Trunk Gun: Smart Investment or Bad Idea?

[Certaindeaf]

^
Around here if you break into a car you get a sandwich and an infraction/ticket.
Burgle a house and you go to the big house.

 

[JustinJ]

Aside from rioting, as already mentioned in a previous post, remember what happened in Mumbai a few years ago?

As was also already mentioned if rioting occurs driving home is an infinitely wiser decision than hoofing it on foot with a rifle.

How on earth is a rifle in one's car going to help them in a hotel taken over by terrorists?

Around here if you break into a car you get a sandwich and an infraction/ticket.
Burgle a house and you go to the big house.

If you are arguing that stiffer penalites are the deterent against home robberies then criminals wouldn't steal guns from a vehicle either as doing so will obviously entail a lot more than a sandwich and ticket.

 

[Sam1911]

Aside from rioting, as already mentioned in a previous post, remember what happened in Mumbai a few years ago?

Justin makes the point well. A lot of folks seem to feel that a rifle in the trunk is a good protection against "rioting" or terrorist acts of some sort. And I'm afraid I still don't see how that's anything but a knee-jerk reaction. There doesn't' seem to be any real planning or analysis of possible positive reactions/outcomes involved.

If there's a riot somewhere nearby...what? Go out and get your rifle, and then come back into where-ever to hole up with your rifle? If you can enter this place with a rifle (during a riot) why didn't you have it with you before? And if you can, why would you? Get in your car and LEAVE! You don't want to shoot anyone -- even in a mob scrutiny and leaving is the very best way to prevent having to.

If you are driving and find yourself surrounded by a mob, do you think they're going to let you get out of your vehicle and go get your rifle? And if so...why? Why exit your 5,000 lb. weapon to go get your 10 lb. one?

And terrorism? First off...we just don't have a terrorism problem here. Even counting 9/11 (and the rifle would have helped, how?) you're more likely to be killed by bee stings than a terrorist act, and even world-wide, the vast majority of terrorist acts involve things like subterfuge and high explosives.

EVEN so...you find yourself in Mumbai and there's shooting going on. So what do you do with that rifle in your car? Try to get to it so you can go all "Bruce Willis" on them?

I know folks like to say, "well...having a rifle somewhere nearby gives me options." But for all the realistic possible needs I've read, that rifle in the trunk might as well be a toaster.

So, someone get specific, PLEASE. Share a realistic scenario where you could use your trunk gun in a defensive way, and where a more compact, light, easy to carry, constantly-with-you, concealed handgun wouldn't do the job BETTER.

 

[holdencm9]

If leaving a gun in a locked car is irresponsible then isn't leaving a gun in a locked house irresponsible? Isn't it irresponsible to carry a gun in a bad neighborhood because you are much more likely to be mugged or killed and then the gun you are carrying will end up in the hands of a crook? In all of these situations it is possible that a crook could wind up in possession of your gun and could use that gun in the commission of a crime. If someone breaks into your house and steals a gun do you feel responsible if he uses that gun in a crime? I probably would. I would also feel bad if they stole my car and it was used in a hit-and-run crime or rammed into another car injuring people.

I would feel guilty if guns were stolen from my home. But that whole argument is a non sequitur: your home is home, you HAVE to keep your guns there. You do not HAVE to keep a gun in your trunk. And even then (in the home), at least if a gun is stolen, you can know in your heart that you did everything you could to avoid it (so long as you don't leave your house unlocked all day). The other difference is the levels of risk and reward. Risk of home theft = low, chances of using a gun to defend home = high, COMPARED to the likelihood of using a trunk gun to defend...what? That's the other problem, no one here has even offered a practical scenario where a trunk gun (for the purposes of this discussion henceforth...something larger than a pistol kept in the trunk 24/7) would be useful at all.

