Jeep Wrangler Gun Rack

Superfishal said:
Anyone install a gun rack in their Jeep? Looking for options for shotgun/hunting rifle. Overhead? Trunk? Suggestions?
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As a kid, CJ-5 era (1960's), my father and me used to ride with a family who used open top jeeps when hunting. They used a dual rifle holder rack that straddled the transmission hump between the driver/passenger seats. The butt of the rifle was down and the gun barrel was up at about a 70 degree angle back. A safe direction for carry and extracting from the gun rack holder. It has been too many decades past to remember how they were secured in some type of butt cuff and barrel cradle. A overhead rack has the potential to have dual hunters pointing the barrels towards each other when securing or extracting from the rack. NOT A PLEASANT THOUGHT! It ups the chance for tragedy of a ND.

I would look for a design that minimizes any mis- handling or raises the safe storage and use of long arms. Can you always be sure your partner unloaded the chamber before storing their gun. They were supposed too, but did they? There was a year where we went to the late season draw hunt, and found out that during the previous early season draw, a hunter unloaded his rifle in camp, and it discharged. He unfortunately did not have the barrel in a safe direction, bad discipline It went thru his camper where his wife was taking a nap, The bullet caught her in both legs. VERY SAD and UNNECESSARY. As far as I know, she survived.

Good luck with what you find, maybe something like law enforcement uses for their in car weapon storage? The ones I have seen, follow generally the pattern of a upward muzzle direction.
 
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Depends on how you want it. I'll start off by saying even here in texas it isn't a good idea to roll around with a firearm in plain sight. First the cops hate it and will pull you over and run the serial #s or worse , second is thieves.
Now if you are talking long gun as in ar15 then from time to time on eBay there are hummve vertical/upright racks the military uses, there are overhead racks that connect to your roof, these aren't secure. Then there are the police style upright locking clamp systems id do these if your going to keep it in plain sight they unlock both by handcuff key and electronics through a hidden switch or wireless remote setup.
When I'm carrying an ar15 daily I use a lockdown mag lock with the cable attached around 2 seat posts and the rifle hidden under or behind the rear seat in my colorado.

Also be careful we no longer live in a society that is ok with gun racks in your truck, well its actually been like this since 95 or so when they stopped letting us bring shotguns to school so we could hunt after school and farmers started getting pulled over cuz of a rack in the back window. And this new regime change isn't gun friendly either.
 
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I've got a spot for my truck rifle when I go out and about. Lockable and all that. Been thinking of adding something to the CJ but will wait till I finish it to figure that out.
 
I have to say I'd be terrified to drive around with a long gun visible. Whether its police or or thieves, in my mind visible firearms just bring unnecessary attention.
 
My grandfather always used the racks mounted between the seats with the barrels pointing towards the engine... even after the time grandma forgot to unload her rifle and the hair trigger sent an 8mm mauser bullet into the back of the engine. That is a bad place to mount guns regardless of how poorly your firearms handling is.

My parents have a DIY rack bolted to the roll bars over head in their CJ7. 4 hose covered hooks will hold 2 rifles with barrels pointed forward towards the windshield. All rifles are fully unloaded before entering the vehicle. It works but the hooks do rub the finish on the barrels and stocks on rough ranch roads and it can sometimes be difficult to get guns in and out.

In my Ram, which probably has the same seats, long scoped rifles and shotguns have to lay flat across the back in their cases. My AR soft rifle case is stupidly bulky so if I'm not packing my AR kit (300blk/223 uppers and a lower) in its hard case, it fits best standing upright behind the seat and a rubber coated tie wire loop around the headrest posts holds the barrel securely even on bumpy ranch roads. It also works for my wife's short little bolt action ranch rifle but since it has a monster scope it usually stays in a case and stored like the others. I don't have back seats so nobody can complain.
 
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People and guns...

My rack is removable... because I only use it for long offroad excursions where the potential to run across unsavory people is high (New Mexico and Arizona methamphetamine mobile labs and illegals) or places like the Beartooth mountains or my upcoming trip along the Dalton where animal encounters are always a potential issue.

I dont go to Walmart with my Mossberg locked and loaded.
 
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I think the concern is more that there are often more concealable ways to carry a long gun without really hindering access. For example, I have on occasion kept defensive long guns in a partially-open soft case on the floor in front of the back seat. I can still reach back and grab it from the driver's seat, but otherwise nobody on the road or sidewalk has a real indication it is there.
 
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