The "truck gun"

I won't tell you what I do now, but in the past usually traveled with two guns: a CC pistol of some sort and a "bed-roll" longer gun like a M-1 carbine or an SKS , each in a folding configuration. I tried PGO shotguns but just couldn't get to where I felt good with them.

Remember, I live in an illegal alien flood zone. We just opened a 500-unit holding tent last week. I've been blocked in traffic and found myself encircled by dudes jerking on my door handles (thank you, Chevrolet, for doors that auto-lock whenever in gear). They wouldn't back off until a gun came out.
A gun at hand is vital.

My truck gun is a XD mod 2 compact in .45 acp. When in the truck is has a 13 round magazine. I keep the flush magazine and an IWB holster with it in case I need to carry it some where. My daily carry is a pocket pistol so it is nice to have the option of up-gunning on the spur of the moment if I need to. I have about $350 into the XDm2 so loosing it would be painful but not heart breaking.

I have never seen a need to carry a rifle or shotgun in my truck, 13 rounds of 45 seems like it should cover most any situation I might find myself in. I can easily hit a snake with a 45 at 6 paces... any further away and I don't figure the snake needs a shootin. I guess I will have to leave the guy in the bell tower for someone else to deal with. If I get a whim and go into the woods or hiking or what ever I would have no problem taking the XDm2 with me... carrying a long gun while walking around in the woods doesn't seem like something I would ever be likely to do.

Short enough you can put it to use without having to get out and quiet enough you want not blow out your eardrums if you fire it from inside the vehicle. Once coyotes will wait for you to put on hearing protection this won’t be necessary.

We don't live in a high crime area, but all of the guns we keep in vehicles (with one exception) have the ability to be locked into a secondary container within the locked vehicle. These firearms are in addition to our CCW handguns- a S&W shield 9 for me, a LCP for Mrs. FL-NC.
This old gen 2 G19 and accessories lives in my truck console

This gen 3 G17 modded to fit G19 mags, with accessories, lives in my jeep console (this is a daily driver)

This G26 and accessories lives in this emergency pack in Mrs. FlL-NC's trunk

I paid $100 for this H&R 870 knock-off. It also lives in my daily driver jeep, under the back seat in that flea market gun case, which is then covered with that old BDU top. If I can find a second one that cheap, it will go in my truck.

When I’m out on my land in the truck (or 4 wheeler or tractor) doing work I’ll throw in either my High Standard Double Nine 22 revolver or my 410 single shot depending on my mood. It’s mostly heavily wooded so my main thing is venomous snakes and other small varmints. We have plenty of wild hogs, but contrary to popular belief I have never had one act aggressively towards me. If I see them around, a shot from either of those will move them along.

I work in an office in the city, I live in a suburban area between said big city and a little hill country Texas town. I carry and m&p 9c with two extra mags and a 642 j frame with a speed strip as a backup. I used to carry a single shot 12 ga as a Jeep gun but I haven't in quite a while. While in the office the m and p goes into the lock box and I only have the j frame on me. That being said I've been thinking the signs of the times warrant a long gun again but I don't think a pump shotgunswould be beneficial in the event I need to fight my way home (wife and kids go to work and school in the lil town so it's just me in the city). I have been thinking about a PSA cheap AR with just irons and folding stock with three mags loaded that would be my preference. The guns is around 350 total plus the cost of any extras so not super expensive but a touch above a Mav 88.

Yes, i have a "truck gun". It's a Chinese SKS or sometimes, a Russian SKS. It's behind the seat loaded and with three stripper clips of ammo.

I've always considered one other factor. That it wouldn't be the end of the world if something happened to it. I got this mechanically fine, and terrible finish S&W 439 for $75 in a sheriff's sale. Very reliable. Put some Cerakote on it. If it burns up in a fire, it's not a great loss.

My Uncle leased grazing land near both the Mexican and New Mexico borders in Arizona. At all times he had a Ruger Mini-14 loaded in the rifle rack of his pickup. For both coyotes and "coyotes". To me this is the role ofa"truck gun" protection of livestock, and for self protection.

Seems the truck gun consensus is something that will work for taking out varmints rather than for some society break down and self defense. A good option might be a HR Handi rifle in .223, .308, or 45-70. 12ga with a few different type of shells would fill the role nicely as well.

