[Ridgerunner665]

Its a hotly debated topic....the legality of carrying a firearm in a truck...but it IS perfectly legal, the problem is many LEO's believe the same myth that many truck drivers believe...and that is that there is some sort of federal law that says you can't carry a firearm in a truck...THERE IS NO SUCH LAW...as a matter of fact, Title 18 section 926(a) "The Peaceable Journey Act"...under part 1, chapter 44...clearly says that under federal law...you "CAN" carry a weapon in a truck (or any other vehicle), there are however provisions (unloaded, locked away separate from the ammo)...there are also city ordinances and other "local laws" that come into play...but those are too vast and varied for me to cover here (but I do know them quite well)

I have spent hours upon hours over the last few years tearing the myth down, I've nearly lost my job over it twice...and as I was walking in a truckstop (Flying J in Columbia, SC) tonight I noticed something on the cover of one of those free magazines (trucking related magazines)...I never pay much attention to these magazines, but I got one and read the article (link below)...its good to finally see it "in print"... we truckers have a dangerous job, often having to park in some "not so good" places (Charlotte, NC is as bad as any place in the country)...and we do have the right to carry firearms!

The title of the article..."Risky Business"
http://www.truckersnews.com/risky-business-2/
(I'm not sure how long the article will stay there...)

Back to this truckstop I'm at....A few years back I was here and I had a minor "encounter"

I was walking into the truckstop and a guy came up to me trying to say he knew me from the Navy (I was never in the Navy), I didn't know him...and while I suck at remembering names, I NEVER forget a face.

I told him "No...I don't know you" and kept walking (I'm not a very friendly person unless there is a reason behind it, and he should have taken the hint)...as I walked out past a truck another guy grabbed me by my left arm and jerked me back and around...I never saw his face, and honestly didn't care if he was my best friend...I drew the pistol as I came around (an all steel 1911...makes a good club too), and whacked him right up side the head with it, HARD. He went out like a light, with a pretty good gash across his temple and fore head.

His buddy was still standing there a few feet away...I asked him if he wanted to continue this...he took off in a hurry without even saying goodbye.

Myself...I would have left that other guy laying there and not gave him another thought (dead, alive...I don't care)...but there were several witnesses to this, and they called the police before it was even over (and it didn't last long)...cops showed up, I explained what happened, they told me they had been looking for that guy that was knocked out...he was wanted for failure to appear in court, and he had priors (aggravated assault, burglary, etc...I forget what else, this has been a while back)

In the end...it worked out good, I didn't even have to press any charges...he was going to jail anyway, and that was good enough for me. (I would likely lose my job if ever had to shoot...there are no company policies against it where I work, but I'd rather not press the matter on them when it comes to their "public image"...this is why I prefer to avoid getting involved in the red tape whenever possible)

The cops told me "Good job, drive safe"...and that was it.


And in case anybody is wondering why I didn't shoot them...I never saw a weapon on either of them, thats why. The cops did find a 9mm (Jennings ) on the guy that was knocked out....but it never made it out of the pocket of those baggy @$$ jeans.


Another time...this one was in Georgia. (actually, this happened before the one mentioned above)

I pulled into a TA truckstop to get fuel and food at about 10:30 am. after fueling I went inside to Burger King and got a meal to go, then went back to the truck to eat. I was sitting in the sleeper...about 3 bites into my Whopper when my truck door came open and a guy climbed in and sat down for about 1 second, then turned toward the sleeper...it was about this time that he decided he had gotten in the wrong truck (I could see it in his eyes)... What he saw was me chewing up a bite of Whopper with a 45 pointed at his head.

He quickly said he had accidently gotten in the wrong truck...I replied "You're damn right you did"...then he carefully backed out of my truck and left.


Maybe he was telling the truth...after all, I have stuck my key in the wrong truck door...a couple of times.

Maybe he just didnt expect the 45...I'll never know.


I ALWAYS lock my doors when I'm in the truck...why I didnt that time is beyond me.


At any rate...I just wanted to put it out there here on MO's so any LEO's that may not have the facts on the matter could see it...and hopefully understand it from a drivers point of view.

And, as always...the pistol is a last resort...its better to avoid the situation entirely, but they sneak up on you sometimes.

Jeff Cooper was right...

DECISIVENESS:
When "the ball is opened"-when it becomes evident that you are faced with violent physical assault-your life depends upon your selecting a correct course of action and carrying it through without hesitation or deviation. There can be no shilly-shallying. There is not time. To ponder is quite possibly to perish.

And it is important to remember that the specific course you decide upon is, within certain parameters, less important than the vigor with which you execute it. The difficulty is that the proper course of action, when under attack, is usually to counterattack. This runs contrary to our normally civilized behavior, and such a decision is rather hard for even an ordinarily decisive person to reach.

