Question about transporting without Concealed Carry permit

[Guest kj4gxu]

I recently purchased my first firearm and don't have a carry permit (yet).  I do intend on making multiple trips to the range in the near future, prior to obtaining my permit and want to ensure that I'm within the limits of the law doing so.

 

The way I read the law the ammunition and the gun must be stored substantially distant from one another in the vehicle.

My question is

I keep my pistol stored with 2 full mags when at home, when I transport it is it sufficient to take the mags and put them in the back of the van still loaded and lock the gun, without the mags in the glove box.

Since doing so creates about 15 feet of separation between the loaded magazine and the pistol and makes it functionally impossible to quickly load the magazine into the gun does this comply with the requirement of the law or would i need to remove the rounds from the magazines.

 

It's not a huge problem either way, I'm just hoping I don't have to go through the trouble of unloading the mags before leaving the house only to reload them once I get to the range.  I'll be taking the CCW class and applying for my permit in the next month or two so after receiving that it will be a moot point anyway but it looks like it can be 6 to 9 weeks from the time the application and fingerprinting is completed, so that tells me it could be 3 to 4 months before I have my permit in hand.

 

Thanks for any advice.

Eric

[Oh Shoot]

....

My question is

I keep my pistol stored with 2 full mags when at home, when I transport it is it sufficient to take the mags and put them in the back of the van still loaded and lock the gun, without the mags in the glove box.

 

Yes. More than adequate under TN law.

 

- OS

[tartanphantom]

agreed. You should be fine the way you described. Be sure to double check the chamber, too!

[Guest kj4gxu]

Thanks guys,it won't be an issue for more than a few months, but I plan on going to the range a lot in that few months so I wanted to make sure I was in line with the law.

[Oh Shoot]

Thanks guys,it won't be an issue for more than a few months, but I plan on going to the range a lot in that few months so I wanted to make sure I was in line with the law.

 

There's actually no requirement to lock either gun or ammo up in TN ("an unloaded rifle, shotgun or handgun not concealed on or about the person and the ammunition for the weapon was not in the immediate vicinity of the person or weapon"), but certainly you can show you've gone the extra mile, and indeed would also be completely legal for interstate travel under the federal "safe passage" law to tote your firearms from any place they are legal to any other place they are legal.

 

- OS

Edited February 7, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[RED333]

Enough said on this, I will add "CONGRATS ON MOVING TO SELFDEFENCE".

[Romad7]

It always makes me happy to see new gun owners acting responsibly and defense minded. Congrats on the new gun!

[Guest 270win]

You are close to Kentucky.  You do know you can have a loaded pistol in your car without a permit in kentucky?

Edited February 7, 2013 by 270win

[Oh Shoot]

You are close to Kentucky.  You do know you can have a loaded pistol in your car without a permit in kentucky?

 

Hell, he can open carry there without a permit.

 

- OS

[Guest kj4gxu]

Thanks to all for the info. I'll keep the info about Kentucky in mind, but I rarely have any reason to cross over into Kentucky.

[monkeylizard]

Technically, TCA does say the mags have to be empty for the firearm to be "unloaded". You'd have to give a cop all sorts of reasons for wanting to find every little thing for him to want to try to charge you on that one though and it probably won't stand up (and he'd know that) if you had gone through the other steps you described above.

 

TCA 39-17-1301 - Definitions

(18) "Unloaded" means the rifle, shotgun or handgun does not have ammunition in the chamber, cylinder, clip or magazine, and no clip or magazine is in the immediate vicinity of the weapon.

 

 

 

I have a question. Your loaded mags at home should be filled with hollow-points (JHP) for self-defense, right? I assume you're shooting full metal jacket (FMJ) on the range. So why not unload the JHPs and leave them at home when going to the range? You're unloading the mags anyway. At home or at the range should make little difference.

[Guest kj4gxu]

You're correct that I have 127 grjhp in it. I'll shoot mostly 115 gr fmj on the range, but if i'm going to be keeping the jhp in it for defense I will want to know how it shoots with them. Thus I'll probably shoot at least a full mag of the jhp at the range. Other than that, there's no real reason that I can't do as you suggest. It still doesn't hurt to understand the law.

Thanks
Eric

[monkeylizard]

True. I'd suggest more than a single mag though. I usually run a box or 2 through a new gun.

 

Remember that in TN it's an HCP not a CCW. With the permit, you can carry open or concealed.

[Guest kj4gxu]

The only reason I'll only put a mag or two of the jhp through it right now I only have around 55 of them that were given to me, the only ammo I can find for sale right now is the overpriced 115 gr FMJ at the range.

I am aware that Tennessee allows open carry, but for practical purposes I'll probably carry concealed whenever i'm carrying.

[monkeylizard]

Oh right. I forgot about the ammo shortage. :(

[Oh Shoot]

Technically, TCA does say the mags have to be empty for the firearm to be "unloaded". You'd have to give a cop all sorts of reasons for wanting to find every little thing for him to want to try to charge you on that one though and it probably won't stand up (and he'd know that) if you had gone through the other steps you described above.

 

TCA 39-17-1301 - Definitions

(18) "Unloaded" means the rifle, shotgun or handgun does not have ammunition in the chamber, cylinder, clip or magazine, and no clip or magazine is in the immediate vicinity of the weapon.

 

I don't think it's very helpful throwing out that old saw every time to scare the newbies. :) . Almost certainly it is clumsily written, and meant to mean "loaded clip or magazine".

 

At any rate, the statutes under which you would be actually charged are quite clear, clearly overriding any nuance in that definition. If the real intent was to make nearby empty mags a violation, it would surely be mentioned in the actual statutes that carry a penalty for violation.

 

- OS

Edited February 7, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[monkeylizard]

I didn't mean the mags have to be separated. I meant that a gun without a mag inserted could be considered loaded if the mag is loaded, not that empty nearby mags (or even inserted empty mags) are a problem.

[Oh Shoot]

I didn't mean the mags have to be separated. I meant that a gun without a mag inserted could be considered loaded if the mag is loaded, not that empty nearby mags (or even inserted empty mags) are a problem.

 

Well, technically, the definition says that no mag can be near the gun period, loaded or unloaded, and the gun be considered unloaded. Which suggests its likely bungled verbiage as far as intent, which would be loaded mags near the gun, same as any other ammo near it as per the statutes.

 

- OS

Edited February 7, 2013 by Oh Shoot