I would be really interested to see if anybody can dig up statistics on the number of thefts out of cars versus home thefts, and the number of times someone used a trunk gun to successfully defend themselves versus someone using a house gun to defend themselves. I can find some statistics on car thefts but not thefts FROM cars (in other words, where they steal the contents, but leave the car). My hypothesis is that the likelihood of the car thefts is significantly higher than homes, and the odds of a gun being used to defend one's self in the home is an order of magnitude higher than a trunk gun being employed. Furthermore, I know that a lot of thefts from cars go unreported, whereas home thefts usually are reported, and not only that, but the clearance rate of home thefts is much higher.

I live in rural Colorado. I retired from the Colorado Dept of Corrections! I probably have a better sense of what happens when unprepared people have an unfortunate experience with a determined criminal. I would feel no more guilt if a handgun (which is my "trunk gun") was used by a criminal in a crime than if my vehicle was used as a get a way car. I have walked into an armed robbery (as a customer) and also had a gun pulled on me by my ex's drunken boyfriend. No shots fired, no heroics just stayed calm and didn't escalate, lucky I guess.

Bold mine. If that is how you feel, then that is fine. We will never agree on that point. I hope for the sake of your conscience and the citizens of your neighborhood that you never have a gun stolen. Personally, I will accept the infinitesimally small risk that not having a trunk gun will get me killed some day. I will not accept the much higher risk that my gun will get stolen and the burden on my conscience if that were to happen.

 

[gp911]

Sam, I watched "Cujo" at an impressionable age, and while they really needed the water more than a gun I still would want the gun in there if I were stranded somewhere remote. Rabid St Bernards notwithstanding, I don't want to be at nature's mercy if wild animals/feral dogs find me first. I do agree that water is by far more important to have though.

 

[armoredman]

Having water in the desert is simply a must. Traveling without is is stupid. Traveling with a rifle as part of your tool kit is up to you.

But for all the realistic possible needs I've read, that rifle in the trunk might as well be a toaster

Sam, Sam, you should know better than to use lines that trigger my sense of the creatively absurd...





And of course, the instructions are mandatory...

 

[Sam1911]

Well...now, that's just awesome!

(Can you run a smooth "select-bagel" drill? How 'bout poptarts in the sidesaddle?)

 

[firesky101]

Armoredman for the win. Do you possibly watch "The Venture Bros."?

 

[qwert65]

I would think a valid reason to keep a gun in the trunk would be it's there if you need it, however remote that might be. Realistically you could get along fine without ever needing any gun, hell, my father served 18mos in Vietnam including the tet offensive. and only needed his rifle once, most times they were under fire his job was to stay in his bunker(helicopter mechanic).
For the record I've never kept a gun in the trunk( no acess, as compared to a console) but I've thought about it from time to time. I've never used the shovel or jack I've kept in my trunk either but it's nice to have.
How many of you keep a fire extinguisher? how often does that get used?
I'd only think someone was foolish if they kept a gun in there before putting more common safety tools, tire iron, blanket, etc.

 

[armoredman]

Sam, sorry, but unfortunately this is truly a "front stuffer", and as a "single action double barrel muzzle loader" it is not the greatest choice for SD useage...The use of Poptarts for self defense runs afoul of the Hague Convention of 1927 as they contain a hot liquid substance that may spray others when impacting the target..."hollow cavity" as it were, but only a "dum dum" would use them.


Is this getting sad or what?

firesky, no, I've never even heard of the program. I rarely if ever watch TV, and am only now watching The Tudors on Netflix on my computer - closest I come to television.

qwert, I rolled my car in 1984, and used the fire extinguisher to put out a fire. Good tool to have along. Some day I'm going to catalog all the stuff I have in the trunk, like the blanket, M-65 field jacket, Bug Out Belt of gear, folding shovel, cups, vehicle fluids, etc.

 

[qwert65]

Oh I wasn't implying that fire extinguishers were not a good item to have, I'd take one before a trunk gun myself, my point was that a trunk gun gives you another tool like a fire extinguisher and that frequency if use should not be an argument against it otherwise why ccw?

 

[Beaux Nehr]

My gosh, for this being a "pro-gun" venue I'm surprised how many people are naysayers!

Carrying a gun in your vehicle is about as handy as having one on your hip, and your car doesn't print or care how heavy it is.

