{"id":87016,"date":"2022-10-26T08:27:35","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T13:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=87016"},"modified":"2022-10-26T08:27:35","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T13:27:35","slug":"87016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=87016","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

For the past 40 years, we’ve always had a ‘car gun’, and, except for the ’12by12′<\/a>, it’s usually been some form of rifle.<\/p>\n

MORE ROOM MORE GUN<\/a>
\nRETHINKING THE CAR GUN<\/p>\n


\nOne of the places that rifles outshine pistols is the sight radius \u2014 note that the sight radius of the AR here, which is short by rifle standards, is still about twice as long as that of this S&W M&P .45 \u2014 which is big by pistol\u00a0 standards.<\/span><\/p>\n

These days, a \u201ccar gun\u201d is generally considered to be any reasonably-powered handgun that can be slid under the driver\u2019s seat and left there perpetually, to be rattled and scratched about largely at random \u2014 and hopefully be functional if ever needed. Often an inexpensive gun (police trade-in .357s are great for such duty), the owners will usually justify their selection of pistol by describing it as one they don\u2019t mind having stolen. But it hasn\u2019t always been this way. Think back to cowboy movies, did you see a spare Peacemaker holstered on John Wayne\u2019s saddle, or a rifle?<\/p>\n

Except for a few pretty hardcore guys, most people with CCW licenses select their carry gun by what they can conceal on their person, often virtually ignoring whether or not the pistol is capable of actually stopping a bad guy. While I think this is backwards, the logic does apply well to cars. Since a vehicle gives you far greater flexibility about what you carry in it, it makes sense to carry more gun in your car than you do on your person. Never forget that Bonnie and Clyde used a BAR \u2014 a full-auto .30\/06 \u2014 as their car gun.<\/p>\n

Before we get into the nuts-and bolts of long guns for vehicle defense, let me go ahead and point out that if you\u2019re getting a gun out of your car, or firing one from inside it, you\u2019re in a car, which means you can\u00a0leave the scene<\/em>. There aren\u2019t a whole lot of situations where staying put and getting into a rifle fight is a wise \u2014 or justifiable \u2014 option. The obvious exceptions are when you\u2019re returning to your own home, or where your vehicle is disabled or somehow blocked in. Beyond that, it can get pretty sketchy, so make sure you know your state\u2019s law on weapons and self defense, and follow it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Either the AR or shotgun \u2014 such as this Mossberg 500 \u2014 can be easily equipped with a variety <\/span>of folding, collapsing, or pistol grip stocks that make them much easier to use inside a car.<\/span><\/p>\n

With that in mind, let\u2019s talk about the two general classes of long guns, which are rifles and shotguns. Both share the great advantages of increased stopping power and hit probability far beyond what a handgun can offer. Power, because shoulder-mounted weapons can simply handle more powerful cartridges than pistols (and do a better job of distributing the recoil), and hit probability because rifles are more accurate than pistols, and easier to shoot well. Much of the shootability comes down to the increased sight radius of the rifles over pistols. The further the front and rear sights are from one another, the more precisely you can align them.<\/p>\n

The shotgun is perhaps the definitive defensive weapon. Mostly limited to 50 yards and under, it throws enough lead to end a fight, in a large enough pattern to increase your odds of hitting your target under stress. For example, the standard defensive load for the 12-guage is 00 \u2014 \u201cdouble ought\u201d buckshot \u2014 which throws anywhere from eight to a dozen or more pellets that measure .38\u2033 in diameter. For comparison\u2019s sake, that\u2019s about the same as emptying a .357 every time you pull the trigger. Consider that pumps and semiautos are the weapons of choice for self-defense, and it doesn\u2019t take much to see why the 12 gauge has such a fearsome reputation.<\/p>\n

