Truck Guns, Part 1: From Stagecoaches to Tacomas

The concept of a truck gun is nothing new. Be it the Western stagecoach driver of old transporting wealth or prisoners or the suburban father driving to work or shuttling his children to soccer, there is a need to protect precious cargo. Regardless of circumstance, when you find yourself on the open road, you need to be armed and ready for unexpected dangers that may present themselves in an emergency. In such cases, a pistol may be unable to provide an opportunity for gaining the advantage, but the truck gun has become a standard in mobile personal defense.

What Is a Truck Gun?

The best place to start in the late 20th century is the Personal Defense Weapon or PDW. This term is carelessly thrown around on the internet. Still, the modern PDW was designed and intended to be compact, fire a bottlenecked cartridge, and deliver enhanced standoff that a pistol or submachine gun cannot reliably ensure without fielding a full-size rifle.

Understanding the differences between a pistol caliber and a bottlenecked cartridge lies in the velocity, penetration, and distance that bottlenecked cartridges can ensure. The FN P90 and the H&K MP7 are perfect examples of modern PDWs that came to fruition in the early 2000s. Their small size allows for easier movement in and out of vehicles with the weapon slung, they are lightweight, convenient to store or manipulate, and deliver greater penetration while providing extended engagement distances when compared to pistol caliber platforms, but not as much as a traditional service rifle.

Today, the firearms industry has progressed in developing more advanced cartridges, better-designed barrels and treatments, more reliable and mission-specific platforms, and weapon accessories. The argument normally remains that when a lightweight projectile is employed, there remains an issue with its ability to stop a threat.

The tradeoff comes at a price; common higher-velocity cartridges like 5.56, 7.62x39, and 5.45x39 have been used primarily in full-size rifles, but a shorter barrel makes these rounds less effective. Unlike their larger predecessors, the less common 5.7mm and 4.6mm cartridges are meant to fit into pistol-style magazines while delivering lower-level rifle-like performance. A consistent problem remains: effective terminal ballistics. Bespoke exotic light-grain projectiles perform well from shorter barrels but are far less effective than their dedicated service rifle brethren and more difficult to source. Likewise, common service rifle caliber projectiles suffer decreased velocity from shorter barrels but are readily available and more effective with longer barrels.

Concept and Application

You consider the concept and application process. The first step is to analyze what you need to accomplish and what the required tool for it. This is the concept. Once you know the intended purpose, select the correct tool to accomplish the job. Again, there is no free lunch; for a truck gun to be effective in mobility and weight, you must give up some terminal ballistics and range. If you are unrelenting on velocity and range, you will have an awkward, restrictive weapon that is heavier and bulkier in and around vehicles.

Keeping the bar high enough may be the golden rule. It has been shown that even out of a 7.5” barreled AR15 shooting 55 grain ammunition, you can still maintain about 2000fps. That velocity effectively penetrates soft armor and virtually all car bodies, windshields, and relative barriers found along roadsides and highways short of trees, dense earth, and reinforced barriers.

 The AK-47 performs well out of a short barrel, so you will get a decent return on your investment. It is safe to assume you will not be shooting 300-plus meters with minute of angle groups, but what is the legality of such engagements? Can you reasonably articulate to a judge and jury the need to engage a threat at over three football fields away? Can you accurately see or engage threats three football fields away on a heavily congested freeway due to a riot or disaster? My argument is to choose a short AR, AK, or alternative platform and utilize the remaining advantage of a rifle round; it will still outperform a pistol caliber projectile and be more consistently accurate out to distances of 100 to 200 meters.

Now, we look at the application. We understand that the truck gun is, in actuality, a PDW. We can make a fair argument as to why standard military/sporting cartridges can still provide a decent return on your investment, even if out of a short barrel. Let us look at a few variants I have personal experience with. The obvious starting point is the AR-15 or similar derivatives. While the AR-15 is the gold standard of modern rifles, it does not mean it is the best for this application. If you choose an AR-15, a few things need to be applied.

What You Want in a Truck Gun

The first thing you want in a truck gun is a short barrel; anything over 10.5” is far too long. I would even argue that 7.5” to 8” is fine. That said, now that you have created a flaming dragon, the next obvious step is to mitigate that flame and the concussion that will ultimately shatter eardrums and car windows.

