Practical readiness/vehicle

[CZ223]

I will make this as as short and to the point as possible. If you have to bail out of your vehicle RIGHT NOW and get into the fight ASAP how much firepower are you bringing to the party. What guns and ammo are you able to grab and get up and running in under a minute. This is not a Killer Zombie scenario. I just want to know if you have to get involved in a gunfight and abandon your vehicle what is immediately available to you? How do you handle ammo, mags etc. for whatever guns you take. Where and how do you carry the guns. Remember in some states it is legal to carry a loaded long gun but, in many, it is not. In Maine I can't even have the ammo in a side saddle or on a sling if it is attached to the rifle.

If I have to bail right now I would probably only have my carry gun and one spare mag. I generaly have more guns in the vehicle, unfortunately they generally are not ready to grab and go. What do guys think about vest for holding mags, ammo etc. What about police type duty rigs. Gun cases for the AR? Let me know what you have and how you would do it. For the record, my vehicle is an F-250 Super Duty w/Crew cab. The guns that I have for this purpose are 2 AR-15's, I will likely use the shorter of the 2, and many shotguns but I will most likely use my new Mossberg 590. No I don't ever see my self having to use these but I want them to be convenient if I should ever have the need. Remember the first rule of gunfighting, have a gun. If this isn't the 2nd rule it should, If you need a handgun you are probably better off with a rifle or shotgun.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Carry gun du jour and a spare magazine. Under some circumstances I would probably be screwed.

 

[OpFlash]

I drive a small SUV, and I keep a thin black (and hopefully unobtrusive) briefcase locked (with one of those tiny cable locks they give you when you buy a gun) to one of the tie downs in the back. This is mostly to keep it from sliding around because a thief could break the tie down rather easily unfortunately. The briefcase itself has a combination lock that I keep close enough to the right combo to open very quickly. In it is my 9mm Sub2000 folding carbine, 2 17rd and 2 33rd mags, loaded. I don't keep the gun itself loaded, but I can have it unfolded, loaded and chambered in about 5 seconds once I get my hands on it. It takes the same mags as a 9mm Glock and I will be changing my carry gun to a G19 soon so if things ever get so bad I have to use the carbine I can also use those same loaded high caps in my pistol.

Now it being in the back of an SUV it's is not exactly at my fingertips and I can't reach it from the driver's seat (which keeps it legal for anyone driving the vehicle) so my pistol will have to be the response to any immediate threat, but I like having it in the car in case I am in a situation where I have at least a little advanced warning things are going south.

 

[chaim]

I live in MD so I'd be screwed. If I am not on my way to or from work (I am a teacher, no weapons of any type are legal in MD schools) I may have a knife and/or pepper spray. If I'm on my way to or from work I have a shovel in the trunk (in case it snows pretty hard and I can't get out of a parking space) and a D cell Maglite which might help as a club. A gun in your car is only legal while on your way to or from the range, and the gun must be locked in the trunk while the ammo must be separate in the passenger compartment (and the ammo can't even be loaded into mags or stripper clips).

When/if I move to a carry state I'll have whatever I'm carrying (probably a J-frame or K-frame snub revolver or my Taurus PT140 Milennium Pro or my .40S&W SIG 229 depending upon my mood and probably either my S&W 442 or my .32ACP NAA Guardian as backup). If the state allows car guns I'm thinking something similar to my HD long gun- a carbine in a pistol caliber or a 12ga shotgun with low recoil 00 buck (I would want to minimize overpenatration- don't want to hit the bad guy/guys and have it go through them and into a bystander). Anything beyond handgun range and it will be hard to impossible to prove self defense, and you might be able to get away anyway. Most likely the bad guy will be armed with a handgun, not a rifle. If you have a sniper situation, in both the midwest highway shootings and the DC "sniper" incidents no one knew where the shots were coming from so it would be hard to respond. I don't see where a full power rifle will really be helpful. Also, I think something inexpensive (it is easy to break into a car so it is far more likely than a house gun to be stolen), reliable, and durable (it might get a little banged up in the trunk) is called for. For my first choice I'd look for a used 12ga Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 or a used lever gun in .357mag or .44mag. Next, I'd likely consider an SKS or a 30-30 lever gun (preferably used)- the calibers are a bit high for this use, but both are very reliable and durable guns that are quite inexpensive. As a next choice I'd go with a cheap(ish) AK type rifle in .223/5.56 (first choice) or 7.62 (next choice). Next would be something like a used Ruger Mini-14. Last choice would be a hunting type bolt or semi-auto, preferably in .223.

