Pick Up Truck Travel

[sroc112 24]

For those with a pick up and no trunk, what is best practice to transport firearms to/from store or range? Will you be ok under the following situation:

 

Gun in locked box, unloaded, empty magazines, under the rear driver side seat.

Ammo in locked box, separate from gun and magazines, under rear passenger seat.

 

How would this change, if at all, if you had someone sitting in the passenger seat? Someone sitting in the rear seat?

[InFamous 311]

Depends on the firearm. Handgun or Rifle/Shotgun? Either is fine as per your question. You can get away with a lot less "security" of locks with long guns and a FID card.

[Shortfuse 39]

As long as you have an FID Card you can have longarms in a gun rack on your rear window as long as their not loaded however i would not recomend it because the cop that pulls you over probably dosen't know that so you end up face down on the ground.  It's smart to always have your guns unloaded and in a locked case when transporting

[siderman 1,138]

This is in our Gun Law FAQS sticky, which wouldnt hurt for you to read up on anyway. Notice there is no mention of "locked (SUV/truck)" but everyone has there own comfort zone.- 

 

How To Transport

• Unloaded: The firearm must be unloaded, as in there must be no ammunition in the gun. NJ defines the word firearm meaning the actual gun, under current law transportation of a loaded magazine would not be considered a loaded gun
• Cased/Wrapped: If the vehicle has a defined trunk separate from the passenger compartment, the firearms are to put in the trunk. If no trunk is present (as in a SUV) the firearm must be in a fastened case/wrapped/etc.
• Destination: It is important to recognize that NJ dictates that your course of travel while transporting firearms should be as direct as is reasonably possible.

Quote

g. 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.

 

[Lambo2936 297]

You should contemplate getting a truck cap. I was always against them, being 22 and having an 'off road' decked out F150. That said, i wouldn't trade my cap for anything. It's so convenient to be able to leave crap in there without worrying about it being stolen right out or getting soaked. And unlike in the suburban, i don't have to worry about cargo hitting me in the head while i'm driving!

[sroc112 24]

No cap for me, sorry. But thanks for the suggestion

[Guest]

The back seat of my truck is more secure than the bed with a cap

[Carcano 14]

You should contemplate getting a truck cap. I was always against them, being 22 and having an 'off road' decked out F150. That said, i wouldn't trade my cap for anything. It's so convenient to be able to leave crap in there without worrying about it being stolen right out or getting soaked. And unlike in the suburban, i don't have to worry about cargo hitting me in the head while i'm driving!

 

I use one for that purpose, I can keep them away from the passenger area and out of the weather. I just throw my cases in the back and a separate range bag that's zipped up with ammo and mags in it. I haven't had any problems.  Factory cap and key, cap is bolted in about 14-18 spots IIRC so good luck ripping it off. Plus it doesn't hurt to pile crap on top of the cases...

 

Also, I never lock my guns with a trigger or action lock. I just case them.

[Lambo2936 297]

The back seat of my truck is more secure than the bed with a cap

Sure is, but i have a baby, and also haul large amounts of cargo on a regular basis. My cap is much more secure than the roll up vinyl one i had before, though, and its keyed the same as my truck to make everything easier. That said, a determined thief will get into your back seat just as easily. The difference being that fixing the cap will probably be much cheaper than a demolished truck.

[Lambo2936 297]

I use one for that purpose, I can keep them away from the passenger area and out of the weather. I just throw my cases in the back and a separate range bag that's zipped up with ammo and mags in it. I haven't had any problems.  Factory cap and key, cap is bolted in about 14-18 spots IIRC so good luck ripping it off. Plus it doesn't hurt to pile crap on top of the cases...

 

Also, I never lock my guns with a trigger or action lock. I just case them.

Same. I either put a lock on the bag's zippers, or in the M1a's case, just one of those cable locks since the bag its in doesnt lock. The AR's and such have hard cases with built in keyed locks, so i just use those. I hate trigger locks. If for some reason they fail or you lose your keys, it'd probably a PITA to get into.

[fishnut 2,358]

When I had a standard cab pickup handguns went behind the seat in a small range bag and long guns in gun socks in the passenger side compartment. Id try and use the seat belt to keep them from sliding over on me when turning. No locks on anything, just zippers or draw strings. All mags loaded but all guns unloaded. Now I have a wrangler and everything goes on the floor behind the front seats (rear seat removed) otherwise everything is stored the same way. I'm perfectly comfortable transporting this way but I know others are not. Read the laws and then decide for your self what methods of transport you are comfortable with.

[Purple Patrick 638]

I'm in fishnuts camp. Nothing is locked as the law doesn't specifically require it and is intentionally vague. I'm comfortable with that but that's me. When I take my dad's ram out to the range I just stick everything under the rear seat

 

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[Carcano 14]

When I had a standard cab pickup handguns went behind the seat in a small range bag and long guns in gun socks in the passenger side compartment. Id try and use the seat belt to keep them from sliding over on me when turning. No locks on anything, just zippers or draw strings. All mags loaded but all guns unloaded. Now I have a wrangler and everything goes on the floor behind the front seats (rear seat removed) otherwise everything is stored the same way. I'm perfectly comfortable transporting this way but I know others are not. Read the laws and then decide for your self what methods of transport you are comfortable with.

 

I do the same with mags, always loaded and it saves a LOT of time...I setup my targets, pull my mags out and shoot.

 

AFAIK and IANAL this is perfectly legal and transporting like this shouldn't be a problem. Of course, I still make sure NOTHING is visible from the passenger or rear windows. Buy a few old mil surplus blankets and throw those over everything with some jumper cables and other junk...keeps it out of sight.