Key Takeaways
- A full-width crew-cab under-seat lockbox is the in-cab option that can hold a rifle or shotgun, because console safes and glove box safes are too short for long guns.
- For a handgun, a center console safe drops into your factory console, keeps the armrest and lid working, and is the only truck storage you can reach from the driver’s seat.
- Mount storage by firearm and access: the console for handguns, under the rear seat for a rifle in a crew cab, and the truck bed for several long guns and gear.
- Federal law protects travel between places you can legally possess a firearm when it is unloaded and not readily accessible from the passenger compartment, but state and hunting rules vary; check yours before every trip.
To secure your firearm in your truck this hunting season, match a locked steel box to the firearm you carry and the cab you drive. A rifle behind the seat or a pistol in the factory console stays handy, but neither sits behind steel and a lock.
Welded steel storage adds the concealment and delay a truck cab lacks. This guide covers what to carry where, how to choose and install the gear, and the legal basics worth knowing before you load up.
It applies whether you hunt, shoot sporting clays, work a ranch, or move a duty weapon between vehicles as an officer. Start with the firearm, then the truck.
Why Your Truck Needs Real Firearm Storage During Hunting Season
To secure a gun in your truck while hunting, unload it, case it, and lock it in a welded steel box mounted to the vehicle. Keep ammunition separate where your state requires it, and keep the box out of sight. Use a console safe for a handgun and a full-width under-seat lockbox or truck bed security drawer for long guns.
Hunting puts your truck in exposed places: trailheads before dawn, diner lots, motel parking, and camp for days at a time. A rifle in a window rack or a pistol in an unlocked console is easy to spot. A locked steel box keeps it out of view and slows down anyone who tries to get in.
Tuffy has built vehicle-specific steel storage since 1989, for the places hunters actually park. Lock it, leave it, and get on with the hunt.
Match the Storage to the Firearm: Handgun, Rifle, or Shotgun
Firearm length decides where it can ride. Start with what you carry, then match the storage to your cab.
Handguns and Sidearms: Center Console Safes
For a handgun, a sidearm, or the wallet and phone you leave behind for the day, center console safes are the right fit. A Tuffy console safe drops into your existing factory console. The console stays in place, and the armrest and lid keep working.
Each safe is built from heavy-duty cold-rolled welded steel and secured by the patented Pry-Guard system. Once the lid closes, the console looks stock. Lock options include the exclusive 10-tumbler double-bitted key and mechanical 3- or 4-digit push-button combinations.
A console safe is the only truck storage option you can reach from the driver’s seat. That makes it the natural home for a handgun on the drive to the field. It does not fit a rifle or shotgun.
Rifles and Shotguns: Full-Width Under-Seat Lockboxes
Yes, a full-width crew-cab under-seat lockbox can hold a rifle or shotgun, because it spans the cab under the rear seat. Console safes and glove box safes are too short for long guns. Tuffy’s Chevy and GMC crew cab lockbox offers over 3,500 cubic inches, and its full width stows a rifle or other long items.
You reach the box by flipping up the rear seat, so it stays out of sight. It is not reachable from the driver’s seat. That trade is worth it for a long gun that rides inside the cab, sheltered from weather and road dust.
Under-seat lockboxes are made for trucks only and install with tools using the factory mounting points. Before you buy, measure your cased rifle against the box’s interior dimensions, since barrel length and optics vary. Read more about under-seat rifle storage for your truck.
Multiple Long Guns and Bulk Gear: Truck Bed Security Drawers
When you carry more than one long gun, plus packs, decoys, and boots, truck bed security drawers give you the room. Tuffy drawers are fully encased, weather-resistant welded steel, a clear step up from plastic and wood bed storage.
Heavy-duty ball-bearing slides carry the load, and the top is rated to hold up to 2,000 lbs. The bed floor still works for coolers, game bags, and everything else a hunt takes.
Drawers come in short, standard, and long bed sizes, in 10-inch or 14-inch heights. They are universal, ship by freight, and are too large for a Tacoma. Access is from the tailgate, so load what you need in the cab before you leave.
