1. Damn.
   Glad nothing was stolen. Windows are a pain, though – I had a would be thief try to steal a radio head unit once, same MO. Having to clean up the glass is just insult on top of the damage.
   Hopefully the hotel had parking lot cameras?

   5

2. Damn, that sucks. What a violation and now lots of frustration. Glad the cable box worked — I have one myself. Depending on which vehicle it’s in, it’s either tethered to trunk structure or the spare tire (yes, they could cart the spare tire away, but it’s far less convenient and would take a few moments to unscrew).

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3. I’m surprised they didn’t mess it up more considering they couldn’t get AT anything. This may have been a crime of opportunity based on you having out of state plates.

   (Which makes the Coke spillage weird. What, did they bash in the window between pulls from the 1 liter bottle they had or something?)

   2

   1. They hit several vehicles in the hotel parking lot. Couldn’t have spend more than a minute or two per vehicle. So time was on my side.

      I had a to-go cup of coke from the road trip in the cup holder. They knocked it over while ransacking the truck.

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      1. Yeah, that makes sense. Hotel parking lots are sadly vulnerable — hence why some hotels have secured parking that you can’t even get to without bellhop assistance.

         Fishing for easy loot, and guns are a good catch indeed.

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4. Out of curiosity, what hotel chain/brand were you staying at?

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5. Trust me, it sucks. But having had the good graces to be broken into plenty of times, you pray for the window to be broken. That is the cheapest and easiest to repair. When they attempt to pop the lock cylinders out of three doors before they succeed on the fourth, those door re-skins are going to cost you.

   But super glad they did not take anything, except for your sense of wellbeing having entered your private property.

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6. But the lock picking lawyer could have defeated that in seconds!

   Jk man and glad nothing was taken and everything worked as intended. Like you said, you need that pain in the ass on top of all the other excitement like a hole in the head.

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   1. The lock picking lawyer is a one trick pony. His trick is picking/opening locks. There are times when he uses by passes and other tricks, but it is normally just opening locks.

      He will sometimes post videos of destructive entry but again, a single trick.

      I remember a demonstration at a local sears store. In the one aisle they were selling “high security locks”. A few aisles down they were selling bolt cutters. They were doing a demo of the bolt cutters where they were having little old ladies use the bolt cutters to cut through the high security locks they were getting from two aisles down.

      For a better look at threat analysis go look up this dude:
      DeviantOllam https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4dxXZQq-ofAadUWbqhoceQ

      He talks about “threat analysis”. He’s an expert lock picker (friends with LPL) and does a good job of going over “pick the right lock/system for the threat you are expecting.”

      So he uses one of those lock boxes. He didn’t like the lock it came with so he replaced it with a lock he considers to be more secure. But he took a $30 box and added $30 worth of lock to it.

      It was worth it to him. Would it have stopped him? NO. Would it have stopped the LPL? NO. But it was secure enough to stop a common thief.

      One of the things he talks about is that TSA approved locks have master keys available for sale everywhere. This means that anybody that has access to your bags can open them, take what they want from your bag, then close it back up.

      His fix? He uses a good “bag”, a Pelican. He puts good locks which are not TSA approved and he has a firearm in the case. Because he is traveling with a firearm the TSA rules change such that TSA approved locks are NOT allowed and he can use real locks.

      Of course you now have the hassle of checking a gun at the airport, but he has videos on how to go about doing that correctly.

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      1. Thank you for the treatise in response to my joke. I am very familiar with the content of LPL and DeviantOllam, including all of the content you have just described.

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         1. You are welcome! It is always my pleasure to use long rambling comments on jokes to make the poster think I’m humor impaired!

            The comment wasn’t meant for you, singular, it was meant for all of the readers.

            Your joke points out that the LPL is a freakishly good lock picker. He’s won awards for it. I still like watching his content because it is interesting to me.

            Does his ability to get into a locked container make the container bad? Nope.

            I bring up Deviant because he takes a much more holistic approach to security. “Wow, great lock, horrible door fitment, let me show you this 5 second by pass with no skills.” And then he gives solutions that are cheap and easy.