The use of an inline compensator, blast deflector, or suppressor will make a significant upgrade for shooting in confined spaces and around glass. I have personally seen several side windows or windshields become damaged or blown out due to overpressure from the muzzle blast from just a 5.56 rifle. The inline compensator directs the blast forward, directly away from the shooter. If engaging targets from inside the vehicle, this can significantly decrease the possibility of injury to yourself or others and damage to the vehicle. Midwest Industries manufactures 3 different variants of inline compensators.

Finally, the truck gun must have a folding or wire telescoping stock. For AR15 users, this becomes more significant; the mechanical necessity of a buffer tube is a problem to be solved. There is the LAW or the Sylvan folding stock mechanism. The issue I have with these excellent products is the inability to reliably fire folded, if at all, without special BCG; these proprietary BCGs appear to have mixed reviews relating to reliability. The most dependable source for the AR-15 is, hands down, the Dead Foot Arms MCS. This system allows the user to not only fold the stock/brace (preselect left or right-side folding), but you can also fire while folded, even using a binary, FRS, or full-auto trigger. This combination of products creates a package suited for efficient use inside and around the close proximity of vehicles, barriers, and bystanders.

The choice of accessories beyond that is your preference. I would, however, prioritise characteristics such as reduced weight, a rapid and clear acquisition of targets, and an ability to defend yourself in all lighting conditions. Without allowing myself to impose too much into what platforms are my preference, what I want vs. what I can afford, or, and forgive me, what I find attractive to own, we should look at some basic platforms that I find useful, fitting these needs. The AR-15 is an obvious choice, but the AK should never be overlooked. I have found, as have many others over several decades, that the destructive force and reliability of the AK platform remains a viable choice; the AK is far from dead.

There are newer platforms with captured buffer systems like the FN SCAR, PSA Jakl, FM Products FM15, Brownells BRN180, Tink Arms Perun X16, CZ Bren series, and many more. With all the advancements to the AK, it is my opinion that the AK retains a combat service record that rivals the sword and bow.

For those willing to cross into the taboo, who just feel they need more velocity like they do more cowbell, there is always the benevolent bullpup. Bullpup rifles today are a far cry better designed and ergonomic compared to their early predecessors of the ’70s and ’80s.

With a platform and caliber chosen, the next thing to consider is accessories. The need for a sling is fundamental and everyone has their favorites. Preferably, a red dot of one flavor or another should be the primary choice. As for myself, I prefer a 1x prism with illumination, but a holographic sight is a wise choice. Companies such as Swampfox, Primary Arms, and Vortex are leading in the industry by producing affordable, durable, and reliable optics at an affordable price point.

A light source is critical for identifying targets or providing illumination when needed. There are several names, with SureFire being the household name, but Streamlight, Inforce, and Olight are making excellent products, and prices are far more palatable.

One accessory that is often overlooked for a truck gun is night vision. I feel it is irregular to assume you will have time when bailing out of your vehicle to put on a helmet or harness and attach night vision to it. I have found that in such a rush, it is not only improbable, but the time spent vacating and grabbing equipment is all but impossible. The mounting of a night vision device, like a PVS-14 or similar analog or digital system I use from Adams Industries, or others like TNVC, when mounted to the weapon either above or offset of the weapon sight, provides the rapid ability to scan for threats and navigate without having to don a complete system. Plus, when the weapon is stored, you can remain “gray” if observed by overzealous people. You can use the night vision when the weapon is out or detach it and quickly store it to maintain a presence that is neither threatening nor tactical.

Final Thoughts

With all the previous assessments brought to bear, there is now a clean line of delineation that can be drawn based on what is needed and what can be built or acquired. A modern PDW or truck gun is a compact, short-barreled rifle/ rifle caliber pistol, ideally with an inline compensator or suppressor, and benefits greatly from a folding or telescoping stock to facilitate reduced weight and mobility, while providing reasonable penetration and accuracy. This platform should be able to fit into a medium backpack or messenger bag, feed from common magazines while preferably utilizing common ammunition for easier acquisition and resupply, and should be legal in your state or jurisdiction.

There are a host of options when examining the process of concept and application; constraints will relegate choices based on availability, budget, experience, personal needs, and what has been seen on COD or John Wick. The prepared individual should consider variable terrain, time of day, who or what they are protecting, and what the most likely scenarios are to be confronted with. The truck gun is the modern stagecoach gun; it provides elevated defense and is meant to be a force multiplier. The truck gun may seem to be a niche item, but when danger rears its ugly head, the individual utilizing a truck gun has a significant advantage. “When a man with a .45 meets a man with a rifle, the man with a pistol is a dead man.” Ramon Rojo from A Fist Full of Dollars.