Hello, new owner of a handgun in NJ. Had a question for all of you experts out there! I keep seeing all these different things online so I have an suv so the trunk area is accessible to the back seat area. From my understanding, it needs to be locked in a case and its fine to be in the trunk of my suv? Also my other question.. the ammo.. that needs to be in a separate case? Does it need to have a lock on it or can it just be a bag with a zipper?

Neither need to be "locked in a case" Just secured. You can wrap it in a towel tied with a red ribbon.  Same goes for ammo. Just not together.

Oh okay.. so even though the trunk area is accessible from inside the car, it just needs to be secured? 

Correct.

46 minutes ago, SmittyMHS said:

Neither need to be "locked in a case" Just secured. You can wrap it in a towel tied with a red ribbon.  Same goes for ammo. Just not together.

Would love to hear from some other members as this sounds like suspicious advice. No offense, but that doesn't sound at all like anything I've ever heard.

@njJoniGuy or @Displaced Texan People who actually seem like they know what they are talking about, can you confirm one way or another?

1 minute ago, Greenday said:

Would love to hear from some other members as this sounds like suspicious advice. No offense, but that doesn't sound at all like anything I've ever heard.

Yea, like i said.. what ive heard.. if you have an suv.. it needs to be locked in a case. Its different from a car where the trunk is not connected to the inside of the car. Im wondering if a bag with zippers and putting a master lock on it or something qualifies for being locked in a case .. idk

I'll wait here

Straight from the NJ State Police website:

G. If the vehicle does not have a compartment separate from the passenger compartment, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the vehicle's glove compartment or console;

Well then I stand corrected

4 minutes ago, Greenday said:

Straight from the NJ State Police website:

G. If the vehicle does not have a compartment separate from the passenger compartment, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the vehicle's glove compartment or console;

Just working from memory (too lazy to look it up), I believe that applies to transporting handguns through New Jersey, not traveling within the state with them.  

4 minutes ago, Old Glock guy said:

Just working from memory (too lazy to look it up), I believe that applies to transporting handguns through New Jersey, not traveling within the state with them.  

https://www.njsp.org/firearms/transport-firearm.shtml

All firearms transported into the State of New Jersey:

• 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.
• The firearm should not be directly accessible from the passenger compartment of the vehicle. If the vehicle does not have a compartment separate from the passenger compartment, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the vehicle's glove compartment or console.

 

@Smokin .50

1 hour ago, Greenday said:

https://www.njsp.org/firearms/transport-firearm.shtml

All firearms transported into the State of New Jersey:

• 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.
• The firearm should not be directly accessible from the passenger compartment of the vehicle. If the vehicle does not have a compartment separate from the passenger compartment, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the vehicle's glove compartment or console.

 

That's FOPA for transporting THROUGH NJ.

 

The law under 2C39-6 says:

 

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.

27 minutes ago, Oakridgefirearms said:

That's FOPA for transporting THROUGH NJ.

 

The law under 2C39-6 says:

 

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.

"OR" is the most important word for the issue at hand.

1- if you don't have a trunk "shall be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package,

Further :"....shall be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package,".  According to the law a gunbox is ok, a closed and fastened box could be a shoebox tied with a string and a secured tied package could be my wife's old pantyhose tied with a knot. Any of those options satisfies the LETTER of the law. It's contained, closed, fastened and securely tied.

 

2--OR (if you have a trunk )"locked in the trunk of the automobile in which it is being transported,..."

If you have a trunk, just toss it in and slam it shut.

Last gun I bought, I put inside a garbage bag and tossed it in the trunk. And I could even had forgoed the garbage back since it was a face to face, cars parked next to each other, in the days that was possible to do. And no laws were broken.

This is MY interpretation of the law. But each other has their own comfort level, so act accordingly.

 

 

 

 

So I feel some what vindicated. My suggestion to the OP would be to get yourself a gun case like you might already have received with your new handgun, throw a cheep combination lock on it. A cheep  plastic ammo can  you can get at Wally World for the ammo and call it good.. Then don't think about it again. You've done the best you can considering. 

9 hours ago, SmittyMHS said:

I'll wait here

Waiting is good!  Cause you are right!  See next post!

Rosey

7 hours ago, WP22 said:

"OR" is the most important word for the issue at hand.

1- if you don't have a trunk "shall be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package,

Further :"....shall be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package,".  According to the law a gunbox is ok, a closed and fastened box could be a shoebox tied with a string and a secured tied package could be my wife's old pantyhose tied with a knot. Any of those options satisfies the LETTER of the law. It's contained, closed, fastened and securely tied.

