[TheOtherOne]

I don't think there would be... but I want to be on the safe side.

I keep a couple full mags in my car that fit my carry gun. I've got a CCW so I know I'm okay when I'm driving the car... but what about when the occasional non-CCW friend/family member that borrows my car? The gun is never in it but the magazines always are.

[mpthole]

All depends on the state.

[Logistar]

Yes. It depends. In some places, having a full mag inserted (with the chamber empty) constitutes an "unloaded" weapon.

You'll have to check the local laws.

I have been TRYING to stay legal. But despite my best efforts, I realize I just MIGHT have broken some laws in a neighboring state because I didn't completely understand their gun laws.

I am waiting for something like the following to happen to me one day...

Me: "What did I do wrong officer?"

Officer: "Don't you know it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon into a grocery store IF over 2.7% of it's sales are alcohol and it is Thursday between 3 amd 4:30 pm!!!??"

- of course, you gotta get caught first.

[Rant off]

[TheOtherOne]

Yeah, but I'm not even talking about the weapon. Just the magazine with some ammo in it. There's nothing illegal about having that is there?

[Hkmp5sd]

In some states and jurisdictions, possession of a single bullet is illegal. Depends totally where you are at.

[mpthole]

Maybe, maybe not. In MN you can have your weapon unloaded and cased and rounds in the magazine, but you can't have the magazine in the weapon. I believe in CA you cannot have any rounds in any part of the gun - chamber, cylinder or magazine/"clip". NJ is probably the same along with IL and Wash DC.

Totally depends on where you live.

[owen]

the last I checked, In MA a loaded magazine is a loaded gun.

Now I am in SC, so I don't check anymore

[geekWithA.45]

NJ law doesn't _actually_ _specify_ unloaded mags, but the common advice is to leave the mags unloaded, based on some probably well founded experiences of people getting abused.

But that's the Dark & Fascist State For Ya.


NJ: It's whats wrong with America.

[Standing Wolf]

If you're in Utah, it's probably legal, but a telephone call or E-mail to your state attorney general's office would be the quick and easy way to settle the matter.

When I lived in the People's Republic of California, I was told it's legal to have a box of ammunition in the car, but state law requires that any and all firearms, including magazines, be unloaded and secured in locked containers, and trunks count as locked containers, but glove boxes don't. Weird? Truly!

[CWL]

In CA, a loaded mag -even detached from the pistol, is considered a loaded weapon.

In San Mateo county, it has been recently adopted that possession of one single bullet on county lands is considered a crime.

[TheOtherOne]

In San Mateo county, it has been recently adopted that possession of one single bullet on county lands is considered a crime.
Dang! That's sad. Thank God I still live in Utah! I remember back when I was in junior high it was "the in thing" to put a .22 bullet in that little Levi's tag on your pants. I had one in the pocket tag on my Levi's jacket too. Anyone doing that now would probably be expelled from school.

[Don Gwinn]

Logistar, if you're talking about Illinois, you probably did. Very few people understand our laws.

At least a loaded magazine is not considered a loaded weapon or restricted in IL--IF you have a FOID or are from out of state.

[EOD Guy]

In CA, a loaded mag -even detached from the pistol, is considered a loaded weapon.

That is not, in itself, really true although it is a widely held misconception. It would be illegal if an individual was engaging in "criminal street gang activity" or was carrying a concealed firearm without a permit.

The loaded magazine is a loaded gun theory was struck down by the California Court of Appeals.

That being said, I was advised by an attorney familiar with California firearms law that, because of that misconception by many police officers, I could be subject to arrest if I transported a loaded magazine . He said I would beat the rap but that it would cost me money to do so.

[MrAcheson]

I believe a loaded mag is considered a firearm in Maryland as well.

[Logistar]

Don, I am extremely careful in Illinois. When I am traveling THROUGH an "unfriendly state", I go by the Federal guidelines to keep myself straight. I believe that if you store the guns and the ammo separately in the trunk you are OK ANYWHERE in the US as long as you are traveling through. Once you stop (other than for gas maybe) then you are bound by that state's laws. (The weapons go in the trunk when I reach Illinois.)

One of the things I was alluding to was when I carried in a restaurant in Tennessee. You could call this a "family" restaurant I suppose. However, (until recently) you could not carry in a restaurant that serves any alcohol in Tennessee.

Here in Ky, you are fine unless the establishment receives over 50% of their revenue from alcohol - basically CCW is prohibited in bars. I thought that Tennessee was the same. They weren't. :uhoh:

I apologize for this being off topic a bit. I am just frustrated with all the little variations in the laws from state to state. I think it is unreasonable to think that an individual could carry from state to state and ALWAYS be aware of every tiny prohibition.

In answering the original question, it MIGHT be legal OR illegal to carry loaded mags in a given state depending on whether you live there or are passing through. :confused:

Logistar

[10-Ring]

Loaded mag in the state of CA is a no-no! YMMV