How do laws for transporting rifles / shotguns differ from

[Matt 0]

handguns? I'm so used to the locked case in the locked trunk deal with the pistol that I've never looked into rifle transport, and now that I have one trying to figure out the appropriate method.

[coldsolderjoint 84]

In a nutshell, exactly the same way you transport your pistol for everyday purposes.

 

Without getting into the specifics, (Many threads here alrealdy deal with that). It has to be unloaded, ammo separate, in the trunk. If no trunk, the state police recommend it to be locked in a separate case

 

From what I understand, the way the law is written, it allows you to transport an unloaded long gun without restrictions if you have your FPID on you. However, this is somewhat subjective and is generally not recommended to test this out unless you have a legal fee fund alrealdy set up.

[Guest]

handguns? I'm so used to the locked case in the locked trunk deal with the pistol that I've never looked into rifle transport, and now that I have one trying to figure out the appropriate method.

 

this is my opinion after having read the law and numerous discussions on this forum..

 

the only difference between the two is that you can only transport a pistol to and from the range.. there does not appear to be limitations on transporting a long gun.. additionally the idea of locking the gun in the trunk is only of relevance if the trunk of the vehicle is NOT separate from the passenger compartment..

 

transport in NJ as I understand it..

 

handgun,

ONLY to and from the range, to and from a gunsmith, OR place of purchase.

car with trunk - unloaded in a secure container (not necessarily locked)

car with no trunk (hatch, SUV, etc.) unloaded in a locked container.

the key is to limit access to the occupants of the vehicle.

 

long gun

no specification of destination necessary..

car with trunk - unloaded in a secure container (not necessarily locked)

car with no trunk (hatch, SUV, etc.) unloaded in a locked container.

the key is to limit access to the occupants of the vehicle.

 

again this is my understanding of the law as it is written..

[PK90 3,573]

I 99% agree with Damagedworld, but would disagree with the "car with trunk - unloaded in a secure container (not necessarily locked)" portion.

All weapons being transported under paragraph (2) of subsection b., subsection e., or paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection f. of this section shall be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package, or locked in the trunk of the automobile in which it is being transported, and in the course of travel shall include only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under the circumstances.

IMO, I do not believe that you need a case if it goes in the trunk. I never do and neither do tens of thousand hunters.

[Guest]

I 99% agree with Damagedworld, but would disagree with the "car with trunk - unloaded in a secure container (not necessarily locked)" portion.

All weapons being transported under paragraph (2) of subsection b., subsection e., or paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection f. of this section shall be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package, or locked in the trunk of the automobile in which it is being transported, and in the course of travel shall include only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under the circumstances.

IMO, I do not believe that you need a case if it goes in the trunk. I never do and neither do tens of thousand hunters.

 

 

well i got close

 

at least i didnt say the ammo had to be locked up

[PK90 3,573]

BUT ammo does have to be locked up if in the passenger compartment per Federal Law, just not separate.

 

 

 

 

 

Eeeh! There's that "S" word again.

[Guest]

BUT ammo does have to be locked up if in the passenger compartment per Federal Law, just not separate.

 

 

 

 

 

Eeeh! There's that "S" word again.

 

 

is that only when transporting a firearm also? the reason i ask is.. i go to the store and buy ammo.. i drive a Mustang hatch.. so do i need to LOCK UP the ammo till i get home? :?

[Guest]

I 99% agree with Damagedworld, but would disagree with the "car with trunk - unloaded in a secure container (not necessarily locked)" portion.

All weapons being transported under paragraph (2) of subsection b., subsection e., or paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection f. of this section shall be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package, or locked in the trunk of the automobile in which it is being transported, and in the course of travel shall include only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under the circumstances.

IMO, I do not believe that you need a case if it goes in the trunk. I never do and neither do tens of thousand hunters.

 

 

