Leaving guns in cars

Due to the location of my current home base, for every Bullseye Match I attend I have to stay at least overnight, usually in a hotel. It has been my habit to always take the cased guns with me to the room every night primarily to ensure that they don't get stolen from the vehicle. Sometimes that gets tiresome on an extended trip.

I've never had a vehicle broken into in USA - maybe I've just been lucky?

What do others think about this issue?

Personally I prefer to keep them with me. Typically I can keep my guns in my pelican case (with wheels) or backpack.
I have not had my vehicle broken into either, but to me it is better to mitigate the risk of theft.

I've got a knockoff pelican my pistols go in, the "pistol box" with ammo and other crap can stay in the car. Makes it easier to just bring you pistols into the hotel.

Yes, that is what I've been doing lately too.
My guns are insured, but the task of replacing them would be a huge PITA!

I'll usually go through the trouble and bring the box with guns to the room with me. As already mentioned, it's a pain, but the pain of recovering from a loss would be much worse.

Also, if I'm bringing all my back-ups and iron sight guns with me to a bigger match, I like slip the extra guns in some soft pistol cases and slide them in a large backpack to sling over my shoulder and make loading out easier. You can fit quite a number of pistols in a large backpack doing this.

I wouldn't risk leaving them in the car. In the racing days seen many trucks broken into for parts and even whole race cars on trailers stolen from the holiday inn parking lot. When I travel with pistols I strap the locked case to something solid in the hotel room.

Vehicles get broken in to a lot.  Mine has on multiple occasions all over the place.  Motel parking lots are attractive because you might not determine that you’re missing something until your a long distance away. So keep your valuables inside your room.

There are some individual hotel, parts of large chains or not that do not allow firearms. I just ignore the on line statements. I do not have any stickers at all on my shooting gear for that reason. Even when I return from a shoot to the hotel, I just load up my Academy cart and just wheel by the front desk, or use another entrance if available depending on where I park. I have never been stopped or questioned. And I have a story all ready prepared if I am.

On my way back from Perry this year I stayed in a hotel and put my guns in a briefcase-like box and brought it up to my room.

DO NOT KEEP THEM IN YOUR CAR!

I only had to get my driver’s window smashed and valuables stolen once in a “safe” hotel parking lot to learn my lesson!  The hotel could not do anything but shrug at me.

Also, I was several states away from home with not only a broken window, but a starter that chose that moment to die on a Saturday morning with nothing open but a dealership service dept. that grinned ear to ear knowing they were about to bilk a desperate traveler for the most expensive set of Chevy Tahoe replacement starter cables ever sold in the US.

Not one of my best days….

Don't neglect to check the laws of the state you're in, as well. The trunk of a car, and especially the rear space of a wagon or SUV, may not qualify as compliant storage, when you're not in it too.

I would definitely not keep any guns in my car overnight. Not only theft, but also rust might be a problem. Temperatures drop, the dew point drops, and water begins condensing onto metal.

One thing I've thought about doing is buying some vinyl LPs, maybe Elvis albums, and gluing the record holder to my pistol box and having the top of the cover cut off to show an Elvis record. Then it looks like I'm transporting a record player or a vinyl record collection, or some sort of music box. I've heard at least one person ask if my gun box is a record player. Of course, I always say "Why, yes it is!" Next time I'm in a thrift store I'll pick up some records. I might slap some music decals on the outside of the box, too. Thinking OPSEC.

Do not leave your firearms in the vehicle overnight in the hotel parking lot.  

Good friend of mine had his 6 mm PPC bench rifle stolen in a hotel parking lot in Ohio.  Couple of weeks later the police were at his door, it seams the thief used the rifle to murder a police officer and were very interested in taking my buddy back to their place for some conversation.  Good thing he filed a police report at the hotel.  

When I am on my way to a match after work, and I gotta keep my firearms in a parked vehicle, I lock the case and chain them up.  Just the thought that someone might steal my firearms and then shoot somebody with them scares the crap outa me.  There is a lotta bad people out there.  

Regards, 
Crankster

I only travel out of state to shooting events a few times a year. If I check in but am leaving right away to go out to dinner, quite often the guns stay in the car. Get back to the hotel and the guns come inside with me. Quite often I leave ammo in the car and always worry about it but especially when my wife is with me as we may have 3,000 rounds and that is a pain to get inside. Probably need to buy some carriers that don’t scream ammo for the trip to the room. 
The do not disturb sign is on the door from the time I check in until I/we check out. Don’t need any hotel employees seeing what we have.

CO1Mtn wrote:I would definitely not keep any guns in my car overnight. Not only theft, but also rust might be a problem. Temperatures drop, the dew point drops, and water begins condensing onto metal.

One thing I've thought about doing is buying some vinyl LPs, maybe Elvis albums, and gluing the record holder to my pistol box and having the top of the cover cut off to show an Elvis record. Then it looks like I'm transporting a record player or a vinyl record collection, or some sort of music box. I've heard at least one person ask if my gun box is a record player. Of course, I always say "Why, yes it is!" Next time I'm in a thrift store I'll pick up some records. I might slap some music decals on the outside of the box, too. Thinking OPSEC.

It's a sewing machine.

As often occurs on this wonderful forum, this thread is drifting towards the bizarre. And who is the culprit? Bickar! Now there's a surpise!

radjag wrote:As often occurs on this wonderful forum, this thread is drifting towards the bizarre. And who is the culprit? Bickar! Now there's a surpise!

You can purchase "Canton McKinley Sewing and Quilting Club" and "Camp Perry National Sewing Matches 2021" patches and stickers from my Etsy shop.

Hmmmm, sewing machine covers for gun boxes!
A BICKAR startup !

Someone once asked what was in my gun box and I simply replied .. tools. That satisfied their curiousity.

Tell 'em it's precision hole punching equipment

John,
I had you pegged as a knitter!!

Ron

I always take mine into the room.

I do not like stopping at the store on the way home from the range and leaving my pistols in the car.  I have only done it 1-2 times and that made me nervous.

This is the start of Gun Control....I like to keep control of my guns at all times.

When I shot cowboy matches used a golf bag carrier like you see for airlines.  It has wheels and locks, plus hotel staff just thought I going to play golf.

I followed that advice to take the guns into a hotel for years.  They are heavy, and I am getting old.  I think the days of car alarms, car cameras, and secure storage in vehicles has changed my calculation a bit.   I certainly would not leave anything tempting visible thru easily smashed car windows.  But my son in law installed a secure locked safe bolted into the console of his F-150.  I think that is more secure than a hotel room.   
    I have a diamond back metal tanau cover on the back of my truck.  It is lockable and you would literally need to saw through it, or through the tailgate of the truck to get to anything locked inside. (Triggering all sorts of alarms in the process).  Dave Lang has the same set up although his rolling rack system for the gun boxes is much more impressive than my set up.  He parked next to me at Atterbury, and we had quite the discussion.