Good, tough, inexpensive truck/ranch gun?

[Rusty Luck]

I was wondering what people thought about this, I was looking to get a Good, tough, inexpensive truck/ranch gun. Something that I would not mind if it was scratched or had wear marks and the such. Any ideas? What do you have?

 

[owlhoot]

You didn't define "inexpensive" and you didn't tell us what you intend to do with the gun.

My truck gun is a short barreled 12 ga. pump gun with rifle sights. But I'm not likely to want to take a shot at anything past 100 yards. You may need something to reach out three times that far. So you need to be more specific about your requirements.

 

[makarovnik]

Hi-Point

 

[critter]

Military surplus rifle ala Mosin, Mauser, Lee Enfield, etc. Tough as a boot, can be found relatively cheaply, available ammo, et.

 

[bikerdoc]

Me = pistol =357 Ruger security six.

Shotgun = Mossberg 500 20 inch barrel

 

[lobo9er]

ruger gp100 would make a good truck gun. I do toss around the idea of the taurus 608 to.

 

[Lawdawg45]

Well, since you posted in "Handguns" I assume your looking for a pistol, and if scratches are a concern I would recommend a stainless finish. Any of the Rugers would be a rugged and dependable choice if your budget allows, my personal choice would be a stainless Blackhawk in .44 or .45 Colt.

LD

 

[scbison]

Marlin 336 from whatever pawn shop you happen to drive by. If you want to get fancy swamp out the OEM sights with peepsights.

update - since you posted in handguns then I would second the blackhawk idea. Plus it will go nice with your lever gun

 

[Goblin]

Get a used Ruger .357.

 

[Ledgehammer]

My truck gun is whatever I'm carrying. I figure my truck don't need a gun if I'm not there. I could see maybe keeping a pump shotgun in there if I lived further out in the country.

 

[momano]

My (urban) truck gun is a Hi Point 9. Although I always carry something IWB or pocket, I feel more secure with something easy to reach and always there. My Hi Point is very accurate & dependable, yet being as close to "abused, neglected, & disposable" as any gun that I would own.

 

[2wheels]

I'd find the cheapest revolver I could, ideally a .357.

 

[paintballdude902]

id get a .357 lever and a matching revolver

 

[PoserHoser]

Rossi Ranch Hand

 

[TexasRifleman]

Used Mini 14. I carried one of these around in the back of a truck for many years. Always worked, looked awful.

Now, you posted this in Handguns so that's probably not what you wanted to hear

For a handgun that's going to mostly just sit, I would agree with those who mentioned Ruger revolvers.

 

[jad0110]

If it were me, I'd go with a 4" stainless Ruger Police Service Six .357 Magnum. You can still find them for high $200s / low $300s. They have very usable fixed sights, and are nearly as durable as the much bulkier GP100. In an auto, I'd consider something like a 9mm Ruger P95. I see them fairly often for about $300 NIB.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Hi Point
Mak
CZ 82

just find something not too expensive
you don't mind getting banged up some

 

[Striker Fired]

Hipoint,they come pre banged up but will probably work anyway and are accurate enough to hit what your aiming at,if not you can throw it at them and do alot of damage that way.

 

[wrs840]

On the farm I carry a revolver on my hip, usually a 3"bbl S&W M64 .38 these days. My pasture truck / tractor-cab rifle is a 1995 mfg Mini-14 or, more often, a beat-up 1974 mfg 30-30 Marlin 336 ($229 from a pawn shop) that I put Williams peeps on. My "city truck" has a beat Mossberg 590 ($250 or thereabout from a pawn shop) behind the seat.

 

[kludge]

SKS

 

[chicharrones]

For a non-hunting "truck" handgun, I like a polymer framed pistol like a Glock, XD, etc. Scratches don't matter. High humidity doesn't matter. The polymer won't melt either.

 

[epijunkie67]

Since you are posting in the Handgun section I am going to assume you are asking about a pistol and not a rifle.

For a good, tough, inexpensive pistol have you considered a CZ 82 or a P64? Both are surplus weapons, shoot the Makarov round which is 9X18. Its stronger than a .380 and weaker than a 9mm parabellum. The P64 holds 6+1 and the CZ 82 holds 12+1. Either can be had for about $200-250. They are solid as a brick and reliable as a hammer.

Other good options would be a used revolver in either .38 special or .357 mag. Something like a Rossi or Taurus will operate just fine and you should be able to find a used model for under $300.

 

[gearhead]

I can't recommend a revolver for a dedicated car/truck gun as a personal defense weapon. For a farm/woods truck where you might need it when you're walking around outside the truck then it's perfect, but that's what your carry gun is for, right? The reason I don't like revolvers for firing from inside the truck is the difficulty of firing it where the cylinder gap isn't aligned with and in close proximity to your body or your passenger's body. I'll take a semi-auto in 9mm Mak for my dedicated vehicle gun.

 

[Valkman]

For a handgun I'd use a XD-45 that holds 13 rounds. No worries about the outside finish getting messed up - at least I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Rusty Luck]

Thanks for all the suggestions gentlemen, and yes I was meaning pistol but I was also open to rifle suggestions, as I live in the city but have a ranch in the middle of nowhere that I frequent.