Cleaning a handgun in a moving vehicle

[PappaGun]

I took a road trip this past week.
The wife and I turned about 2500 miles in 8 days.
At times, I was twiddling my thumbs and got tired of conversation.

What I really wanted to do was just pull over and plink at some targets.
Anyway, it got me wondering about cleaning a gun in a moving vehicle.
Would this be legal in Texas?
Obviously it would be unloaded and disassembled.
And for the record, I don't mean a cleaning with solvent and all that.
That would make a REAL mess!

[WildBill]

INAL, but I think it would be illegal in that it's not concealed. Even though it's unassembled and not capable of shooting, I believe the courts have ruled that it is still a firearm. I look forward to some other forum member's comments.

[sjfcontrol]

Ummm...
My guess is you'd have to clean it while keeping it concealed -- an interesting trick I wouldn't mind watching!

I suppose you could clean parts of it as long as "the ordinary observation of a reasonable person" would not recognize it as a gun.

(WildBill beat me to it.)

[baseballguy2001]

I agree with the others, it's probably illegal. It's dumb too. If you really have to clean it, wait until you get to the hotel and spread the cleaning mat out and clean it properly. Solvent, patches, the works. Get an ipod and watch movies on it if you are bored rolling down the highway.

My .02

[OldCannon]

I don't recommend cleaning a gun in a moving car -- you should always keep your eyes on the road and drive safely.

[C-dub]

In the back at the table of a motor home, maybe. Otherwise, I wouldn't do it.

[Crossfire]

If you are that bored in the car, I think you would be better off taking up knitting.

[sjfcontrol]

Maybe you could knit a gun-cozzy!

[MoJo]

Murphy's law #6,689, "Whenever you disassemble a firearm you are going to drop a small part and it will bounce/roll into the most inaccessible place." Geez looking for that spring in a moving car!

[WildBill]

Murphy's law #6,689, "Wwhenever you disassemble a firearm you are going to drop a small part and it will bounce/roll into the most inaccessible place." Geez looking for that spring in a moving car!

I thought that only happened to me.

[MoJo]

Murphy's law #6,689, "Wwhenever you disassemble a firearm you are going to drop a small part and it will bounce/roll into the most inaccessible place." Geez looking for that spring in a moving car!

I thought that only happened to me.

That's why I keep at least one spare plunger spring and plungers and, recoil spring and cap on hand at all times for my 1911s.

[ricor]

I would be thinking of the smell in a confined space.. That would upset my wife.

[Westfield]

I hope some anti gun people don't read this question. Just not a very bright thing to do. Yes I know, you will make sure the gun is not loaded.

[PappaGun]

OK. What I really meant was a disassemble and detail.
Something to while away the hours while someone else is driving.
You guys are pretty funny.

[ELB]

I used to clean my revolver while driving back from the matches in Lake Piru when I lived in California. And I kept it concealed the whole way.

After the match I would disassemble the revolver and drop all the parts into a plastic container with a tight fitting lid. I had filled the container with a cleaning solution (I forgot which one I used, it was fairly mild). I'd close the lid and either put it on the floor or tie it down in the back of my pickup. It would soak and slosh around for the hour drive home. When I got home, run patches through everything, reassemble and oil, and presto. Clean revolver.