Lots of people in the gun community have a trunk or truck gun. For most people, it is some type of beater rifle or shotgun. The theory is, “Why beat up a good gun by bouncing it around in the trunk?” Just throw a beater in there and forget about it. I am not a fan of that technique.
Of all the guns you own, only your carry pistol is more likely to be used in earnest. The trunk gun needs to work when you grab it. I am not suggesting that you buy a new $2,500 Daniel Defense AR-15 with a $1,200 Trijicon ACOG, then do high speed off road driving with it loosely tossed in the trunk. That defies common sense and fiscal responsibility; but, there is a middle ground between grandpa’s worn out 870 Wingmaster and a high end AR with expensive optics.
I went through a stage where my truck gun was definitely closer to Grandpa’s worn out 870. Like many, my logic shaded heavily toward being cheap. Then, one day, I almost had to use my truck gun. As my hand slid up the stock of a Mosin Nagant M-44 (carbine), I had this sick feeling of why do I have this gun. I’d removed the folding bayonet as a precaution against weasel-like district attorneys, and it was loaded with soft point bullets. However, at that moment, I really didn’t think having an inexpensive, flame throwing brute of a bolt gun was my best idea. As things fortunately turned out, I didn’t need the rifle. It did however change my mind on what was important in a vehicle long gun. The price of the gun, versus potentially getting scratched, became much less of a concern.
The next day, I swapped it out for a Marlin 336, but that didn’t seem right either. Then, a newish Remington 870 pump with an 18” barrel. This was followed by a 5.56 AR carbine, but the wife vetoed that as it was her gun and she wanted it in her car. After some deep thought and practical tests deploying several choices, I ended up with both a truck gun and a trunk gun.
In my truck, I have a 9mm AR pistol with a Tailhook Mod 2 brace. The gun sits chambered (on safe) with a 33-round Glock magazine in it, down loaded to 31 rounds plus the one in the chamber. My theory is that if 32 rounds of 9mm HP haven’t gotten the job done… the missing two won’t have mattered. Downloading will help the spring will last quite a bit longer by not being maximally crushed for months at a time. I know I should swap out mags every other week; but I live in the real world and it happens about twice a year.
I also have two, standard capacity, (17-round) back up mags. The other thing with this set up, I live in Tennessee and it is illegal to have a chambered rifle in your vehicle. By running an AR pistol with a Tailhook brace, I avoid running afoul of that law and have a close approximation of a 9mm SBR. The setup is actually better than a SBR, as it can easily be run with one hand, without compromising accuracy.
This 9mm AR pistol was originally a replacement bedside gun for the AR carbine. When I upgraded to a suppressed .300 BLK for that purpose, the 9mm AR found a new home in the truck. I am very easily minute-of-chest one handed, using the brace and a Holosun red dot at 75 yards. Considering I am getting just over 1,300 fps out of the Speer Gold Dot short barrel 124-grain bullets, I am pretty sure whatever I hit will notice. The pistol is zeroed at 50 yards. At 75 yards, the bullet is still moving at roughly 1,100 fps and hitting with 346-foot pounds of energy, and my drop is only about 1 inch.
My gas sipping commuter car has a trunk gun. Perhaps I am compensating for the lack of horsepower in the car, but in this vehicle, I keep my back up 3 Gun AR. She is a strongly compensated 18” heavy barrel 5.56 with a 30-round PMAG filled with 28 77-grain OTM bullets with an empty chamber (Pesky Tennessee law raising its head). The gun has a Lucid Optics 1x6x24 primary scope and offset 45-degree iron sights.
There is also a quad mag pouch next to the gun. The front two mags are 20-round PMAGs downloaded to 18. One has 62-grain green tips and the other has 77-grain OTM bullets. The other two mags are 30-round PMAGs loaded to 28 rounds with the 77-grain OTMs. I like the option of the 20 rounders as they are much better if I need to go prone and with 120 rounds available, it isn’t like having the two short mags are limiting my capacity. If I run dry, it is a case of “I shouldn’t have been where I was, and I certainly should have brought friends with rifles.”
Do you have a dedicated long gun as a truck or trunk gun? What model and caliber? Does it have an optic? How many rounds of ammunition do you carry for it? Share your answers in the comment section.
