Truck gun? Yes or no

[Olon]

Since I'm not old enough to cc, I always have a gun of some sort in my vehichle. Usually a pistol in the front and a long gun hidden in the trunk. Lawn chair bags are your friend. It's a thin disguise but might be enough if somebody breaks in. Areas I frequent are pretty light with crime though so YMMV

 

[22250Rem]

For me a truck gun is just an occasional thing depending on where I'm going and what I have planned. Usually a truck gun is my carry piece if I'm carrying that day. Sometimes it might be a long gun. But no gun ever stays in the truck overnight or for extended periods. I've got a rifle rack in the back window that usually carries my long handled ice scraper / snow brush and rarely gets to hold a long gun. I'd never leave a gun on display right in the back window if I weren't around. Gun racks in pickup trucks seem pretty rare in this day and age but I still have one. But lately the only thing hanging there is a pair of snowshoes that will get used this week to tromp through the woods on my friends property swapping SD cards in trail cams. I can't recall the last time I saw a rifle rack in someone's pickup. Anyone else still have or use one for a truck gun?, even though you can't safely leave it there all the time? I can actually recall truck guns riding around in back windows of pickups, back when they used to be called "Easy Rider Rifle Racks" ...lol. You older guys will probably recall that. I'll have to be sure to get a picture of that rack with an actual gun in it next time that happens.

 

[herrwalther]

I would like to get to the point where I can have some firearm in a vehicle as a backup. That could be spontaneous hunting, varmint dispatch, or SHTF type situation. However, it would not be left inside the vehicle overnight or extended periods of time. My area has way too many firearms stolen from car breakins. My local police force just put up a video 2 days ago of security footage from a house in a neighborhood. In it at least 7 young adult males go quickly up the street breaking into parked vehicles and at least 3 firearms are stolen.

 

[jmorris]

I can't recall the last time I saw a rifle rack in someone's pickup. Anyone else still have or use one for a truck gun?

I don’t use the old back window ones anymore but I have built some that allow quicker access and are less conspicuous.



Even had an officer ask me if I had firearms in the vehicle and I answered, yes. He asked where they were located and I said one was right by the wallet I had just retrieved and the other is “up there” pointing towards the roof. He bent down to see what I was pointing at and noticed he was looking at the barrel of a rifle and said “Oh!”, as he took a step to the right.

 

[SwampWolf]

I keep an unloaded Ruger Mini-14 carbine in the locked confines of the "Ram Box" of my Ram pick-up truck, loaded magazines located inside the cab. Also, inside the cab is a loaded Smith Model 686 revolver, chambered in .357 Magnum, in a locked safe, having a combination lock. Inside our Jeep Grand Cherokee (mostly my wife's vehicle), is a loaded Smith J-frame revolver, chambered in .38 Special, in a locked safe, having a combination lock.

 

[Heir Kommt Die Sonne]

I think if you're in a small enough town, keeping a good powered rifle in your car that's easy to grab is a good idea. You can use it to hunt if you have the time, or SD if it came down to it.
However in a big city where car thefts are more common than SD cases, keeping a gun in a car isnt a good idea. It would be better to have your gun right where you have your keys (assuming your keys are in a secure place), so you grab the gun with your keys when you get into your car and keep it in there, then take it back out when you're done driving .


In a big city with enough gun owners, bulgarizing cars for the purpose of retrieving guns is a successful idea. And it happens alot too

 

[kozak6]

Since you probably EDC anyways, a truck gun should be further down the list of emergency supplies than jumper cables, coolant, basic tools, and such.

I've had a couple breakdowns and other situations where I didn't need, but wished I had a gun. However, in one of those breakdowns, a jug of coolant and a screwdriver would have saved me a long scary walk.

In previous years, we've had severe issues with vehicle break-ins at my workplace. And in particular, the employee lot was targeted since it's unmonitored, unsecured, far away, and not generally visible from the public lot.

Furthermore, the creeps carry tools. I've seen them walking around with bolt cutters sticking out of their suspiciously bulging backpacks. A silly little cable or even a padlock isn't going to be much help.

