I think I'm about 165 degrees into a 180 degree turn

[old lady new shooter]

I am literally a little old lady, over 70 and down to 4'11". My house gun is an AR, which I bought exactly for the possibility of a mob invasion as opposed to a "normal" burglar, but I know my limitations and taking it around with me in the car wouldn't accomplish anything, I wouldn't be able to use it sitting in the car and getting out of the car I'd lose whatever protection being in the car provides, plus I can't really run to speak of.

That said I will raise one point I haven't yet seen mentioned: Do you wear your carry gun in a position where you could draw it fast enough to use it effectively if you needed to use it while seated in your car?

 

[Shawn Dodson]

A similar issue happened in Alabama, very close to me, in a mall I frequented often. An active shooter was in the mall and a concealed carrier drew his firearm to find the shooter. Was shot and killed by responding police. The family has filed lawsuit with the city and Mall company. There has been little update I could find as to how they have gone about proving he was not the active shooter targeting mall patrons. This story has all but disappeared locally.

Lawsuit IDs Hoover officer who shot EJ Bradford

While details of the shooting have been widely discussed, amendments to the lawsuit this year added one key piece of information that had been kept from the public - the name of the police officer who shot Bradford.

www.al.com

In this day and age of increased concealed carry and lawful self-defense in public, police have a duty to ensure that an armed citizen is NOT the offender. The armed citizen is exercising the most basic of rights, self-defense, and an officer that shoots before assessing the situation, deprives that citizen of his or her right. It's basic civil rights.

 

[AK Hunter]

I don't have a truck gun per say but when I think I may need a rifle I have a few I can use. If it's for emergency use I carry a pistol to return fire until I can drive out of the area or until I can turn the vehicle & run over the gunner shooting at me.

 

[halfmoonclip]

There was a high profile trial underway with a verdict expected soon and concerns over rioting afterward.

This thought has crossed my mind when traveling out of state; had a Sub 2000 for awhile with this in mind. The notion was more a matter of hunkering down in a hotel, than engaging in a fight on the road.
I used to leave my gun in the car, but was always leery of it. For 20 years, had a TJ Jeep, with a really stout (it weighed 10lbs) lock box, literally bolted to the seat frame. I felt comfortable leaving a handgun there. There isn't often a way to secure a handgun that well....it was under the front seat, and even quickly accessible.
Moon

 

[d2wing]

I am literally a little old lady, over 70 and down to 4'11". My house gun is an AR, which I bought exactly for the possibility of a mob invasion as opposed to a "normal" burglar, but I know my limitations and taking it around with me in the car wouldn't accomplish anything, I wouldn't be able to use it sitting in the car and getting out of the car I'd lose whatever protection being in the car provides, plus I can't really run to speak of.

That said I will raise one point I haven't yet seen mentioned: Do you wear your carry gun in a position where you could draw it fast enough to use it effectively if you needed to use it while seated in your car?

Back when I transported large amounts of money I had a permit to carry and often had a pistol between my seat and console. I wouldn't do that anymore. Carrying a weapon is a personal choice. I have decided to not carry most of the time. For myself, I think a firearm could escalate a situation, other times it may prevent one. In my state, use or display of a weapon could easily lead to prosecution. But armed citizens can stop an active shooter, or protect themselves also. If you are going to carry you should be trained and may want a permit to carry.

 

[.308 Norma]

I never leave a gun in my car. When I have to go to the post office my carry gun stays home in the safe.

That's good. It's not an option for everyone though. Just the day before yesterday, my wife and I had to go to town to pay our property taxes at the county courthouse, take some money out of the credit union to pay them with, go to the post office to mail Christmas gifts to our daughter and her family, go to the dermatologist to have a darned cyst cut out of my shoulder, do some grocery shopping at Winco and Costco, go to a filling station to fill the truck up with gas, and stop by Sportsman's Warehouse - because they have the cleanest restrooms (not because I like going to gun stores whenever I can).
Because "town" is 25 miles away, whenever we have to go there, we try to get most, if not all of our "errands" done in one trip. And that means, we either have to run around town unarmed because we left our carry guns "home in the safe," OR we have to occationally lock our guns in the vehicle - because carrying a gun is illegal in some of the places we have to visit while we're in town. You can probably guess which option we choose.

 

[Kleanbore]

San Bernardino
the gay nightclub in Florida
the kosher grocery store in New Jersey

Completely off topic for a discussion of keeping a long arm in a truck.

 

[.308 Norma]

Do you wear your carry gun in a position where you could draw it fast enough to use it effectively if you needed to use it while seated in your car?

Yeah, probably. At least I hope so!
Just kidding around, old lady new shooter. I have thought about that, and while I've never timed myself, I can draw my carry gun pretty fast while I'm seated in our vehicles (I usually carry OWB at 4:00 o'clock). Nevertheless, just like the questions, "Is my carry gun powerful enough" or "Does my carry gun hold enough ammo" I can only hope that I can draw it "fast enough" if I need it - whether I'm seated in a vehicle or not.

