Truck gun battery/arsenal

[kscardsfan]

I was thinking about truck guns the other day and it got me thinking (always a dangerous thing to do ). What is your ideal truck gun battery? You have to include a rifle, shotgun, and handgun. Keeping in mind that the truck gun is supposed to be handy, reliable, able to take abuse, and capable of taking a game animal, killing a nusiance species or predator off, or serving as a defense gun. My ideal truck gun battery came out to:
Mauser or Savage bolt gun in .25-06. It has the trajectory to serve as both a varmint gun or a primary big game rifle across most of the U.S. and if you use either of these actions in a sythetic or laminate stock it's pretty much going to hold point of aim until you remove the scope from it.
Benelli nova, or remington 870 supermag, 26" bbl. If you can't do it with a 3.5" shell you're probably not going to get it at all lol.
Glock full size (17, 22, or 21). Caliber isn't the issue so much as reliability and having at least 2 spare mags with it. Glock's are about as close to unstoppable as any handgun out there.
What are the rest of the groups collective thoughts on this subject? I'm curious as to what the rest of you think is the ideal set up

 

[Bob R]

For me the ideal rifle is a Spanish FR8 in 308 or an Enfield Jungle Carbine in 303. Either of those is a capable gun in a compact package.

Shotgun would be a Winchester 1300 defender, with slugs or shot it is a capable shotgun for just about anything you need.

Pistol would be a revolver, always ready to go, won't stovepipe, FTF or any other malady that could befall an auto chucker. Make mine a 41mag please.

Wow, look at that, I can do it with guns I already have, a big plus in my book.

bob

 

[GatorFarmer]

i wouldn't leave that many guns rattling around in my vehicle. I'd carry a handgun on my person, my current favorite is a Sig P229R in .357 Sig. It's loud though, firing it in the confines of a vehicle, well that'd be unpleasant, but so be it. I suppose that for the posited situation, I'd be better two swap it out with my old Series 70 1911.

The rest, well probably one of my Carcano sporters, the Mossberg 800AM in .308 that I paid 98 dollars for, or the J.C. Higgins pump that was cut down and painted camo. In otherwords, something quasi useful that I don't care what happens to it. Let's go with the Carcano that I have in 7.35mm. It'll still kill most things, but if someone steals it, then they can be the ones to deal with the problem of feeding it.

 

[MTKTM]

I agree with GatorFarmer about the inadvisability of leaving three guns in my truck, certainly unattended, but if I'm traveling in remote or partially remote areas I'm likely to be carrying an AR15 or Sig556 carbine for compactness. The 223 isn't sufficiently powerful for some critters, but would do in a pinch. I also like the Benelli Super Nova 3 1/2" pump, although am thinking that one of these days when I have the $ I'd like to get a Benelli M4 and be all tacticool.....

Handgun? Wow, that's a tough one. I'd probably go with a 625 4" or a 627 5".

 

[kscardsfan]

Guess I'm not as concerned with that. I still see more than a few rifles riding in gun racks in my part of the world. Maybe they take them in at night, or maybe they just don't care lol.

 

[fat tom]

Two guns that are ALWAYS in my truck are a KelTec P3AT and a Remington 1100 Special Purpose Magnum loaded with No. 1 buckshot. With hunting season only a week away,I'll have a Remington Model Seven in .260 Remington and a Remington CDL in 7MM-08 in there also until January 1st. I usually carry a revolver or 1911 of some description for those 4 months as well.
f.t.

 

[BUFF]

My work car has a rack bolted to the ceiling that locks an Colt M-16-A1 in place just above and behind me. Keyed lock needed for removal. .45 ACP Commander on my belt. Don't usually bother with a shotgun.

I bought a very nice, year old Crown Vic for my personal car. I have a key locking rack coming that will hold a mostly British L1A1 parts on an IMBEL receivered FAL semiautomatic .308 Win/7.62X51 rifle with an 18" rifle, bolted to the inside of the trunk. A nylon pouch holding another magazine is strapped to the side of the buttstock.

When we drove the truck and camper through British Columbia, Northwest and Yukon Territory, and then into Alaska, we took a Remington 870 12 gauge with an 18 inch barrel with rifle sights and rifled choke tube, extended mag tube, boxes of rifled slugs and 00 buck. No handguns into Canada, their funny that way, but the shotgun was okayed.