When hunting if you have your hunting license on you, the gun NEEDS to be in the case, this would be a violation of fish and game rules to be in posession of a hunting lic, and lets say you are moving to a different spot, the guns need to go in the case if getting to that different spot means driving a car, yet on the flip side, you can leave a shotgun in your trunk for as long as you want, go wherever you want with NO SPECIFIC DESTINATION...the paranoid folks on here will say things like "LEGAL FUND SET UP", and "GOOD LUCK WINNING THAT ARGUMENT IN NJ", (keep in mind I am not insulting anyone) If a cop stops me and it EVEN GETS to where he is ALLOWED BY LAW TO SEARCH MY CAR he/she cannot argue with law. First off, NEVER tell a cop you have anything in your car...EVER!!!! YOU HAVE RIGHTS IN THE USA, TAKE THEM WHILE YOU CAN!!! Secondly if you are asked if you have a gun in your car, you would be wise to ask why that is a relevant question and what he is basing that on? (Did he see a gun?, are you wanted? Is there a suspision that I have a gun? Did I just commit a crime with a gun? etc). Finally if you do say you have a gun, you better be prepared to defend your right to have that gun. ALL GUNS ARE ILLEGAL IN NJ EXCEPT BY EXEMPTION...POSSESS AN FID OR HAVE A PISTOL PERMIT...(I am only addressing long guns here) SO what I do is carry a copy of the statues that say "A shotgun does not need a destination to be in the car" (im paraphrasing) I keep this in my trunk. Once the trunk opens, its the first thing they are going to see. The only way my trunk is coming open is for search warrants. Dont fall for verbal tricks. Your best bet is to be silent and keep it silent. If he wants to argue with the law that he is supposed to enforce thats when I ask for a supervisor, tell the cop that he is wrong, and you are breaking contact and will wait for someone who knows the law to show up, like a commanding officer or someone else who actually wont argue with the law that they are supposed to follow and enforce...Keep in mind that you HAVE RIGHTS, USE THEM FOR CHRISTSAKES and throw that puppy in the trunk!

[coldsolderjoint 84]

BUT ammo does have to be locked up if in the passenger compartment per Federal Law, just not separate.

 

 

 

 

 

Eeeh! There's that "S" word again.

 

Doesn't the federal law only apply to interstate travel? And doesn't it state that only 1 of the items (firearms OR ammunition) must be locked if in the passenger compartment?

[coldsolderjoint 84]

When hunting if you have your hunting license on you, the gun NEEDS to be in the case, this would be a violation of fish and game rules to be in posession of a hunting lic, and lets say you are moving to a different spot, the guns need to go in the case if getting to that different spot means driving a car,

 

 

I had to look this one up. I've hunted in PA where as long as you take the percussion cap off the nipple, or take the rounds out of the gun, you can just put it in the truck bed.

 

 

 

yet on the flip side, you can leave a shotgun in your trunk for as long as you want, go wherever you want with NO SPECIFIC DESTINATION...the paranoid folks on here will say things like "LEGAL FUND SET UP", and "GOOD LUCK WINNING THAT ARGUMENT IN NJ", (keep in mind I am not insulting anyone) If a cop stops me and it EVEN GETS to where he is ALLOWED BY LAW TO SEARCH MY CAR he/she cannot argue with law. First off, NEVER tell a cop you have anything in your car...EVER!!!! YOU HAVE RIGHTS IN THE USA, TAKE THEM WHILE YOU CAN!!! Secondly if you are asked if you have a gun in your car, you would be wise to ask why that is a relevant question and what he is basing that on? (Did he see a gun?, are you wanted? Is there a suspision that I have a gun? Did I just commit a crime with a gun? etc). Finally if you do say you have a gun, you better be prepared to defend your right to have that gun. ALL GUNS ARE ILLEGAL IN NJ EXCEPT BY EXEMPTION...POSSESS AN FID OR HAVE A PISTOL PERMIT...(I am only addressing long guns here) SO what I do is carry a copy of the statues that say "A shotgun does not need a destination to be in the car" (im paraphrasing) I keep this in my trunk. Once the trunk opens, its the first thing they are going to see. The only way my trunk is coming open is for search warrants. Dont fall for verbal tricks. Your best bet is to be silent and keep it silent. If he wants to argue with the law that he is supposed to enforce thats when I ask for a supervisor, tell the cop that he is wrong, and you are breaking contact and will wait for someone who knows the law to show up, like a commanding officer or someone else who actually wont argue with the law that they are supposed to follow and enforce...Keep in mind that you HAVE RIGHTS, USE THEM FOR CHRISTSAKES and throw that puppy in the trunk!

 

I'm not disagreeing with you that the law is written that way. But I'm not willing to take the chance on even trying to explain the laws to a cop. Or even on a more practical side.. why do I need my shotgun in my truck? Unless I decide to go to the range after work, its even just too much of a risk even in the sense of my truck getting broken into and the gun being stolen. If I think I'm going to be a hero in the hypothetical 287 traffic hostage showdown.. by the time I get the damn gun out of the case, find the mag or load it, etc.. it's going to be over anyways.

[PK90 3,573]

BUT ammo does have to be locked up if in the passenger compartment per Federal Law, just not separate.

 

 

 

 

 

Eeeh! There's that "S" word again.

 

Doesn't the federal law only apply to interstate travel? And doesn't it state that only 1 of the items (firearms OR ammunition) must be locked if in the passenger compartment?

[Guest]

BUT ammo does have to be locked up if in the passenger compartment per Federal Law, just not separate.

