Good, tough, inexpensive truck/ranch gun?

[ccsniper]

Heritage rough rider with 6 1/2" barrel in .22 mag. Good for just about anything and who cares is you scratch it up. Its my "work" gun. Goes camping, hiking, fishing, hunting and just about anywhere else I get dirty at. Gun has never made any problems and can swap the cylinders for a .22 LR in a pinch.

 

[BADUNAME37]

For a pistol, I would recommend a S&W 686 (stainless). Depending on how accurate it needs to be would determine the barrel length you should get. I once owned one with a 6" barrel and it was such a good gun, I never should have traded it. With handloads, that thing was extremely accurate!

 

[brnmuenchow]

I alway's prefer a rifle for that type of use.(Longer ranged shots), however here in south Texas you really don't need anything bigger than a .357 Magnum.

 

[Thompsoncustom]

An older Cz 75 can be had for under 300 bucks great gun but probably will have a lot of wear and tear on the gun.

 

[Rusty Luck]

@ brnmuenchow: South TX? I'm from Uvalde, down in that very general area.

 

[brnmuenchow]

Rusty Luck:

So far here south of San Antonio, I have not had much use for anything bigger than a .357 Magnum. Although I have not come across any strange creatures like a Chupacabra yet, and I don't think it's said to be any bigger than a fat chihuahua. Hello, from Texas!

 

[stonecutter2]

SOG just got some used Taurus md82 38 special revolvers in. Pretty cheap - like $149 I think? They're already banged up pretty good. Should do the trick.

 

[doc540]

.40 Sigma w/CT grip

 

[ThomasT]

My truck gun for the last few years has been a S&W model 65 with a 4" barrel and a bead blasted finish. I paid $286 total off GB for it.

 

[easyg]

Ruger P95

 

[hAkron]

When these truck gun threads come up I'm always a bit shocked when people mention Mak's, CZ 82's, Older discontinued Rugers, etc. While these guns are more than up to the task, these are also guns that are no longer being produced and have some collector's value attached to them. When I think of a truck gun I think of Hi Point, Ruger P Series, Sigmas (which I didn't consider until it was mentioned in this thread, but it's an excellent choice for this gun niche). Current production guns that are in the sub $300 price range that you wouldn't feel any worse about losing than your GPS. If I lost my Makarov, Security Six, or my CZ-82 I would be crushed and heart broken.

 

[wlewisiii]

I'd suggest a Ruger P series. P95 9mm for example. Cheap, rugged, accurate.

 

[huskybiker]

Sigma SW9VE, or Rossi 461/462. Both are inexpensive AND reliable.

 

[GMHAYESUSN]

I would look at a used Glock 22 or some type of 4 inch .357 personally

 

[redraidermgr]

+1 on the Ruger P-series. P-95 cheap to shoot and if you get the stainless (picked mine up for 275 used) it can definitely take a beating. The blued version would be cheaper and if the bluing wears on it just slap on some cold bluing and go on. Very rugged and dependable guns that will shoot just about any crappy (or good) ammo that you can afford to feed it. Ruger even says in the manual that it will feed steel case ammo and that the gun is rated for +P ammo.

The RUGER® P95 pistols are chambered for the 9mm x 19 Parabellum
(9mm Luger) cartridge. Do not attempt to load any other 9mm cartridges
(examples: 9mm short [.380], 9mm Steyr, 9mm Bergmann, etc.) into the
magazine or chamber of the pistol. Never attempt to use caliber .40 S & W
cartridges in a 9mm pistol. The .40 S & W cartridges will jam the pistol.
The Ruger P-Series pistols are compatible with all factory ammunition loaded to
U.S. Industry Standards, including high-velocity and hollow-point loads, loaded
in brass, aluminum, or steel cartridge cases. No 9mm x 19 ammunition
manufactured in accordance with NATO, U.S., SAAMI, or CIP standards is known
to be beyond the design limits or known not to function in these pistols.

The above quote is from the actual manual that you can download off of the Ruger website.

 

[jehicks87]

Used glock, or Tokarev TT-33 (or any of the variants thereof)

 

[epijunkie67]

When these truck gun threads come up I'm always a bit shocked when people mention Mak's, CZ 82's, Older discontinued Rugers, etc. While these guns are more than up to the task, these are also guns that are no longer being produced and have some collector's value attached to them.

Although they are no longer in production I question the collectors value on these guns. Sure, some mint condition unissued gun might be a collectors item but the vast majority are pre-beaten, dinged, scraped and in solid used condition. They function just fine but aren't exactly "collectible".

I was in a store just last week and they had a CZ82 with a bunch of the finish worn off for $235. Something like that would make an excellent trick gun.

 

[splithoof]

S&W 4" 625, used.

 

[jfrey]

Glock gen 3 G19 or 12 ga. Stoeger coachgun.

 

[BigEasy]

Budget Truck Gun

Hi Rusty Luck:

J & G Sales at www.jgsales.com/handguns-c-16_211_431.html has S & W Model 64's (stainless steel) on sale for $260-$300.

Hope this helps.

 

[msparks]

Any wild hogs near or on the farm/ranch you frequent? If so may I suggest a .44 mag loaded with something capable of stopping one. Some like a Ruger Blawhawk .44 mag. I've a super but the regular model would do.

 

[Armored farmer]

A 5 1/2" Ruger MKII has proved to be the most useful truck gun that I have tried so far. It is in a hard case that fits in the console. The auto is quick to load/unload. For me a .22 is adequate to put the lights out on a skunk/snake/bat/rat etc around the farm.

 

[jfc3po]

Wow. Kind of surprised no one has mentioned a 3rd gen S&W semi-auto. I think a s&w 5906 would be perfect. Cheap, accurate, reliable, sturdy as hell. If you want a .40, get the 4006. You can pick up used mags from CDNN for 9.99, new for $19.99.

 

[MrWesson]

Can someone explain what a real "ranch gun" is?

I mean if your plinking around the farm how could you choose anything but .22?

 

[VA27]

I picked up a ratty lookin' '94 Winchester for $200. The bore was clean and it functioned fine so I'm all set.