While I keep a couple of loaded magazines and speed loaders for my rifle and commonly carried handguns in my cars and truck, the guns don't stay in them. They go back in the house, in the safe at night. Leaving them in a vehicle just about guarantees their evntual theft.

Very, very unlikley I will never need to use the guns in all but my cop car, but for taking trips, the big, long guns add a level of comfort.

 

[Grayfox]

I used to keep a firearm in my truck. But after talking to several LEOs, they told me that the vast majority of stolen weapons reports they do are for guns stolen out of vehicles.
I no longer keep a gun in my truck.

 

[redlevel]

The consummate truck gun in the South is a 30-30 Winchester 94 or Marlin 336. Very close behind that in the last 20 years is the SKS. I don't have a cf rifle in my truck now, but I do have a Rossi knockoff of the little Winchester .22 pump carbine...Model 62? I also, as stated in the shotgun thread, am a firm believer in the utility of good, cheap single shot 12 gauge shotguns from H&R. You can pick them up at gun shows for between $50-$100. There is a nice looking, nearly new one leaning against the "used shotgun and rifle" wall at my friendly NAPA store. Tag says $99. Tempting, but I can probably pick up an "anonymous" one at a gun show cheaper. I like to keep them scattered around. I get a machinist friend to cut them to 19" or 20" for me. I usually have some kind of K-frame .38 special or .357 mag in the truck, and there is always a Model 60 in my pocket. Since deer season will be in just a few weeks from now, I'll probably put an SKS behind the seat.

 

[cowboy117]

When i drive in the woods,i take my Mini-14 and a S&W 640-1.I don't own a shotgun.I never keep any guns in my car or truck overnight,unless i'm camping,etc.

 

[SAFireman]

my idea...

How about this combination -

S&W revolver 357/41 mag/ 44 mag - stainless, your choice of model

Marlin/Winchester lever action rifle to match revolver caliber. Could/should be stainless too...

Old beater remington 870 12 gauge (or substitute another cheapo surplus shotgun)

With my 3, I can carry a single box of 50 pistol shells that will cover the rifle/handgun combo, and a mixed box of shotgun shells to cover a few different uses (but leave 00 buck in the tube)

Hows that sound to cover my bases?

 

[kscardsfan]

Sounds like you have a great all purpose line up there. I guess I have narrowed mine into a very specific set of circumstances.

 

[sw44spl]

mosin nagant m44 you got a bayonet and good round for stopping power in a short easy handling rifle.and a SW 357mag so ammo will be easy to keep on hand.

 

[oldman45]

Easy

Rifle: Marlin 30-30 Reasonably priced used. Accurate and if gets beat up riding in the truck, so what.

Shotgun: Remington 1100 in 20 gauge with plain barrel

Handgun: 1911, 5 inch barrel, blue steel. They work regardless of how it is treated.

 

[writerinmo]

I don't have a truck, will my Cherokee work? lol

 

[Cashdog]

I like the way you think SAFireman. The revolver & levergun combo along with an 870 was exactly what I was thinking when I read the original post. Could even swap the 870 out for a coachgun once in a while.

 

[Kanewpadle]

In this state, it is not legal to transport a loaded long gun or have loaded magazines inserted.

I don't leave any guns in my vehicle either. But I do have one that I sometimes take along.

A Kel Tec SU16D. Folds up. Uses AR mags.

 

[feralmerril]

I would say for a rifle you want a box magazine for speed of loading. The average person depending on laws usualy cant carry loaded. Normaly except for that standpoint I wanted to say my rossi 92 in .357 a lever. I got to go with my remington pump 30-06. I just got back from a atv ride and have to scald and scrape. My other picks later.

 

[sheriffoconee]

another vote for a M44 Mosin-Nagant, and a quality revolver in most any caliber that suits you. A single barrel shotgun cut to just over 18 inches works too, after all, how many rounds are you gonna need to fight your way outta whatever just happened...good for putting down critters too....

 

[sigp220.45]

When I lived in Idaho and Montana it was very common to see full gunracks in pickups, often parked with the windows down. Nobody ever bothered them. Guns were usually cheap .22s or the occasional SKS.

Here in NM, I hardly ever see a gun in a rack, even in rural areas. Its perfectly legal but not widely practiced.

I keep two guns in personal rig all the time. I found a perfect hidey-hole just big enough for an M1 carbine and 7 15 round mags. It would take a determined thief to find it. I also have my trusty Model 36 stashed away in an inside the waistband holster. My wife won't carry it, but she likes having in the ride.