Automakers have tried all kinds of tricks and deals over the years to shift cars. They’ll throw in metallic paint at no extra cost, or upgrade you to a nice set of alloy wheels. They’ll whip up sticker packs and chuck on all kinds of fancy badges to convince you you’re getting something special. Or, in Chevy’s case, they’ll just throw in a gun.
Meet the Chevrolet Outdoorsman—the trim for outdoors types, as you might have guessed. Rather than being offered on a single model, it was essentially a package of accessories available across a range of off-road-ready Chevrolets. In 1985, you could get it on full-size trucks as well as the smaller Chevy S-10 and even the Blazer. It didn’t matter if you fancied a two-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive, you could pick the package all the same.
There were three packages to choose from depending on your particular hobbies and lifestyle. Chevy intended the Outdoorsman trim to give you a truck ready to go camping, hunting, or fishing right out of the showroom.
Duly Equipped
As you might imagine, it was the hunting pack that included the complimentary firearm. Chevrolet would happily equip you with a .30-30 Winchester Model 94Ae XTR rifle, branded as the Winchester Chevy Outdoorsman.
The lever-action carbine proudly wore a Chevrolet badge on the stock. You also got a Tasco W 4×32 scope to mount on top, along with a Winchester cap, shooting glasses, and a gun case to keep it safe. Not that you had to use it—Chevy also threw in a rear-window rifle rack so you could mount the rifle right in your truck.
If your tastes were more towards fishing, Chevy would instead hook you up with a bunch of fishing rods and reels to suit. To help ensure the fish got on board, you’d also get a lure kit and a tackle box to keep everything in. You also got a Chevy Outdoorsman jacket and a Chevy cap, and a Fiskars filleting knife for processing your catch.
As for the campers, Chevy would kit you out with a tent, sleeping bag, and lantern. In particular, you’d be sleeping in a Bass Pro Shops Outdoors Family Skydome, which sounds far more grandiose than it really is. You’d also get a 12-volt cooler and warmer and a cooking kit so you could keep yourself fed in the backcountry.
Chevy put its marketing weight behind the Outdoorsman trim, going so far as to record an ad with football player and all-around celebrity personality Dick Butkus. In the video above, you get to see the goodies from each package laid out, each apparently adding up to $500 in value, along with the Dick Butkus Singers rattling off the jingle of the time—”Nothing Works Like A Chevy Truck!”
The buy-a-truck, get-a-gun offer didn’t last forever. Most records seem to indicate this was a one-year special for 1985, with the word on the street being that only 200 or so were built. A handful still exist, on the streets or turning up on auction sites from time to time. Finding an example with the original accessory pack still complete is rare in the extreme.
A rare surviving example of the Chevrolet Outdoorsman.
RestoreAMuscleCar recently sold a nicely restored example of the Chevrolet Outdoorsman, complete with the original dual-rifle window rack.
The Winchester guns also show up from time to time on various gun auction sites. They’re often complete in their original packaging, showing the Chevy pickup right on the front of the box.
However, the Outdoorsman name would soon return. In 1987, you could buy a Chevrolet Suburban Outdoorsman targeted directly at the fishing market. It was rigged with interior storage compartments specifically intended for things like gas tanks, tackle boxes, and outboard motors, ensuring they could be stored safely without risk of tips or spills out on the road. Chevy didn’t include a gun this time around. 
Not The First
As it turns out, Dodge had tried something very similar to Chevy, albeit while leaving less evidence behind. Around 1984, you could purchase a Dodge pickup with the Marksman 1000 package. Seldom few details of the package remain, but it included decals on the truck bed and, of course, a rifle.
In fact, Dodge’s package came with a very similar gun to what you would get from Chevy in 1985. The Winchester Dodge Marksman was again a 94 XTR lever action carbine, again chambered in the popular .30-30 caliber. Much as the Chevy gun wore the bowtie badge, the Dodge rifle had the Ram’s Head taking pride of place on the stock.
A restored example of a 1984 Dodge Ram Marksman 1000.
