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"Truck gun?" Pardon me while I shoot my mouth off...
The Truck Gun
Listen up, folks: everybody needs a truck gun – even if you don’t have a “truck,” and you don’t have a “gun.” A “truck gun” is WHAT you have with you, WHEN you need it. Some folks favor handguns (as did an engineer I worked with, & respected highly). Other folks prefer a shotgun (can’t ague with that - ever). I prefer a rifle, as do many Americans. The rifle is an American tradition: if Daniel Morgan had had a pickup truck available to help him win the American Revolution, you can bet your ‘Lucky Stars’ he would have had a rifle in it – not a handgun or a shotgun.
Now, on the subject of rifles, we must all agree (up front ;>) to disagree. That is simply the nature of life in our American “gun culture.” However - some of my more deluded friends favor the Mauser (and its many offspring ;>). I will admit that the Mauser (in its many permutations) makes a fine “truck gun.” But no matter how you cut it – it’s still a German rifle. Having a German “truck gun” is like having BMW wheels on your pickup. (And as for my ultra-American brothers who favor the ’03 Springfield: it’s still a Mauser. We even sent royalty checks to Germany to pay for our theft – excuse me; ‘unauthorized use’ - of their design… ;>).
And on the subject of cartridges – we must also agree (up front ;>) to disagree. (Of course, any weenie 6.5mm cartridge would have a hard time competing with a versatile, all-around-capable 7.7mm cartridge like the .303 – and besides, the ‘7.7’ is extra-lucky! ;>)
Since I’m in the mood for BBQ (and willing to offer myself up as the main course ;>), allow me to suggest that any version of the Lee magazine rifle is a more appropriate American “truck gun” than any frigging German Mauser. (Piss on the Germans; I may have German ancestry, but I don’t think it shows – much… ;>) James Paris Lee was an American; not by birth, but by choice. I have a copy of his November 4, 1879 United States patent hanging on the wall: “J. Lee, Magazine Fire-Arm, [Patent] No. 221,328.” Any American ‘gun nut’ would recognize the features of the rifle depicted in the patent drawings – it’s a LEE(enfield) by any other name.
Now, in my humble opinion, any LEE(enfield) ever built is as good a combat rifle as any German Mauser – especially if you happen to be an American rifleman. But the best of the Lee rifles (again IMHO ;>) was the No.4: great cartridge, great reliability, great sights, great detachable magazine – a great design.
Not all Americans agree with me on this point – which is why there are so many abused, even mangled, LEE(enfields) available. I swear, some folks must cut the things up just to show their independence! But you can benefit from their pure, ignorant cussedness! Find yourself a good “sporty-ized” LEE(enfield) and make it your “truck gun!” If you help it out, the Lee magazine rifle will definitely help you out! It’s been successful n that business for 125 years!
I found one – some sorry b@st@rd had taken a fine No.4 Mk.1 manufactured at the BSA plant in Shirley in 1942, and chopped the barrel, thrown away many of the metal parts, massacred the wood, and even broken the No.4 safety, replacing it with a No.1 safety - by means of a BRASS WOOD SCREW! (like I said – “pure, ignorant cussedness!” ;>). It was ugly as sin – but I could see the inherent, underlying beauty. A Lee magazine rifle, in the rough!
I took that puppy home with me (after the ignorant have abused them, they are amazingly cheap! You, too, can save! ;>). I replaced the safety with a proper No.4 unit (although it was a Long Branch ‘kicked leg’ safety, rather than a British-manufactured part), trimmed the barrel back to a bit less than 17 inches (beware the federal ‘overall-length’ law), fitted a new front sight assembly (courtesy of Her Britannic Majesty/ Gun Parts Corp./Brownells), a new rear sight (from a No.5 carbine), a new synthetic forearm, refinished the metal – and modified a Choate side-folding stock to fit.
It is now – in my opinion – the ultimate “truck gun:” a folding-stock, 10-round-detachable-mag, ghost-ring-plus-micrometer-adjustable-rear-sight, “Rule .303” American Lee magazine truck rifle.
God bless America, and James Paris Lee!
(Flame away, compadres! ;>)