Where the shotgun suffers by comparison with the rifle is in its precision, its ability to penetrate things like steel and glass, and in some cases, the number of cartridges it holds. Realistically, a legitimate defensive shooting probably won\u2019t require many rounds, and if someone\u2019s hiding behind a car, you need to be leaving, not shooting at them. But since more and more defensive shootings involve more than one bad guy, be aware than once the flag goes up, there are absolutely no guarantees about what it will take to win the fight, and you may very well have to shoot someone who\u2019s firing at you from behind their car. While the pattern of the shotgun is somewhat more forgiving than the pinpoint accuracy of a rifle, rifles let you put the bullet exactly where it needs to go, which reduces the likelihood of a stray shotgun pellet striking something (or someone) you didn\u2019t intend.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

A pair of Mossberg 12 gauge pump shotguns: the full-stocked one on top has an 18″ barrel and holds five rounds, while the one on the bottom has a pistol grip, a 20″ barrel, and holds two more cartridges in the chamber. While the pistol grip gun would be handier inside a car, it\u2019s also harder to shoot accurately, and likely to draw more negative attention than the wood-stocked gun.<\/span><\/p>\n

With either type of long gun, size is a critical factor. If you\u2019re standing beside your truck, it\u2019s not that big a deal to reach behind the seat and slide out a Remington 870. If you\u2019re behind the wheel, though, three feet of shotgun is going to be very difficult to manage. Since Federal law limits rifle barrels to a minimum length of 16\u2033, and shotguns to 18\u2033 or more, you can only take so much length off the front end of the gun. What this means is that if you want to be able to use a long gun inside your vehicle, you need to consider some sort of shortened stock.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a broad variety of aftermarket collapsible and folding buttstocks available for the common pump and semiauto shotguns, such as the\u00a0Remington<\/a>\u00a0870,\u00a0Mossberg<\/a>\u00a0500, and\u00a0Winchester<\/a>\u00a01300. While they often don\u2019t handle recoil well (the side-folding stock I used to have on my 500 constantly folded up when I shot it), they do shorten the gun by a foot or so. Pistol grips shorten the gun by the same amount, but frankly, I think pistol-grip-only shotguns have limited utility because they tend to be very difficult to use with any degree of accuracy. Remember that while a shotgun does throw a pattern, it\u2019s still not as big as you would expect; at seven yards or less, there\u2019s very little spread at all, so aim is still important.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Three sport\/utility rifles at their shortest: a folding stock Mini-14, a bullpup AK 47, and a collapsible stock AR. It\u2019s worth noting that although it\u2019s the shortest of the three, the AK can be fired from the shoulder \u2014 and is also chambered for the harder hitting 7.62 round, while the Mini and AR are .223s.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we start talking about rifles, it\u2019s important to remember that the category isn\u2019t limited to just AR15s, AK-47s, and other sport\/utility-style rifles bristling with lights, lasers, and huge drum magazines. We\u2019re interested in coming home at night, not going to war. Pretty much all repeating centerfire rifles are accurate enough (especially since defensive shootings are usually really close range affairs), hold enough bullets to win a fight, and have enough power to punch through steel or glass. While an AR with a 30-round mag may be a confidence booster, the .223 round it fires still only has about the same stopping power as a .40 S&W, so in real-world terms, your lever action .30\/30 may be a far superior fight stopper.<\/p>\n

As an example, I have one friend who owns a business in one of the most violent areas in Atlanta, and has been involved in several shootings. Although he has ARs and other military-style rifles, his car gun of choice is a lever-action\u00a0Marlin<\/a> Guide Gun in .45\/70. It\u2019s short, handy, and can throw a 400-grain bullet that\u2019ll knock down a Chevy Caprice. Sure, the gangbangers may have AKs, but if you don\u2019t miss much, you don\u2019t need more than three or four rounds.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Considering the size of modern SUVs and sedans, there\u2019s no reason not to<\/span>
\nuse the vehicle\u2019s added bulk to carry a long gun. No one wants to be in a<\/span>
\nshooting, but if you\u2019re forced into it, a rifle or shotgun \u2014 such as this Mossberg 930 semiautomatic \u2014 can give you the sort of decisive advantage to win, and win fast.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

