Best trunk rifle

S

simonov jr

New member
What is the best category of “trunk gun” and why? Offhand I’m thinking about comparing a Scout-type rifle, the semi-auto patrol carbines like the AR and surplus military weapons like the SKS. Which would you rather have available in a SHTF situation like the one some motorists wound up confronting in Odessa TX the other day?
 
I was with you up until you mentioned Odessa. Even if I had a trunk rifle, by definition (and by my state's laws) it would be in the trunk and unloaded while I'm driving. That's no help if a guy pulls up behind me at a traffic light and takes aim at the back of my head.

And I don't think the police would be happy if ten or twenty motorists all got into a running gun battle with a nut case along the interstate.
 
now

Now that a staffer has seen the post and it survives, here goes:

Seems to me a "trunk gun" needs to be a general purpose type long arm capable of dealing with a wide variety of applications, not just SD. Such a firearm needs to be chambered with a versatile cartridge that is sufficiently powerful to deal with all manner of threats, sufficient range to allow me to shoot or evade as appropriate, sufficient penetration to defeat common cover and stop large animals, yet capable of efficiently taking game of all types for food. Additionally, the firearms and ammo should be able to dispatch pests and vermin with aplomb. Ammunition needs to be common, affordable and widely available and reasonably compact so as to have whatever an acceptable quantity as deemed appropriate onboard the vehicle.

The firearm itself needs to affordable and easy to acquire, legal in most all jurisdictions so as to be simple to travel from point to point, across city and state lines. The gun needs to be relatively compact as it will live "stored" most of its life in less than ideal conditions. It may well be desirable to be able to break down the gun simply into two easily reassembled pieces for even deeper storage or packing. I would want a repeater capable of 5 shots or more. A detachable magazine would NOT be a requirement and may well be a detriment. The gun would have to be absolutely reliable and for that I see a manually operated action of some type.

As much as I love rifles, and am a fan of the scout rifle concept in a large way.........the more I think about it, maybe my trunk/truck gun needs to be a 12 ga pump shotgun.
 
I used a Mini14, but not for bad guys; I had a full time job then I worked at a ranch after my day job. I always (almost always) had my Mini14 in my truck. I used it to pop wild pigs, coyotes and other depredating animals. Any time that I was traveling to, from and on on the ranch I carried the rifle loaded. I often times encountered problem animals shortly after entering the ranch and had little time to ready the rifle. I also hunted predators and pigs regularly on the same property for fun. At the time it was allowed to have a loaded rifle in your vehicle in Texas.
The aptly named Ranch Rifle was always reliable and was banged around a bunch. Mine never experienced the accuracy problems that others had experienced. Cold barrel shots are dead on and that’s how I zero my weapons.
All that said, budget ARs abound.
Can’t condone keeping any firearm in a vehicle unattended either.
I wouldn’t carry anything for the purposes of engaging a mass shooter, unless me or my family are in immediate danger. I will be leaving the area or getting myself to an exit.
 
With today's mixture of cars, trucks and SUVs, the majority of vehicles today don't have a trunk and there is no secure way to store a "trunk gun". Also, even if I have a trunk, I don't want to keep a gun of any kind in my vehicle because of the possibility of it being stolen or being used by someone unsafely. Also, I don't want to risk damage to a gun due to temperature and humidity changes that happen in vehicles.
 
My ideas on this have changed over the years. A Scoped, bolt action rifle, 1MOA, in a 30 caliber cartridge, probably .30-06 would be the best.

and why?
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The only way I could survive and make it to my trunk gun would be if the shooter were far away and not paying me much attention. .30-06 is very powerful and available everywhere ammo is sold. With that you can range any threat to yourself and others.
 
I have had three truck guns over the years. A 22lr semi auto 22lr and a mossberg maverick 88. I preferred the 88, kept about 45 rounds on hand. Ran a huge thick chain/cable through the receiver and hid it well in my car.
Had 25 rounds of birdshot, 5 regular slug rounds and 15 buckshot. I felt that was plenty and light enough too boot. I have though about AK pistol or AK undersold or a bolt action but the shotgun is $180 and very versatile. Make sure to oil it every 6 months with a good cleaner. I kept one in my car about 3 years and had just a tiny flake of rust tip of barrel.

Few years ago I switched to a basic Remmington 870 starter package model, roughly $300, it felt solid and not cheap like my 88.
 
TFL doesn't do SHTF stuff. So, only the 'trunk gun' concept can be addressed.

I don't leave valuable items unattended.
That means never leaving guns in a vehicle, when in civilization. (It often can't be avoided when hunting.)
I could lock something up in a vehicle, via a chain, safe, etc. But that defeats the purpose of the 'trunk gun'.
So, the answer is, "whatever I'm carrying on my person" ... which isn't going to be a rifle.

If I were the type of person that was willing to risk leaving a rifle in the 'trunk', it would probably be an AR pistol of some kind*. More than likely, chambered for .223/5.56. If, for whatever reason, I felt that .223/5.56 wasn't enough, I'd jump to .458 SOCOM. Runs like a rifle. Shoots like a rifle. But smaller, lighter (usually), and easier to keep out of the way.

*(An SBR would be better. But then you're going to have to answer some unpleasant questions if it were to get stolen; and may make yourself vulnerable to civil suit if the weapon is used to injure or kill someone, driven by the perceived negligence of leaving an NFA item in your vehicle.)
 