 

[rdnktrkr]

Almost 50yrs ago I carried a garand, 03A3, Rem700, 22lr or shotgun in a mount in my ragtop CJ5 jeep daily, no door locks and 9mos a year it was in a school parking lot. I never thought about anyone stealing anything from my jeep. Present day I lock my vehicle every time I'm away from it even on my property. Would I like to have a long gun within reach if something goes bad, most definitely, do I feel that there is a greater chance of it getting stolen and then be in the hands of someone undesirable, most definitely. I uncomfortable just taking my rifles to the range or hunting because of how easy crooks can get into locked vehicles and don't respect others property.

 

[The Night Rider]

Completely off topic for a discussion of keeping a long arm in a truck.

I'm pretty sure the OP's stated reason for leaving a long gun in his truck was to respond to a terrorist attack.

Then I saw some videos from October 7 in Israel with multiple bad guys with AKs shooting at cars and presumably hitting drivers and/or disabling the vehicles.
One of my first thoughts was, "Even if he has a handgun, I bet the guy in that car wishes he had a rifle. I bet he really, really wishes he had a rifle". An epiphany for me.

 

[Kleanbore]

I'm pretty sure the OP's stated reason for leaving a long gun in his truck was to respond to a terrorist attack.

He said it started him thinking, and that he is concerned about prople who are crossing our borders.

The incidents in San Bernardino, in the gay nightclub, and in a grocery store are not relevant to the use of a long arm kept in a truck for lawful self defense.

 

[.308 Norma]

9mos a year it was in a school parking lot.

There was nothing odd about seeing a shotgun hanging in the back window of a pickup truck in the high school parking lot during pheasant season when I was in high school either. Of course, things have changed a little since then - I graduated high school in 1966 in a small town in SW Idaho.

I uncomfortable just taking my rifles to the range or hunting because of how easy crooks can get into locked vehicles and don't respect others property.

I don't really go to a "range" per se - as I've said before, our "range" is a local county gravel pit about 2 miles south of the house. Nevertheless, I DO feel "uncomfortable" when we go to the gravel pit (OR hunting) because people driving by on the road out front can easily see us hauling our rifles and shotguns in and out of the house. Besides that, there's some real "trailer trash" people that have moved into the area in the last few years that I worry about seeing that we have guns in the house, and that during deer and elk seasons, we're often gone from the house for a day or two.
When we bought this place 43 years ago, the first thing I did was build a small "barn" (storage shed) out back with a "ridge pole" running out the front of it that we could hang a deer from for skinning. We still do that, but I'm uncomfortable these days when people drive by and see what we're doing.
Like I said, things have changed, and IMO, most of them haven't changed for the better.

 

[Old Dog]

If I am going from Point A to Point B, and not leaving my vehicle unattended for unduly long periods, and I am away from my hometown for a few hours or more, I will certainly throw an AR and three loaded 30-round mags in the back of the truck.

I live near Antifa Central and a large ****** population. I worked the riots and I've seen the faces. I wish I could plan on being at home when the stuff hits the fan, but Murphy has a say in that.

For daily commuting in and around town, just the carry pistol on the belt.

 

[old lady new shooter]

Back when I transported large amounts of money I had a permit to carry and often had a pistol between my seat and console. I wouldn't do that anymore. Carrying a weapon is a personal choice. I have decided to not carry most of the time. For myself, I think a firearm could escalate a situation, other times it may prevent one. In my state, use or display of a weapon could easily lead to prosecution. But armed citizens can stop an active shooter, or protect themselves also. If you are going to carry you should be trained and may want a permit to carry.

I am trained and have a carry permit.

 

[old lady new shooter]

That's good. It's not an option for everyone though. Just the day before yesterday, my wife and I had to go to town to pay our property taxes at the county courthouse, take some money out of the credit union to pay them with, go to the post office to mail Christmas gifts to our daughter and her family, go to the dermatologist to have a darned cyst cut out of my shoulder, do some grocery shopping at Winco and Costco, go to a filling station to fill the truck up with gas, and stop by Sportsman's Warehouse - because they have the cleanest restrooms (not because I like going to gun stores whenever I can).
Because "town" is 25 miles away, whenever we have to go there, we try to get most, if not all of our "errands" done in one trip. And that means, we either have to run around town unarmed because we left our carry guns "home in the safe," OR we have to occationally lock our guns in the vehicle - because carrying a gun is illegal in some of the places we have to visit while we're in town. You can probably guess which option we choose.

Is the post office "in town" the closest one to your house?

I'm gonna guess the county courthouse was the other no-carry place besides the post office. Personally I pay my property taxes online.

 

[The Night Rider]

Whether or not TPTB here agree with it or not we now live in a world were a terrorist attack on US soil is not only possible but increasingly likely.

I seem to remember a terrorist attack in Garland Texas several years ago that was stopped by an off-duty cop working security.

The odds of any one of us encountering that might be extremely low but they're not zero.

So I think that needs to be something that we take into account and I think that sooner or later it is going to be something that we're talking about here (in Strategy and Tactics) because it's going to be something that's happening in America.

