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I'm part owner of a 51% bar here in Austin. I had to park my car on a lot a block away from the bar
when I went in to check on the property. The lot had valet parking. they insisted on parking my car for me.
I did not feel comfortable giving my keys to a stranger since I had two revolvers in the car. I tried to
tell the valet that my car is a stick shift ( it really is a stick shift)in hopes that he couldn't drive it and give me an excuse to park
the car myself and take the keys. He told me that he was good to drive a stick shift..
He continued to insist on parking my car. I did not want to tell him that the real reason
was that I had the two revolvers. I finally drove off and parked elsewhere. How do you handle a situation like this??

Personally I believe you made the right decision. I do not hand my keys to anyone unless I know them VERY well.
Especially if I had to leave any firearm in the car. Maybe.... if I had a gunsafe mounted in the car to secure it, or in this case, them.

A small safe, with a key lock, bolted to the car in an area that is hidden. Of course I carry the safe key with me, it is not on the key chain for the car.

As the owner, you can carry in your bar. So why leave the gun in the car?

Information here: http://www.texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=59433

The Annoyed Man wrote:As the owner, you can carry in your bar. So why leave the gun in the car?

Information here: http://www.texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=59433

As an owner, he/she doesn't need and LTC to carry open or concealed with in the confines of the bar.

The LTC is for OUTSIDE the bar.

My center console locks via a key that I can take with me. Inside the center console is a latch to lock the trunk so that it cannot be opened even with the key. So I just plan ahead a bit and any valuables that won't fit in the console go in the trunk. A lot of cars also have locking glove boxes (mine does not). Failing these options, as others have noted, you can get a small safe that is either bolted to your vehicle or cable locked to something that is hard to remove.

My wife's Altima has push button start with a "valet key" that stows in the key fob. I give the valet his key and keep the fob. The key only works the door locks and ignition. The trunk will not unlock without the fob being close by.

I have never used a Valet and had to leave my gun in the car. We just returned from a trip and I bought a Gunvault NV300 to lock a back up in my suburban and it tucked away with a cable.

If I HAD to use a valet/leave pistol I would sure use that vault.

I agree with TAM above.

I have had to valet park at the medical center several times. Left it in the door pocket covered with a rag and just hoped for the best. Wouldn't consider leaving it at home. So far so good.

I would never leave a firearm that is not secured in a vehicle. It may not stop the determined thief, but it will stop the opportunist.

My worse fear is my firearm being used by some thug to hurt someone.

oljames3 wrote:My wife's Altima has push button start with a "valet key" that stows in the key fob. I give the valet his key and keep the fob. The key only works the door locks and ignition. The trunk will not unlock without the fob being close by.

I think you have this backwards.

I don't valet park, whether or not I have a gun in the car. Too many horror stories of valets stealing cars.

I use the valet key system and leave the gun in the glove box and/or trunk. The valet cannot get in either of them without it.

Though, as it has been said, as part owner I'd say you are clear to carry in your own establishment. Though wise to leave it in the car if you planned on drinking while stopping in.

Sentry Safe makes a safe that holds 2 guns and has a very thick cable. I have one in each of our vehicles.

I've worked as a valet off and on for a long time and I'll see 4 or 5 loose/unsecured handguns a year and 5-10 people per year will tell me that there is/are firearm(s) in the vehicle. I've tried to work my head around the wisdom of telling a valet that there's a firearm in the vehicle and what I've come up with is that if I were the owner dropping off my vehicle/firearm with a valet, it would be secured ahead of time, would be well out of sight, and I'd simply hand them $10-$20 while asking them to keep it close by and locked.

While we're on the subject, I think that although at least 97.2% of the valets out there are trustworthy and aren't interested in your stuff, it doesn't hurt to take precautions. Besides the obvious (locking/hiding stuff you don't want to disappear), giving them as few keys as possible is a good idea. While it almost never happens, it only takes a bit of carelessness on their part to lose a set of keys and that can get ugly quick. If you really want to park it yourself, offer them whatever base fee they might be charging plus another ~$5 and they'll probably let you grab a spot.