Thinking of a "trunk rifle," suggestions?

[colt.45]

i would go with the wasr-2. affordable, accurate enough for needs out to 200 yards, reliable, the list goes on. and when the $#!t goes down, an ak just seems like the right gun to have. an ak or an ar-15, but ar's are expensive

 

[CajunBass]

I like the SKS for what you're talking about, but a Hi-Point, 9mm or 40 S&W carbine would probably work too.

 

[Samuraigg]

SKS all the way.

I would say Saiga, but are they legal in states with an AWB?

 

[surfinUSA]

Although I've had an ak47 and sks and think they are great guns, for a trunk gun I would suggest an american made rifle or FAL. Around here if you were stopped with and AK or SKS in the car I would expect a couple of hours of questioning with our homicide bureau and would not expect my gun back for a couple of weeks until balistic test were done.

As you may have guessed, in Miami the drive by weapon of choice is the AK 47 or SKS.

If I needed a trunk gun (as a civilian) it would be a lever, pump or bolt action rifle, as a LEO it would be an AR15 or MINI 14.

Right or wrong when the ***** goes bad the goofball in the street with an AK or SKS is probably going to be nothing more than a target for the arriving police units.

In either case I would never leave a gun in a car without additional locking mechanisms and never over night.

 

[jrfoxx]

How bout a couple Enfield 2A's? You can get one for $150 or so, .308 ammo is not too exspensive or hard to find, and it would have plenty of oomph.They are fairly heavy too, so I wouldnt think recoil would be too bad.Or a Steyr m95? they're like $100, seem to have pretty good accracy from what I hear, and 8x56 should have plentyof power.Dont know about rcoil though...never fired one.or a K-31.pretty accurate, the straight-pull bolt is REALLY fast an easy to use, plenty of power, and recoil is prety mild.$150 for beechwood one. Just some thoughts.....

poop, I missed the post where you say the wife doesn't want a bolt gun.Sorry.Since your trying to do this on the cheap, maybe an sks like many others suggested for the wife and one of the cheap milsurp bolt guns for you.That way you still come out cheaper than 2 sks's.

 

[jrfoxx]

oops, double post.sorry.

 

[kcmarine]

Well, here's another possibility. But it's not a rifle. But it IS Uber- Cooeh.


http://www.mossberg.com/products/default.asp?id=28&section=products#

 

[Atticus_1354]

Check here for a cheap sks or ak.

http://classicarms.us/

 

[the naked prophet]

Apparently a whole lot of people missed my followup post about my wife not wanting a bolt action, and the original post about her not being able to handle the recoil of a .30-06, Mosin, or 12 gauge.

They also seem to have missed the part of the original post about it being necessary to penetrate soft body armor (in an event like the Tyler Courthouse Shooting), and the rifle being cheaper than $1000.

If you remove those suggestions, I'm left with what I started with: an SKS or lever action .30-30, possibly a WASR-2 AK.

I was hoping for more options to present themselves, but I guess there's only so many choices to begin with, and then my wife's picky, but hey, she wants to buy a gun, so who am I to say no?

 

[MassMark]

A Kel-Tec SU-16 is well under a grand....It folds, takes AR mags, has low recoil, is accurate, penetrates, is light, handy, practical, affordable, adaptable....Get the Su-16 Bravo and be done with it...She'll love it...so will you.

 

[kcmarine]

Yeah... the kel- tec would be gooeh.

 

[BAT1]

Trunk gun

Put a cheap 156.00 [Academy] Maverick 88 S/G and some 00 or 000 buck. Now if we just have some gas and the roads aren't jammed by Check points.

 

[KC&97TA]

Build an AR-15, a carbine w/o a rail system weighs all of about 6lbs. Worried about .223 not penitrateing a car door? Go with M885 SS109 green tip ball rounds; available from places like 'cheaper than dirt'. Lake City knows how to build ammo AR-15's given a bit of synthetic lube, with a magazine in and the ejection port cover closed, actually are pretty reliable and low maintence.

SKS's for over $100? I've seen 'decent' ones in pawn shops for $75.

I'd invest into a pelican case or some kind of mini-vault, if you plan to leave a weapon it in your trunk over long periods, something sealed and lockable, this will also keep your kit together. But I also live in South Cali were I have to check to see that my truck alarm is on everynight, since someone broke into my truck and stole; the kenwood, bic razors and reciever hitch.

 

[Zen21Tao]

For under $500 I would have to throw my vote in for a .308 Saiga. Others have mentioned that it weights less than an SKS. In addition, you can buy and scope and mount for it and have the option of a much more accurate rifle for hunting or longer distance shots.

 

[yongxingfreesty]

su-16 or ak47. cant go wrong.

 

[wnycollector]

I have had 2 sks' for over 15 years, thousands of rounds through them. NEVER a ftf or fte with the factory mag...just plain tough and reliable. you cant go wrong with one!

 

[MassMark]

Remember folks, this is for his wife. Though a .308 Saiga is not a punisher in the recoil department, it does have some thump to it...I'm not even sure she'd be GTG on a 30-30....I'm no salesman for Kel-Tec, but it's perfect for what he describes...I bought my wife one and she adores it. Likes her Inland better, but always grabs the Kel-Tec when we head to camp....