AGGRESSIVENESS:
In defense we do not initiate violence. We must grant our attacker the vast advantage of striking the first blow, or at least attempting to do so.
But thereafter we may return the attention with what should optimally be overwhelming violence.

"The best defense is a good offense." This is true, and while we cannot apply it strictly to personal defensive conduct, we can propose a corollary:

"The best personal defense is an explosive counterattack."

 

[marlinluvr]

Great post Ridgerunner665 and thanks for sharing your stories. Glad you made it out unharmed in both instances as we know things could have turned out drastically different had you not been prepared.

 

[riflerick]

I drove cross country and Canada until a few years back. I never had trouble at a truck stop, but it wasn"t hard to find nearby. Everything from automatic gun fire around NYC, shooting near my truck in New Mexico, attempted break and enter in NJ, insurence fraud setup in MO, then having two Baltimore cops pull their guns on me in the wee morning hours as I approached them to ask directions. I could keep going with this but you know what it"s like. I never carried a firearms because of crossing borders and all the red tape, but I always had a nail hammer on the floor next to my seat!!!!!!

riflerick

 

[gunrunner]

With me its the opposite Ridgerunner,I try to stay out of the TAs,and flying hooks.Like to get my fuel then get out. I Have slept on ramps,closed filling stations, parking lots,and such alot more than big truck stops. Because I feel theres less meaness goes on.and if someones around my truck,there up to something! But at the same time it puts me on my own to deal with the bad guys, Catch 22 I guess. Its sad that people will call the law fast. But there slow to help,if at all.I try to do things the way I thinks right. Beleive me when I tell ya,Id of tackled the other guy for ya and his head would be a little swoll up when they got there. Im only a hour from the TA in columbia,and guess you know the lizard thicket Truck stop. There to close to home for me to stop. If Im that close I can eat at the house.Ive had some bad times myself in Philly,DC, Atlanta,and a few more places.Keep a Browning 380,with me working. You take care Driver,If Gunrunners around ,hes got your back. Me and you are a pair thatll beat a full house any day ;D

 

[Ridgerunner665]

You take care Driver,If Gunrunners around ,hes got your back. Me and you are a pair thatll beat a full house any day ;D

Yes indeed...and I do believe you!

That goes both ways my friend

I do often park in the truckstops (Pilots and Flyin J's) that are our fuel stops...mostly to get the wifi so I can watch a little TV during my downtime. I also eat a lot for a little guy ;D, and having food nearby is always good. I do keep stuff in the truck, but just snacks mostly.

I sometimes stay on the road for 4-6 weeks at a time before going home (when freight is moving good) so I kinda have to hang in the truckstops to do laundry, take showers, eat, and watch a lil TV...to have some sort of "recreation".

It is a catch 22, like you said.

 

[M700]

Got a 911 call from a trucker once. He'd been about ready to leave town, was parked down by the river near an apple warehouse. We grow a lot of apples around here. A naked, wet, crazy guy climbed in the cab of the truck with him.

The trucker bailed out and called for help. Turns out the crazy guy had peeled off his clothes and dove into the Columbia River a quarter or half mile upstream from the parked truck, and when he got tired of swimming, or cold, he decided to warm up in the truck.

I arrived, no backup available, and told Mr. Crazy to get out of the truck. Nope. Not going. Well, I didn't have a TASER then, and I didn't want to use pepper spray in the cab of the guy's truck... So I hauled myself up in there. Mr. Crazy retreated to the sleeper area and thankfully I was a whole lot bigger and stronger than him. Let me tell you, fighting a crazy, wet, naked guy in a sleeper cab is not fun! Got him pretty well under control, then was having one heck of a time actually getting him out of the cab.

A big ol' guy riding a bicycle stopped to see what was going on, reached up and grabbed ol' Mr. Crazy and gave a mighty tug on his legs. He landed down on the pavement, a little worse for the wear. Turns out, that's a long way down. Yup. Especially handcuffed. Ouch.

The trucker was more than happy to have Mr. Crazy out of his truck, and soon got underway. I gave Mr. Crazy a ride to public housing for a few days, stopping to get his clothes where he'd left them, neatly folded by the river's edge. Sheesh...

If Mr. Trucker had been armed, I think he could have made one heck of a case for at least drawing, and maybe even shooting Mr. Crazy. Glad it didn't come to that though.

Have some more good trucker/cop stories. We tend to get along real well, I know the narrow streets in our town aren't easy for them to negotiate with a big rig.

