Trunk Gun?

[JhankG]

I have hard people refer to their "trunk gun" and was hoping someone would provide some insight on the subject. Why would one keep a gun in the trunk of their vehicle? It doesn't seem like it would be very helpful in an emergeny situation since you can't just reach over and grab it. Also, what kind of guns to you folks keep in your trunks? If you keep something like an AK or AR in the trunk, do you worry that an officer might find that kind of suspicious if you are ever pulled over for speeding and asked if you have any weapons in the vehicle? The last time I was pulled for speeding, the officer took my pistol to be safe and asked if I had any other weapons. I have a small baton in between the seats and he seemed somewhat suspicious of me having a pistol and a baton with me.

[amishclark]

my buddy carries an ar in his trunk. he says "you never know when it will be needed. at the very least, i could let a cop borrow it if necessary." do or die situations would be handled with his sidearm until he can get to the trunk...

[jnclement]

I used to have a trunk gun, but I've found the trunk monkey to be much more effective.

[billbrasky]

handguns are great to fight your way back to your rifle.

look at the pounds of energy of say a .45 versus a .308, 30-06, 8mm mauser, etc.

For a trunk gun i would go a bit cheaper, and more highpower like a remington 700 in 308 or 30-06, maybe a sks , or 8mm mauser for $129 at classic arms. I live in the city, i am not gonna pick anyone off at 300 yards or more. the cheaper and more powerful the better in my opinion, somethign that will drop a guy in a hurry, you wont be in despair if you car is stolen and you loose your $1,500 AR, or you minty gun gets rusty. We have 90-100% humidity here in michigan in the summer, its darn near a tropical jungle.

There is no reason for a cop to search your trunk. That is if you were stoped for moving violation etc, and you dont have contrband on the dash in view etc. If you have crack pipe, a drug scale, roaches all over the place, it smells of weed, or some other reason deemed reasonable suspicion to search. You can carry a long gun down the street legally in michigan all day, you just cant brandish it (pooint it at someone) thoiugh i think they can technically get you on creating a distubance or some BS if people started wigging out you rode up to the gas station with your .308 on a sling over your back on you mountain bike. In your trunk is the legla way to carry it, unloaded and locked. Thats fine in michigan, they cant do squat if its a long gun. They sell truck gun racks for a reason.

[JhankG]

Originally Posted by billbrasky

handguns are great to fight your way back to your rifle.

look at the pounds of energy of say a .45 versus a .308, 30-06, 8mm mauser, etc.

For a trunk gun i would go a bit cheaper, and more highpower like a remington 700 in 308 or 30-06, maybe a sks , or 8mm mauser for $129 at classic arms. I live in the city, i am not gonna pick anyone off at 300 yards or more. the cheaper and more powerful the better in my opinion, somethign that will drop a guy in a hurry, you wont be in despair if you car is stolen and you loose your $1,500 AR, or you minty gun gets rusty. We have 90-100% humidity here in michigan in the summer, its darn near a tropical jungle.

There is no reason for a cop to search your trunk. That is if you were stoped for moving violation etc, and you dont have contrband on the dash in view etc. If you have crack pipe, a drug scale, roaches all over the place, it smells of weed, or some other reason deemed reasonable suspicion to search. You can carry a long gun down the street legally in michigan all day, you just cant brandish it (pooint it at someone) thoiugh i think they can technically get you on creating a distubance or some BS if people started wigging out you rode up to the gas station with your .308 on a sling over your back on you mountain bike. In your trunk is the legla way to carry it, unloaded and locked. Thats fine in michigan, they cant do squat if its a long gun. They sell truck gun racks for a reason.

Here in NC, you must notify the cop if you have any concealed weapons. When he pulls you over and sees that you have a permit, he will always ask. Therefore, I don't need to have drugs on the dash for him to ask about the guns in my trunk. Has anyone ever had a cop look at them funny when you tell them there is an AK with a 40 rd magazine in the trunk?

