mr00jimbo

While there is no real national CCW permit in Canada, I do go target shooting often at the local range, 50/50 with handguns and long guns. Carrying all my firearms to shoot would be ridiculously undoable on a bicycle, unfortunately, as they barely fit into the huge trunk of my car!

But some US cyclers have CCW permits, and carry their firearms daily. Is there a comfortable way to carry while on the bike? Please keep this discussion to legal only and remember to check your state's respective laws when inquiring about concealed carry permits.

Thanks

Jim

bac

Hi Jim. I used to carry a 38 in my camelbak for protection. I've since stopped brining it with me, as I knew that I'd use it one day.

... Brad

roseskunk

sure, it's pretty easy to carry if you want to. might be difficult if you're wearing lycra, but i can conceal a .357 in my front basket with a bunch of flowers...

Allen

Google "belly band"

kf5nd

I've carried a few times (legally), but basically I've given up. It's been proven many times, you can't shoot and ride a bike (or drive a car) at the same time. Best to be aware then get the heck out of the situation on your two wheels. If chased by a car, hang a u-turn and ride the wrong way down the road for a while as an emergency measure only. No car would dare do that.

Plus, I ride my bike to work. No firearms allowed at work.

CrimsonEclipse

Just stick with a small concealable firearm.
Bring a cannon and you might as well advertise.

CE

JusticeZero

I saw someone the other day who had mounted a tube on the side of his back rack pointed at the ground and secured somewhat like a pannier, with a rifle butt sticking out of it secured with shock cord in some manner. I didn't pay too much attention to it, since I don't need to carry a rifle anywhere myself.
Also: Don't see the point in carrying a very small firearm personally - lots of people carry guns here, but they're hand cannons or rifles because they don't expect to shoot it at anything weighing less than 400 pounds.

slowjoe66

I have a nice little Keltec .380; about the size of a pack of cigarettes. When my wife and I ride the MUP I always have it in my fanny pack; also on other rides from time to time. The MUP seems to be the place where the bums hang out quite a bit. They get aggressive asking for money and stuff sometimes and I feel better knowing if things get really out of hand I have a backup. I am licensed and legal.

I got my wife a stun gun. It's about the size of a mini maglite. She keeps it in the back pocket of her cycling jersey or some such. If she needs to get it out and zaps it, it will scare you. If she hits you with it you are going down. Those are legal here too.

Its all about personal choices. Many people are vehemently against carrying. Fine. 2nd Amendment says you can here in the states and I have a legal permit; so that is my choice. If you don't like guns, don't look in my fanny pack.

cerewa

Fine with me if you carry guns in wherever, Oregon, but as for the city of Philadelphia, more-permissive gun laws are not what we need.

gwd

I used to bike out to a dump/quarry or to the police gun range when I lived in North Florida. I put the guns in a carry case and tied the case on the rear rack with a bungee. It wasn't a problem. I don't get why you'd ask about going target shooting, guns are just stuff and we carry stuff on our bikes all the time. Of course I always did the safety thing, unloaded open breach etc. If I were going to carry something on my body, loaded for "protection" I'd talk to the bicycle cops about it. If your local police gun range is open for civilians too just go there and ask. The cops that hung out at the range I used were a friendly bunch.

phinney

For a typical CCW sized handgun a good handlebar bag works really well. I find on the body carry to be uncomfortable on a bike. For larger handguns the gun case on the rear rack is the best solution I've found so far. I regularly carry a scoped super redhawk .44 mag this way while on the lookout for woodchucks. I did pop rivet some guides on the case so it is very secure to the rack.

I think an over the shoulder bandoleer holster, worn backwards with the handgun on your back, may work for larger handguns also if you don't have a need to carry concealed. Haven't tried it though.

I've never carried a long gun on the bike but used to ski with just a regular sling and I don't remember having any problems with that. It might work if you have a fairly upright riding position. You might want to look into an atv style gun case mounted from the bars down along the fork. A trailer would be another option.

slowjoe66

You might be surprised if you took an objective look at crime statistics. Almost without fail, when the guns are made illegal (D.C., NYC, etc.) crime goes up. When Concealed carry is enacted, crime goes down. I'm not making this up. I respect your opinion, but the statistics show that less carry means more crime.

* Washington D.C. enacted a virtual ban on handguns in 1976. Between 1976 and 1991, Washington D.C.'s homicide rate rose 200%, while the U.S. rate rose 12%.