There is a wide range of opinions here. Shorts for defense. Longs for defense. Longs for the occasional offensive long distance shot on a predator, varmint, or even a game shot. Rounds range from high velocity large and intermediate cartridges to pistol calibers, .22s and shotguns. Suppressed and not. Semiauto to single shot. There’s a truck gun for every taste and philosophy. Sometimes a beater is better because scratches, dents, or wear marks don’t matter.

For me the ‘Truck Gun’ occasionally revolves around taking varmints or hogs on a deer lease, but most of the time it’s about self defense. Something like 99% or the time.

Most of the time it’s a second pistol. Either to potentially arm a family member or a friend who doesn’t have one of their own (most of my friends and family own guns, not all of them carry daily) or for a New York reload.

To potentially protect myself and my family from violent crime. I’ve seen and experienced a fair amount of that.

However societal break downs do occur. We just call them something else, then everything goes back to normal. I’m betting that Reginald Denny, Benny Higdon, Robert Owens and Charles Barreca would’ve laughed at you earlier in the day if you said anything was going to happen to them.

Balrog said:

What are others thoughts on a what a truck gun is, and what it should be able to do.

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A truck gun is just whatever gun you consistently carry in your truck... where you live/drive should influence how it is stored/secured and your anticipated use will determine the rest.
But I would venture some general principles:
1. Cheap/replaceable . Not talking of theft here... but fire, driving into the river, rusting, scratches/dings... if theft is a concern where you live then don’t leave your gun unattended- trying to arm criminals with cheaper guns isn’t a valid strategy.
2. Compact. Short enough to handle inside the vehicle if necessary. Easily stored.
3. Easily accessible if legal where you live... if not, move.
4. Rugged is good but can be trumped by #1- cheap.

More particularly in my case:
I always wear a handgun whether openly or concealed so my truck gun is always a rifle/carbine to compliment my carry gun. My anticipated uses are grouse, snakes, coyotes and cougars, and responding to calls from friends/neighbors (All based on prior experiences.)

Currently I keep a mosberg 20g under the back seat ($100 trade into it) and a 300 blackout 10.5” AR pistol wedged muzzle down between the cushions of the front seat (under $200 in the build)

herrwalther said:

Seems the truck gun consensus is something that will work for taking out varmints rather than for some society break down and self defense.

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"Consensus" means little to me and my decisions. When it comes to having a firearm in a vehicle, I'm far more concerned with "society break-down and self-defense" than I am with dispatching the local prairie dog.

paulsj has an excellent solution: SKS.
My suggestion is also to consider any imported AK variant, mostly because even the fixed buttstock choices are shorter, easier to conceal than a typical-length SKS. And a true Hungarian Tanker 20-rd. mag has better ergos than the more popular, macho mags.

SwampWolf: if Memphis electrical power or water were shutdown for days/weeks by sabotage, or by an earthquake etc (this "etc subject" on THR is "walking on thin ice" ) the Hungarian AMD-65 'TGI' AK -stock folded closed- would most likely go into my car. This assumes that gasoline were somehow still available three miles away. Carry gun: Sig P228 ('94) or CZ 75D 'PCR'.

SwampWolf said:

"Consensus" means little to me and my decisions. When it comes to having a firearm in a vehicle, I'm far more concerned with "society break-down and self-defense" than I am with dispatching the local prairie dog.

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Yep. Word.

I live smack dab in the middle of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, right on the San Juan de Fuca fault line, too … Our 10.0 earthquake is not an "if" thing, it's a "when" thing. It'll make Katrina look like a mild summer rain shower. Y'all saw how quickly social norms there degraded within the first twenty-four hours, right? And you see how our local anarchists like to riot in Seattle and Portland at the drop of a hat.

So yeah, I got a truck gun. And a pretty well stocked "get home bag" too. But then, also see a lot of injured deer resulting from attempting to take on cars, as well as a lot of pesky coyotes in the neighborhood.

FL-NC said:

I paid $100 for this H&R 870 knock-off. It also lives in my daily driver jeep, under the back seat in that flea market gun case, which is then covered with that old BDU top. If I can find a second one that cheap, it will go in my truck.

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Does that H&R 870 clone accept Remington 870 parts/furniture?

A guy here has one for sale and I was thinking of getting it or an 8-shot Mossberg Maverick as an additional truck gun. There’s a spot in my truck where a long gun would be hidden and I could use a cable lock on it.