 

2--OR (if you have a trunk )"locked in the trunk of the automobile in which it is being transported,..."

If you have a trunk, just toss it in and slam it shut.

Last gun I bought, I put inside a garbage bag and tossed it in the trunk. And I could even had forgoed the garbage back since it was a face to face, cars parked next to each other, in the days that was possible to do. And no laws were broken.

This is MY interpretation of the law. But each other has their own comfort level, so act accordingly.

 

 

 

 

@WP22 thanks for the tag!  You are correct.  As punctuation matters!  Comma, OR LOCKED IN THE TRUNK OF AN AUTOMOBILE....

9 hours ago, Decastro458 said:

Yea, like i said.. what ive heard.. if you have an suv.. it needs to be locked in a case. Its different from a car where the trunk is not connected to the inside of the car. Im wondering if a bag with zippers and putting a master lock on it or something qualifies for being locked in a case .. idk

@Decastro458 FWIW an UNLOADED  hand gun wrapped in brown craft paper & tied with bakery string is a secured package.  Secured enough for a little old lady to throw on her front seat next to her as she transports her SECURED PACKAGE to an appraiser, gun store, gunsmith, to the range, etc., etc.  All EXEMPT locations WITHIN the state of NJ.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you're not the only person driving around with hand guns in a SUV.  Oak Ridge Firearms is a NJ FFL.  They posted the correct info, so you can take it to the bank!  @WP22 did also.   WP tagged me so I'm here.  With 48 years of firearm handling experience as a NJ resident, and VP of NJ's most active 2A organization, the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners (CNJFO).  https://www.cnjfo.com/news  

First thing you have to do is promise me you'll never look at the actual laws OR the NJSP website pages that have the supposed laws printed on them.  Why you might ask?  Answer is simple!  The laws contradict each other to the point of confusion, so you're better off studying the EXCEPTIONS & EXEMPTIONS that allow us mere Peasants to own, handle, possess, and transport firearms.  For all possession starts out its sordid life as INHERENTLY ILLEGAL, and only exists in the hands of us Serfs through the use of said EXCEPTIONS & EXEMPTIONS!  Go back & read that AGAIN! 

Transporting firearms is like breathing air.  It's easy if you don't ask permission or get OPINIONS on a forum where actual gun ownership or state residence isn't required...meaning the EXEMPTIONS are your friend!

Most new shooters automatically confuse themselves with INTERSTATE transportation rules (FOPA) and apply these more stricter rules to INTRASTATE (that means strictly within the 21 counties of NJ) transportation of firearms.  For some unknown reason, our lawyer/politicians employ Stu-nad's to type the Bills (because the politico's are much too busy screwing us) whose vocabulary never contained the word INTRASTATE.  The world would be so much simpler if they did!  

Here's some REALITY:

Attending a hand gun action match at a local private club, even as a visitor that isn't shooting, will open up your mind to what is actually done by competitors as they travel the circuit both within NJ and traversing several states for regional & national competitions.  Many of them travel in SUV's.  Some follow the more stricter "FOPA Rules" just in-case, and competitors traveling into NJ from out of state usually do so always.  WAIT....WHAT?  Non-residents bring hand guns INTO NJ w/o a NJFPID card?  How can this be when NJSP website says it's a CRIME?  LOL!  Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!  Read on please!

Others like me (who MOSTLY stay inside NJ's 21 counties to compete) will load mags at home, and grab their pistol bag w/ 4 unloaded hand guns, and put the loaded mags in the same bag, but in a separate compartment (my bag is YUGE).  Flip open the tailgate of the SUV, and place said gun bag (unlocked, with zippers closed) just inside the tailgate, as far away from the driver as can be.  Then we'll throw a blanket over the whole shebang.  DONE!  On to the match!  Upon arriving, I don't EVER NEED to seek-out bolt cutters for those tiny "feel-good" padlocks on zippers OR regular size locks on my .50 cal ammo cans.  I just shoot the match since I don't have keys to locks THAT DON'T EXIST to LOSE....