That's just one of many stats. I could find dozens to back up my point; both here and abroad.

I'm glad we still have a choice.

mjohn

My Glock, Walther PPK and Kimber Ultra carry all fit and carry unnoticed in my belly band with the firearm in the small of my back, even with riding bibs and jerseys.
I also have a Kel Tek that fits in a special holster that hangs around my neck. I always carry when I ride 99% of the people in my group have no idea, the 1% that do know because they carry as well.

CrimsonEclipse

That's exactly what I had in mind!


CE

roseskunk

check out the little ruger .380 as well. kahr is also coming out with a .380 'pocket gun'.

bmclaughlin807

Conceal carry??? Why would I want to conceal? I'd rather carry in a nice belt holster prominently displayed in the center of my back, thank you very much.

Bet I wouldn't get nearly as many close passes.

bragi

I can see carrying a gun to the range on your bike, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to have one on every ride. I've actually considered packing while riding, but decided against it, primarily because I can't bring a gun to work without getting fired, but also because I've decided that it would probably do more harm than good in pretty much every situation. Case in point: A few months ago, a motorist intentionally pulled in front of me, came to a screeching halt, knocked me off my bike, called me a "bike ***," among other things, and sped off. I became instantly infuriated, rode as fast as I could, caught up to the man at the next red light, pounded on his hood, and invited him to step out of his car so I could kick his fat a**. (He declined, and drove away.) I was so enraged that it never even occurred to me to look at his license plate. I hate to think what would've happened had I had a gun.

Lt.Gustl

Carrying the firearm isn't as hard as lugging around the ammo. If you are willing to pay range prices I guess you are OK with just the shooter. Bar bag would do fine. For a longarm you can look into the molded cases used on ATVs, or a less prominent solution could be one of those tubular cases graphic designers, architects and artists carry their stuff in so you don't scare any liberals or present yourself as an opportunity to any thugs. My favorite method though is a guitar case. Or for when I'm shooting the clays a Bass guitar case for the much longer shotgun. I'm too lazy to break it down all the time.

Again though the biggest trouble is the ammo, but if you shoot .22 you needn't worry at all.

while I wouldn't want to open carry on a bike (easy target for a hit and run) I had noticeably less problems the few times I had to bring a crow bar to work and had it lashed on the rear rack.

voldemort

I'm sure Performance or Nashbar carry a handlebar mount for lightweight automatic weapons. You know, Uzis and such. Plus the special spare clip-holder, for those times when one magazine just isn't enough.

roseskunk

lightweight? nah, you need something heavy like the barrett 50 cal. for taking care of folks that cut you off. that's probably a top-tube mount to a steel frame. a nice bipod kick stand would come in handy as well. you're not going to fire one of those things while you're riding. get tracer rounds for it as well. bang!

goatforce5

What's the stat about gun deaths in the US compared to the rest of the western world?

8bit

I'd imagine that an Xtracycle with the sides made for carrying long things (can't remember what attachment it is, but I know they make one) would work pretty well for the long guns.

Come on, people. The OP is asking how to carry target shooting guns safely and legally. He isn't asking whether he needs to bust a cap in someone's ass on the bikepath.

roseskunk

actually the OP asked,"Is there a comfortable way to carry while on the bike?" and also said, "Carrying all my firearms to shoot would be ridiculously undoable on a bicycle." he also spoke about a concealed carry permit, something not required to carry a gun to a range, at least here in texas. so while he may not need or want to "bust a cap in someone's ass", i do believe he was asking about carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense. and yeah, a 50 cal. would be overkill... but a small .380 can fit reasonably in a handlebar bag or even the front or rear pocket of a pair of baggy shorts. keep in mind that here in texas the gun must be concealed, i have no idea what it's like where you live. you can also carry a concealed firearm in your personal car without a chl license here in texas.
i've had a permit for some time as my job sometime requires me to be in places that self-defense might prove necessary, otherwise i don't carry a gun. it's often awkward for me to be at gun shops as usually the politics there are about as opposite from mine as is possible. i'm as liberal as they come. i also carry a gun occasionally.

Roody

I hate to think what would have happened to you if HE had a gun.

YULitle

I'm pretty sure that I saw a guy packing one at the Amarillo Ride of Silence. He was one of the people who had been hit in the past year, as they made them ride up front. He had it slung over his shoulders and it rested under his armpit. It was completely concealed, but I'm about 99% sure that it was a pistol of some sort.