 

[bassjam]

I keep a 10/22 in the truck. I modified my rear seat so it folds forward, there's just enough room back there for a rifle, some mags, and a couple 100 count boxes of mini mags. I hid the latch I made to access it, so its all relatively safe in a location nobody would suspect, and you'd have to remove the kid's car seats to get to it as well.

 

[dirtman]

I spend a lot of time in the rual farm areas. I have always had a long gun or two for varmints in the truck. I have dispatched many many skunks and other rabid yotes, and coons. If it is out in mid day and acting strange. It is immediately dispatched. All guns removed from truck at nite.

 

[.308 Norma]

I think if you're in a small enough town, keeping a good powered rifle in your car that's easy to grab is a good idea.

Not everyone lives in a "town"...small, big, or otherwise. My wife and I don't.
But we both carry almost everywhere, and it's easy enough to throw a rifle (or shotgun) in the truck if we're going somewhere where we think we might use it. In fact, even when we are actually going deer or elk hunting and have our big game rifles along of course, I always have an inexpensive, single shot .410 shotgun in the truck for grouse and such.
Lately our problem with carrying almost everywhere has been that we have a good friend in the hospital in the "big city" of Pocatello. There's "NO WEAPONS" signs, as well as pictures of guns and knives in circles with lines through them on every entrance to that hospital. So when we visit our friend, we leave our CCWs in the truck. I doubt anyone would notice if we did carry our guns into the hospital, but we don't want to take that chance.
I know, I know...we're taking the chance that some lunatic with a gun might come into that hospital and kill us unarmed folks that pay attention to the "NO WEAPONS" signs. And we're taking the chance that some thief or thieves might break into our truck and steal our guns while we're visiting our friend. But that brings me back to what I said in the first place...we don't live in town. And when we do make the trip to Pocatello to visit our friend in the hospital, we also run errands (Fred Meyer's, Lowe's, Sportsman's, Ace, etc.)
So it's a bit of a problem...we're not about to run errands in the "big city" unarmed because we left our CCWs home in the safe, and we don't like leaving our CCWs in the truck while we visit our friend in the hospital, but we do.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

My experience with bio safes has yielded inconsistent results ,

Consistently inconsistent ?

 

[Jesse H]

Are you ok with leaving $2500-3000 cash in your truck? Because that's typically how much I have in my rifles. Even so, the headache with dealing with filing a report with insurance, local law enforcement and the ATF is a no go.

Even if you have a piece of junk truck gun that isn't worth much and gets stolen, good job, you just gave a criminal a firearm.

 

[Waveski]

Consistently inconsistent ?

Whatever you say.

 

[Waveski]

.308 Norma , I too have occasion to lock my "carry" in the truck when entering the hospital. I assist several elderly acquaintances , so that situation does arise. Those are fairly short visits , and in daylight. It is a minimal risk that I accept.
I consider that to be different from the practice of keeping a gun in the vehicle 24/7.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

I was not going to answer the question of yes or no, but decided to put in my reply tonight, yes & no. If I am in our car or truck, you betcha that there is a firearm on board! CC weapon/ firearm and depending on what time of year it is, there will be an appropriate long gun or something to target practice with. Times have changed, so no firearm is left in a vehicle over night, there are twice as many people on this earth as there was when I was born, therefore more bad people to steal. Growing up, Dad always had something in the car/truck/whatever.

 

[.308 Norma]

Times have changed

Yep, and IMO, not for the better. I can't remember the last time I saw a rifle or shotgun hanging on the rack in the rear window of a pickup truck in town. Yet it was a pretty common sight, even in the high school parking lot when I was a kid.

 

[Old Dog]

'Pears to be a segment hereabouts that thinks those of us who do keep a gun in our vehicles aren't too smart.

I'd suggest those of us that do keep a "truck gun" about are smart enough to only park in mostly secure areas and bring our stuff into the house at night. As well, we've probably completed our risk assessments.

The implication that those of us that do believe in truck guns are making it easy for the car prowlers, thieves and other criminals is a tad bit insulting.

 

[RedlegRick]

'Pears to be a segment hereabouts that thinks those of us who do keep a gun in our vehicles aren't too smart.

I'd suggest those of us that do keep a "truck gun" about are smart enough to only park in mostly secure areas and bring our stuff into the house at night. As well, we've probably completed our risk assessments.