Since the 1980s, few to no manufacturers have specified firearms as pack-in extras for their vehicles. That’s not to say the idea died entirely, though. As you can see in the Ford brochure below, the Ford F-Series Super Duty could be had with a lockable under-seat rifle storage, albeit sans gun.
Free guns come back as an automotive sales strategy periodically, but most often as a gimmick pursued by individual dealers. 2010 saw a Florida dealership throwing in $400 gun store vouchers with new car purchases, branding the deal “Buy A Truck, get a free AK-47.” Later on in 2016, a New Hampshire dealership made headlines when the owner offered AR-15 rifles or 9mm handguns to customers who purchased a new car.
Ultimately, neither Chevrolet nor Dodge made huge waves in the 1980s with their rifle offerings. For that reason alone, it’s perhaps unlikely that free guns will become a common item on automotive option lists going forward. Some truck owners might be in the market for a gun, to be sure. But more often than not, they’re going to want to pursue that purchase separately, rather than shoot whatever the dealer threw in with the vehicle.
Image credits: Chevrolet, Rock Island Auction via screenshot
These give a new meaning to “truck gun”. Although there are guns made by truck companies. International Harvester made M1 rifles in the 1950s, Albion Motors made Enfield revolvers in WWII, and Toyo Kogyo (Mazda) made Arisaka rifles.
Throw in a carton of smokes and a case of Old Milwaukee and you got a deal, Boy.
Oh man. I hope Ian gets a hand on one of those Forgotten Weapons. Chevy on a rifle is quite the unique provenance.
That would be phenomenal
Am I the only one having an OCD fit that the graphics of the Dodge Marksman imply the entire cartridge is flying through the air rather than just the bullet? (see vid @ 0:51)
As far as that goes, it also doesn’t look like a .30-30 round but more like a .30-’06, and either way the nose is far too pointed for prudent use in a tubular magazine.
There’s a thought!
That’s 65% more bullet per bullet! (Cave Johnson approves)
Hahah, I came here to say this. I’m certain the entire graphics team had no idea of how an actual bullet/cartridge works.
A certain crime semi-docko uses a clip of fired handgun shells hitting the ground that are clearly long rifle cartridges.
When I bought a Miata, a fellow enthusiast/coworker complained about how he couldn’t drive it to Seattle.
“Why not?” I said.
“No good place to stash my handgun in that car, I’m not going into a city without it.”
*sigh*
I tend to suspect a certain subset of the PNW population just wants an excuse to shoot someone without the difficulty of joining the military.
Or the burden of good judgment
Firearm is pretty necessary to retain a vehicle in many cities.
Lotus drivers have mounted a grip style duty holster next to the shifter.
Looks right.
Having been raised in rural Oregon mumble, mumble decades ago, I have to say this is just wrong. How did the seller not know to turn the rifle upside-down so that the notch along the top of the stock can rest in one of the hooks and so that the rifle’s center of gravity is lower? Much more stable that way.
I seems to be a cardboard cut out.. so don’t be too harsh.
Point taken but that’s still no excuse for the seller to promote poor practice.
Lever actions are really fun to shoot, I have a couple, and it seems like 90% of the ones you come across these days are a special commemorative edition of one sort or another
One of mine is a Boy Scouts Venturing Division 20th Anniversary model, which I picked up cheap when whoever special ordered it originally ghosted and the gun shop wanted it gone
A thing of beauty, too bad it’ll never happen again. Not that new GM trucks are worth the money these days anyhow.
NOTHING is worth the money nowadays….
Too bad these Blazers had rust issues in the rust belt. That is what they have for being cheaply made…but still they are fairly reliable.
There are some examples of K5 Blazers in Qatar, and they are in really good condition. Mostly privately owned by Locals however…
I don’t know if I fully agree. I think there are new cars out there that are worth the money- but really only lower trims and Japanese. I don’t really think any regular vehicle is truly worth more than 45-50k, but mid 30s for reliable new car maybe. After driving GM trucks for nearly 20 years, I ponied up for a nearly new 2022 tacoma- the 6-speed manual which made it worth it.
