Campus Security jokes...
Well, thats my point. You're far more likely to mindlessly do something hysterically illegal if you routinely leave a gun in, say, your trunk, than you do if you carry it on you. I kow quite well that CCW permits don't cover taking a gun onto a college campus. I mean, you're just a man looking for a bell tower at that point, right?
Scenarios...
Road-not-quite-kill _is_ admittedly a good one. I had thought of it, but to me it doesn't justify the effort/expense. Others disagree.
Car breakdowns:
I don't see how this helps unless you're waaaaaaaaaaaaaay out in the boonies and would need to shoot possums to survive. I mean, what are you going to do? As soon as your vehicle breaks down you load up the shotgun and hunker down in the car? When the highway patrol shows up to lend you a hand you'll probably end up having an interesting conversation.
I *freely* admit that it is possible to be assaulted/robbed out of a breakdown. I'm not sure how having a long arm is useful since if you need a gun you need it RIGHT NOW and that means you're either sitting there 'brandishing' (to use that favourite media term) a SG or its still back in the trunk/behind the seat...where you won't have time to get it.
Would I rather have it than nothing? Yes. But I'd prefer to have a pistol.
Urban Unrest:
Plausible? Sure. But again...if you have time to get the SG ready to play, you probably have time to exit stage left as well. Probably. Again, would I rather have it than nothing? Certainly. Better that than a pistol? In this one, perhaps.
When faced with an angry crowd blocking your vehicle, remember the words of the Bond Villian from 1 or 2 films ago: "Use bumper. Thats what its there for."
My main, overriding concern is the possibility that the gun is unsecured. Lets face it, how many of you guys that actually have a dedicated 'trunk gun' actually secure it? I'm sure some do, but most I bet don't- and just locking the trunk doesn't cut it.
Survival is about playing the odds, right? Okay, lets take that scenario of mine where BG ransacks your car, finds your SG and turns it on you, and place it against an urban unrest scenario where you actually need a SG to get through. Which is more likely? If you haven't clamped that bad boy down, I think the first is FAR more likely.
However, as I said, secure it and its just another option. And options are good things.
Mike