Your thoughts on 'truck guns'

[Alan]

Leaving a gun in your vehicle is asking for it to get stolen, which puts a firearm on the street. If you need a gun, carry it on your person. If you can't carry it legally, don't bring it. The 'truck gun' concept made sense in 1970, not today. Secure your firearms properly or don't bring them...

 

[Landon]

Truck guns sound cool until your window gets smashed and it’s gone forever.

 

[ProCarryNAustin]

For me… truck gun is a rifle you throw in the truck on property. I would never go into town that way.

 

[Josh06]

For me the truck gun is the one that rides with me around the lease, filling feeders, working on stuff, etc. so you're ready for the hog, coyote, or whatever target of opportunity appears. Doesn't stay in the truck 24/7.

 

[RF2650]

For me, an unloaded revolver and a box of ammo locked up and hidden in two different places is a workable but far from ideal solution. At least it is always there.
I do carry concealed if the mood strikes me but I am not paranoid enough to carry all the time.

 

[Drycreek]

Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean the sonsabitches ain’t out to get you ! It’s a mean world and almost 100% of folks who get car jacked, mugged, or otherwise assaulted didn’t think it would happen to them. It happens, and I urge everyone to carry every day ! If you don’t, that’s up to you, but stuff happens !

As far as truck guns, there’s a less than $500 AR under my back seat. My life and my loved ones are worth more than that.

 

[RF2650]

I carry every time I go into Dallas. I have a "war bag" ready to throw in the truck but that is a serious over reaction to any likely situation.

 

[JDBraddy]

Best truck gun I ever had was a Romanian SKS that I bought at a gunshow back in the late 80's for $89.00 slid neatly under the bench seats, 7.62x39, though as nails, reliable, 10rd capacity, would get the job done. Never worried about it getting scratched or rusting, because it was nothing special or expensive, just a cheap tool like a wrench or a screwdriver. Wish I hadn't sold it, but was offered three times what I paid for it during the Clinton gun ban years.

 

[BrotherHubb]

The only firearms that matter is the one you have immediate access to, which means the one that’s on you, or the one in your vehicle that you have quick access to. I served 43 years in law enforcement as a swat operator, sniper, firearms instructor and armorer, I carried a 1911 for a long time, then one of my training buddies commented on the changing environment and kind of people encountered on the street and that he believed that I needed more ammo on my belt. I agreed and bought a high capacity 9MM since the effectiveness of 9MM has come so far, three 17rnd mags makes 51 which gives me enough to get to my rifle but that’s a very different scenario than what everyone here is talking about. A short shotgun is typically a better option for defense, since the topic is truck guns, there’s a spot between the B pillar and seat where you can keep the weapon out of sight but still access quickly, of course to do this you have to exit the vehicle as you would have to do with a AK, AR or any other long gun. If you’re on a farm or ranch, your application is very different, so something like an AR, lever gun etc makes sense to pop a coyote or put down an animal. I always carry a active shooter bag in my vehicle along with my carry sidearm. A folding AR could be useful in that scenario but not my favorite unless it’s a 300 Blackout which is designed for short barrels. It’s a sling bag with a spare pistol, extra magazines, tourniquets, chest seals and Israeli bandages along with med shears, light sticks and a good flashlight. I also carry a fairly large fixed blade knife which can be very useful. I can’t tell you of how many times someone had to carry a 7.5 inch 5.56 as their patrol rifle and bring it to qualify. Everyone had to leave the firing line because of concussive muzzle blast and they always had failures, most of them I grounded because they were unreliable, the last thing you want in a fight is a weapon that failed. I know that this is a long post but I hope that some find it helpful when thinking of practical and effective solutions to the topic. Nothing is useful if you can’t get to it and maneuver it, most long guns don’t work inside a vehicle. If you’re being carjacked, your AR may as well be in New Jersey.

 

[Drycreek]

I agree with the above, especially the part about the carjacking. That’s why a Taurus snub is always within reach if I’m driving. I’m thinking five rounds of .38 Special will either find me dead or able to get to my Shield Plus inside my waistband where I will have a beehive of 9mm.

I repeat, everyone that ever got carjacked, murdered, raped, or had the attempt made thought it wouldn’t happen to them. I carry for the same reason my truck has a spare tire.

 

[BrotherHubb]

I like the spare tire analogy, another great handgun for close up defense is the Judge or Governor (which I have), two rounds of 410 #2 followed by four rounds of 45 LC is pretty nasty on the receiving end. I also carry a Shield Plus Comp as my primary carry gun.

 

[cbat]

I disagree. Maybe I have just been lucky not to have been broke into. Carry them but keep out of sight.

 

[BrotherHubb]

I may have not been complete in my recommendations, I was only speaking, rather writing, in regards to what would be effective in a “truck gun” as posted by the op. I do not condone leaving firearms in your vehicle. Most people are lazy and don’t want to develop the habit of taking them with you when you get home or almost anywhere else. In my comments I stated that the only firearm that matters is the one you can deploy when needed, long guns are rarely in that category when carried in a vehicle. A handgun is much more appropriate in the vast majority of circumstances while driving.

 

[Drycreek]

I may have not been complete in my recommendations, I was only speaking, rather writing, in regards to what would be effective in a “truck gun” as posted by the op. I do not condone leaving firearms in your vehicle. Most people are lazy and don’t want to develop the habit of taking them with you when you get home or almost anywhere else. In my comments I stated that the only firearm that matters is the one you can deploy when needed, long guns are rarely in that category when carried in a vehicle. A handgun is much more appropriate in the vast majority of circumstances while driving.

I get what you are saying, but some of us, like myself, live in the country. My truck is locked even under my carport and behind a gate that stays closed. I carry an AR, an inexpensive one, under the back seat of my truck. When I’m driving through my place or a lease, I usually have it up front with me. It’s short and easily deployed out the window if I need to pop a hog or another varmint.

If I lived in town, (which will only be when they commit me), I would probably look at it differently.

 

[Raven]

Leaving a gun in your vehicle is asking for it to get stolen, which puts a firearm on the street. If you need a gun, carry it on your person. If you can't carry it legally, don't bring it. The 'truck gun' concept made sense in 1970, not today. Secure your firearms properly or don't bring them...

Keep them in reach.....