Anyone keep a rifle or shotgun in their car/truck?

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Grimjaws

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Recently inherited from a friend a beat up mossberg .22 bolt action that hadn't seen a cleaning in 20+ years. Still looks rough but nice and clean now. I have a gun safe in my truck for a handgun but was thinking why not put the old .22 under the back seat and keep a box of 22s and the magazine in the handgun safe. I travel some rural roads and sometimes can't carry my pistol. This way I'll always have access to a gun.

I think any robber would leave the rifle and take the 22s since 50 rounds are like gold today! :)

Seriously anyone have a long gun in their car or truck?
 
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I usually have an M-4 and a 12 gauge P.A.N. disruptor in my duty vehicle. Stout truck vault and alarmed.
 
Ummm nope ....
even if you have some form of fort Knox class super safe in the ride, they steal the car, they eventually have your gun, which will eventually get some bodies on it before its collected for evidence in a murder.
It don't seem to matter the make model, year or condition of the rides they steal either .. don't kid yourself into thinking that they'd overlook a ride because it runs on the grace of ducktape and spit. Still beats walking ...
 
I wouldn't, not unless you're going to hide it real well. Or take it out every time you stop.

Years ago I used to see pickup trucks with a rifle or shotgun in a rifle rack all the time. No more, either someone will steal it or some idiot will call 911 screaming about "a man with a gun! OMG, help, help!"
 
Grimjaws, if you live in a area where you might have use for a long gun then stick it under the back seat (if it will fit).

However, when you go in the house at night.........take it with you.

Enjoy the toy.:)
 
Not to be a smart alec, but I'm going to have to answer with, "It depends."

I live in a fairly rural area. A long gun in the truck often comes in handy, whether to shoot a coyote, put an animal down that's been hit by a vehicle, or whatever. I usually carry a 16-inch barrel lever-action in .45 Colt. Sometimes I'll put a .22 in there instead. Just depends on my mood, I guess.

But, you gotta remember, I live in an area where crime is relatively low, and if I'm not in the truck, neither is the rifle. If I'm into town to do some shopping, the rifle stays home. It's not in the truck without me.

If you live in somewhat of a metropolitan area and you're thinking about leaving the rifle in your vehicle while you're at work or running into the store to do some shopping or watching your kids in their school play, I'd probably reconsider.

I'd save the "truck gun" for when you're going to be in your vehicle for quite awhile and then parking it at your house.

Like Road Rat said, always take it in the house with you at night.
 
I keep an old single-shot 12 gauge shotgun with a 20" barrel behind the seat in my standard cab pickup. I keep a box of 50 #8 field loads and a few slugs and 00 buckshot. Seldom is the pickup parked anywhere except in my very rural yard, or on the street in my very small town.

If someone stole the gun and used it in a crime, I would feel no more responsible than if someone stole my car and used it in a crime.
 
My nephew just bought a new Dodge Ram with a built in locking compartment built right into the side of bed...Thats about the only way I would consider carrying a long rifle or shotgun and leaving it in the vehicle to even go in a store anymore. I've seen some pretty slick units that were installed by owners that fit under a false bed of an SUV, pretty secure and out of sight, I will often park my SUV in a local grocery store parking lot with my range gear and rifle on the way home from the range, I have blacked out windows in the back and often throw a tarp over it anyway, still feel paranoid sometimes. Anymore people get their cars and trucks broken into for an empty gym bag in the backseat, I try to not encourage anyone from busting my glass to steal anything. A buddy of mine had a mid 80's Honda Accord stolen...not once but twice. After it was recovered the first time they only stole the wheels, tires, stereo and a very nice childs carseat. It was stolen the second time and when they recovered it, he got his car seat back...its true.
 
redlevel said:
If someone stole the gun and used it in a crime, I would feel no more responsible than if someone stole my car and used it in a crime.
Click to expand...

A gun is a tool the same as a wrench, shovel, etc. I keep a pump shotgun, small shot, buck and slugs in my truck 24/7. A bolt action 30-06 is in a roof rack under the canopy of my tractor and shells in the tool box 24/7. The tractor is kept in a locked shed and I keep the truck doors locked. Larry
 
therevjay said:
Years ago I used to see pickup trucks with a rifle or shotgun in a rifle rack all the time.
Click to expand...

I grew up in the 50s and 60s in a small West Texas town...almost everyone drove pickups, and almost every pickup had a rifle rack in the rear window. These racks held two or three rifles or shotguns, and it was extremely common to see them full...even at the high school. No one thought anything about it.

My, how times have changed...and not for the better.
 
Mule Packer said:
Not to be a smart alec, but I'm going to have to answer with, "It depends."

I live in a fairly rural area. A long gun in the truck often comes in handy, whether to shoot a coyote, put an animal down that's been hit by a vehicle, or whatever. I usually carry a 16-inch barrel lever-action in .45 Colt. Sometimes I'll put a .22 in there instead. Just depends on my mood, I guess.

But, you gotta remember, I live in an area where crime is relatively low, and if I'm not in the truck, neither is the rifle. If I'm into town to do some shopping, the rifle stays home. It's not in the truck without me.

If you live in somewhat of a metropolitan area and you're thinking about leaving the rifle in your vehicle while you're at work or running into the store to do some shopping or watching your kids in their school play, I'd probably reconsider.

I'd save the "truck gun" for when you're going to be in your vehicle for quite awhile and then parking it at your house.

Like Road Rat said, always take it in the house with you at night.
Click to expand...

Not a bad overall protocol here.
But understand that the nature of crime has been changing. Consider some of the illegal immigrants that one finds in the more northern states ... How did they get there after they paid off the coyotes that got em across the boarder, into a saturated job market that forced them north while being left unable to afford a vehicle?

Some, steal cars to do it, and they find em everywhere, with rural locations offering some of the best scenarios to boost a ride.
habitually unlocked doors and keys left in it, ample concealment and minimal witnesses just as its been for decades.
 
Keep in mimd the weather. Condensation may form on the gun and rust it.

Also, you said that you are often in a rural area. Game wardens may assume that you're hunting. Be sure not to run afoul of any hunting laws. Most people don't think about that issue.
 
My personally owned Mossberg 590 goes to work with me every day. It sits on the floorboard of the back seat compartment of my pickup. I have darkened rear windows and a rear dog seat cover that ties into the head rests of the front seats. Nobody can see the shotgun on the floor inside my pickup, but it comes inside with me at work, and is locked in our armory. At the end of the work day, I haul it back into the house with me. If I go into town, it usually stays home.
 
tops said:
A gun is a tool the same as a wrench, shovel, etc. I keep a pump shotgun, small shot, buck and slugs in my truck 24/7. A bolt action 30-06 is in a roof rack under the canopy of my tractor and shells in the tool box 24/7. The tractor is kept in a locked shed and I keep the truck doors locked. Larry
Click to expand...

This. It is just a tool.
 
Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but in Colorado it's legal to have a loaded handgun in your vehicle but not loaded rifles of any kind so it seems a handgun would be the better all round choice.
 
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