suggestions for a truck/trunk long gun to keep there.

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bullseyebob47

bullseyebob47

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it can't be too expensive cause i'll leave it there with doors locked 24/7. i have a cheap mossberg 12 ga for that now but im not so sure buckshot is the best thing. this is for close quarter sd(if i can get to it). still carry a handgun.

i have a sks that would be perfect for this but even with the hornady ammo i think it would go through a bad guy and still kill a bystander.

ar15 cost too much to leave in the truck.

i could consider the hi point carbine. but how much would gold dots penetrate with that longer barrel?

for about $100 more than the hi point i could get the s&w 15-22 which is super reliable in my experience but its a .22lr.
 
If it is for close range self defense I would say your mossberg with an 18" barrel and buckshot is the best thing.

It seems like over-penetration is your biggest concern. I would say that it will be an issue with any long gun at all, and if it isn't you probably aren't getting a ballistic advantage over a pistol, though aiming would be easier.

I wouldn't worry a ton about over penetration because you are aware of your target and what is beyond right? I wouldn't rely on a body to stop even a .22 if I knew there was an innocent person behind it.
 
I'd say just use the Mossberg.

But I will say this... if you can get to your vehicle to get your gun, you can probably get to your vehicle to get away.
 
Buy a highpoint carbine in 9mm or 40sw or 45acp or a kel tec sub 2000 in 9mm or 40sw and it fold up. The KT can be bought to use ether glock sig s&w or beretta mags too.
 
All handgun calibers will over-penetrate worse then The 00 buck shotgun load.

Use the shotgun.

rc
 
hardluk1 said:
Buy a highpoint carbine in 9mm or 40sw or 45acp or a kel tec sub 2000 in 9mm or 40sw and it fold up. The KT can be bought to use ether glock sig s&w or beretta mags too.
Click to expand...
^ THIS ^

Pocket Guns and Gear blog has shown that cheap SD ammo usually needs the extra velocity to expand, which IMO would be perfect for a carbine. The HP carbines are cheap and the barrel length would be perfect for some of the cheaper SD ammo selections. Check that blog for some of the examples...

HP carbines are perfect trunk guns! Very Accurate too!
I also have a Sub2000 in 40, really nice as well. :D
 
Agree with Inebriated.

How many people are in prison after it being said "He went to his car and got a gun?"

And how many crooks are armed with stolen "car guns?"
 
ditch the mossberg and get a Holland and Holland... its the only thing that with kill evil doers.....jk

u could look at getting a WASR ak but they arent all that cheap any more.....

what about a puma lever action .357, 44 mag, or .45 colt
 
I think the Mossberg is just fine for your truck gun needs. I do suggest that you keep it down-loaded minus 1 round in the summer, though.
 
sks,hands down. 150 gr Corbon softpoints, 2200+ fps, for big game opportunities, and steel cored ball for when you have to pierce cars or other barriers. rubberband a clip of each to the buttstock.

If you live in elk, grizzly or moose country, you might want to switch to a BAR or Remington auto, in 06, and also use it as your hunting rifle. Same thing on the ammo. Pull some old blacktip Wwera AP bullets and reload them. You can't trust that old ammo, and it's corrosive primed. 180 gr Nosler Partition softpoints for game.
 
you don't want ANY primers stored in any fashion other than the factory packaging. they've been known to build up loose "dust" and detonate in primer feed tubes, too.
 
Hand R single in 22 hornet has rode in my truck with me since 72, But mostly I carry it for preaditor control on ranch. I keep a old work glove over the barrel. Dirt dabbers ya know.
 
Think about it, what gun would you buy if you were to leave it in a corner of your woodshed for five years? Car trunks are worse, 150+ in the summer, high humidity tracking snow into the carpet, no venting, etc.

First and foremost, the gun has to be able to resist condensation and moisture on it from the environment. It's why truck guns lose their finish so quickly. So, it has to be parkerized or marine grade at a minimum, with synthetic stocks.

If it's supplementing the hand gun, then that is what you are fighting to get. It needs to be a rifle in a rifle caliber.

The best gun for that hands down is the AR15. Cost is no object if your life really is on the line, so buying cheap is false economy. Frankly they aren't that pricey. The shooting community just likes to build them that way. Shop for a S&W with no FA or chamber cover, they are non essential anyway.

You could certainly shove just any cheap gun in the trunk, the real issue is will you pull out a rusted non functioning hunk of junk on the day you need it?

I have an old 1965 Win 94 Saddle Ring that was a truck gun, one big mess of measles for the effort. It wasn't getting better when I rescued it, and it's a classic example of any traditional gun being completely unfit for the job. Avoid blued steel and steel receivers. You'll be two steps ahead of the game. After all the bouncing and chafing in whatever swaddling mess of wet rags called a gun case is done with it, the AR will be much less the worse for the wear banging around with the spare.
 
