Hey guys - Been lurking here a while - all through new car research, and this site helped a lot in making a final decision. I got my new '08 Black Fit Sport w/ MT a little over two weeks ago and I absolutely LOVE it. It's like driving a Go-cart to work every day.

Anyway, I have a problem. I have a Concealed Handgun License and I occasionally carry a handgun with me. There are certain places that I cannot take the gun, so every once in a while, I have to leave it in the car.

In my old car, I used one of these: Cabela's -- Secure-It Handgun Storage Safe
(sturdier than it looks)

I wrapped it around the front seat post and tucked it under the seat. Unfortunately, this won't work in my new fit. Right now I have it in the cargo area wrapped around the top seat latch, but I would really prefer a solution that is accessible from the drivers seat as there is less chance of someone seeing me retrieving my gun and getting the wrong idea.

Has anyone done this? Does anyone have any ideas? (It doesn't have to be with the box linked above and money isn't really an object.)

Requirements:
1.) a secure place to keep a small (usually a J frame or P239) handgun (pref out of plain view)
2.) In reach of the drivers seat
3.) Secure enough to prevent some kid from getting his first gun in "smash n grab" (i.e. would need tools to remove)
4.) Secure enough to delay a pro bad guy long enough to keep him from shooting me with my own gun.
5.) Doesn't permanently limit functionality of the glorious magic seats.

Thanks,
BW

 

buddyw,
I carry a gun, or guns, almost all the time, but do not have or need the concealed carry permit. In CA, to be completely legal, you have to be able to keep the gun and ammo in separate, lockable compartments. At least those of us who are not licensed to carry loaded weapons need to do this.

Unfortunately, such lockable compartments not exist in the Fit. With your need to access the pistol from the driver's seat, you are pretty much stuck without a solution.

I usually carry either a Colt 1911 .45, or a Glock 17, in a steel box with a three digit combination lock (thumbwheels on the side of the box). I keep the magazines loaded, but separate from the guns. If I am on the way to a range, the box stays locked. If I'm on a road trip and carrying for self defense, the mags are still separate, but the box is unlocked and on the passenger seat.

If I get pulled over by a cop for any reason, it takes a single motion to push the lid down and rotate one of the thumbwheels to lock the box. I immediately announce the presence of the gun to the nice policeman. I have used these methods for decades, have had to unlock the box for three law enforcement officers with never any problems, but have yet to be pulled over in the Fit.

 

I was afraid of that. I had searched pretty diligently and was unable to find a nook to mount one in. I think I am going to drill the floorboard and install a u-bolt (or similar) in some discrete location on the passengers side. That way I can just chain it up down there and easily move it to the back if I have guests.

Thanks for the response!
-bw

p.s.

In Texas, starting September this year it is legal (as long as you are not a felon) to carry a concealed loaded weapon in your car without a handgun license. If they had that law when I was getting my license I probably wouldn't have gone through all of the trouble...Though it is nice to be able to slip a J-frame into your pocket for those shadier areas at night.

I hear those CA gun laws get pretty strict - only 10 rounds - locked box - all of that. Maybe law abiding citizens will get the full 2nd amendment back one day.

 

Hah!
Not in CA, and it looks as if gun laws, and the current definition of the 2nd. amendment, are being used as political ammo. in the present political arena.

I would have suggested adding some sort of anchor to the body of your Fit for the use of your current gun safe, but most people would be horrified by this suggestion. Good for you to think of it yourself. However, a gun safe will be obvious for what it is. Even if chained and locked to the floor, it will still be an invitation to break into your car.

My steel gun box isn't quite as obvious as a gun container, so I just lock it and stick it in a duffel bag in the trunk area when I have to leave it in the car.

 

Perhaps you could modify the arms that hold the glovebox door so they unhook rapidly by pushing them inward so they pass the edge of the dash and allow the door to drop open past normal and then mount a holster to the top or front of the a/c unit. The only drawback (pun intended) is everything in the glovebox would spill onto the floor if your not careful when you hyper extend the door.

In that vein other than USDM have two sections inside the glovebox and the lower section is just held in position by clips and can be pulled out like a drawer in a dresser very quickly and easily to access the same area. How do you USDM guys change the A/C filter? If you can get to that area that is a nice little cubby hole just right for a "J" frame.

 

Hmmmmm. I like the behind the glovebox idea. I didn't know there was room back there. I'm going to look into it this weekend and see what I have to work with.

Thanks!