Moving Between Vehicles: Portable Safes
If you hunt from more than one vehicle, or move a pistol between a work truck and a family SUV, portable safes travel with you. Tuffy’s portable safes are welded steel and tether by cable to a fixed point in the vehicle.
They come in sizes for compact and full-size pistols. Measure the space where the safe will ride and pick a size that fits. They are also a strong choice for officers who move a duty handgun from a patrol vehicle to a personal one.
Truck Firearm Storage Options Compared
You can mount secure storage in four truck locations: the center console, under the rear seat, the truck bed, or a portable safe’s tether point. The console holds a handgun and is the only spot you can reach from the driver’s seat. A crew cab’s rear seat area fits a rifle, and the bed holds several long guns and gear.
Storage option | Best for | Fits long guns? | Access | Install notes
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
Console safe | Handguns, wallet, phone, documents | No | From the driver’s seat | Drops into the factory console; no drilling on most applications; about 30 minutes |
Full-width under-seat lockbox | A rifle or shotgun in a crew cab | Yes, on full-width crew-cab versions | Flip up the rear seat | Trucks only; mounts to factory points with tools |
Truck bed security drawer | Several long guns plus bulk gear | Yes | From the tailgate | Universal; short, standard, or long beds; not for Tacoma |
Portable safe | Pistols that move between vehicles | No | Wherever it is tethered | Cable-tethered; sizes for compact and full-size pistols |
For most hunters, the strongest setup pairs a console safe for the handgun with a full-width under-seat lockbox for the rifle. Both are vehicle-specific, welded steel, and hidden from view once installed.
How to Choose a Truck Gun Safe: What to Check Before You Buy
Before you order what most people search as a truck gun safe, check three things: fit, lock, and install.
Confirm Fitment by Year, Make, Model, and Console Type
Fit comes first. Tuffy builds vehicle-specific storage for a wide range of trucks, SUVs, and Jeeps across many model years. A box built for one model will not fit another.
Search by year, make, and model, then confirm your console type. Full-floor versus flow-through consoles and floor shift versus column shift all change the fit. Your results show every option for your truck, including year ranges and lock choices.
Pick a Lock That Works in Cold Weather
In cold weather, either Tuffy lock works because both are mechanical, with no batteries or electronics to lose power on a frozen morning. The 10-tumbler double-bitted key suits hunters who keep keys on a ring. The 3- or 4-digit push-button combination suits anyone who would rather not carry another key.
Electronic and biometric locks sold elsewhere depend on batteries, and cold drains batteries. Tuffy console safes use mechanical locks only, keyed or combination.
Plan the Install
Most Tuffy console safes install with no drilling, using the vehicle’s factory mounting points, in about 30 minutes with basic hand tools. Some need drilling when the vehicle lacks those points; the Ram console safe, for example, calls for minor drilling. Under-seat lockboxes also mount to factory points.
Read the install notes for your product and do the work at home before the season starts. Universal bed drawers need their own mounting plan, so give those a free afternoon.
How to Secure a Firearm in Your Truck: A Hunting Season Checklist
Use this checklist each time you secure your firearm in your truck during hunting season.
- Unload the firearm before it goes in the truck, and check the chamber and magazine.
- Case it, especially a scoped rifle, to protect the optic and keep it out of view.
- Lock it in welded steel: a console safe for a handgun, an under-seat lockbox or bed drawer for long guns.
- Store ammunition separately where state law or hunting regulations call for it.
- Keep storage out of sight, with seats down and lids closed.
- Keep your key or combination with you, never in the cab.
- Bring the firearm inside at camp or lodging rather than leaving it in the truck overnight.
- Check state transport laws and wildlife agency hunting regulations before each trip, especially across state lines.
Legal Basics: What to Know Before You Drive to the Field
Under federal law, a glove box or center console alone does not count as the locked container for interstate transport. 18 U.S.C. 926A protects travel when the firearm is unloaded and neither it nor ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment (such as a trunk), the firearm or ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.
This protection, part of the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA), covers travel between places where you may legally possess the firearm. State and local rules still vary on loaded long guns in vehicles, ammunition separation, and unattended-vehicle storage. For example, Colorado’s vehicle storage law sets rules for firearms left in unattended vehicles.