 

 

 

 

 

Eeeh! There's that "S" word again.

 

Doesn't the federal law only apply to interstate travel? And doesn't it state that only 1 of the items (firearms OR ammunition) must be locked if in the passenger compartment?

[Guest]

When hunting if you have your hunting license on you, the gun NEEDS to be in the case, this would be a violation of fish and game rules to be in posession of a hunting lic, and lets say you are moving to a different spot, the guns need to go in the case if getting to that different spot means driving a car,

 

 

I had to look this one up. I've hunted in PA where as long as you take the percussion cap off the nipple, or take the rounds out of the gun, you can just put it in the truck bed.

 

 

 

yet on the flip side, you can leave a shotgun in your trunk for as long as you want, go wherever you want with NO SPECIFIC DESTINATION...the paranoid folks on here will say things like "LEGAL FUND SET UP", and "GOOD LUCK WINNING THAT ARGUMENT IN NJ", (keep in mind I am not insulting anyone) If a cop stops me and it EVEN GETS to where he is ALLOWED BY LAW TO SEARCH MY CAR he/she cannot argue with law. First off, NEVER tell a cop you have anything in your car...EVER!!!! YOU HAVE RIGHTS IN THE USA, TAKE THEM WHILE YOU CAN!!! Secondly if you are asked if you have a gun in your car, you would be wise to ask why that is a relevant question and what he is basing that on? (Did he see a gun?, are you wanted? Is there a suspision that I have a gun? Did I just commit a crime with a gun? etc). Finally if you do say you have a gun, you better be prepared to defend your right to have that gun. ALL GUNS ARE ILLEGAL IN NJ EXCEPT BY EXEMPTION...POSSESS AN FID OR HAVE A PISTOL PERMIT...(I am only addressing long guns here) SO what I do is carry a copy of the statues that say "A shotgun does not need a destination to be in the car" (im paraphrasing) I keep this in my trunk. Once the trunk opens, its the first thing they are going to see. The only way my trunk is coming open is for search warrants. Dont fall for verbal tricks. Your best bet is to be silent and keep it silent. If he wants to argue with the law that he is supposed to enforce thats when I ask for a supervisor, tell the cop that he is wrong, and you are breaking contact and will wait for someone who knows the law to show up, like a commanding officer or someone else who actually wont argue with the law that they are supposed to follow and enforce...Keep in mind that you HAVE RIGHTS, USE THEM FOR CHRISTSAKES and throw that puppy in the trunk!

 

I'm not disagreeing with you that the law is written that way. But I'm not willing to take the chance on even trying to explain the laws to a cop. Or even on a more practical side.. why do I need my shotgun in my truck? Unless I decide to go to the range after work, its even just too much of a risk even in the sense of my truck getting broken into and the gun being stolen. If I think I'm going to be a hero in the hypothetical 287 traffic hostage showdown.. by the time I get the damn gun out of the case, find the mag or load it, etc.. it's going to be over anyways.

 

I fully understand what you are saying. I just dont see how the cop is going to win that argument. If the law is on my side, then whats to talk about? Hence the remain silent part and wait for someone who knows something to show up. I see it on youtube all the time, guy gets stopped for open carry, it takes the cops 1 hour to detain the guy and go over and over again reading the statue. One cop keeps trying to twist the statement into something he likes so he can arrest the guy, one cop tells him he is dead wrong, the guy is free to go, supervisor calls the patrolman and tells him to let the man go. Most of the cops in PA have gone through RETRAINING so there are very few issues there because the KNOW THE LAWS...NJ's laws are such a mess that we have to rely on AG opinions of what the law actually says...what a scamarama!!!

I also would not think it practical to keep it in the trunk, my fear is getting rear ended and my gun gets broken...

[coldsolderjoint 84]

BUT ammo does have to be locked up if in the passenger compartment per Federal Law, just not separate.

 

 

 

 

 

Eeeh! There's that "S" word again.

 

Doesn't the federal law only apply to interstate travel? And doesn't it state that only 1 of the items (firearms OR ammunition) must be locked if in the passenger compartment?

[coldsolderjoint 84]

I fully understand what you are saying. I just dont see how the cop is going to win that argument. If the law is on my side, then whats to talk about? Hence the remain silent part and wait for someone who knows something to show up. I see it on youtube all the time, guy gets stopped for open carry, it takes the cops 1 hour to detain the guy and go over and over again reading the statue. One cop keeps trying to twist the statement into something he likes so he can arrest the guy, one cop tells him he is dead wrong, the guy is free to go, supervisor calls the patrolman and tells him to let the man go. Most of the cops in PA have gone through RETRAINING so there are very few issues there because the KNOW THE LAWS...NJ's laws are such a mess that we have to rely on AG opinions of what the law actually says...what a scamarama!!!

