Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles I was talking truck guns and ..........

I was talking truck guns with a friend today. He keeps three in his truck;

243 - Marlin XS7
20 Gauge - Western Field M550CR (Mossberg 500 house brand
22 LR - Ruger 10/22

He farms in northeastern Nebraska and since he has a fair amount of free time, stereotypical Norwegian bachelor farmer that he is, he has lots of time to hunt.

I thought that those three firearms/cartridges provided good coverage for what the average guy in the lower 48 might need. What say you?

A truck gun battery...reminds me of my teens. His choices don't seem rednecky enough. I don't think there is any steel-cased ammo available for any of the three.

With the exception of elk (for which I may never draw a tag) I could hunt everything that needs huntin' in KY with what he has in his truck...

This time of year I don't even keep a gun in the pickup. Everything gets a free pass until about September when bird season opens and then I'll leave my Winchester 1300 behind the seat. Later on I'll add a 243 Montana and that will cover the rare critter that I might actually shoot.


Gophers out in a wheat field this morning and I had two rifles along but chit, they were having too much fun chasing each other around that I couldn't bring myself to shoot at 'em. Getting old and soft I guess.

Orion,

Agree with you.

Sam,

I know what you are talking about... but then again I've got many more years than you so maybe something does happen over time.

My truck guns change with the seasons.. Today it was the .22 CZ, .22mag CZ, and .223 & S & W's in .357 and .44.. Shooting gophers and p. dogs..
Unless it big game season I usually have the revolvers, something like my .25-06 or .270 and a .22-250 or a Swift.. Much of the year I seldom carry a .22.. Used to have one all the time.. not so much now..

At the very least, I ALWAYS have one of my AR-15's in the truck. And my old Marlin Model 60 in 22lr. And usually a 12 ga shotgun of some sort. Lately, it's been my Class III AOW Rem. 870 with a 7" barrel. It's a great snake gun!

We have 2 different Ranches,and I spend a lot of time traveling between the two, and home and back.

For f ucks sake...

Montucky .223 and a Ruger MkIII hunter for the off season.

I keep a DPMS Sportical and a S&W 4006 in my daily driver. A Marlin 982-S in the Jeep that I keep in Colorado and a Marlin XS7 in 243 in the Nissan pickup that I keep in northwestern Nebraska.

This one has been real easy to maneuver inside a in the smallest of truck cabs!



.300blk with Nikon 2-7 P300 scope. However, I guess I need to take it to a gunsmith to adress headspace issues.

I think a lever action .30-30 carbine makes a good truck gun.

My main truck gun is my Socko AII .22-250.... I feel kind of bad sometimes when I look at all it's accumulated dings and dents, but I bought it to use so I get over it quick. It's really not the best truck gun though since it's got a 25.5" barrel.

Remington 600 triple deuce is pretty darn handy for a truck gun.. I also carry Dad's old BL-22 and my Remington 121 .22 a lot.

My old adl, .22-250 has ridden thousands of miles in my truck.. Bought it new in about 1978.. On its third barrel, I still often carry it a few months of the year.. That little 600 in .222 is perfect..

I used to carry a 10-22 most of the time, sometimes a 223 or 243.

Today CTR .260, 10/22 w Tacsol bbl., Mossberg 500 18.5-in. I got in '78, loaded w Hornady Heavy Coyote, with many other options in door pocket. Glock 23 and Smiff 442 on me of course...

Certainly enough for anything in the Volunteer State and the rest of the East.

I don't have a specific truck gun 'battery', but I do have a XS7 in 243 with a weaver on top that I consider my centerfire truck gun. Looks like a popular choice.

I will say that a Smith and Wesson 66 357 seems to be my most popular handgun in the truck and on the tractor around the farm.

Plastikka .223

In the early 1990s, I had a Mossberg 800 in 22-250 as a truck gun, but I carried it in a rear window rack and the heat of the sun caused the plastic trigger assembly case to become soft and distorted, so much so that the trigger was unsafe. The primary reasons that I have Marlin XS7s in 243 is that they are cheap, as little as $250, and all of the Marlin X guns that I've owned or shot have been quite accurate. The 243 in the Nissan gets a steady diet of 80 grain Federal blue box factory ammo.

All my guns are truck guns. Which one gets brought depends on the season.




Travis