Yeah, rust is the only major weakness of the square body trucks – that is what got my 1984 k10 up here in Western NY. That was a significantly better truck reliability wise than the 2010 Sierra I replaced it with.
Even Tacomas are very expensive nowdays….
2010 GMCs had oil consumption issues. EPA destroyed reliability….
Yeah the tacomas are expensive, but they are about the same price at lower trims as Nissan, ranger, etc and better quality IMO.
As for the GMC I did my research and got a 4.8 truck so no cylinder deactivation woes or oil consumption issues. Problem is they cheaped out on every single other component on the truck and everything fell apart at 100k except the engine and transmission. Glad I got an extended warranty because they shelled out 8-10k in repairs from 100k to 200k before they cut me off.
Better quality is subjective. The newer ones are NOT.
1GR models are good however…
GMC/Chevrolet went bankrupt then, so yes the QC was atrocious…
Damn! Now I want that Dodge Winchester 30-30.
Not knowledgeable about guns. Is a carbine really the weapon you want to pair with a scope? i thought they were short-barreled rifles, which seems to imply less accuracy at distance than the rifles i usually see during hunting season (at least by analogy of target pistols vs. snub noses)?
The scope is a 4×32, so not exactly high powered. To me, it’s a .30-30 and a 4×32, which would make it a real nice deer gun in my parts for that era. You can reach out to maybe 200 yards, and still have no problems at 50 years. Good pairing if you ask me, given you’ve got the right terrain for it.
Agreed. Winchester 94 in .30-30 is always going to be a pretty nice package. Setting aside any squabbling about pre/post-64, Winchester vs USRAC, etc.
I’ve been eyeing a Marlin 336 since they changed hands recently; but boy, did that seem to result in a price increase. Seems to have translated to improved quality though.
Barrel length doesn’t affect inherent accuracy (the absolute accuracy of the rifle) but it does affect practical accuracy (how easy it is for a person to achieve the inherent accuracy). An optic can negate the difference, since the practical accuracy difference comes from the reduced distance between front and rear sights.
These are deer hunting rifles so short length is useful for walking in brush, and accuracy is not that important for this type of hunting. These types of rifles are not particularly accurate to begin with and don’t need to be. A low magnification optic can be helpful in that situation.
thanks to both of you for the knowlege. I hadn’t realized the ranges were so close in deer hunting, nor thought about traversing the brush. i guess i just pictured parking the Outdoorsman below the blind and popping off quarter mile shots at Bambi prancing across the meadow.
That might be a thing elsewhere, but at least in the Northeastern US, which has a lot of deciduous forest, it is a short range activity. Bowhunting is definitely a thing here.
1/4 mile is 440 yards. Most people don’t have near the skill or gear for that, much less an appropriate space.
I hunted antelope for years on the wide open prairies of southeastern Wyoming and never bagged one at much more than 300 yards. In Pennsylvania where I grew up hunting whitetail deer a shot of more than 150 yards was quite rare and we were often hunting in forests with mountain laurel/dense brush and climbing up and down steep ridges. Under those conditions a shorter rifle with mild 4x optics was a very sensible choice. Even for western state conditions short rifles often made sense as they could be easily stowed in a vehicle or carried in a horse or ATV scabbard.
Still not too uncommon to see at individual dealers here in Idaho, but it remains a bit cringe. I would be more interested if they threw archery supplies in with the purchase of some unusual Italian car, but to each their own.
My local Toyota dealer gives away free sausage with every purchase. I wouldn’t turn away a free bow or rifle though.
Anything under 48″ easily fits under the rear seat in my truck.
Imagine the marketing possibilities in cities.
Handguns modified for urban youth to cycle reliably held sideways, marketed for appropriate cars.
Dashcams rigged to Livestream police chases live after drivebys gone wrong!
The unusual offerings from Italy in rare calibers are a marketers dream.
Super 38 is still offered there.
