Best Truck Gun: What to Keep Behind the Seat in Texas

The best truck gun is the one you can lock up behind the seat, grab without fumbling, and still hit with when a hog or a coyote shows up at the feeder. For most Texans that means a short, light carbine or a compact pump shotgun, with a handgun as the backup plan when the cab is tight. I’m Lance Rankin. I’ve run the counter and the gunsmithing bench at Western Sport long enough to see what actually rides in North Texas trucks and what gets traded back six months later.

Here are the picks we carry and would put in our own trucks, grouped by job, plus the storage part most people skip.

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What makes a good truck gun

A truck gun lives a hard life. It bounces down caliche roads, sits through August heat in a closed cab and gets pulled out in a hurry. So I judge one on four things before I care about the name on it. It has to fit a lockable case that fits your cab. It has to shoot a cartridge you can buy anywhere. The sights have to survive being knocked around. And it should be something you won’t mind scratching.

Length matters more than people think. A 16-inch carbine or an 18.5-inch shotgun slides behind the seat of most crew cabs in a soft case. A 22-inch hunting rifle usually doesn’t. If you’re new to all of this, our guide to picking a first gun in Texas covers fit and training before you ever get to vehicle storage.

Best truck gun for ranch chores: Henry Homesteader 9mm

If I could keep only one long gun in a work truck, a pistol-caliber carbine would be near the top of the list. The Henry Homesteader 9mm takes Glock magazines, so if you already carry a Glock you can run one set of mags and one kind of ammo for both. 9mm is cheap, easy on the shoulder and workable on coyotes and smaller hogs at feeder distance.

It isn’t a long-range rifle and it isn’t trying to be. Past 100 yards I’d rather have a 5.56. But for the stuff that happens within sight of the truck, it’s easy to shoot well and easy to keep running. We ship it to your local FFL, and our page on buying a gun online in Texas walks through the transfer.

Rimfire picks for pests and plinking

A .22 LR is the truck gun a lot of ranch kids grew up with, and for good reason. It handles snakes, rabbits, armadillos and tin cans, ammo is cheap, and nobody flinches shooting it. It is not a hog gun. I want to be plain about that, because somebody tries it every year.

The Ruger 10/22 Takedown splits into two halves, so it rides in a much shorter case than a full-length rifle. If you’d rather have a rimfire trainer that handles like your centerfire AR, the Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 has the same AR-style controls, so the practice carries over.

Best truck gun shotgun: Mossberg 590S or 500 Cruiser

A pump 12 gauge is the old standby, and it still earns its spot behind the seat. With buckshot or slugs it handles hogs up close, and it works on anything with feathers too. The optic-ready Mossberg 590S with an 18.5-inch barrel runs short 1.75-inch shells as well as standard 2.75-inch and 3-inch loads, so you can run the minis for more rounds in the tube and still feed it whatever the feed store has.

If you want the same proven pump action set up short for storage, look at the Mossberg 500 Cruiser JIC. Short shotguns are harder to shoot well than they look, so burn a box of shells with it before it goes in the truck. Keep a box of buckshot and a box of slugs from our ammunition section in the case with it. If the shotgun is also your house gun, our home defense shotgun guide covers that side.

If you want a rifle: AR-15 or a short bolt gun

For a lot of Texas ranchers the real truck gun is a 16-inch AR-15. It reaches past 200 yards on hogs and coyotes, it takes a light, and magazines are everywhere. If you already own a lower, our Rankin Industries complete upper in 5.56 with a 16-inch barrel pins on and turns it into a truck carbine without buying a whole new rifle. The rest of our house line is on the Rankin Industries page.

If an AR isn’t your thing, the Ruger American Ranch Gen II in 5.56 NATO is a handy bolt action with a 16.1-inch barrel that fits the same case. It’s a good pick for a truck that doubles as your ride to the deer blind. For bigger hunting cartridges, our deer caliber guide and Texas deer rifle overview go deeper, or browse all our rifles.

Handguns when the cab is too small for a long gun

Single cab, small SUV, or a truck that also hauls the kids? A handgun in a locked box may be the honest answer. The Glock 19 Gen 6 is the do-everything 9mm, and it pairs with the Homesteader if you go that route. If you want something smaller, the SIG Sauer P365X holds 10+1 in a slim frame. Browse more pistols if neither fits your hand.

On the law: as of this writing, Texas lets most adults 21 and older who can legally own a handgun carry one in their vehicle without a license, with exceptions for certain people and places. Read Texas Penal Code Chapter 46 yourself, and see our Texas License to Carry guide if you drive into states where a license matters.

How to store a truck gun so it is still there tomorrow

Here’s the part nobody wants to hear. Guns get stolen out of trucks constantly, and a rifle on the back seat in a store parking lot is an invitation. Treat the truck as transport, not storage. A locked case or a vault secured to the truck is the minimum, and the gun comes inside with you at night.

For a handgun, a keyed box like the SnapSafe X-Large lock box, secured under the seat, is cheap insurance. The glove box is not storage. For long guns, use a lockable case or an under-seat vault made for your truck. At home, our safe storage guide covers the rest.

Shop the gear

• Rifles and shotguns, shipped to your local FFL
• Mossberg 500 Cruiser JIC 12 gauge
• Free suppressor with any gun purchase, while supplies last (see the terms on that page)

So what is the best truck gun?

For most of our customers in North Texas, the best truck gun is a 16-inch AR-15 or a pump 12 gauge, locked in a case that fits the cab. If the truck mostly handles ranch chores close to home, a 9mm carbine like the Henry Homesteader is easier to live with. Pick the one you’ll actually practice with, then spend real money on the lock box. Everything above ships to your local FFL.

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