There is a wide range of opinions here.

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That’s because there is a very wide range of uses.

Not like every “truck gun” is stuffed in a Kia, or Ford F550 for that matter. There is a butt for every seat and a gun for every job.

The gun you have on the tractor for shooting water moccasins while your mowing around the ponds won’t be the same one you have in the truck for coyotes.

My truck gun is an old Chicom SKS with 10 rounds in the magazine but the bolt closed on an empty chamber and 6-7 stripper clips for it already loaded in a soft rifle case. I have carried one for years in my vehicle.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Since my trunk gun is mainly a last ditch weapon for a massive civil unrest scenario, my requirements are-

1)More powerful and accurate than my CC and/or glove box pistol.
2)Better effective range than a pistol, but not neccesarily long ranged- 200 yards is fine.
3)Large magazine capacity and commonly available ammo.
4)Reliability.

Im packing a 16" AR at the moment, with a 10" 9mm upper and conversion kit in my kit as well. Its probably overkill, but you only have enough gun until you dont......

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bluejeans said:

A truck gun is just whatever gun you consistently carry in your truck... where you live/drive should influence how it is stored/secured and your anticipated use will determine the rest.
But I would venture some general principles:
1. Cheap/replaceable . Not talking of theft here... but fire, driving into the river, rusting, scratches/dings... if theft is a concern where you live then don’t leave your gun unattended- trying to arm criminals with cheaper guns isn’t a valid strategy.
2. Compact. Short enough to handle inside the vehicle if necessary. Easily stored.
3. Easily accessible if legal where you live... if not, move.
4. Rugged is good but can be trumped by #1- cheap.

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This pretty well covers it in my opinion.

It has to be something that I don't mind rattling around in the truck for years. It needs to be durable, of a large enough caliber to do what I need it to do, and reasonable in length. In my view it's also some form of long-arm. Handguns are another matter entirely.

For years I've carried a Spanish FR8 in .308 for this purpose. I might swap it out for an SKS though since the FR8s have become scarce. Or I might go with an old .30-30 lever action. All are calibers that I can use for... whatever. I prefer something that does not look militaristic so as to not draw attention over what simply having a rifle would do.

Browning said:

Does that H&R 870 clone accept Remington 870 parts/furniture?

A guy here has one for sale and I was thinking of getting it or an 8-shot Mossberg Maverick as an additional truck gun. There’s a spot in my truck where a long gun would be hidden and I could use a cable lock on it.

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I have heard that they do interchange with some parts, but I really don't know. All I did was add that elastic thing and ammo. FWIW, the furniture on it seems pretty solid.

"Truck Gun" for me would mean something for critter control if I wasn't a City Boy.

On the occasion that I can't carry it's a good idea to have a secure storage option for my CCW, but that's it for me.

jmorris : a coworker who commutes to ATL Airport (where I retired) has land near Auburn AL. Dave told me that he watched a cottonmouth snake strike his tractor with its fangs. I might have a tractor gun.

And if we ever had a gasoline panic or shortage, my bicycle gun would be a 9mm. Not kidding at all. You don't want to peddle down any "ruburban" road in the daylight with an SKS or Chinese AK (MAK 90) slung across your back.

SwampWolf said:

"Consensus" means little to me and my decisions. When it comes to having a firearm in a vehicle, I'm far more concerned with "society break-down and self-defense" than I am with dispatching the local prairie dog.

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Short of a .22LR, most options mentioned would do just fine dealing with 2 or 4 legged vermin. I am fairly opposed to a truck gun concept. But if I did take up the idea an AR, 12ga, or Mosin would be my top picks based off what I have or get easily. All options that would to dispatch whatever type of vermin is causing a problem.

herrwalther said:

Short of a .22LR, most options mentioned would do just fine dealing with 2 or 4 legged vermin.

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I’m not sure a 9mm or .40 pistol or a shotgun would be the best tool to dispatch coyotes at 200 yards.

By the same token I’m not sure that a Mosin 91/30 would do me much good against a car jacker or a mob looking to cave my head in with bricks.

I am fairly opposed to a truck gun concept.

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Why?

But if I did take up the idea an AR, 12ga, or Mosin would be my top picks based off what I have or get easily. All options that would to dispatch whatever type of vermin is causing a problem.

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I guess that depends on what you’re using it for.