Tanfoglia paired with car styling!
Non-Americans looking at this: “This was for real, and not just a joke?”
Well, except anyone living in rural UK, most of Australia, most of Scandinavia…anywhere that DIY wildlife control or hunting is common.
America’s main problem is that we are hunting the wrong stuff. And we have too many handguns and “assault weapons” which is basically just a rifle with a scary-looking grip. Nobody really knows. It’s like the SCOTUS definition of porn.
Assault rifle definition is exactly the same as porn.
If it gives you a boner, then it is.
Not all porn is so reliable.
Excellent! so my gun safe is assault weapon free!
A+
Wait SCOTUS? as is “no serious value” or the Meese commission “I know it when I see it”
Are those non-American’s going to forget that things like the Land Rover Holland & Holland Edition existed?
I think the distinction is that the Holland and Holland edition didn’t actually include the firearm itself.
I assume real, but post-1968 a dealer would have to have a Federal Firearms License, and post-1993 conduct a criminal background check. I assume (but don’t know) that today dealers would partner with a FFL to make the actual transfer.
This is similar to buying a gun online today. I can “buy” a gun, meaning pay a seller for it, but it has to go to an FFL who will legally transfer it to me. I can’t receive it directly from the seller. Yes there are exceptions to this, especially by state.
Only purpose was to take FFLs from most people and price out the poor from owning firearms.
It succeeded in supercharging the black market.
Believe it or not, the term “shooting brake” did not originate in America.
Have you ever seen the marketing for hunting from Austria and Germany?
Makes hunting in USA look primitive.
Check YouTube for Xjagd videos esp in original languages.
Today you’re more likely to find an SUV next to a Target than a rifle.
I live in Texas. That SUV in the Target lot is very likely to be holding a rifle (or pistol).
Double meaning intentional?
Always
I really like Ford’s under seat storage. It’s really annoying fitting my shotgun or rifle into my single cab K2500. I don’t think a gun rack would work either, I’m too big.
I wonder what they gave away with the Indoorsman model? Booze and condoms, probably.
Or books and booze. But definitely always booze.
Condoms? Who needs them! You can’t catch anything from porn except a computer virus.
That was the vans featured here a few days ago
Pretty sure those came with a free bong and 8-track of the Edgar Winter Group’s “They Only Come Out at Night“.
An xbox, a microwave, and hot pockets for the gamer on the go.
If they tried this today, the rifle would be Bluetooth-enabled with a trigger interlock tied to the vehicle and cost $9.99/month if you wanted the rack to unlock on demand. Or you could pay $29.99 a month for the rifle with included Wifi hotspot if you want to venture more than 27 feet away from the vehicle (and it also serves as a wifi hotspot so you can read the news from your tree stand). Today’s Chevy is all about freedom!
I was in high school back then and did a lot of hunting and fishing. Just about the only thing I miss from the 70s and 80s is that there was less gun idiocy and idolatry than now.
At my little high school back in the 80’s it wasn’t uncommon during hunting season for us to have our hunting rifles in those window racks while parked on school property. We’d go hunt as soon as school let out. The only rules were the rifles stayed in the vehicle and that the vehicle stayed locked.
When I watched the Wonder Woman 1984 movie (not good) There was that scene where someone drops a hand gun in a mall and people panic. I was yelling, “I worked in a mall in the mid-1980s and that would have never happened. There would not have been any panic.”
But there would have been definite mocking for them being such an idiot.
We also made weapons in metal shop.
No one died.
In the 80s, my dad brought his shotgun to school to use for a presentation in class on how to disassemble, clean, and reassemble one. It wasn’t an issue at all and he got a good grade on it.
Reading that I thought “wow, how old was your dad when he became a father??”.. I need some more coffee.
I was allowed to handle and strip and assemble an early AR in middle school classroom, as a special thing.
A very rare and expensive gun then.
We had a pe class of target shooting with 22s, same middle school.
Same here, rural MO. Sometimes we’d go out BEFORE school! And first day of hunting season was “voluntary” to be at school!