I have popped an AR pistol into a backpack when I went on a roving camping trip. Went from place to place, sleeping in the forests mostly, sometimes stopping at a hotel. The pistol aspect of it allowed my to “carry” it concealed with a concealed pistol license.
I loathe leaving guns in cars, especially in populated areas.

Like mentioned above, hunting on private property or isolated wilderness is different.

I used to have a Ford Explorer in which I built a pistol safe into back when I traveled around the country a lot in states that carry isn’t allowed. Several have peaceable journey laws where you can travel through with a secured unloaded handgun.
 
I don't know about the rest but for me a truck gun is what I normally carry, it is either a 22 magnum rifle, or a 30-30 Winchester, or a 336 marlin in a 35 Remington caliber. I guess I must be real old. The only time I don't have one with me is when I go into a military base or have to pick up one of the grandkids from school. In those times I only carry a cane I ordered from cane masters as my defensive unobtrusive weapon. It's common to see old folks like myself with canes so it goes unnoticed, won't do much good against a firearm but I can definitely do damage to a drugged up individual with a knife wanting to steal my $5 I carry in my wallet.
 
Years back when I lived in Nevada, I had a set of Indian blanket seat covers that had a sleeve along the front of the cover to hold a rifle in my F150 4X4. Most of the time it held a Winchester M94 30-30 usually with cast bullet handloads in the magazine. It set up stayed with me even after my move to Arizona. When I sold the truck and bought a Toyota 4x4. No blanket seat cover with sleeve for that truck so I set up a rig to carry it behind the seat. The next ruck after that was a 4 door Toyota Tacoma 4X4 with no place to hide the rifle. Didn't keep that one long and my current F150 club cab has no place the hide a rifle. To be honest, I wish I'd kept that first 79 F150. Best truck out of the whole bunch.
Paul B.
 
Remember way back when your truck gun was in a rack in the rear window? Wouldn't go well in most places today. Them were the good old days. Today, mine is behind the seat.
Dean
 
Leaving aside the impracticality of a "trunk gun" in addressing an on-road incident like Odessa, the key to rapid deployment is the ability to rapidly, access and load. So, a detachable box magazine, a not over-intense concern about dings and scratches, and a broad applicability would seem to guide one's choice. Based on those guidelines, in various vehicles, I carry from time to time: a PTR91, a Savage 340, and a Benelli Nova. One of the new Mossberg or Remington DBM shotguns would be better than the Nova. It would be very hard to critique the choice of an AR15 or AR10 in such a role where feasible.
 
FWIW my choice is a modified “Curio”, specifically my trusty surplus 103 yr old Schmidt-Rubin 1911 carbine with the barrel cut down to 16.5” and capped off with a muzzle break that will blow your hat off at the next position over on the range. Before anyone accuses me of heresy, it was already a “hack job” when I bought it for $75 or so at an estate sale in West Virginia. It sports a forward-mounted Scout scope knockoff from Amazon, and a 6-round detachable magazine, which when augmented w extra stripper clips makes it acceptably fast to recharge. In short it is a good example of “enough gun” in virtually every category. In its present configuration the rifle is compact enough to stow, rugged enough to rattle around in a trunk, inexpensive enough to expose to theft or accident damage, accurate enough to outrange any handgun and hard hitting enough to decide matters right now. With its attractive hardwood furniture and “dated” straight-pull bolt action it is PC enough that no self-respecting gang member would want to be seen with it, and the ammo is scarce enough that it won’t bring much resale vslue to a would-be thief. Meanwhile, it still fulfills what to me is the most important function, the same function that a “patrol rifle” fulfills for police officers- as a tactical force multiplier. Why sugar coat it when a civilian could just as easily find him or herself outranged or outgunned by a lethal threat as a LEO? As far as the “proper” way for a legally armed person to react to the mass shooting of innocents around them, I know that reasonable minds can disagree. For myself, I would hope that I would have the temerity to follow the clear example of Stephen Willeford...
 
Trunk gun. Never heard that term before. Why would you keep a rifle locked in the trunk for self defense? You'd have to call a time out and the shooter go along with it to get the gun out. A number of rancher's around here carry a truck gun. One has a deal he had made to hold the rifle muzzle up on the floor next to the gear shift. Unless it's hunting season the rifle always seem's to be something that will dispatch coyote's and hog's. Hunting season they go to larger cartridge's. I think planning on one for self defense is really over thinking self defense. Your much better off then in the vehicle and driving away. If you have time to get out, open the trunk, unlock the gun and load it I don't think it would qualify as self defense. Every once in a while I do carry a rifle in the truck It's usually one of my 243's. Mostly carry it down to the river and use it to plink with. Rides butt on the floor and leaning on the seat next to me. For self defense I carry a S&W Shield 9c, 24/7
 
Trunk gun. Never heard that term before. Why would you keep a rifle locked in the trunk for self defense? You'd have to call a time out and the shooter go along with it to get the gun out. A number of rancher's around here carry a truck gun.
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I think a few people are thinking of the Sutherland Springs, Texas church shooting or similar events that are becoming much more common than ever before. In many states it is not legal to carry a long gun up front in the cab of the vehicle, or only under certain circumstances such as while in a hunting area.
 
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