Gun ownership in NJ is "AT YOUR OWN PERIL"!  A sitting NJ Superior Court Judge said so, as is often quoted.  Learn the EXEMPTIONS & the EXCEPTIONS.  Don't concern yourself with asking permission to breathe air.  Meaning, don't fall into the trap set by left-wing politico's to make you second guess everything you do with your firearms.  Become educated on HOW to exercise your EXCEPTIONS & EXEMPTIONS!  And if you have some spare coin, please consider joining CNJFO here:  https://www.cnjfo.com/join-us 

And now for your entertainment pleasure, a video of @Krdshrk & I at a private range last month in Free Amerikka:

 

Dave "Rosey" Rosenthal, VP

Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners (CNJFO)

Dave, if my friend in state has a large amount of acreage where he shoots his own stuff in his yard (rural area), can I bring mine to his place legally?  It isn't a licensed range as such, so I'm not sure if the transport to and from would fall under that category.  But from the video, it doesn't appear that location is any different.

@Decastro458 the only one wrong in this thread was greenday. Best thing you can do is put him on your ignore list. As you will see if you stick around he's just a troll here to spread misinformation. I legally transported handguns in my jeep wrangler often when I lived in NJ. As @SmittyMHS, @Smokin .50 and @WP22have already stated just put the handgun in some sort of container and out of your reach and your GTG. 

Also its perfectly legal to transport LOADED mags just keep them out of the gun. 

17 minutes ago, fishnut said:

Also its perfectly legal to transport LOADED mags just keep them out of the gun. 

It is and it always was even before the state police said in their website it was. But you must remember the good old days when we had arguments about it. Even that famous attorney was quoted as having had said  an eager DA could make the case it wan't legal so it was better be safe and carry them unloaded.

So, it's no surprise folks get confused about what's legal or not regarding transportation, hollow point ammo possession, and so on. 

53 minutes ago, WP22 said:

It is and it always was even before the state police said in their website it was. But you must remember the good old days when we had arguments about it. Even that famous attorney was quoted as having had said  an eager DA could make the case it wan't legal so it was better be safe and carry them unloaded.

So, it's no surprise folks get confused about what's legal or not regarding transportation, hollow point ammo possession, and so on. 

Yes the laws are definitely difficult for noobs to understand and were possibly designed that way to discourage people from owning firearms.

I'd be willing to bet that because the laws are so confusing we get many new members or lurkers here because they start to Google NJ firearm laws

3 hours ago, Smokin .50 said:

 

Then we'll throw a blanket over the whole shebang. 

 

I wanted to highlight this part. Courts have ruled a visible gun case give cops probable cause for a search.

https://www.thenewspaper.com/news/41/4110.asp

 

3 hours ago, fishnut said:

@Decastro458 the only one wrong in this thread was greenday. Best thing you can do is put him on your ignore list. As you will see if you stick around he's just a troll here to spread misinformation. I legally transported handguns in my jeep wrangler often when I lived in NJ. As @SmittyMHS, @Smokin .50 and @WP22have already stated just put the handgun in some sort of container and out of your reach and your GTG. 

Also its perfectly legal to transport LOADED mags just keep them out of the gun. 

Stop trolling. This isn't the 1A forum.

Copying and pasting the rules verbatim does not somehow make me wrong.

4 minutes ago, Greenday said:

Stop trolling. This isn't the 1A forum.

Copying and pasting the rules verbatim does not somehow make me wrong.

I have never seen a person be so consistently wrong on every topic that he posts in.  You were wrong once again and were proven to be wrong, yet you continue to argue as if you were right. The web page where you copied and pasted from has the correct information. As usual, you choose only the information that supported your opinion.  Here is the relevant portion from the exact web page:

All firearms transported into the State of New Jersey:

• 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.
• The firearm should not be directly accessible from the passenger compartment of the vehicle. If the vehicle does not have a compartment separate from the passenger compartment, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the vehicle's glove compartment or console.

For additional exemptions refer to Chapter 39, namely 2C:39-6g.

25 minutes ago, JC_68Westy said:

I have never seen a person be so consistently wrong on every topic that he posts in.  You were wrong once again and were proven to be wrong, yet you continue to argue as if you were right. The web page where you copied and pasted from has the correct information. As usual, you choose only the information that supported your opinion.  Here is the relevant portion from the exact web page:

All firearms transported into the State of New Jersey:

• 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.
• The firearm should not be directly accessible from the passenger compartment of the vehicle. If the vehicle does not have a compartment separate from the passenger compartment, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the vehicle's glove compartment or console.

For additional exemptions refer to Chapter 39, namely 2C:39-6g.

You know the OP asked about a SUV where you can technically access the trunk from the passenger compartment, right? So the second paragraph applies?

