Leaving your gun in a hot car

Good point about firearms stolen from vehicles. We have had a rash of thieves checking car doors (probably most of you have seen the same) to see if they are locked and yes, guns have been stolen out of cars per social media. You should see the social media stink eye someone gets when a firearm is stolen from a vehicle, especially if someone forgot to lock their car. Glad people report it, actually is a good reminder about keeping one’s car free of valuables and remembering to lock it.

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I wish that stink eye were more universal. Around here when people have their vehicle “broken into” aka they left it unlocked outside overnight and somebody opened the door, and I tell them, hey, you really should lock your doors, they pretty much to a person get mad and call it “victim blaming” because they “shouldn’t have to” lock their doors and it’s the criminal’s and only the criminal’s fault, they should be able to leave guns purses wallets computers in their car unlocked overnight and how dare I suggest yada yada.

There is no helping some people

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To a degree it is victim shamming when they post as a courtesy, they acknowledge the mistake of leaving their door unlocked, but have to hear it over and over that they should have kept their door locked (assuming a firearm is not in the car.) I would rather they post so that others can learn from their mistake, after all, why would you post something that you will be ridiculed over? Was it dumb? Yes. Was the theft preventable ? Perhaps. Thieves still will break windows. If everyone locked their car more car owners would be victims of smash and grab. If more people put their car in the garage their garages or homes would be broken into. Thieves will be thieves.

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And their will always be thieves despite the Utopian fantasies of the anti self defense crowd. Which is why it is important to make sure we aren’t the easiest target on the block.

Though I disagree that if everyone was more vigilant it will just make all criminals more aggressive. It will likely make some more aggressive but it may lead many to decide it is not worth the risk to have to go after harder targets when all the easy targets have disappeared. I think many if not most criminals are opportunistic, threat averse and lazy.

Anyone leaving a firearm unattended in an unlocked car should be shamed. They are voluntarily arming criminals and endangering curious children. Though I respect their bravery if they publicly admit their error so others can learn from their mistakes.

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It’s getting bad here too. Crooks will smash in a car window just to see if there is a gun under the seat.

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That’s the catch, to them, it’s not a mistake, it’s 100% knowing and intentional, and they openly state they aren’t going to do anything different, and everybody else piles onto the “reeee you’re blaming the victim” if you make a general “it’s unfortunate yada yada, but cars really do need locked especially when valuables are inside”.

It is, IMO, a problem that people are unwilling to take such super simple steps to protect their stuff.

Also, I bet literally 99% of the vehicle break ins here are unlocked cars. At least around here, nobody gets their window broken unless they left something obviously valuable sitting in plain sight, like a purse on the seat overnight or purse on the floor when they go for a walk in the county park.

If everyone locked their car, fewer people would be victims of their vehicle being entered and stuff being stolen.

Most vehicles, when locked, if you smash the window and then open the door to get inside, the alarm will go off.

The reason so many unlocked cars are “broken into” is they can go through literally the whole neighborhood and open dozens of cars without anybody knowing because it’s so quiet. But as soon as you are breaking glass (distinctive noise) and setting off car alarms (hard to miss at 3AM), it’s a totally different situation.

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that’s the problem here. Nothing left out to see but the crooks know most ppl leave their guns under the seat because it’s easier than taking in and out of the house each day. Break into 10 cars, get 5 guns, its worth it to them.

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I personally don’t think it is a good idea to be leaving a firearm in a car overnight unless State or local laws force you to. But it seems extremely irresponsible to do so if living in an area with as many break ins as it sounds like your area has.

Are people at least using locking cases cabled to their cars to make it a little harder on the criminals? At least make them get a little more exercise lugging cable cutters around.

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It’s gotten better. Passing constitutional carry helped a lot. Ppl are lazy, if it’s on your hip, you don’t have to reach under the seat and fish it out.

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pAs most of you know I live in Arizona and we have very high temperatures in the summer, knowing this i have carried my firearms in my car’s and and never had a issue with heat for my gear and ammunition and i don’t leave my gear in the car overnight, that just one thing I practice for situational awareness and conflict avoidance. Stay Alert Don’t Get Hurt :cowboy_hat_face::cactus::statue_of_liberty::dart::ferris_wheel::sparkles::us_outlying_islands::sunglasses::sun_with_face::us::+1:

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I installed one of these in the truck and keep one there at all times, when not on me
Cost me $150, worth every penny. I also keep some large silica bags in there for humidity control, not perfect, but better than nothing.
The only time I take it out is during extreme cold

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Drat, yet another company that doesn’t believe Ford Mustang owners want secure storage.

Christopher_S1
Blame FORD for that one, you have to use the ‘hidden key’ to lock it in the glove box in the newer ones. The center console is too small to put a lockbox. BUT, I read this on a Mustang forum, my wife has a 2020 ---- “Here’s how the console works for anyone that doesn’t know. When you lock the car doors, the center console locks. If the door happens to be open, you can still unlock without the keyfob by using the switches in the door. But once the door is closed, you have to have the keyfob to unlock the doors. So let’s say you lock the doors, but forget and leave the windows open. No one would be able to get into the console because it won’t unlock with the switch on the door.”

I will try this later.

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Still don’t use the console or glove compartment, use a lock box. The consoles I have had on most cars have been pretty flimsy, and that is the first place a thief would look. A console is still fairly inexpensive to replace. The only time I have ever used the lock box is when going to the post office or in the state of Illinois when stopping for a break.

And what do you do if the battery in your key fob dies?
I’m very glad I have an older vehicle.

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I’m not a big fan of all the new fangled electronics either but for those that are stuck with them most of the key fobs have a manual key hidden in them for unlocking the door. But you need to make sure you keep a spare battery for the fob in the vehicle so you can swap it out and make the car go.

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