Ammunition degrades with heat. The thermometer on my console often reads 160F with the windows up on a sunny summer day. I haven't measured the trunk temperature.

It would be a good idea to rotate ammunition, at least every season. There's probably a mil-spec somewhere for that sort of thing.

As an aside, it wouldn't be a bad idea to look at your get home/bug out bag and see what might be adversely affected by freezing or 160+ temps. Adhesive tape, meds, etc. often don't like repeated temperature cycles.
 
My car trunk gun is a Marlin lever action in 44 magnum with a Williams peep sight. Accurate, compact, great handling and enough power for either putting down a deer/cow hit by a car or for SD as well. My TRUCK gun is a Ruger 77 stainless laminated LH in 30/06 because about the only place my truck gets driven is on the farm and the thing I'm most likely to shoot at there is a deer.

In terms of a SD discussion I echo the idea that going back to their vehicle for a gun is the reason a lot of people are in prison today. Simply driving away is almost always the best first option.
 
As I just posted in the other truck/think gun thread, I'm looking at a chopped Remington autoloading shotgun (pre-model 11) whippet.

I've also considered picking up a Type 53 Chinese carbine, maybe even cutting the barrel back to 16" for more storability and compactness.

I guess this begs the question, 'what would be the primary role for the gun?'

If you can get to your truck, its gonna be asked why did you grab the gun and fight rather than drive away. I don't really see a truck gun as a defensive piece, that role is more for my CCW.
 
But I will say this... if you can get to your vehicle to get your gun, you can probably get to your vehicle to get away.
Click to expand...

There are times when you can get to your car but can't use it to escape. For a recent example look at the snow storm in Birmingham/Atlanta. Even if you had a snow capable car (not entirely likely living in the south, but possible) you still couldn't get anywhere because of all the cars either stalled or wrecked blocking the road.

I think that's a much more likely scenario for using a trunk gun (at least for those of us who work in/around cities and don't need one for pest control) where you're trapped in an area for some reason and have the ability to get to your car, but your car can't help you get out. If I would have gotten stuck in a bad part of town or the situation was different (riots instead of fluffy white stuff) I could see where a trunk gun would be a welcome addition to a sidearm.

As far as what gun to choose, I would stick with a rifle and not a shotgun or pistol caliber carbine. If you were using it for defense it would mean your pistol was unsuitable and your car can't help you escape, so I would see no problem stepping up to something with more power and penetration. Just make sure you know what is behind your target and you should be ok.
 
I love the AR, but around vehicles, you are likely to need more penetration than the 223 offers. all you have to do about corrosion is degrease carefully with alcohol, apply 2 coats of of car wax, and use a dry graphite lube on the high friction points. Or like I said, use an SKS. 223 is also a bit on the handicapped side for moose, elk, and the great bears. You'd have to pull brain shots. With corbon 150 gr sp's, the sks is just as much gun as the 30-30 ever was, and many thousands of such large critters have fallen to the 30-30, believe it. Such a load is easily equal to the muzzleloading Hawken performance, and you can drive home 1-2 more .30 AK rds before the critter can escape. That's not possible with the muzzleloader. Yet men killed Bison, elk and moose by the millions with the Hawken.
 
My vehicle long guns are,
Kel Tec .223 SU
SKS
Ruger break down 10/22.


I don't like a shotgun at all for a vehicle gun.
Too short on range before a lot of buckshot is missing the intended target and zinging through the neighborhood.
Years ago when I did a lot of driving and had a shotgun in the car, I would do mental evaluations of how I thought the shotgun would do in different situations, gassing up, etc.
Too many times I would estimate that the pattern would be too broad and buckshot would be hitting people or things I'd rather not hit.
I replaced the shotgun with a M1 Carbine.


IMO a Hi Point 45ACP carbine is a good vehicle gun. (Mine is) Inexpensive, reliable and accurate.
When I get around to it I'll put it in one of the vehicles.
 
I carry a single barrel H&R 20 ga as my truck gun. I figure having someone standing by with a shotgun in the middle of night on a lonesome highway while fixing a tire is a good thing.
 
This whole truck gun thing I will never understand. A gun left in a vehicle unattended, locked or not, is negligent in my opinion. What could you possibly need a long gun for in your vehicle that the vehicle itself could not cure? If the situation calls for a long gun AND you can get to your vehicle to get it, LEAVE. The positive uses it could have are minimal compared to the chance of arming a thief. What if someone breaks into your vehicle, gets armed, then decides to come on in the house while your sleeping? You armed them!

Can someone give me an example of a use for a permanent firearm in a vehicle? Only thing I can conjure up would be pest control on a farm or something like that.
 
I have a single shot H&R 12 ga with five rounds of buckshot in a cuff on the buttstock. It now has a 20 inch barrel with no choke. Works great with buck. Less than $100 total tied up.

A single barrel shotgun with most of the finish missing is easier to explain away than an evil black rifle or milsurp AK or SKS. It would also be easier to "lose" should the need arise.
 
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