Looking for a good 'car gun'

[mnrivrat]

One of the big problems with a 20 guage for personal defense is finding suitable defense ammo for it.

Several manufacturers make the 2&3/4" #3 buckshot load. I consider that load suitable . If the local store doesn't carry them, there are on line sources.

Not the varity of loadings available for the 12ga. , but to me not a problem using that loading for HD. I do have a small supply of 3 inch #4 buckshot but I don't think they are making those any longer, and I don't keep anything but the #3 BS loading in my gun anyway, so for me ammo is not an issue.

 

[crappie cowboy]

Car Gun

Why are you worried about getting caught with a handgun in those states? They don't know you have it, it you are not bring attention to your self, speeding and etc, you shouldn't have no reason to be checked.
Just be very careful, don't tell no one, don't leave ammo laying out for someone to see.

Bonds Arms has a Derringer in 40 cal. s&w, stainless, and you can get it at Bud'sGunShop.com for $342.00. You could go all day with in your pants pocket and nobody would ever know.
It's a great little gun, I'd rather get caught with it, than need it and not have it, and get the sheet shot out of me, or worst.
Just do it and keep it to your self.

crappie cowboy

 

[Sgt_R]

Why are you worried about getting caught with a handgun in those states? They don't know you have it, it you are not bring attention to your self, speeding and etc, you shouldn't have no reason to be checked.
Just be very careful, don't tell no one, don't leave ammo laying out for someone to see.

And what if you actually need to use it in a legitimate case of self defense? Instead of being the law abiding citizen who defended himself from attack, you become the vigilante who was carrying an illegal handgun and looking for trouble. It would be a shame to win the gunfight, only to go to jail over your choice of firearms.

R

 

[rustysragsinc]

I have a Stoeger Coach Gun I take with me on trips. It is fast and easy to put together and will put a nice hole through someone. Hope I never have to use it.

 

[crappie cowboy]

Car Gun

Sgt. R....I agree with you about it would be a shame for him to go to jail for using a gun to defend his self, that's my whole point......He would be alive, and he might get our of jail in a few years, and he would be alive.
So what do you think he should do to defend his self against a thug trying to kill him?...You know the guy trying to kill him has a gun, and don't give a rat's butt about having a illegal gun, he knows you don't
It is his right to defend him self, and it is also his right as an American citizen by our constitution to have a gun.
All of us know the Government has broken our Constitution laws about our guns being illegal. It's a sad thing that our great nation has come to this, and to think my country sent me as a teenager to Viet-Nam and fight, and now I can't have a gun....what evvvvver.
You can run and hide, be scared or stick your head in the sand or anything you like, but I will defend myself and my family at all cost to the bad guy. I fought and shed blood for my rights, and I will stand by them.
What is it gonna take for people to wake up and stand up for them self.....?

crappie cowboy

 

[Ed Ames]

That's all fine but the OP was pretty clear in wanting a long gun that could be discreetly carried while traveling because long guns offer fewer legal entanglements in some areas. And, now that I think about it, it's not so fine in that it only makes sense to challenge laws when doing so can result in some form of victory. Unless there is a strategic long term reason for being arrested for carrying the wrong type of gun for a particular area, it's counterproductive.

You could raise the point that in many jurisdictions it is perfectly fine to have a pistol in your hotel room even without the paperwork needed to take it to walmart. That's interesting and true... handguns are the ideal travel weapons in California for example because they can be taken to hotel rooms discreetly and long arms don't really gain any major special advantages over handguns in that state. However, for every state like California there are several like Texas where wandering down the street carrying a loaded rifle is legal while open carrying a peacemaker is a crime, and a few like New York where travel with firearms is always a risk.

I live in a state that is on the liberal end of what you can carry unlicensed...not quite so liberal as Arizona is now, but far more liberal than California. 99% of my traveling is in places where handguns are perfectly fine and are the obvious preferred choice for a host of reasons....but one of the factors I considered when I bought my lever gun is that it is legal to have in places where an AR or 1911 are not, and having a legal option is always good.

 

[razorback2003]

I would look at getting a nice clean used 12 or 20 gauge shotgun....your choice that you can easily remove the barrel off. Remington 870's pumps are very easy to pop the barrel off. With the barrel off, you can put the disassembled shotgun in a duffle bag and no one knows what you've got....pop the barrel on when you get in the hotel room...put your choice of load in it...whether it be a heavy BB goose load....00 buckshot for a 12...#3 or #4 for a 20 ...and you are set.....get that barrel cut down short. You can find some serviceable used pump remingtons at gun stores, the newspaper classifieds...pawn shops...gun shows....put a recoil pad on it too...even with the stock if you cut the barrel down to legal length you'll fit it in a duffle bag when you remove the barrel. A buddy might know someone that wants to sell a beater that you won't care about cutting the barrel down...again this won't be a pretty gun...this is a knock around gun.

That makes a good hotel gun to keep you safe in NY and New Jersey where you can't bring your pistol.

 

[TheHossUSMC]

Serbu super shorty. With the small one time fee of 5 dollars and a few months wait this shotgun can be yours to knock the heads off of BGs! You also get that nice ability of shotguns to use a large variety of shells. I recommend 00 Buckshot for cheap hooker style hotels for maximum penetration!