A cut-open shotshell, showing its charge of 00 buckshot, next to a .357 <\/span>Magnum (middle) and a 9mm (right). This particular round of 00 buck, or <\/span>as it\u2019s better known, \u201cdouble ought,\u201d throws a charge of eight pellets that<\/span>
\nmeasure around .38″ \u2014 the same diameter as the .357 and 9mm bullets.<\/span><\/p>\n

A pump rifle in 7mm Magnum, or even .308, would be a similarly good choice. Bolt guns are more difficult to work in a hurry than either a pump or lever gun, but can be a good choice in some circumstances. And if your defensive rifle doubles as a hunting gun, so much the better. Sure, an AR may look meaner, but remember that intimidation value is a two-way street, and the rifle that scares the bad guys is gonna terrify the jury you\u2019ll appear in front of if you have to use it. I\u2019ve held up an AR as State\u2019s Exhibit Number One before. Trust me, it doesn\u2019t play well.<\/p>\n

Using a more pedestrian-looking rifle makes a lot more sense for another reason: no matter how legal it is, if you get pulled over for speeding, or stopped at a license checkpoint, a special weapon is going to get some special attention from law enforcement. Let\u2019s take, for example, the wood-stocked, traditionally styled Mini-14. Chambered in the AR\u2019s .223 (or, as a Mini-30, the AK\u2019s 7.62\u00d739), the Mini is a semiauto, centerfire rifle that takes 30-round mags. Functionally, it does the same thing the AR and AK do, but because of its less aggressive styling, it puts fewer questions in the mind of those who see it.<\/p>\n

If, for whatever reason, you\u2019ve decided that a military-style rifle fits your particular set of needs, an AR still may not be the perfect choice for you. Although I think the AR handles better than the AK, the AK\u2019s 7.62mm round punches through steel with considerably more authority than the .223, and the weapon itself is far more forgiving of rough handling. Also, since the AR\u2019s mechanism relies upon a buffer tube within the buttstock, it can only ever be so short; it still has to have at least 6\u2033 or so of buttstock to contain the buffer-and-spring assembly. Not so with AKs or Minis, which can be readily equipped with a side-folding stock that\u2019s much more compact. For comparison\u2019s sake, an AR with a CAR-15 collapsible buttstock measures about 32\u2033 long, while a folded-up Mini-14 is some six inches shorter, and bullpup-style AKs get much, much shorter. Inside a car, that makes a big difference in whether or not you can get the rifle into the fight before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

A step above the usual sport\/ utility rifles, however, are the class of weapons usually called \u201cbattle rifles.\u201d Larger, heavier, and chambered for heavier calibers, these are the .308 semiautos such as the HK 91\/ CETME family of rifles, the M14\/ M1A, FN FAL, and the AR variants. They can do everything a smaller gun can, although their added length, weight, and recoil may be tougher for some shooters to handle (the HK91, for example, is legendary for its recoil). On the other hand, there are situations in which having a .308 can provide a decisive advantage over lesser calibers; in the (very) unlikely event that you have to stop a car with a rifle, the .308 is a far better choice than a .223.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, self defense is about nothing more \u2014 or less \u2014 than doing what\u2019s required to continue to stay alive. Run if you can. But if you\u2019re reduced to shooting, it\u2019s because there are absolutely no options left, and no time left. When that moment comes, you have to act quickly and solve the problem decisively, and having a rifle or shotgun available gives you one more tool to do just that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the past 40 years, we’ve always had a ‘car gun’, and, except for the ’12by12′, it’s usually been some form of rifle. MORE ROOM MORE GUN RETHINKING THE CAR GUN One of the places that rifles outshine pistols is the sight radius \u2014 note that the sight radius of the AR here, which is … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gun-schtuff","category-self-defense"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=87016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87017,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87016\/revisions\/87017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=87016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=87016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=87016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}