I just acquired a Ford Expedition SUV and decided to keep a handgun in it full-time.  Why?  Because I am legally permitted to do so.

Anyway, I am looking for advice about where in this vehicle is a good place to store the weapon (Glock 27).  I am thinking of mounting a holser to the inside of the center compartment next to the CD changer.  I guess I want the weapon out of sight.  The glove compartment isn't really an option because of the long reach from the driver's seat.

Under the driver's seat appears to be best but I need a way to store the weapon so it is easily grabbed if necessary.  I'd love to have a sliding drawer in the dash or something like that.

Any and all ideas are welcome.  Thanks guys!

Put it anywhere, as long as you can easily reach it.  I keep mine under the driver's seat, but bring it in the house when I get home.  

assuming you have no children...

stitch a nylon holder on the underside of the driver's seat.

stitch a nylon holster on the right hand side of the driver's seat and cover the weapon with a towel.  

if you want  security mount a touch pad lock box under the driver's seat.

the idea is to have the gun in your hand but not in view before the situation deteriorates to the point that you need it and you do not want to make any disernable movement to get it.
IE. han solo in the bar.

I have an F-150 with the center console and cd changer like you, I made a little bracket that will hold my P89 in there.  This spot is very quick and easy, also out of sight.  I'd say use the center console.

Have any pictures of your setup?

Quoted: I have an F-150 with the center console and cd changer like you, I made a little bracket that will hold my P89 in there.  This spot is very quick and easy, also out of sight.  I'd say use the center console.

Can you add any further information about your bracket?  Thanks.

Commissioner:

IMO, the best place to keep it is on your person.  

Further, if anyone else (wife? significant other? grown child?) drives the vehicle with the weapon loaded and concealed, there may be repercussions depending on the locale and laws.

That said, upscale SUVs usually have power everything, and that includes a few actuators under the driver's seat.  Things might be a bit crowded.  

The inside of the console is probably your best bet, and I would recommend a synthetic holster to which you have stitched / glued Velcro to most of the surface area of the one side.  Glue the other half of the Velcro tape to the inside wall of the console.  You would then have the option of comfortably wearing your empty holster on your person, then transfering the weapon to the carry holster upon leaving the vehicle.

I once had a Jeep Cherokee with the center console and I elected to remove the console to install a synthetic holster to the right side of the driver's seat cushion to accomodate my BHP Mk III.  I mounted it low enough that it was not visible once the console was reinstalled, but it still could be grasped. As I said above, upon leaving the Jeep I slipped the BHP into my belt holster.  I sold the POS Jeep and left the (empty) holster attached to the seat cushion; I wonder if it surprised the subsequent owner(s), or merely holds a cell phone?

Good luck!

BRS

On your person! If your state allows individuals to carry a pistol concealed on your person I would use that option. I would not rely solely or put much stock in the notion of a "car gun" unless it’s purpose is a back up gun for your primary sidearm that is anchored to your person.  Although it sounds as if your intent is to have the weapon somehow securely affixed inside the vehicle, you should plan on not being able to retrieve the weapon during a fight. Should you be involved in an auto accident that is just a rouse for car jacking, robbery, etc. or turns into a violent confrontation the fight will be made much harder for you by not having the gun on your person and ready for immediate use. When your vehicle comes to a violent stop after a collision you should assume that everything on or underneath or resting against the seats, dashboard, armrest, etc. will end up on the floorboards. I would hate to need my gun and have to paw the floorboards searching for it in the middle of a fight.  

Additionally, in the event that you are daydreaming while stopped at a traffic light, when you’re pulled from your vehicle during the ensuing car jacking/robbery your going to have a hard time reaching the gun you secured underneath your seat while you’re sitting on the pavement. As your watching your assailant drive off in your new SUV you‘ll be wishing the gun had been on your person where it should have been to begin with. Keep the gun on your person where it will be available.