 

I didn't know about the available space either, and claymore knows his guns and his cars. You can find a back pack style trash container that straps around the passenger headrest and hangs on the seat back that would replace the space needed to hold your glove box contents. If you modify the glove box hinges and latch to access the space behind it, there would be no contents to fall out when the door falls completely open.

Here's a vendor for the back pack trash container:
Trailer hitch, hitches and bike rack (800)298-8924

Or, simpler yet, if you use the back pack trash container to hold the stuff now in your glove box, the box probably has enough room for the J-frame without needing modification. The trash can strapped to your seat wouldn't be as much of a break-in attractant as a gun safe chained to yur floor. Good luck!

 

Can i ask, whats the point of having a gun in your car?
I just dont understand, there must be a reason that im missing here.
Well maybe if you lived in Oakland it would make sense lol?

Tyler

 

He carries a gun as part of his job, but there are places where he has to visit, such as a court room or other high security area, where he is not permitted to enter with a concealed weapon. So, he needs to leave the gun in his car temporarily, out of view, but easily accessible. He covered that in his first post.

There are as many reasons for carrying a gun in your car as there are gun owners. Some day, some Fit owner may carry a gun in his car to rob a bank so he can buy a Ferrari. I already described my reasons for carrying guns.

 

Lol, i like the buy a Ferrari idea!

 

Well, a smart crook would avoid the automatic FBI involvement that comes with being a bank robber, and just use the gun to boost the Ferrari. Much more simple and direct, and if he's caught, shorter prison term. He still has to carry the gun in his Fit while he is driving around looking for the Ferrari!

 

Yeah thats a very good point, the hardest part would be going out and finding the Ferrari but really in the Bay Area it wouldnt be to hard.
Alright enough with the jacking ferrari's talk and back to the gun talk, lol.

Tyler

 

LOL he can carry a gun in his FIT because he wants to or needs to. Just like some guys change their wheels or shiftknobs or buy Ferrari's it's his right to do it.

But anyway the first photo shows how much room is inside under the dash. Hard to tell the scale but the silver square latch in the upper center of the photo is about 1 inch square




This photo shows our two level glove box.



That lower section just slides out like a drawer and there is plenty of room heck you could even Fit a brace of 1911A1s in there. The wires on the right side are very flexable and can be moved around to make the area the shape you want.

 

I have the one of those boxes from cabelas that I use for either 1 or 2 of my M638s.

I just use the supplied cable to attach it to the driver's rail and place the box under the driver's seat with the help of a mat of rubber toolbox liner to keep it from sliding around.

I keep my firearms in there only when I go to my workplace, church, post office, etc.

Definitely not a safe and would prefer to have it mounted to the car itself. But it is better than leaving the gun(s) in the glove compartment.

 

Really? I couldn't get it to go under the seat. Maybe I just needed to finesse it a little bit.

btw, toolbox liner is a good idea. That thing drove me crazy sliding around in my truck.

 

i think the most sensible and economical option would be to mount a turret on the roof. That way it won't slide around

 

The glovebox on the left hand drive north american fits does not look like that inside, I just went out and checked mine. I usually just don't leave my gun the car, I have a few times when I'm at a friends house and its in their driveway or something, and set the alarm. These cars are so small they don't really have a good place to secure one.

 

Any reason why you couldn't just bolt a small lockable box, gunsafe or similar, underneath a seat? If it's bolted to the floor at least somebody would have to work for it.

 

I know for me that is fairly inaccessable to have it bolted under the seat. That would require moving the seat full forward to access and even then I would imagine it would still not be able to open fully.

Really this was main my bummer point of the Fit upon purchase was the non locking glove compartment. I've stopped carrying largely due to no safe lockable location within the car for stowage of my pistol(s).

I had thought of modifying the driver side dash below the fuse panel to have a compartment there but Washington law forbids the creation of a hidden compartment for stowage of a firearm. Apparently under the seat would not be considered consealed but a cut out in the dash would be. So I am still working on this myself.

 

Any solutions to this one yet? How about retrofitting the glovebox with some kind of discreet key lock? Or, I was thinking the right kind of lockbox (maybe that Cabela's unit) would slide under the passenger-side front seat pretty well from behind. With the rear seat folded down, it would be totally concealed. You could loop that cable around the seat hardware pretty easy I bet. Another option, though less accessible in a pinch, would be in the spare tire area. There's quite a lot of room within the spare wheel itself, especially if you modified the hold-down bolt somehow.