I also would not think it practical to keep it in the trunk, my fear is getting rear ended and my gun gets broken...

 

OK, I see what you are saying.. I'd just rather not be on the side of the road for an hour or two just because I got a speeding ticket and the cop saw my rifle case in the back seat (I drive a crew cab pickup) when I went out for a drive. If I'm going hunting or to the range or something, that's a different story.

 

I guess I'm just getting older. If I had gotten my FPID when I was 18, I'd probably do the same thing.

[Guest]

The other question I have about this is, where does it say in the NJ Statues that in a Vehicle without a trunk, that the gun and ammo has to be locked? There is a statement on the State Police Website, but there are no statute numbers, and it seems like they took it off of the Federal Law as a Guideline. Would this be in case law? Assuming I stayed in NJ while driving around with my unloaded rifle in a case (not locked) in the back seat of a vehicle which does not have a trunk, I would technically be OK. (I think)

 

 

I am interested in this question as well..

[Guest]

I fully understand what you are saying. I just dont see how the cop is going to win that argument. If the law is on my side, then whats to talk about? Hence the remain silent part and wait for someone who knows something to show up. I see it on youtube all the time, guy gets stopped for open carry, it takes the cops 1 hour to detain the guy and go over and over again reading the statue. One cop keeps trying to twist the statement into something he likes so he can arrest the guy, one cop tells him he is dead wrong, the guy is free to go, supervisor calls the patrolman and tells him to let the man go. Most of the cops in PA have gone through RETRAINING so there are very few issues there because the KNOW THE LAWS...NJ's laws are such a mess that we have to rely on AG opinions of what the law actually says...what a scamarama!!!

I also would not think it practical to keep it in the trunk, my fear is getting rear ended and my gun gets broken...

 

OK, I see what you are saying.. I'd just rather not be on the side of the road for an hour or two just because I got a speeding ticket and the cop saw my rifle case in the back seat (I drive a crew cab pickup) when I went out for a drive. If I'm going hunting or to the range or something, that's a different story.

 

I guess I'm just getting older. If I had gotten my FPID when I was 18, I'd probably do the same thing.

 

 

I hear ya on that one...a trunk is a different story than a pick up. If you got your FID at 18, you would be used to riding around with a shotgun...every other state (incl NY) its no biggie at all...even in NJ, its really no biggie...

[mipafox 438]

BUT ammo does have to be locked up if in the passenger compartment per Federal Law, just not separate.

 

Eeeh! There's that "S" word again.

 

Doesn't the federal law only apply to interstate travel? And doesn't it state that only 1 of the items (firearms OR ammunition) must be locked if in the passenger compartment?

 

[coldsolderjoint 84]

BUT ammo does have to be locked up if in the passenger compartment per Federal Law, just not separate.

 

Eeeh! There's that "S" word again.

 

Doesn't the federal law only apply to interstate travel? And doesn't it state that only 1 of the items (firearms OR ammunition) must be locked if in the passenger compartment?

 

[mipafox 438]

It sounded to me like somebody said federal law requires you to keep ammo and guns separate in a car. Oh, wait, they did. Obviously not true.

[ianargent 7]

2C:39-5

 

c.Rifles and shotguns. (1) Any person who knowingly has in his possession any rifle or shotgun without having first obtained a firearms purchaser identification card in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.2C:58-3, is guilty of a crime of the third degree.

 

(2)Unless otherwise permitted by law, any person who knowingly has in his possession any loaded rifle or shotgun is guilty of a crime of the third degree.

______________________

 

c(1) is identical in wording to the handgun carry permit reg (2C:39-5 b), with the difference of FID instead of "permit to carry [a handgun]"

 

Just for the sake of completeness, 2C:39-5 e then goes and restricts possession of "Firearms or other weapons in educational institutions." and does so pretty comprehensively.

 

2C:39-6 outlines the exemptions to the flat bans of 2C:39-5, incidentally; the part we care about there is subsection f.

 

All information drawn from http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/about/fire_ag2.html which is about the quickest way to find the relevant section.

 

That having been said, I would trust that section about as far as 2C:58-3 f guarantees "the licensing authority who shall investigate the same and, unless good cause for the denial thereof appears, shall grant the permit or the identification card, or both, if application has been made therefor, within 30 days from the date of receipt of the application for residents of this State and within 45 days for nonresident applicants" (IE - that permits/cards shall be issued within 30 days). Because, as you know, the law means what the courts say it does, not what was written down...

 

Also, as far as I know, the term "loaded" is not defined anywhere in NJ statute law; and I have no way of checking case law.