[Cuda66]

I'm one of those folks with a trunk gun; a Yugo M59/66 SKS (Kept unloaded, but with 100 rounds on stripper clips in pouches).

It's mainly a holdover when I lived in a very rural area (as opposed to the somewhat rural area I live in now); if, for example, I should come home at night and some freelance socialists are putting their version of wealth redistribution into effect, well...I'd be calling the cops, and waiting for them to show up...but until then, I was my own backup. And a rifle was MUCH better insurance than any pistol I would be carrying at the time.

Or, on occasion, a various 4-legged varmint needed to be dealt with, at ranges outside my handgun accuracy.

And, I take the question of "are there any weapons in the vehicle" to apply ONLY to the passenger compartment. Since they need a warrant or my permission to search the trunk, I don't need to tell them about it.

[crpadiem]

With the accuracy I've found in my K31's I was thinking about ordering a third and keeping that behind the seat of my truck with a loaded magazine. Course I guess you'd call that more a truck gun rather than a trunk gun. I just thought it would be nice if needed, and it would be under $200 so it wouldn't break the bank yet I could easily hit a man sized target at 300+ yards.

[billbrasky]

Originally Posted by JhankG

Here in NC, you must notify the cop if you have any concealed weapons. When he pulls you over and sees that you have a permit, he will always ask. Therefore, I don't need to have drugs on the dash for him to ask about the guns in my trunk. Has anyone ever had a cop look at them funny when you tell them there is an AK with a 40 rd magazine in the trunk?

right like if you have a conceiled weapons permit with a handgun in the cab. Put if you are not a permit holder, say your going hunting, you bring your long gun, its in the trunk unloaded, ammo is in glove box. You get pulled over for speeding, are you recquired to tell the cop there is a gun in the trunk? I dont think you are in michigan, i have never been pulled over with a gun in my car period, i havent been pulled over since about 2001/2002.

[JhankG]

A few months ago I was pulled over for going 50 in a 35. I had my gun out on the passenger seat, turned on my interior lights, and kept my hands on the wheel. As soon as he walked up I let him know that I had a pistol in the car and that I have a permit for it. He asked me to step out of the car, patted me down, looked around in the car from the outside with a flashlight, and took the pistol back to his car. He told me it was all done just to be safe but it felt a bit much to me. All I did was speed. If he was that suspicious from a pistol and a permit, I can only imagine what his reaction would have been if I had my AK or AR in the trunk. I am asking this because I wouldn't mind getting something to keep in the car, but that last run in kind of made me think twice.

[billbrasky]

Originally Posted by JhankG

A few months ago I was pulled over for going 50 in a 35. I had my gun out on the passenger seat, turned on my interior lights, and kept my hands on the wheel. As soon as he walked up I let him know that I had a pistol in the car and that I have a permit for it. He asked me to step out of the car, patted me down, looked around in the car from the outside with a flashlight, and took the pistol back to his car. He told me it was all done just to be safe but it felt a bit much to me. All I did was speed. If he was that suspicious from a pistol and a permit, I can only imagine what his reaction would have been if I had my AK or AR in the trunk. I am asking this because I wouldn't mind getting something to keep in the car, but that last run in kind of made me think twice.

well put it this way, a cop cant be to safe in my opinion, i wish we could take drivers license away from folks that cant pull over proper .... folks that stop in the fast lane on the highway come to mind. to many cops die getting hit by cars during routine stops. As long as he gives the gun back, and that is infact proper protocol in NC then no harm done, it might have felt odd, or un nerving. Not as bad as gettting held up at the gas station and not having your piece on you. So worst case if you had a legal long gun in the trunk, he takes to guns back to the squad car, then returns to guns to you. No biggie. I would rate the inconvience the same whether you have one gun or 5 guns, as long as they are all legal, big whoop. What can they do. Your a law abiding citizen who has an expired tag, was tailgaiting, did rolling stop etc, not a bank robber or hitman.