The Kel Tec Sub 2000 comes in 40s&w and 9mm. Folds in half for easy transport, and with a quick motion you can click into into place and be ready to fire. Cheap and effective and possibly use mags from pistols you already own.

And if you are feeling really frisky you could always screw the law and go with a Magpul FMG9

 

[Daveboone]

If you are worried about legalities (which of course you are)then the pistol is a moot point. The long gun is useless if it isnt loaded with a round chambered, and darn few states allow them in that condition in a vehicle. If they are in a bag, they wont help you any if you need to get to it.

 

[Ed Ames]

The long gun is useless if it isnt loaded with a round chambered, and darn few states allow them in that condition in a vehicle. If they are in a bag, they wont help you any if you need to get to it.

Without conceding those points: The OP was largely looking for something which could be discreetly taken into hotel rooms while traveling. "I am looking for something I can carry in the car and up to my room without drawing attention to myself." So state laws about loaded chambers in cars or ease of access from a bag are not as relevant here as they might be.


As for the points you raised: The time it takes to rack a shotgun, or pull it from an (already unlocked) case, reduce the chances it'll help you...but not as much as not having the gun does.

 

[crappie cowboy]

Car Gun

The way I was reading his post, was like he wanted a gun for the car also. The shotgun is a bad idea.. to long. A rifle is to long also, either he needs to stay out of those bs states, or break the law and get a handgun.
Almost all states have a law that the gun must not be loaded, and separate for ammo, and not within reach. Some states say one must be in the car trunk and the other inside the car.
So that pretty much leaves a person no option, but to break the law and carry a illegal loaded firearm.
Once again I say, I'd rather have a gun, than not have a gun and need it. I'm not a radical or vigilante, but when the law makes it impossible for me to defend my self and my family against thugs who prey on law abiding citizens, then I will do what has to be done to keep for being harmed.
The police will be to late to help the law abiding person who is unprotected from being beaten, robbed, or raped. When the gun smoke clears, I will be alive hopefully, and they can do what they have to do.....nuff said.

crappie cowboy

 

[Armored farmer]

NEF/H&R Survivor

 

[Armored farmer]

OOPS

H&R survivor .410/.45LC

 

[devildog32713]

crappie cowboy your a fine man, thank-you for your service, I would reccomend a .30 Carbine if you are willing to put out the money for it, a 9mm carbine for less, or a shotgun, sounds redundant, but I love my Mossberg 500 Persuader. Don't get me wrong, I love Mosin's, love mine, (named her Aleksandra) but she is much too powerful to use inside a hotel! I shot a pine 14-16 inches thick or so and the surplus russian round went clean through!! and into the next tree! think about what that would do to sheetrock, would hit the cook 4 rooms over. Would even say to use fragmenting rounds in the 9mm..

 

[Armored farmer]

darn it ...last time, I promise...
H&R Survivor
Cheap, reliable, potent, breaks down small and quickly, .410 is hotel wall friendly.
I would feel pretty well armed anywhere with one of these. Esp in non handgun friendly cities, or Canada.
I reload both .410 and .45LC
I think I just talked myself into wanting one!! -crap, why do I always do that!

 

[Wolvee]

Glock20

 

[Ed Ames]

The way I was reading his post, was like he wanted a gun for the car also.

Could be...but to quote the original post:

... it will get tossed in the trunk in a bag, then dragged into hotels and hopefully never needed in defense.

So I'm thinking that the primary use is to HAVE in the car and to carry up to hotel rooms.

So I go back to my previous points.

 

[razorback2003]

Arkansas Law

CrappieCowboy,

Now back in Arkansas (I live in TN now) the nice thing is you can have a loaded long gun in the vehicle without any sort of permit or license. There are quite a few states where this is common. Texas is another such state. I know Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, North and South Carolina, you can do the same thing. Kansas and Missouri they can be loaded too...just have to be unconcealed....I believe North Carolina they have to be unconcealed too. TN if you have a permit...the long gun can have the mag loaded...empty chamber....so depends on the state...but those states that allow you to have a loaded long gun in the car generally allow you to have a pistol in the car loaded too in some fashion...and also a pistol in your hotel room with no hassle...I highly doubt in New York or New Jersey it is legal for folks to have loaded long guns in vehicles...but a long gun in the hotel room in New York or New Jersey is better than no gun....another bit of advice and I'm not a lawyer...there are legal ways to take handguns to those states that are hard on handguns...like competition...if you are into IDPA...schedule going to an NRA 'sanctioned' match while in New York or New Jersey..then you can take your handgun...I believe New York has a little law about not being in New York longer than 4 days for matches though for non residents..and you must have a pistol license from your home state...check that more in detail...but there are legal ways to even bring handguns in NY, NJ, and MD...think shooting matches/range...easier done in NJ and MD than NY.

 

[AuthorityDenied]

Being a resident of NY let me clear some things up for you guys. Read that link. This is not a state to play a guessing game with firearms laws.

http://www.nraila.org/statelawpdfs/NYSL.pdf

and read the new york section here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assault_Weapons_Ban