Edit:

On my list of what I would/will have for a car gun if/when I move to a state where I could have a car gun I left out one of my options. Near the top of the list I'd have to add the Hi Point Carbine in .40S&W. Nice hard hitting caliber for a handgun caliber, it is reasonably inexpensive to shoot, ammo that matches two of my carry options (though it doesn't share mags with either), reasonable sights, priced very inexpensively, yet still pretty durable. I'd be willing to consider the 9mm if I couldn't find the .40, it isn't as powerful but isn't bad, it is a lot cheaper to shoot than just about anything serviceable for defense, but I would lose the ammo compatability and .40S&W has become one of my favorite calibers.

 

[Daniel964]

Right now I have my CCW a G26. One mag in it 10 rounds with one on the chamber. A spare 10 round mag on me and 2 spare 10 round mags in the drivers door pocket. So I have 41 rounds ready to go now.

 

[Hemicuda]

Usually my carry piece and one reload...

SOMETIMES I leave one carry piece and reload there, forget, and bring another...

We here in Michigan can't have LOADED rifles or shotguns in the vehicle, so THOSE are out...

but... I DO drive a 4 door 1970 Dodge Crew-cab, and a 2001 Dodge Ram QUad-Cab most of the time... and both of those have "seatback gunracks" on the back of the front seats... I *could* put about any longgun into those, and carry it "ready to go"

 

[Alexfubar]

Massachusetts - no loaded or unlocked long guns in vehicles. But since Xmas I have been breaking in a Miami Classic shoulder rig. So I have a sig228 ( 9mm ) w/ 2 spare mags = 39 shots , all the time.

Scheming up a way to keep the AK in my jeep legal yet fast access ... still working on it.

 

[Manedwolf]

If you have to bail out of your vehicle RIGHT NOW and get into the fight ASAP how much firepower are you bringing to the party.

Mall ninja much?

If I'm in my vehicle, I am OUT OF THERE, period. Vehicle = mobility = gone.

 

[win71]

No kidding

If I'm in my vehicle, I am OUT OF THERE, period. Vehicle = mobility = gone.

If it gets real serious real fast an accelerating F-250 will usually plow through most dangerous ground.

 

[CZ223]

Maned Wolf and Win71

I simply asked what guns do you have in your vehicle that are readily accesible should you need them? Later on in my post I even stated that I don't ever see myself getting involved in a situation where I would need them. The reason that I asked these questions is simple. I, like many people on this board, have lots of guns. I generally have at least one long gun, in addition to my carry gun, in the vehicle in case I get a chance to slip off to the range. The thought crossed my mind the other day, as I looked at the Remington 1100 and, the AR-15 in the back seat of my truck, along with the various boxes of ammo in plastic bags that, while I was well armed I was definitely not well organized. I realized that if, for whatever reason, I should need to use one of these I guns, I was screwed. I decided right then and there there to become more organized and, since it is legal in my state to keep long guns in the vehicle as long as they are not loaded, I would. Better to have them and not need them, than to need them and have them sittin in my safe. As to your point about gettin out of harms way, it is a valid one. I am a firm believer that the best place to be during a gunfight is, SOMEWHERE ELSE. I would also like to believe that should the situation ever arrise that I have to make the choice between "cutting and running" and stepping up in defense of someones life that I would do the latter. Remember this. If you choose to own and/or carry a gun for defense you must have already realized that there might come a time when the only person you can depend on to save your or someone elses life is you. You should also remember that, because you have made that choice, probaly 80-90 percent of the people in this country think you are weird or paranoid. I don't. You know, If I or someonelse had asked last week, "What would you do if six guys armed with guns and wearing ski masks broke into your house and held a gun to your 8 year olds head, what would you do?" Whoever asked that question would have been ridiculed by somebody. Well, as we all know now, that happened to a family in Tucson this week. My point is don't be so quick to critisize the same way I hold my tongue when I read some of the ridiculous scenarios that I have on this and other boards.

 

[Coyote3855]

Depends on the vehicle...

In my commuter sedan, I would have my Kahr P9 IWB, KelTec 3AT front pocket, and a Marlin 336 .30-30 in a Big Sky Sky-Bar gun rack. Pickup truck weekend chores rig: carry gun de jour (Ruger Vaquero .45, Springfield 1911 .45, Glock 23) KelTec 3AT, Stoeger Coach Gun or Winchester 94 in .25-35.

 

[ezypikns]

To answer your question.

My carry gun and a spare mag.

However, and I know this isn't what you asked, 99% of the time the quote below would also be my answer no matter what.

If I'm in my vehicle, I am OUT OF THERE, period. Vehicle = mobility = gone.

 

[jac714]

I'm with the out of there group, I'm leaving if it is in any way possible.

If not, my carry gun and 1-2 reloads.

 

[Kali Endgame]

In California a vehicle is the only deadly weapon I can have access to outside of my home. Leaving behind my weapon is a bad decision. I like the scenario you placed before us, but I follow the laws that govern us for our own protection and to promote dependancy upon the state.

Sorry about the grammar.