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Pray that you’re never in New York State and have your firearm[s]stolen from your vehicle.
You’ll be”crucified”.Hoplophobia/Marxism rules here.
Yes Shakespeare had an appropriate solution for lawyers,Johann von Goethe had a similar solution for judges.
I keep a sharpened folding G.I. shovel on front passenger seat for digging myself out of the snow and getting unstuck.I have used it for those purposes.I hope I never have to use it for anything else.
Any wonder why I’m trying to find[actual referral,direct buy] small rural land/property out of NY??
refuge0417@gmail.com
Look on the Northern Neck of Virginia. We are still mostly free, but the new marxists governor is trying to enslave us!! Get down here and VOTE
Hey Karl,
Come on down to WVa … lots small farms and acreage for sale here. Most not far from a town. This is a “Right to Bear Arms” state … no permit needed for concealed carry. I’ve lived here my whole life and I’m not going anywhere.
Hint; Arizona is the most gun-friendly state in the union.
My truck gun is a Hi Point 9mm carbine with 3 factory 10rd mags and a 20rd Redball mag. Say what you will about Hi Point, but with an overall length like an SBR, acurate and dependable, not to mention a great price thats what sits behind my seat.
Nothing wrong with that! I have the same with three 10rd mags also. I’m kinda leery about the 20rd mags. I hear conflicting reports on them. But I’m definitely looking to get more of the stock mags. It’s been a ultra reliable carbine.
Hi-Point 10mm carb. mounted in a scabbard.
Another great reason to keep your truck gun and house gun in condition three is due to a possible accidental fire in your house or car. If you keep a semiautomatic weapon with a full mag with a round in the chamber and it is burned the weapon will fire each round in the magazine sequentially just as if you were pulling the trigger doing a magazine dump at the range. You could accidentally kill yourself or your family members or a poor unfortunate firefighter.
Condition 3 is unchambered magazine in. I guess that is better than condition 4, unchambered and magazine out. Do as you like but for me, I am going to go with no when possible. TN law demands condition 3 for rifles in vehicles. Pistols can be in any condition. So when I can, condition 1 it is.
If your gun is on safe and in a fire hot enough to make the chambered round discharge, the other rounds are not going out the barrel. They are going to discharge in the magazine. The fire causes the primer or powder to flash, not the firing pin to launch forward.
The bullet exiting through the barrel will have normalish velocity. Those exploding in the magazine will not. The bullet and the brass will explode away from the powder at roughly the same velocity, as not having a chamber does not focus the energy in one direction.
I like your concern for first responders, but the odds of a vehicle fire multiplied by the one round chambered is NOT a significant risk compared to forgetting to chamber a round in the crisis moment.
Ask yourself what condition the first responders ( Cops) carry their AR’s? Gonna bet the standard answer is Condition 1.
I have been thinking of upgrading my NEF single shot .410 to something a bit more tactical. Sure wish I could own an AR pistol in my state, but not in Commifornia. Maybe a Hi-Point 9mm or compliant carbine. Good guns that won t break the bank if stolen. Thanks for an article that got me thinking.
870 shotguns don’t wear out, and would handle 99.9% of hostile encounters, they may fail from lack of maintenance. But a trunk gun is supposed to be inexpensive. But if it suits you load up like for Red Dawn.
Uh, no.
Does anyone have a good rifle rack to suggest? One that carries the rifle/shotgun out of sight, but easy to access?
I carry a Glock 23 IWB, but it would be nice to have a rifle or shotgun handy, too.
Check out Grey Man Tactical (https://greyman-tactical.com/) for some very interesting vehicle mounting options.
I would not carry it Condition 1 (Magazine inserted, round in the chamber, safety on). Bumping around in a vehicle, it is too easy for the safety to get swept off. It is well within the realm of possibility that something could catch on the trigger and discharge it. I had a single action pistol, no grip safety, in a glove box once. Did I ever get the creeps when I found it with the safety swept off!
Carry it in Condition 3 (Magazine inserted, no round in the chamber). It will be safe & ready.
Someone mentioned to possibility of a vehicle fire. Condition 1 would not help that either!
Condition 1 is for imminent action or for holstered carry.