking for a friend.

 

[Salty4Life]

Would anyone know of a good quality steering column holster or something that can go under the dash for a 1911? Asking for a friend.

Car holsters are just a bad idea. They increase unnecessary gun handling, likelyhood of theft, and can become dislodged in an accident

 

[Boostpowered]

I used to used a rare earth magnet when i car carried like that. They will mount about anywhere. I used a glock and it was in the way so id imagine a 1911 would take up more real estate. I normally just put it under my leg out of sight or in glovebox.

 

[Downs]

I took a standard Bladetech holster, took the belt mount off of it and screwed it to the center console. On a little hatchback I had I screwed it under the steering column. I used a Bladetech "Revolution" holster for this purpose. I still need to decide where to mount it on this XJ I have now. If I was just running into town for something I wouldn't bother using it and just kept it on me but when I was driving longer distances and didn't want it digging into me, especially with the deep bucket seats on that little Mazdaspeed.

I don't have pictures of the Mazdaspeed, I thought I did. But imagine that same holster screwed to the bottom of the steering column.

Car holsters are just a bad idea. They increase unnecessary gun handling

Hopefully I'm capable of handling a firearm without causing harm to myself or others.

likelyhood of theft

Don't leave a firearm unsecured in your vehicle

and can become dislodged in an accident

Use something with retention if you're concerned about that.

 

[Salty4Life]

I’ll add some context to my first reply. I have a 15 minute video on carrying guns in vehicles. It’s too large to upload on this forum but I cover the car holster topic fairly in depth.

Assuming the reason one wants a car holster is primarily for comfort, a car holster doesn’t really accomplish that without adding administrative gun handling, increasing the likelihood of an accident, and/or risking the gun going flying in a wreck.
So let’s say one has a carry holster and really good holster (like a safriland ALS) screwed into a solid part of your interior. One would remover the gun from the carry holster and place it in the car holster. Your carry holster stays in place so you can quickly reholster the gun and go about your business (not leaving unsecured guns in vehicles). This doesn’t really increase comfort because your holster is still on you. This also adds in unnecessary gun handling. The time people are most likely to have a ND is drawing and reholstering. All it takes is one screw up to have a really bad day. I spend hours on the range and draw my gun hundreds of times, but my mind is on the gun stuff, not daily life stuff. And I’m never in hurry to put the gun away.
When I did the car holster thing, I would either jam the gun back in my holster real quick or just leave it in the car, because I was in a hurry and all I was thinking about is, Oh my God I’m about to crap myself (one example).

You can mitigate the risks of unnecessary gun handling and increase comfort by removing the gun in the carry holster and placing in somewhere in the vehicle, but this adds other problems. The gun could still become a projectile in a wreck, one could still leave it unsecured in the car because “Im only going in for a minute, it will be fine”, or you secure the gun in some type of safe, now it’s harder to access.

Another big problem with car holsters. If a deadly threat requires you to exit the vehicle to deal with. Your gun is still in your car. For example, a car jacking situation where the bad guy has the drop on you, and you have loved ones in the car. Carrying concealed on body allows one to fake compliance and exit the vehicle. Once the BGs gun is off you, you can go to work. If it’s in a car holster, you choices are to leave the gun there, or try your luck drawing on a drawn gun. Neither is a position I want to be in.

The last issue I’ll address are police encounters. I don’t really want to surprise a cop with an exposed gun when hey walks up to my window. That escalates tension with the cop right from the get go. Yes you can keep your hands visible and ask the officer how he would like you to proceed, and begin to deescalate, but it’s not the way I would want that encounter to start.

What I recommend is to leave to gun in your carry holster and put you seatbelt under the grip across your hips and drape your shirt over the seatbelt and gun. I’ve attached a screen shot from the video showing this.

 

[Dilldog]

Alien gear makes some great products, I have 4 of their holsters.

 

[loyalnine]

Haven't used one in a vehicle, but as powerful as they are I would imagine a Quick Draw Gun Magnet would work well. I think they're $17 on amazon. As far as theft is concerned, I use a Vaultek safe. Strap it to a hard point in the vehicle. Takes a few seconds to open, but a good option if you don't have a concealed carry and can't put the pistol in your holster after your drive.

 

[Dilldog]

Since theft has come up it is worth noting, some states are starting to enact secure storage laws so you should look up all gun related laws and make sure you're compliant. I know here in Washington you can be charged if a firearm isn't in a locked case that is securely attached to the vehicle. Basically the car itself is not considered secure. Also again for concealed carry related stuff ( again because it came up) in Washington in order to have a loaded pistol in a car you need to have a concealed pistol license. If you don't the pistol must be unloaded and ammo stored in a separate part of the rig. So again make sure you are compliant with your state's laws.

 

[AaronRidley]

Since theft has come up it is worth noting, some states are starting to enact secure storage laws so you should look up all gun related laws and make sure you're compliant. I know here in Washington you can be charged if a firearm isn't in a locked case that is securely attached to the vehicle. Basically the car itself is not considered secure. Also again for concealed carry related stuff ( again because it came up) in Washington in order to have a loaded pistol in a car you need to have a concealed pistol license. If you don't the pistol must be unloaded and ammo stored in a separate part of the rig. So again make sure you are compliant with your state's laws.

Laws are far more lax here in NM. Here, your vehicle is legally considered an extension of your land property so you can have a firearm stored however you reasonably want it even on motorcycles. As far as theft goes don’t keep the gun in the car when your not in it. Besides it won’t do you any good if you don’t have easy access to it in the event you need it and can’t get it.

 

[Dilldog]

Laws are far more lax here in NM. Here, your vehicle is legally considered an extension of your land property so you can have a firearm stored however you reasonably want it even on motorcycles. As far as theft goes don’t keep the gun in the car when your not in it. Besides it won’t do you any good if you don’t have easy access to it in the event you need it and can’t get it.

Right. Im just encouraging people to know the laws to keep themselves out of trouble.

 

[loyalnine]

Right. Im just encouraging people to know the laws to keep themselves out of trouble.

For sure. Here in Louisiana you're legal to have a loaded firearm in the car, but require a permit for carry otherwise. My suggestion was based on local laws. Definitely make sure you're compliant with your state laws.