Not keeping a gun in your car for fear of being stolen is counter productive to exercising your 2A rights. Thats like not wanting to buy a gun for fear that it may be stolen. My gosh folks, stop living in fear. Living in fear lets the bad guys win! If you live somewhere that vehicle break-ins are common, you have two options, one would be to move somewhere that still has human decency. The second option would be to become active in your community by letting the would-be thieves and thugs know that you don't tolerate any foolishness and mean business.

After catching 4 thieves on two different occasions on my property, The word got out that I am not a man to be messed with. Pillheads don't like being greeted with weapons, its very effective at preventing future problems.

I don't lock my doors, and I don't live in fear. Stay vigilant, have a gun or three within arms reach whenever possible, and don't worry about it.

Not every state begins with Ken and ends in tucky.
Likewise, not every situation is similar to yours.

To insult others who act wisely according to their own, specific situation is poor form.

EDIT:
when I can't carry into a building, I do leave my pistol in my car. It stays in a hidden, locked (gunvault) box with a steel cable wrapped around the bottom of the seat.

 

[holdencm9]

For the record I've never kept a gun in the trunk( no acess, as compared to a console) but I've thought about it from time to time. I've never used the shovel or jack I've kept in my trunk either but it's nice to have.
How many of you keep a fire extinguisher? how often does that get used?

True, but at the same time, the black market for shovels and fire extinguishers isn't what it used to be. And isn't nearly as big as the black market for guns. And if your shovel gets stolen, you are out...maybe $30? As opposed to $300 or more, and 3 months later when you hear on the news that someone was just shot, you won't be wondering to yourself, "gosh, could that have been my shovel used to shoot that guy?"

Unless of course your shovel shoots bullets, in which case, I'd like one please

 

[kb58]

I thought it would be good to have one in the car, especially if you work far from home. Around SoCal, it's not out of the question that you might have to walk a LONG way home in th event of The Big One (I'm assuming everyone already has a Get-Home Bag.) On the other hand it would suck having it stolen, and the odds of that happening are a LOT higher than actually needing it for defense the first day or second day of any short of SHTF event.

I never considered using it for anything else. The thoughts posted by others about "running back to the car and pulling it out to..." what? Decisions made in those sort of situations are usually very poor. After thinking it over for a few weeks, I felt that overall, it was better not to have one.

 

[qwert65]

Well, I don't believe that I'm responsible for others actions. If someone got run over by my car, or my shovel was used to bury a body, my jumper cables were used to strangle someone. I feel the blame rests on who committed the act. Likewise if I loan you a shotgun to go hunting( assuming I know you, not a felon, etc.) and you shot a person that's on you( the law would agree as well)

For those that would feel guilty, if you were a gun dealer would you feel responsible for your customers actions?

A shovel that shoots would be awesome!

 

[Sam1911]

I would think a valid reason to keep a gun in the trunk would be it's there if you need it,

Need it, yes. Need it to do WHAT, though?

What is ANY need (let's leave out "plinking jackrabbits" and other wants, habits, and hobbies) you are likely to face where you will be in dire trouble if you cannot get to a long gun that you keep stored in your trunk?

As we're considering the very present, common, known reality of having guns stolen from (or with) vehicles, and your trunk gun being placed into the hands of the sort of people who commit grand theft auto, and worse, the NEED we're balancing against that significant risk should be pretty pressing -- don't you think?

How many of you keep a fire extinguisher? how often does that get used?

I've never personally needed the fire extinguishers I keep in my vehicles, though I once owned a truck that did catch fire while driving. (Pulled into the local Maryland State Police barracks parking lot, snuffed out the fire with a pair of work gloves. Officer response? "Hey, you can't park that here!")

But I can point to a real thing that happens to people (vehicle fires) and where the appropriate response can legitimately be "fire extinguisher."

I have trouble coming up with any vehicle-related situation so plausible where the answer is "get my rifle."

 

[kb58]

What is ANY need (let's leave out "plinking jackrabbits" and other wants, habits, and hobbies) you are likely to face where you will be in dire trouble if you cannot get to a long gun that you keep stored in your trunk?