Later, Guy

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Yep...a driver has to be prepared for anything! (very similar to LEO's in that respect)

And do I mean ANYTHING....from naked nut cases to armed attackers (and beyond)

 

[gunrunner]

A wrist rocket slingshot and a bag of marbles,are better than bare hands at times tire billys also. I feel good about my chances,as for as taking care of myself. But Im smart enough to know, That I can be had. Between Service, and bouncing,I try to be aware of my surroundings at all times. But the bad guys are allways coming up with different stuff,Its how they make their living.Know what M700s talking about too. Wet with water,mud, are blood,yours are theres, its hard to get a hold are a decent punch in most times.I was asked one time with my skills, and always being a driver,with first aid training. Why I didnt do scurity work?? The money is better than I was making!! I said cause Im old,fat and crippled up from doing it for hardly nothing ;D ;D Im all that,and my tuff days are over with..But I want stand by and let bad guys win out.Never!!! You guys are my friends,Yall watch your 6s. Gunrunner,,

 

[Gunjunkie]

I didn't cross the border .. but I always had one with me.. never needed it.. came close a few times.. but was lucky

 

[Charlie98]

As a company driver (I drove for the company that has big orange trucks... ;D ... I had wanted to drive for them since I was 6!) there was a no firearms policy... understandably. In 1996 I bought my own truck (teamed up with my brother... even taught him how to drive) and, although there was still the no firearms policy, we had an AMT 380 on the truck. As O/O's we didn't go to Canada, so that was OK. We had it in the console a few times, depending on where we went, otherwise it was in the sleeper, out of the way. I also had a 20oz framing hammer I used to bonk tires with and a small fire extinguisher right inside the door, next to the seat. Ever had a face full of fire redardant?

I actually liked the bigger truck stops, the parking was usually pretty decent and, at the time, most of them were fairly new. I started driving right after I got out of the Army in 1989, right on the cusp of the big trucker boom and they were building them everywhere. Back then I could live on $100 a week, even eating in the truck stops... try that today. I would go out for 6 months at a time, so I lived out there.

We drove out to Nevada from Texas over Christmas in the pickup... stopping to get gas and see some of the old places again. I don't know how drivers make it these days... $4 diesel, $12 dinners, $8 lunches? And the nice, new truck stops of 1996 are the rundown poopholes of 2011.

Granted, I didn't have a cell phone, computer, WiFi or any of that nice stuff...

Given the state of things these days, I would probably start carrying now, license or not.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I drove for that orange company for a while...they bought the company that I started driving with (Metler).

They are the ones who nearly fired me twice...both times over the same thing.

It was during orientation...they spewed that nonsense about a federal law prohibiting concealed carry in a truck at me...Knowing I was right and they were wrong I called them on it, right there in front of everybody...dropped the FMCSR handbook on the desk in front of him and said "Show me..." ;D

He immediately started stammering even more BS...when he stopped...I began stating the facts of the matter and told him if Schneider didn't want guns in their trucks, thats fine...grow a pair and say so! There is no need to blow BS at everybody and insult their intelligence (truck drivers have feelings too )...I got to meet "the boss" over that one. (I still didn't back down...I feel strongly about this, and I'm not afraid to go job hunting)

The next time was during an annual training thing (BS refresher course type thing)...it went about the same way, but "the boss" told him to "let it rest" when he tried to get me fired that time...that tells me, "the boss" knew damn well I was right.

Schneider turned out to be the best company I have ever worked for...really!

I carried anyway, and I figure they knew it...but, just like now...I didn't advertise it to all the drivers. (its up to them to look after their own needs)

The company I work for now remains silent on the matter...except on certain occasions when you get one of them out to themselves (off the record type stuff)...they are great guys (the owner, the VP of safety, president of safety...they all know me by name, truck number, and reputation)...hunters, shooters, and fishermen all...my kinda folks!

I don't go to Canada or Mexico...I am a company driver, but I simply won't go and they know it ;D, that was the deal when they called asking me to come back after I left a few years ago.

Beside my Glock...I have a tire thumper (kinda like a mini baseball bat), a crow bar, a can of pepper spray...combine all that with the disposition of a grizzly bear, and I think I'm OK as long as I'm paying attention to my surroundings.

