What’s your take on the best truck gun and why? Personally I don’t want to leave anything of value in there, so it’s a hi point 45 tucked away. What do yall say? Rifle/pistol? Model? Reasoning?

Whatever the game wardens can’t hear.

Braced AR-9 pistol for me.

CMMG Banshee in 10mm with Lehigh Xtreme Hunter ammo in it. I like it better when the hybrid 46 is on the end. Get yourself a nice lockbox under the backseat and no issues

Springfield XDS with extended mag. I want something reliable enough to not have a second guess if it’s going to malfunction or fire when needed.

Glock 19 with heavy Gold Dots in the factory gun safe.

I have a different opinion. A truck gun is more likely to be used in a desperate situation than most other guns you own unless you wear one on your hip daily. I am not going to leave some high end custom in my truck but I think my life is worth springing for a Glock or something else that will go bang when I pull the trigger vs a hi point or some other janky crap. Plenty of guns out there in the $4-500 range that you can rely on.

When I think of truck gun I am usually thinking of something I am carrying in my truck when just driving around doing whatever at the hunting lease and will be tucked between my seats or seat and console. It used to always be a Mini 14 Ranch with a folding stock. These days that would be a Baikal 6.5x55/12 GA combo gun. You never know when your going to run up on a coyote, hogs, rattlesnake, ducks on a tank, low flying sandhills passing over, that turdy point buck, whatever and I want to be ready for anything.


But this thread seems to have a pistol theme, so It used to be a Kel Tech P11 based on that same "not going to leave some high end....." that could get stolen. Adding a safe was a game changer and a great thing for peace of mind. I will never not have one now. If my gun get's stolen, it means my truck was stolen. So now my truck gun could be anything as long as it fits in the safe.

I don’t care what the value, please don’t leave it in your vehicle if not locked in a safe.

Kel-Tech SUB2K in 9mm with three 32 round magazines and a Ruger P95 with three 15 round magazines.

Smith and Wesson 686 357 Magnum or a Colt Government Model 1911 45acp. A good trigger and big enough they don’t buck much. Easy to shoot old school thumpers.

I toss my Judge in when I leave town. Loaded with 3 solids and 2 shot shells.

A beater Norinco SKS from Factory 26.

Tarus judge loaded with Federal buckshot loads generally is in my truck.

The better question...how do you carry your firearm when traveling in your truck or car? If locked in a vehicle safe then you'll never be able to deploy it in a reasonable amount of time if a threat occurs.

Locked when I am out of the truck, In a holster between seat and console when I am in the truck you cannot see it but I can easily reach it.

In a holster, on my belt, concealed.

Same as when I am walking around.

Exactly. The value isn't the point. Please don't leave an unsecured gun in your vehicle because if it gets stolen you have just armed a criminal.

My EDC goes everywhere except where it can't. Then it's in a lockbox attached to my floor. When I am in town I often have a 12ga secured behind my seat because I park inside my own shop while at work and it comes inside at home. At 70 years old, I have not armed a single criminal and do not intend to ever let that happen.

I've always considered the "truck gun" definition as a beater, but reliable and accurate rifle that bounces around in the truck with you on the ranch for times that you need a rifle. I used to leave a pistol in my truck all the time, but I got wise, and don't do that anymore. Regardless of value, a stolen gun is a gun in the hands of a criminal. Carry every day, all day on your hip (or wherever on you body that you prefer to carry), and you will always have a gun if you need one.

Here in the East a truck gun (I carry a pistol anyway) is mostly a backup for social disorder (an intently vague description). But here is the problem I see. Ever shoot a handgun under duress from beyond bad breath distance? I can hit a basketball size target offhand at 50 yards under perfect conditions where I'm relaxed and prepared with a Glock 19 or equivalent. Have you ever tried it when you're tired, poor light, windy and in a dangerous environment. In our training simulations that 50 yard boast shrinks down to 10 yards and I'm an above average shooter.

My observation is that it will take a rifle (irons or optics) to make up for the hardship losses of not shouldering a pistol. Under lousy conditions I would be more effective with a single shot 30-30 than any handgun (in addition to the G19 of course).

Open, in a chest holster.

Over the years I have carried all kinds of rifles daily. FMP G3 early on, a mini14 after that, swapped around a bunch of ARs and finally settled on an M1A scout. Unless I am parking in a garage I don't leave them overnight.

Just because you have a safe, does not mean you have to keep it in the safe at all times. Yet for the times you know you will not be able to carry it, having it in the safe is better than leaving it in the vehicle unsecured or left at home. But your statement is also why I went with an electronic lock with great big buttons I can punch without looking and a spring loaded door. The more times I have opened the safe building muscle memory, the faster I get at it. So yea, a dial with tiny numbers my old eyes can't read or a key I have to dig out, was not going to work for me.

Put Ru Paul and Taylor Swift stickers on the beater SKS and any would-be thief who possesses an ounce of manhood will vomit all over himself and leave it be.