I went back and checked, and the OP never said that it was a handgun... just sayin'

 

[holdencm9]

I went back and checked, and the OP never said that it was a handgun... just sayin'

I didn't specify, but I do think there should be the distinction made, and I mentioned in subsequent posts, to try to focus the discussion on carbines/rifles/shotguns that are kept in the trunk 24/7 for a defensive reason.

Not so much thinking about the guy that keeps his Marlin .22 in the trunk because he likes to plink on the way home from work. Or console handguns which IMO serve a slightly more legitimate role but still questionable risk/reward quotient.

Again, a lot hinges on whether or not you'd feel guilt. Re-hashing that "I am not responsible for other people's actions" doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's a moral gray area but providing a criminal with a weapon, inadvertently or otherwise, if he does something bad with it, it is partially my responsibility.

 

[qwert65]

Sam1911 why eliminate recreational pursuits? The way you postulate your question, outside of extremely remote areas with bad cell reception I don't see a need. However emergencies can arise that are unforeseen though admittedly I can't think of one where you would use it to save a life.
I was using need like I need that to go hunting, or euthanize an animal you can't get close to(or decrease stress by approaching)
I think this argument comes down to if you feel responsible for what someone does with an item after stealing it. I don't, you do. Debating this is a question of morals, which does not have a definite answer. Though politely discussing morals is always enlightening. In that vein please answer whether you think ffl's should be held responsible for their customers actions? Assuming no straw purchasers or Holder nonsense. In example I buy a gun then murder my brother a year later is the seller responsible?

 

[qwert65]

Holden, what if they beat someone with the tire iron stolen from your car? Do you share the responsibility? Again not saying you are wrong just asking

 

[Skribs]

So I've been out of the thread for a few pages, just came back into it to read this page.

AmoredMan, that product is absurd. Where am I going to plug it in if I have to use it outside?

How about a situation where you can't get home? Storm blocks the roads, you were in the next city over and a nuke took out your home? Plane crashed into the house and your parents are in a bunker for the next 30 years? Okay, I'm going a little on the crazy side, but some of these are not out of the ballpark (i.e. it could be there's a storm or road blocks preventing you from easily getting home) in which case you couldn't get home to get to your long gun. Why you would need it? In that case, I don't know, just sort of throwing it out there.

EVEN so...you find yourself in Mumbai and there's shooting going on. So what do you do with that rifle in your car? Try to get to it so you can go all "Bruce Willis" on them?

How would it change things if you were able to access the car but your family is in the line of fire (say you're at a hotel and your wife/kids are asleep and you go out to get doughnuts, while you're warming up the car you notice something is going on)?

I'm mainly playing devil's advocate. I don't believe I need a trunk gun. My long guns fill the HD role, and I don't want to spare one for the trunk.

 

[Shuler13]

I keep a gun in the car because I never know when I'll get a hankering to go to the range.

 

[JustinJ]

How about a situation where you can't get home? Storm blocks the roads, you were in the next city over and a nuke took out your home? Plane crashed into the house and your parents are in a bunker for the next 30 years? Okay, I'm going a little on the crazy side, but some of these are not out of the ballpark (i.e. it could be there's a storm or road blocks preventing you from easily getting home) in which case you couldn't get home to get to your long gun. Why you would need it? In that case, I don't know, just sort of throwing it out there.

Um, i don't mean to nitpick but carrying around a long metal object in a storm is essentially creating a real danger to defend against an imaginary one.


armoredman, you weren't on Tosh.0, were you?

 

[Skribs]

Justin, after the storm passes, there's still a bunch of trees on the roads. Like I said, I don't have a reason to use a rifle in that situation, but a lot of the response to when people say they like having a trunk gun for SHTF or EOTWAWKI situations is "just go home first", well, the roads may be blocked, or you might not have a home to get to. I may not always have access to my home, but I nearly always have access to my car.

 

[PBR Streetgang]

I have a full-size Chevy extended cab pickup.Bought a Treadlock gun safe that bolts under the back seat and is lockable. Unless you open the back doors you don't even know it's there.