Your state wildlife agency’s hunting regulations may also address loaded firearms in vehicles, so check them before the season. Rules can change between seasons, so read the current edition before each trip. A locked steel box helps you meet locked-container rules where they apply; verify the details with your state.
This is general information, not legal advice. For state-by-state detail, read our guide to firearm transport laws by state.
Hunting Camp and Overnight Stops
Avoid leaving a firearm in your truck overnight when you can bring it into your cabin, tent, or room. If it has to stay, unload it, lock it in a welded steel box mounted to the truck, and keep it out of sight. Check whether your state sets rules for firearms in unattended vehicles.
At camp, lock the truck, keep the key or combination on you, and park where you can see it. Leave window racks empty and gear cases out of view when you walk away.
Steel storage provides concealment and delay. Good habits at camp do the rest, and the truck is ready to roll at first light.
Get set before opening day. Search your year, make, and model with the vehicle selector to confirm your fit. Then explore console safes, under-seat lockboxes, and truck bed security built to secure your firearm in your truck.
Frequently Asked Questions About Securing a Firearm in Your Truck
These answers cover the questions hunters ask most about storing a firearm in a truck during the season.
Can I Mount a Gun Safe in My Truck?
Yes, most trucks have room for locked steel storage in the center console, under a crew cab’s rear seat, or in the truck bed. Tuffy console safes drop into the factory console, under-seat lockboxes mount to factory points, and bed drawers hold long guns and gear. Search your year, make, and model to confirm fit.
Can a Truck Gun Safe Hold a Rifle?
It depends on the type, since console safes and glove box safes are too short for long guns. A full-width crew-cab under-seat lockbox can hold a rifle or shotgun; Tuffy’s Chevy and GMC crew cab version offers over 3,500 cubic inches. A truck bed security drawer also holds several long guns plus gear.
Where Is the Best Place to Store a Rifle in a Truck?
For most crew cab trucks, the best place is a full-width lockbox under the rear seat. The rifle rides inside the cab, out of sight and locked in welded steel, and you reach it by flipping up the seat. For several long guns plus bulk gear, a truck bed security drawer adds room.
How Do I Secure a Gun in My Truck While Hunting?
Unload it, case it, and lock it in a welded steel box mounted to the truck. Use a console safe for a handgun and a full-width under-seat lockbox or truck bed drawer for rifles. Store ammunition separately where required, keep storage out of sight, and keep your key or combination with you.
What Is a Way to Keep a Firearm Safe When It Is Not Locked Away in Storage?
Keep it under your direct control, unloaded when not in use, and locked whenever you step away. In a vehicle, a locked steel box adds concealment and delay. A Tuffy portable safe is welded steel, tethers by cable, and moves between vehicles, so the firearm has a locked place wherever you travel.
Is a Glove Box or Center Console a Locked Container?
Not under federal law; 18 U.S.C. 926A says that in a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s (such as a trunk), the firearm or ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. State rules vary; a locked steel box helps where locked-container rules apply. General information, not legal advice.
Should I Leave a Gun in My Truck Overnight at Hunting Camp?
Bring it inside your cabin, tent, or room when you can. If it must stay, unload it, lock it in a welded steel box mounted to the truck, and keep it out of sight. Some states, including Colorado, set rules for firearms in unattended vehicles, so check yours before you leave it.
Do Truck Gun Safes Require Drilling to Install?
Usually not for vehicle-specific products: most Tuffy console safes install with no drilling using factory mounting points, in about 30 minutes with basic hand tools. Some vehicles lack those points, so a few safes need drilling; the Ram console safe calls for minor drilling. Under-seat lockboxes also mount to factory points.
Keyed or Combination Lock: Which Works Better in Cold Weather?
Both work well in cold weather because Tuffy locks are mechanical, with no batteries to lose power in freezing temperatures. The 10-tumbler double-bitted key suits anyone who keeps keys on a ring. The 3- or 4-digit push-button combination suits anyone who would rather not carry another key on the hunt.
What Are the Basic Rules of Firearm Safety?
Treat every firearm as if it is loaded, and keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot, and know your target and what is beyond it. Before a firearm rides in your truck, unload it and lock it in a secure steel box.