And we had the local conservation agent come in every year for a school wide “hunter safety” assembly.
I used to take my rifle into school. Granted, it was my match rifle and it was because I was on the varsity rifle team. I simply dropped it off in the principal’s office in the morning and picked it up for practice when school ended. Oh, and we all carried knives back then and of course a large percentage of vehicles had an occupied gun rack because people went hunting before or after school. How times change.
Legal machine guns were still affordable then.
In my area of the South this is not that unusual.
Quite a number of dealers offer guns if you buy a new truck during or around hunting season.
Some of the BHPH Nissan dealers offer a piece with a filed off serial number.
I see the occasional gun rack, but it almost feels like ironic/retro decor today. Trucks have so much storage now, it’s kind of silly to keep it in plain view like this (even though it allows you to avoid problems with concealed weapon laws, which was part of the original intent. Now it’s just like asking to be robbed.
Makes a lot more sense for a truck on a ranch, where you might need the rifle for quick access to rabbits, prairie dogs, kangaroos, or whatever your local fauna requires 🙂
Totally agree. Back in small town Texas where I grew up we always had gun racks like that. Never a problem. I would never advertise I had something expensive in my cab today.
I think there should really be a bit of examination about that last sentence. Guns today really are expensive, especially compared to the ’60s when the military was handing off a ton of Garands and M1903s to make way for the awful early M14s. A Model 70 back in 1965 cost $120. That’s about $1,000 today. Meanwhile an overstock M1903 could be had for $30 which is about $300 today. A modern Model 70 is between $1,800 and $2,000, and an unmodified M1903 is about $1,200.
There’s a reason gun racks are now only the butt of redneck jokes.
Altima Big Energy Edition.
Was waiting for this…
A K5 and a lever action? I approve! Now just need to move to a little mountain town.
To me, this is right up there in coolness with the 911-frunk-specific luggage that Porsche used to offer.
I have an 1894 .23-.35 that was my grandfather’s. He got it and a new box of ammo in trade for a ’50 Chevy he had in the machine shed that hadn’t run in years and a neighbor wanted for parts. My grandfather would use it for hunting on his farm for the few remaining years he was alive. Without fail he got a deer every year. Fairly easy on your own farm in the upper midwest.
May years later, when my grandmother passed, and we were cleaning out the house, my dad looked in the box of ammo and realized that there were eight rounds missing. One for every year my grandfather had used the gun to go hunting. One shot per year for each deer.
The rifle is in perfect shape and a joy to shoot.
Can you still get ammo for that? Or are you having to do reloads?
You can get rounds, but they typically need to order them. I don’t fire it much because I don’t have much reason and want to keep it in good shape. It comes out occasionally if I am headed out with the HK and a friend wants to try it. It is standard iron sites and is accurate out to about 150y before my abilities fail.
Friend hunts wild turkey at 140 yards with a Super 38 1911 with iron sights.
That would be beyond my ability for any reliability. It would require far more practice than I am willing to invest in.
I would have thought so, but you can improve faster than you would think.
My instructor changed my approach to aiming and shooting style.
He coached me in some tactical skills.
It felt sloppy at first, but I was immediately better.
I worked for a contractor awhile, training students in psd and cat tactics, and some special operations teams.
I spent every second sharpening what I had been taught and it quickly felt natural.
Even training without firing sharpens your skills.
Don’t underestimate yourself or your potential.
My goal is to be accurate without sighting.
Big advantage firing from cover!
I am guessing the “surviving example” is stupidly lifted with tires too big? It just looks off. I like these old trucks though.
Alas, you can no longer buy a truck of this caliber.
COTD!
I would definitely say he has a shot at it.
bullseye.
“Give me a lever action big enough and I’ll shoot the world” –Archimedes
Dealerships around here try to keep the spirit of this alive. The guns aren’t cool automaker-branded versions, but there are dealerships giving away guns with vehicles at least a couple times a year.
You’ll shoot your eye out, dad. HO HO HO