epijunkie67
Member
I like keeping a long gun in my pick-up. I know some people don't because they are worried about what would happen if it got stolen and that's fine for those people. But I'm one of the ones who think the criminal is responsible for what he does and as long as I keep my truck locked and the gun out of sight I've done my part. Besides which, I can see a whole lotta times I'd be glad I had a long gun available. If I'm out and about and everything goes to hell I like the option of projecting force at more than handgun distance.
But that leaves the question, which one? I'm lucky enough to have a pretty decent collection of arms to chose from and I've used different guns at different times as my choice but I can never settle on one I'm totally happy with. A truck gun, by its nature, has to be a jack of all trades weapon. You don't know if you're going to need it to shoot a wounded deer, a rabid dog, a human attacker (or worse, attackers), or just to target practice. It should be rugged, portable, accurate, powerful enough to be effective, and easy to use. The following are some of the guns I own that I could (and at times have) use as a truck gun. Suggestions?
Mosin 91/30 in 7.62X54R. Powerful. Heavy. Heavy recoil. Bolt action. Effective range about 500-600 meters. Cheap! It's too long as is but I'm thinking of cutting the barrel down to 18" and recrowning the muzzle myself. Easily the most durable gun of the bunch. I could drag it behind the truck for 100 miles and it'd still fire. Accuracy isn't great but that may change with a new muzzle. Factory ammo from Hungary is pretty cheap but limited in options. Small magazine capacity and bolt action so it's slow to cycle.
Marlin 336 in 30-30 or 35 remington. Midrange power. Midrange weight. Accurate. Range limited to about 150-200 meters for effective shots. Reloadable brass. Not expensive but not cheap either. Lever action so cycles faster than a bolt but slower than an automatic. Very "politically correct". Reloadable on the fly without having to take the gun out of action at any time.
Marlin 1894C in .357 mag. Variable power option based on ammo selection but still lower than all the other options. It is a 35 caliber round though. Accurate. Effective range about 150 meters. Very light. No recoil. Lever action but the lack of recoil and weight make it even quicker than the other lever options.. Also politically correct. Not expensive but not cheap either. Also reloadable on the fly. More ammo in the tube at one time since the rounds are shorter than 30-30 ammo. Reloadable brass.
SKS in 7.62X39. Midrange power. Midrange weight. Semi-auto. Least accurate weapon of this bunch but may benefit from a recrown. Effective range 250-300 meters. Least ergonomic of this bunch. Cheap! 10 round non-detachable magazine reloadable with stripper clips. Semi-reasonable ammo selection. Some brass reloadable. Very dependable design second only to the Mosin.
Kel-Tec SU16A in .223. Light weapon. Midrange power. Takes AR magazines. Semi-auto. Accurate. Most expensive weapon of this bunch. Lots of plastic. Least durable weapon of this bunch. Folds in half and has intigrated cheap plastic bipod that I never use. Least "politically correct" rifle in this bunch. Good ammo selection. Only weapon I can transport in a short rectangular carry case that doesn't scream "gun".
As you can see, each has certain strengths and weaknesses. Each might be perfect in a certain situation but you never know which situation you're going to get into and which gun you'll need. So you need something that can be effective in a variety of areas.
So what's YOUR assesment? Which of these would you chose as a full time truck gun and why? And why wouldn't you chose the ones you passed over?
But that leaves the question, which one? I'm lucky enough to have a pretty decent collection of arms to chose from and I've used different guns at different times as my choice but I can never settle on one I'm totally happy with. A truck gun, by its nature, has to be a jack of all trades weapon. You don't know if you're going to need it to shoot a wounded deer, a rabid dog, a human attacker (or worse, attackers), or just to target practice. It should be rugged, portable, accurate, powerful enough to be effective, and easy to use. The following are some of the guns I own that I could (and at times have) use as a truck gun. Suggestions?
Mosin 91/30 in 7.62X54R. Powerful. Heavy. Heavy recoil. Bolt action. Effective range about 500-600 meters. Cheap! It's too long as is but I'm thinking of cutting the barrel down to 18" and recrowning the muzzle myself. Easily the most durable gun of the bunch. I could drag it behind the truck for 100 miles and it'd still fire. Accuracy isn't great but that may change with a new muzzle. Factory ammo from Hungary is pretty cheap but limited in options. Small magazine capacity and bolt action so it's slow to cycle.
Marlin 336 in 30-30 or 35 remington. Midrange power. Midrange weight. Accurate. Range limited to about 150-200 meters for effective shots. Reloadable brass. Not expensive but not cheap either. Lever action so cycles faster than a bolt but slower than an automatic. Very "politically correct". Reloadable on the fly without having to take the gun out of action at any time.
Marlin 1894C in .357 mag. Variable power option based on ammo selection but still lower than all the other options. It is a 35 caliber round though. Accurate. Effective range about 150 meters. Very light. No recoil. Lever action but the lack of recoil and weight make it even quicker than the other lever options.. Also politically correct. Not expensive but not cheap either. Also reloadable on the fly. More ammo in the tube at one time since the rounds are shorter than 30-30 ammo. Reloadable brass.
SKS in 7.62X39. Midrange power. Midrange weight. Semi-auto. Least accurate weapon of this bunch but may benefit from a recrown. Effective range 250-300 meters. Least ergonomic of this bunch. Cheap! 10 round non-detachable magazine reloadable with stripper clips. Semi-reasonable ammo selection. Some brass reloadable. Very dependable design second only to the Mosin.
Kel-Tec SU16A in .223. Light weapon. Midrange power. Takes AR magazines. Semi-auto. Accurate. Most expensive weapon of this bunch. Lots of plastic. Least durable weapon of this bunch. Folds in half and has intigrated cheap plastic bipod that I never use. Least "politically correct" rifle in this bunch. Good ammo selection. Only weapon I can transport in a short rectangular carry case that doesn't scream "gun".
As you can see, each has certain strengths and weaknesses. Each might be perfect in a certain situation but you never know which situation you're going to get into and which gun you'll need. So you need something that can be effective in a variety of areas.
So what's YOUR assesment? Which of these would you chose as a full time truck gun and why? And why wouldn't you chose the ones you passed over?