The implication that those of us that do believe in truck guns are making it easy for the car prowlers, thieves and other criminals is a tad bit insulting.

It may sound insulting, but times have changed a lot. And IMHO there are no truly 'safe' areas anymore, thanks to the changing social landscape. Like the one guy said, he's not letting some tweaker or pillhead who breaks into his vehicle walk away with a 2500 dollar weapon. I wouldn't leave a hundred dollar piece in mine for the same reason.
And it has little to do with 'the neighborhood' either. Those people go where there are good things they can fence are, they've picked their own places clean.
And the hassle of filing a report and ultimately putting another gun on the streets isn't worth it to me. Mine stays with me except for the places I absolutely cannot carry in. If the balloon goes up when I'm away from my house, oh well, I'll figure it out somehow. One less thing I'd have to carry with me is how I see it.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

'Pears to be a segment hereabouts that thinks those of us who do keep a gun in our vehicles aren't too smart.

I'd suggest those of us that do keep a "truck gun" about are smart enough to only park in mostly secure areas and bring our stuff into the house at night. As well, we've probably completed our risk assessments.

The implication that those of us that do believe in truck guns are making it easy for the car prowlers, thieves and other criminals is a tad bit insulting.

I think you're being deliberately misleading here. I don't think anybody object to you having a gun in your vehicle, especially when you're not storing it long-term in the vehicle and I feel like for you to imply that that's the issue is disingenuous.

The issue that I think most people take exception to as I said above is storing a gun in your car long-term.

I'm pretty sure I said this the last time this topic came up but the Colorado Springs Police Department publishes a blotter report every morning and you would be amazed (well YOU probably wouldn't because you're a cop) at the number of firearms that are stolen from UNLOCKED cars every single night.

I'm pretty sure I also said this last time this topic came up but I'm a firm believer that if you store a gun in a vehicle long-term it's only a matter of time before somebody's going to steal it

 

[Waveski]

The implication that those of us that do believe in truck guns are making it easy for the car prowlers, thieves and other criminals is a tad bit insulting.[/QUOTE]

The objective discussion of a topic , and differing opinions thereof , does not equate to personal insult. If anyone in this thread posted a personal opinion about those on either side of this equation I missed it.

 

[JR24]

For me? No.

First, I am too paranoid about someone stealing it to leave one in the truck full time (long gun or pistol).

Second, dragging a long gun in and out each time I leave the house is way too much of a hassle. I have kids in the house so the rifle would need to go in and out of the locked safe every time.

Third, I always have a full or duty size gun on my hip as my EDC anyway, so another pistol in the truck is of limited usefulness.

Fourth, a loaded long gun is not allowed in my state.

Fifth, a loaded hand gun concealed (not in plain view) requires a CCW in my state, and my wife drives my truck 50% of the time and she does not have a CCW. It's a possible unfortunate traffic stop I'm not willing to risk.

So, for me, very much not a good idea.

 

[Kaybee]

Not allowed where I live but I wouldn't do it anyway because of theft.

What works for me is a holster that I wear when I know I'll be driving a lot. A shoulder holster!
Rather do that then taking a gun back and forth off my person when I get in our out of my car. Especially in public.

 

[alsaqr]

i have a full time truck gun, an SKS behind the seat. Truck is parked in the locked garage at night.

 

[Ignition Override]

No. And as a sidenote, they do begin to show a little corrosion after five days if kept in the IWB Remora holster. This happened on a road trip to TX.

Quite seriously, if Trump wins re-election, I would then carry every time I get in the car for a few weeks, because the chances of spontaneous small riots, even in a suburb, could increase.
In a nearby suburb -Cordova TN- quite a number of people moved in from some areas which have gangs in schools (you know what I'm sayin'?). Imagine the fury if he is re-elected and various levels of 'allowed' police response. The response wasn't impressive in 2016.

 

[Labguy47]

I grew up with milsurps ridin in the back window of your cowboy cruiser. No one stole it lest they be shot in the attempt. Shells where rolling in door pockets or seat covers ( think long bench vinyl covers). Then again I grew up where everyone knew each other and their kids / kids. I will never forget my junior year when the schools policy changed on guns at school, on the first day of deer season. Take them home and come back to get your pass for absence.