What I’m trying to drive home is that we can not plan where the fight will happen and it may not occur while you’re in you vehicle. A pistols versatility is largely based on it portability so let’s take advantage of that. Give yourself every advantage in a fight! If the "car gun" is going to supplement your regularly carried sidearm that is always on your hip then I would suggest it be accessible from both sides of the vehicle so that the passenger may take advantage of gun.

Get a Glock Sport Holster. They are only about ten dollars and are perfect for mounting in a vehicle. I would also see if Tuffy makes a steel lockable console for your make and model. I bet they do. Do a search and see what you can come up with. These two items combined make the perfect set-up for what you are trying to do.

Where


Only one place - on your person.

Shoulder holsters are best for riding in a car.

When Joe Dirt(bag) is at the glass (yer winder) and you go to fumble fuck around for the latch to the consoul, and he asks what your doing and then things get tense, and you still haven't "felt" your gun, so you look away for a split second - and that is when Joe makes his move.

Say good night, thanks for playin, game over.


In review: On your person. Shoulder holster is best. Ankle is outstanding as well.

Yes, an HK .45C in a shoulder holster was a very comforting friend to have in just such a situation about a year ago.

Situation:  You are driving down the road, an aggressive driver thinks your the guy who wronged him a day ago...and this time he is going to get you....

He swerves at your vehicle, you avoid the near collision by good defensive driving, unfortunately to avoid the accident you vehicle has lost control and you soft crash....

The last sound you hear after the bending of metal,plastic and glass is your handgun now liberated from its flimsy nylon holster now bouncing around the passenger compartment.....

You see the fellow pull over and take out his tire iron to finish you off....you reach for your gun......."Wait, Where did it......"

You are about to pay a very severe price for this lesson.  

2 or 3 officers involved in the famous Miami shoot out lost there guns this very same way...It happens.

Murphy will always be with you....Keep your gun on you in a secure holster until you need it.  When you need it most, you will know where it is.  

Good Luck, SDnR ;)

First you know the little tray deal that goes down along the cd changer?  If you did not know this before it comes up and out.  I had a buddy that did not want his in his '98 ford so he gave it to me, out of this I simply trimmed it to fit my spare holster how I wanted my gun positioned, then I took some self tapping screw and screwed it to this insert.  I do not use this but during the summer time while I am NOT in college.  I do not bring my P89 to college with me because I do not want one of my friends to do something stupid if they get ahold of it.  

I tried a few other ways to mount a pistol in there but I found this to be quite easy, and effective.  All I have to do is flip open the lid and it is right there, easy to grab.  

If you want a handgun concealed in the new fords with the center console just take out the tray along the cd changer and you can lay it right in the bottom and no one will know its there.  YOu can also still get to it very fast like this.

I had a '92 F-150 before my '99 and it had ample room right to the left side of the steering column.  I mad a little bracket out of strap iron and I hooked it to a bracket under there to my holster upside down.  All I had to do was reach towards my fuse panel and up a lil bit and I had a pistol easily accesible in my hands.

I do not have any pictures of this, I don't have a digital camera these days, but if I get a hold of one I'll snap a few photos for you guys.

Quoted: assuming you have no children... stitch a nylon holder on the underside of the driver's seat.

Awkward reach...It's pretty clear what you're going for.

stitch a nylon holster on the right hand side of the driver's seat and cover the weapon with a towel.

Awesome idea.  I have a Tahoe, and this is what I do, minus the towel becaue no on ecan see the oiece anyway, as it is too low.  What's great is pretty much any nylon hip holster will do, and its the same range of motion as reaching to unlatch you seat-belt.

if you want  security mount a touch pad lock box under the driver's seat.

I sure as hell am not relying on anything battery powered to save my ass!

the idea is to have the gun in your hand but not in view before the situation deteriorates to the point that you need it and you do not want to make any disernable movement to get it. IE. han solo in the bar.

Correct again sir!