            We are concerned about securing our firearms. There are places in this country where not securing your firearms in an “approved” container can get you in trouble. Even if you have your firearm in a better container. Take for example, J.Kb’s “Lock it in a job site tool box.”

            Are we trying to protect our car gun from the LPL or Deviant? No. We are trying to protect our car gun from the low skill dude with a rock that hit 9 cars and got 4 guns.

            4

            1

            1. Well, I you hit the mark then lol.

               I make the joke, not for the LPLs skill, but because JKB hates him with a passion going back to that very job box.

               Just some good natured ribbing here.

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7. I use a lock box like that too. Glad to see it worked for you.

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8. Sucks to be you. Damned glad it wasn’t worse.

   Hotels and motels anymore are magnets for local hoods.

   Particularly appreciate you sharing same. A word to the wise allows long distance learning at no cost to the learner.

   Methinks the golden age of society has passed. Now the hoodlums, thugs, gutter rats and denizens of downtown are free to roam, foam and rehome. With zero risk

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9. First, sad to read your tale, but glad your lock box did the job.

   Thanks for the “distance learning” opportunity. Later this year I’ve got to load up + move cross country, my late mother’s household. ’bout a 16 hour drive. I *HAD* contemplated an overnight stop, but, with your experience in mind, I’ll either spend that night in the vehicle with a shotgun, or drive straight through

   Since I’ll have to drive through The People’s Democratic Republic of NewYorkistan, well, drive through it is!

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   1. Find a co-driver if you can, Even a 2 hour nap or two on the road might be enough to get you through the whole trip.

      Park so they cannot disconnect and steal the trailer.

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      1. Thanks, rd. Good advice.

10. This sucks. Sorry, man

    Could you please tell me why you left your gun in the car overnight? My natural move is to take it with me to the room. What is the benefit of leaving it in the car? Local regulations?

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    1. I am curious also. My firearm always goes into the room with me, since it does me no good in the truck. Was it prohibited?

11. We have smaller SUVs and we’ve been using lockboxes like yours for a long time.
    And maybe we should look into upgrading the lockbox.

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12. Have the same setup in my car
    Thieves never look in the center console…….

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13. I’d like to break into a car and rip out the existing radio only to quickly install an 8 track tape player and leave a Tom Jones tape on the seat. The ultimate cruelty. Wouldn’t break any windows, even today it’s easy to get into any vehicle.

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14. We spent some time out-of-town at a relative’s place. Same state, so my carry permit was still valid, thank God, but traveling with kids, which adds a whole ‘nother wrinkle.

    My gun was always in one of two places: On my person, or in the house in a locked case modified for the purpose of storing the gun. (It’s not a “gun case” — much more innocuous — but it locks. “Modified” means I added hook-and-loop fasteners and holster so the gun doesn’t bounce around.) And only in the case at night.

    We didn’t always leave the house, but if I was awake I had the gun on me.

    Why? Because we’re traveling with small children — big enough to be self-ambulant and curious, but too small to know the “Eddie Eagle” rules (my older kids are well-versed) — and no security solution is 100% foolproof. Take it from me: Children can be geniuses at finding ways into things you think are secured.

    Ergo, my “threat assessment” calculus determined the most serious and likely potential issue was a child finding the case, finagling it open, and “playing with the toy gun”. And so that’s the threat I prepared for. YMMV.

    ———

    Also, echoing A above: I’m curious why the gun was left in the car — locked or not — and not in the hotel room with you. Lock-box notwithstanding, I don’t leave a gun in the car unless I’m entering a non-permissive environment (e.g. a post office or federal building), and then it’s back on me as soon as I come out.

    Not criticizing your decision, just curious.

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15. Bought z new pickup truck, not so long ago. Hearkening to the advice of J.Kb and Miguel,. I installed two gun safes: one in the console for the non permissive environment problem, cited above by Archer, and the other beneath the rear seat, long gun sized.

    The Almighty willing, I’ll never need the contents, but I have some “Antifa Repellant” there, should my avoid-evade-run like hell preferred alternatives fail me.

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