Legality/Safety Of Storing a Long Gun in trunk

[Jericho_223]

Hi all! Eventually I plan on keeping a bugout bag in my car. Part of that, I feel, includes keeping a long gun handy, just in case. I'm wondering what the issues with this may be from a legal and safety standpoint. Hypothetically, it would be a rifle or shotgun stored unloaded in a locked case, with ammunition stored in the same vehicle. Any thoughts?

 

[General Geoff]

What is your location of residence (country/state/city)?

 

[SMMAssociates]

Jericho:

Here in OH, as long as it's unloaded, and the magazines (which can be loaded) are stored separately (not necessarily elsewhere in the car - another bag, or side pockets), you're OK.

There are other rules in OH, but they apply more to "in plain sight" storage. Not a good idea unless you're on the way to the range or "field", IMHO.

But this all varies by state, and perhaps even individual localities.

From a pure "spirit of the law" standpoint (and this may not necessarily be a lot of help), any firearm that's stored so you have to do a bit of work to get to it (giving an associated LEO lots of time to react) should be fine, but some states and other localities have goofy rules. Here in OH, until the end of March 2013, magazines had to be unloaded. "Permanent" magazines - like a shotgun tube - had to be unloaded, too. The shotgun tube still has to be, but removable magazines no longer have that problem.

Regards,

 

[Jericho_223]

My daily commute takes me through Fort Ann into Glens Falls where I work.

SMMAsociates:
That sounds reasonable. I have zero problem with keeping it locked, unloaded and separate from the ammunition. Again, this is only something that I'm even considering as a hypothetical, and then only if it is safe and legal.

 

[SMMAssociates]

Jericho:

I still don't know where those places are ....

Other than NY and IL, and maybe Hawaii, what OH is using is essentially the same as FOPA rules. That's "Firearms Owner's Protection Act" or something close to that.

Essentially, FOPA protects you if you're passing through a state in which you're not licensed, but the storage rules during such transport have been more or less accepted by most states for just having the guns in your vehicle. (I expect that a lot of states already had this in place.)

That's about a half-step above "in a rack in the rear window with the action open", or about a step above "leave it at home"....

STATE law will have the final say, though. If somebody knows which State they can probably be of even more help.

Regards,

 

[brickeyee]

Keep in mind any trunks are painfully easy to break into.

Punch out the lock, open the trunk.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Other than NY and IL

BTW, Even in Chi, in the trunk is OK in IL. In fact cased and unloaded in OK in the car here as well. Loaded mag OK as well. Just saying....


More to the topic: legally you are likely OK, but I would not advertise what you are up to unless needed. Also, keep info on the weapon (ie. serial #) handy if it is ever stolen ~ with or without the car. Don't make a trunk gun out of a weapon you aren't willing to lose for various reasons.

 

[oneounceload]

Not just loss, but climatic changes can wreak havoc on your gun while it rides around in your trunk

 

[X-Rap]

I don't know how often trunks are broken into statistically but it seems it would be rare unless it were well known that you had valuable items in there. Legally if it is unloaded and cased you should have no problem in most locals.
If it were me and I lived in a humid climate I'd take it in at least once a week and give it a good rubdown with a rust inhibiting lubricant.
FWIW I almost always have a long gun in my truck, I keep it out of site, uncased and loaded except for the chamber which is allowed in my state.

 

[docsleepy]

You might consider using a stout locked case, and chaining the case to the vehicle with fasteners that will not be easily removed. I once put a steel lock box and chained it to the vehicle.

The other thing to consider is using GREASE rather than oil to protect the firearm. On another area of this forum, I was informed that the Swiss have patched out their rifles with grease rather than oil for a century, so I tried it, and indeed it works. I used a gun grease. With a higher melting temp and lower vapor pressure, it should last a lot longer than oil. You could work it into the bolt, and into the trigger mechanism (somewhat sparinglhy) and wipe down the outside finish as well, then cover in some way if you need to protect the cushioning material of your case.

If you are in a saltwater environment, it will still need refreshing, but if not, that should last a long time.

 

[bikemutt]

In WA, long guns may be transported freely as long as they are unloaded. I believe the law may have it's roots in the dislike for shooting wildlife from a vehicle, in season or otherwise.

 

[rondog]

Fort Ann and Glens Falls - that's New York, right?

 

[Jericho_223]

That's right, upstate. Sorry I didn't mention that before haha. It's not something that I'm even sure I want to do yet, but I like having the knowledge that I can in the future.