Thanks to all who responded to my query.  I appreciate the ideas.

Only one place - on your person.

That isn't legal for most of us.  Also, it would be more than a small hassle to always have to remember to move the pistol from its storage location in the car to your holster each time you get in the car, and vice versa.  In addition, are you sure it is legal in your state to handle a loaded pistol in your car when you're moving it to/from your holster?  It isn't in mine, and I live in what is supposed to be a pro-gun state.z

I think that the only way to go is to carry it on your person. There is no better place for it than that.

I have a blazer and I keep my ruger p89 in the pocket on my drivers door panel
I have to agree with killingmachine but with a large frame gun it gets heavy around 4:00 p.m. (it being on my side)

Having no personal experience with this...
I have to wonder why so many folks are saying a holster on your person is going to keep a hangun in place any better than a holster attached to the vehicle.
Of course I wouldn't try this with a cheap Uncle Mike's, unless I added some better retention straps or other device.
This would increase the difficulty of drawing the firearm, but how hard that would be depends on how hard it is to overcome your security device.
I have read, over the past several years, accounts of people saving their own lives by reaching over to the passenger seat to grab their firearm which they had placed under a newspaper or other concealing object.
Certainly some of these incidents could have turned out differently if there had been a more severe collision at the time (most of them, I recall were at stop lights/signs).
Having been in some violent MVA's and having responded to many of the same since the 70's, I agree that the energy in such a situation can make things leave their supposedly "fixed" positions. I believe, though that a person could firmly attach a firearm to their vehicle in a way that would allow drawing it in a time of need, and keep it secure in most types of accidents.
As was said earlier...

308wood
"...the idea is to have the gun in your hand but not in view before the situation deteriorates to the point that you need it and you do not want to make any disernable movement to get it.
IE. han solo in the bar."

I love the reference to Hans Solo in the bar, but my favored reference would be to the one of Mel Gibson in the second Road Warrior movie (I think). You know, the one where he's checking in at the door, has to leave his weapons, and proceeds to pull out about twenty-three different firearms from every conceivable location on his body.

Yeah, that's the ticket! Just imagine how many weapons you could hide in an Expedition! The Glock in the center console for sure. Heck there's probably room for a couple of 'em in there. A brace of 1911's under "each" seat. A Desert Eagle .44 in the glove box. A PPK velcro-strapped to the top of each sun-visor. A North American Arms 22 mag revolver in each cup-holder and ash tray (I guess they still put ashtrays in Expeditions). In the back-end, that trap-door thingy on the side panel (you know, where the jack is stored) would probably hold a couple of Sig P225's and you could conceivably come-up with a concealed compartment under the rear cargo liner that should be able to hold two or three AR's and a couple of short barreled 870 pumps.

Well, that's the way we'd do it in Texas anyway. In Texas the CCW permit not only allows for concealed carry, it allows for concealed carry of "multiple" weapons. My preferred carry is a pair of .36 caliber 1851 Navies in cross-draw shoulder holsters, ala, John Wesley Hardin.

LOL . . . Doug  

Seriously. The whole idea behind carrying a weapon is the ability to have it available when YOU need it. You're vehicle aint ever gonna NEED it and unless you've somehow managed to have yourself surgically attached to your vehicle, the ONLY logical place to keep your firearm is on your person.

JMHO

Quoted: I have to wonder why so many folks are saying a holster on your person is going to keep a hangun in place any better than a holster attached to the vehicle.

Because after a collision when everything that was secured is now lying on the floorboard or in disarray elsewhere you (assuming you have been saved by your seatbelt) will still have your gun on your side. The gun was anchored to you and you to the seat.... thus your sidearm is still on your person ready for use.

As Jimmy Carter would have put it: "Gentlemen, I basically agree with both positions".

If funds permit, keep your primary carry gun on your person AND a car gun in a suitably secure hidden location in the vehicle (center console works). Hey presto - the best of both worlds.