 

[Scrapiron45]

The OP was focused on a concern around possible terrorists entering the country and weaponry available being available in case of an attack. While any type of defensive prep is good I would suggest that practiced observation techniques and a good stop the bleed class have the potential to save many more lives than a rifle. I'll still carry the ar but I'm realistic in the fact that organized terrorism will probably in involve explosives rather than a bullet.

 

[drobs]

It is a personal choice, up until they put the cuffs on you.

A sworn officer has the duty to enforce the law, which may require taking someone into custody. That means that he may need to approach the suspect. It therefore means that he would not be denied the legal defeense of self defense should self defense be necessary.

A private citizen does not have that duty. If he purposely advances toward a confrontation, or knowingly goes to a gunfight, he will most likely not meet the requirements of lawful self defense.

You're wrong there.

Re private citizen:
The Defense of self and Others is always a part of lawful self defense.

Lets look at Illinois:

Sec. 7-1. Use of force in defense of person. (a) A person is justified in the use of force against another when and to the extent that he reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or another against such other's imminent use of unlawful force.

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=072000050K7-1

Missouri:
*563.031. Use of force in defense of persons. — 1. A person may, subject to the provisions of subsection 2 of this section, use physical force upon another person when and to the extent he or she reasonably believes such force to be necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful force by such other person, unless:

563.031

Use of force in defense of persons.

revisor.mo.gov

 

[Kleanbore]

The Defense of self and Others is always a part of lawful self defense.

Yes, provided that the defender has, as a minimum, a basis for reasonably believing that the person he is defending would himself be able to defend himself under the law.

And all of the requirements of lawful self defense must be met.

 

[Kleanbore]

Whether or not TPTB here agree with it or not we now live in a world were a terrorist attack on US soil is not only possible but increasingly likely.

I agree, and terrost attacks have already occurred here.

In additoon, riots, volent "protests", "flash mobs",and the like, many of them organized, have been occurring, with injury to persons and damage to public an private property. It is worrisome.

Our scope here includes any subject relating to lawful self defense. It does not include action to restore order, or going out to "fight back".

What is lawful is defined by the courts.

So I think that needs to be something that we take into account and I think that sooner or later it is going to be something that we're talking about here (in Strategy and Tactics) because it's going to be something that's happening in America.

Yes. Michael Bane's piece on escaping flash mobs addressed that. The short version: staying or getting away for the action is the only way for the private citizen to prudently protect himself and avoid prosecution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRoAPqVo2H0&ab_channel=ArmedCitizensLegalDefenseNetwork

I thought this had already been posted.

 

[FL-NC]

I carry a S&W shield as a concealed handgun, on my body. In my 2 trucks, there is a Glock 19 in a lock box which is locked to the inside of the truck, and behind the seat a H&R partner pump, in a soft case. In the event I have the need to "upgrade" to something with more teeth than my 8 shot shield, I have options. The only one that is left in the vehicle without its own lock is the shotguns. They are both cheap but effective 870 clones ($140 each at wally world), and kept out of sight. If they are stolen, I will be more upset about the window that was broken to facilitate the theft. Also, I live in a very low crime area.

 

[.308 Norma]

Is the post office "in town" the closest one to your house?

I'm gonna guess the county courthouse was the other no-carry place besides the post office. Personally I pay my property taxes online.

No, there's a post office in the small town just a few miles the other way from we call, "town." And we occasionally use that one. It's just that we like to get as much done in one trip as possible when we have to go to the "big town" of Pocatello.

I'm gonna guess the county courthouse was the other no-carry place besides the post office. Personally I pay my property taxes online.

Yes, the county courthouse is also a "no-carry place." We prefer to go there in person to pay property taxes, get new drivers licenses, license plates, etc.
Other than the doctor's offices (where we usually have to disrobe) my wife and I don't pay much attention to the "No Weapons" signs on some of the various privately owned businesses we visit on our trips to "town." We try to avoid doing business with people who post those kinds of signs anyway.

 

[The Night Rider]

Regardless of whether or not we're discussing terrorism or flash mobs or a regular carjacking.

I'm still absolutely convinced that if I leave an unsecured firearm in my car I'm much more likely to have it stolen than I am to use it to defend myself

 

[Jeff White]

In this day and age of increased concealed carry and lawful self-defense in public, police have a duty to ensure that an armed citizen is NOT the offender. The armed citizen is exercising the most basic of rights, self-defense, and an officer that shoots before assessing the situation, deprives that citizen of his or her right. It's basic civil rights.

I'm waiting for your detailed instructions on how one accomplishes that when one rolls up on a gunfight. Are you going to ask the shooter to stop shooting and show you a carry permit? There is a huge difference between arriving on the scene after the action has stopped and arriving when the shooting is in progress. This is a sticky problem and blanket statements like that don't contribute to solving it.

 

[Kleanbore]

I'm still absolutely convinced that if I leave it unsecured firearm in my car I'm much more likely to have it stolen than I am to use it to defend myself

So am I.