 

[Saiga39]

Few thoughts.

Securing Firearm in car is very important. At least to me. So whatever you decide, make sure it can be secured.

In thinking about a SHTF situation where I might be at work of in my car away from home, I don't think that you or her would be walking around with a rifle visible. You don't know who might be freaked out in their home and there you come by with a rifle. Might not turn out the way you want it to.

I'd go with the Kel-Tec, folded up, secured in the back pack with a pistol concealed. If there is a situation like what happened in NY where commuters had to walk home, I don't think you walking home with rifle in hand would be a good idea.

By the way, I commend you and thinking and being prepared. The Homeland Security Dept says we should all have an emergency kit in our cars. I wish my wife was taking this stuff as serious as yours is.

 

[Titan6]

Apparently a whole lot of people missed my followup post about my wife not wanting a bolt action, and the original post about her not being able to handle the recoil of a .30-06, Mosin, or 12 gauge.

They also seem to have missed the part of the original post about it being necessary to penetrate soft body armor (in an event like the Tyler Courthouse Shooting), and the rifle being cheaper than $1000.

If you remove those suggestions, I'm left with what I started with: an SKS or lever action .30-30, possibly a WASR-2 AK.

I can tell you from shooting both often that the recoil of a semi-auto in 30-06 is less than a lever gun in 30-30. So if recoil is an issue don't go with the 30-30.

 

[the naked prophet]

Found a really cheap .30-30, a clunker of a Winchester 94, with little to no finish left. Gunsmith has had it for years and never been picked up. I'll buy it and if she doesn't like it, we'll spring for the SKSs and I'll have a new hunting rifle.

 

[rangerruck]

saiga, or nothing!!!

 

[MassMark]

SKS can be a good choice. Hardly compact, but reliable. My guess is she will not like the 30-30, so prepare for an SKS if you must not buy the Kel-Tec or M1 carbine, (I think the best choices). The SKS is not recoil free by any stretch, but will be great for your wife. However, she must train and train often. If under stress, knowing how to instinctively load a fresh stripper clip of ammo is extremely important - otherwise, you have little more than a 10-shot rifle. If you miss in 10 rounds, or need to engage multiple targets and cannot load fresh ammo from a pouch to the gun with muscle memory - you're pooched. Same to be said for a tube fed lever gun. That's why for a SHTF scenario, a reliable magazine fed weapon makes more sense to me. 30 rounds in a mag, beats 4 in a tube or 10 in a stripper clip in my book....Refreshing the weapon is easier under stress as well, (still requires training)....

They say something is better than nothing and I suppose an SKS or an old lever gun in the trunk proves that point....

 

[TOU]

Although I've had an ak47 and sks and think they are great guns, for a trunk gun I would suggest an american made rifle or FAL. Around here if you were stopped with and AK or SKS in the car I would expect a couple of hours of questioning with our homicide bureau and would not expect my gun back for a couple of weeks until balistic test were done.

As you may have guessed, in Miami the drive by weapon of choice is the AK 47 or SKS.

If I needed a trunk gun (as a civilian) it would be a lever, pump or bolt action rifle, as a LEO it would be an AR15 or MINI 14.

Right or wrong when the ***** goes bad the goofball in the street with an AK or SKS is probably going to be nothing more than a target for the arriving police units.

I hear what you are saying. Nice thing about Saiga's, if left unconverted is you don't really realize what they are until you are right up to them...till then they look like a regular old hunting rifle or shotgun. Kinda Mini-14'ish or M1A'ish from more than 10 feet away.

If you remove those suggestions, I'm left with what I started with: an SKS or lever action .30-30, possibly a WASR-2 AK.

I was hoping for more options to present themselves, but I guess there's only so many choices to begin with, and then my wife's picky, but hey, she wants to buy a gun, so who am I to say no?

There is a reason (besides cheap/free) that many countries of the world have gone to these choices...even when spending their own money.

As to the .308 Saiga's ($325-$400) they recoil alto less than many some options due to the action taking much of it. Even the S-12 Ga's, ($450'ish) they say, are quite a bit more forgiving...I just ordered one and will let you know on that. Either way though, the x39's and .223's ($250-$300) will give you the armor penetration you are looking for, inexpensive practice ammo and light recoil, cheap purchase price, durability, reliability, simplicity, ease of mags and inexpensive practice ammo. (relatively)...among other things. Definitely a kick in the seat to play with....I dare say in 16" you wife would have a ball with it in camp as much as her Kel.

Fun topic, thx for thinking of it. Good luck with what ever you get and keep us posted.

 

[ec-10]

If you consider the Kel-Tec I would suggest running a good 1000 rounds through it to test it's reliability. The SU-16A that I had was junk. It was replaced with a Saiga (7.62X39). I have run about 1200 rounds through the Saiga without so much as a hiccup. The only thing I have cleaned on the Saiga is the barrel and the thing runs like a swiss watch. It's more accurate than I expected as well.

 

[biscuit82]

I say go with a lever action, either 30-30 or .44mag( read reviews of how accurate they are at 100yrds ). still got a decent rate of fire and dosnt have the "evil assult rifle" stigma. Which should mean less hassle from LE.