 

[gunrunner]

Its not what it used to be,thats for sure.Ridgerunner Im within 5 miles off I26 either ex,38.or 41, home every weekend.ex 38 has the HotSpot Truck stop,you can park there.Its safe.We dont put up with meaness here,And we dont call the police,the bad guys do! ;D ;D The big Honky tonk across the road is the one I worked at most. You ever get close,Hollar at me "Driver",My numbers in the book,or Ill give ya my cell #..Ill pick you up,Feed ya,my Debs a fine cook,and My shower is better ;D But Im going to warn ya,We will talk guns,and hunting ;D Dad came over the other day,was looking at all my deer heads,I said Daddy I need about 5 more He said its a wonder yall dont poke your eyes out in here ;D Your welcome anytime, and you ever get in a bind close, Ill come to help,or pick you up.Never feel bad about it either,Thats what friends are for Gunrunner,,

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Its not what it used to be,thats for sure.Ridgerunner Im within 5 miles off I26 either ex,38.or 41, home every weekend.ex 38 has the HotSpot Truck stop,you can park there.Its safe.We dont put up with meaness here,And we dont call the police,the bad guys do! ;D ;D The big Honky tonk across the road is the one I worked at most. You ever get close,Hollar at me "Driver",My numbers in the book,or Ill give ya my cell #..Ill pick you up,Feed ya,my Debs a fine cook,and My shower is better ;D But Im going to warn ya,We will talk guns,and hunting ;D Dad came over the other day,was looking at all my deer heads,I said Daddy I need about 5 more He said its a wonder yall dont poke your eyes out in here ;D Your welcome anytime, and you ever get in a bind close, Ill come to help,or pick you up.Never feel bad about it either,Thats what friends are for Gunrunner,,

I've been in the neighborhood most of the day...delivered in Columbia at 0900 this morning, went to Russellville, SC and got a load of particle board, now I'm at the Wilco in Great Falls, SC...stopped for the night, then off to Ohio tomorrow.

I get down here quite a bit...I spent the whole weekend at the J there in Columbia...I know the Hot Spot you are talking about, I've been there a few times.

I will holler at you the next time I'm here for a weekend...you have my word on it!

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Its not what it used to be,thats for sure.Ridgerunner Im within 5 miles off I26 either ex,38.or 41, home every weekend.ex 38 has the HotSpot Truck stop,you can park there.Its safe.We dont put up with meaness here,And we dont call the police,the bad guys do! ;D ;D The big Honky tonk across the road is the one I worked at most. You ever get close,Hollar at me "Driver",My numbers in the book,or Ill give ya my cell #..Ill pick you up,Feed ya,my Debs a fine cook,and My shower is better ;D But Im going to warn ya,We will talk guns,and hunting ;D Dad came over the other day,was looking at all my deer heads,I said Daddy I need about 5 more He said its a wonder yall dont poke your eyes out in here ;D Your welcome anytime, and you ever get in a bind close, Ill come to help,or pick you up.Never feel bad about it either,Thats what friends are for Gunrunner,,

Heck...thats only 182 miles from home for me (2.5 hour drive...in a car)

Yep...we'll have a visit soon.

 

[Charlie98]

He said its a wonder yall dont poke your eyes out in here

That's funny, I don't care who you are! ;D ;D ;D

 

[Cowboy gun]

It's sad how truckers get treated in someplaces, years back while stationed in N. Chicago, I was driving through Chicago behind a truck, a cadillac passed both of us doing about 90, an Ill. State Trooper pulled off the side of the road slipped between me and the truck, (we were doing about 70) and pulled the truck over ignoring the Caddy. I pitched a fit and found out later that the Ill. State Police had a quota for illegal firearms and they were singling out the truckers as they more than anyone else carry firearms and in Cook Cty, (Chicago) almost anything is illegal. I was on my way to pick up my Marlin 336 I had purchased at an earlier gunshow, and legally had to drive around Cook Cty to get it home because of the magazine capacity.

 

[Crosstimbers Okie]

Great topic. Have any of you Truckers had issues with places you deliver to, say to prisons and other secure areas? Where would you store your gun if you had to make a pickup or delivery inside of a prison or airport hanger, or some other sensitive place?

 

[gunrunner]

I've only done that a couple of times,delivering const supplies to a prison in Ga. I pulled off the side of the road a few miles out in the country. Hid my pistol well on one side of the road, and the mags on the other side. Stopped and got em when I left. Not the best thing to do looking back but at the time it seemed like the thing to do. Ive been a lot of places, never had my truck searched..Had em open my door and look in but that's been it. Never took a gun across a border though.

 

[geartow]

I have carried in the truck but the time I did need to have it, it was in the shop. so the man who was beating on me and the truck over his tow bill being too high."I didn't drive it in the ditch" Got shot with a dry ppowder fire extingisher , stopped him in a hurry.

 

[Nodrama43]

anyone that watches the news, and sees the kind of crap happening on a regular basis to plain old regular folks, should have at least one gun within reach 101% of the time. Any truck driver that operates over the road, sleeps in truck stops/rest areas, that doesn't have a firearm for protection from predators is just looking to become a victim. In 23 years of police work I have never had an issue with one trucker and a gun and I have talked with plenty of them that had them.

To bad the guy in the range rover didnt have one. He should have shot the jerk that assaulted him directly between the eyes and let him dead in the center of street.