5 minutes ago, Greenday said:

You know the OP asked about a SUV where you can technically access the trunk from the passenger compartment, right? So the second paragraph applies?

Here is the relevant paragraph of 2C:39-6g (the actual law).  I thought you would tact the 60 seconds to read the actual law that is referenced at the end "For additional exemptions refer to Chapter 39, namely 2C:39-6g".  The part you highlighted in red is not part of the law.  

"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."

13 minutes ago, Greenday said:

You know the OP asked about a SUV where you can technically access the trunk from the passenger compartment, right? So the second paragraph applies?

No, stop it. Like Tom from @Oakridgefirearms, an FFL in NJ if any of you need one, use him, pointed out the area you are focusing on pertains to intestate travel which is covered under FOPA which is also more restrictive then intrastate travel. 

The op's question was about travel within NJ.

23 minutes ago, Greenday said:

You know the OP asked about a SUV where you can technically access the trunk from the passenger compartment, right? So the second paragraph applies?

He did... and everyone provided the correct NJ state statute for legal transport. 

I've watched someone walk out of an FFL with a gun(used) in a brown paper taped closed...

The NJSP are not known for providing accurate legal advice... and i don't believe they are even allowed to do so anyway. But who will stop them?

Since NJ statutes provide the accurate info, i would in the future reference that, not the State police FAQ page.

 

 

 

His head will explode when somebody tells him how they transport their guns while ridding their bikes.

6 hours ago, AlDente67 said:

Dave, if my friend in state has a large amount of acreage where he shoots his own stuff in his yard (rural area), can I bring mine to his place legally?  It isn't a licensed range as such, so I'm not sure if the transport to and from would fall under that category.  But from the video, it doesn't appear that location is any different.

Let me start by saying IANAL nor do I play one on TV. 

This scenario of yours is somewhat hairsplitting, however it's answered in the following manner:

Are you a firearms instructor of some sort?  IDPA, USPSA, NRA, NMLRA, NROI, BSA, etc.?  I ask this because instructors are allowed to go to any home made range where it's NOT illegal to discharge firearms for the purpose of instruction, and can do so legally.  In addition, it is my understanding that adults may wish to play "Show & Shoot" in said woods / range.  Provided you're a member of a club that provides a list of its members' names (no addresses, phone numbers, socials) to the Superintendent of the NJ State Police "on an annual basis as prescribed in this chapter", and you break no discharge ordinance, temporary transfers ("Show & Shoots", aka "HERE, try MINE") are completely legal. 

So much like an American Express card, "membership has its privileges".  As I do not know if Range 14 sends their member info to NJSP, I can't give you a direct yes or no opinion.  Do you belong to a second, third or fourth private CLUB that DOES?  FWIW the club needn't have a state registered range to conduct operations.  They can use (be given) or lease land for that purpose.  Does your friend want to register their "Club" & file an annual tax form on a postcard?   There's more than one way to "slice the gabagool"...

Food for thought:

As a reenactor, I was asked to bring several muzzleloaders (long guns) onto school property (in North Jersey) for the express purpose of letting middle schoolers (while wearing eyes & ears) pour explosives, ram wadding, and fire blank charges of the Holy Black during a Living History annual event that a club I was a member of ran for the school.  In fact, the school board paid the group to be there (as a donation).  I ran the percussion station, one of 17 or 18 that day, as part of a full-day program, and did so with my 10 ga. SxS for several years running.  And we all know that NJ considers EVERYTHING, including a BB gun, to BE A GUN!  The entire event was blessed by the CLEO & the BOE President, who signed the check...

As a BSA Merit Badge Counselor & adult volunteer shooting instructor with a local Venturing Crew (boys & girls up to 20 year old), I was invited to teach marksmanship to the Crew at a deer camp in the Pines of South Jersey.  All the instructors brought toyz.  One guy showed up with the Dirty Harry .44 Auto Mag.  So there we are, at a club where NJSP are MEMBERS, teaching kids that don't belong to us (WE'RE JUST VOLUNTEERS) how to shoot The .44 AUTO MAG.

Draw your own conclusions & bring a blanket.  For the gabagool in the cooler:

And here's me in white (my bare-bones Mountain Man outfit) doing the school program.  The canvas is called a "Fly".  It an the taxidermy animals belong to a great friend of mine.  Check out the rifle rack.  We had BACK-UP  

 

 

Edited May 27, 20206 yr by Smokin .50
Found photo of school program.