shawn45

My wife and I will be driving across the country, and plan on stopping at a few National Parks and camping a bit as well. I know I can't carry in the park which is what most of the discussion has been about, but what do I do about my gun in my car? I don't want to drive across country without it, and will only be spending a 1/4 of our trip in National Parks. I have a nice gun safe in my car that i keep with me for times when I must disarm at the post office etc. Am I going to be within the law if I lock the gun up and the ammo separately while in the park?

I have tried to call the Park Service and can get no answers.

What have you all done?

I have seen video of Yellowstone and other parks where they do car searches as part of the entry/exit from the park.

Supertac45

Unload, case, and toss it in the trunk.

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Les Baer 45
Sig Man
N.R.A. Patron Life Member
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Rcher

Firearms in National Parks ... How to Transport Firearms Through National & State Parks Legallyarmed.com

(3) Traps, nets and unloaded weapons may be possessed within a temporary lodging or mechanical mode of conveyance when such implements are rendered temporarily inoperable or are packed, cased or stored in a manner that will prevent their ready use.

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Someday, someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.

whitetrashfarm

My wife and I have been to yellowstone many times. I have never been searched or have seen a car being searched.
I hope you have a great time there. It is a fantastic place. Some awesome views.
Try and see downtown jackson.
Safe traveling

Captain Crunch

Simple answer: Yes.

__________________


"Just be nice...or I'LL SHOOT"!

Terry

Thanis

I've not been to Yellowstone, but when traveling to Fed / State parks I store the mags (no rounds in mag) and ammo in a locked glove box & store the pistol with the slide detached in a pistol travel / car lock box in the trunk.

The detached slide is overkill, but I know someone (well, friend of a friend) who ran into trouble due to something similar. He took his pistol and locked it in the trunk of his car in a travel lock-box. Went into the bar and had a beer or two. Well below the limit for DWI.

Was driving home and was back ended (hard). Trunk popped open, travel lock box flew into the air, landed hard, and opened. Out came the handgun (mag were under the seat with rounds in them).

The LE report stated his blood level (beyond the legal limit for carry) and an unsecured handgun with loaded mags at the ready. Most of it cleared up, be he has no hope of getting the gun back. I was told he still has his CCW (after a month of no permit).

I figure the fact I take the slide off clearly shows my intent. However, if this became the norm / expectation, what would be the next step I would have to take? So just sharing what I do.

shawn45

You guys are great, thanks for the info and link

Tye_Defender

Most good stories start out this way.


I'm not "officially" calling BS on this, but hitting a car from the back hard enough to pop the trunk is unlikely to cause an item from the trunk to fly up out of the trunk, the force is horizontal, not vertical. Also, the lock box must not have been a very good lock box to pop open that easily. Good story to enforce the idea of diligence, whether it's true or not.

As you said, probably overkill but a good idea. When I lived in California, I would lock up my firearm in one case in the trunk, lock up the ammo in another box out of sight under the backseat, and lock up the magazine in the glove compartment (registration in a pouch on the visor so I didn't need to open the glove compartment). Legally, having the ammo in a seperate box and both locked in the trunk should be sufficient but I didn't want a LEO who was trained in San Francisco and might be slightly mis-informed on the law to have any reason to be upset. They probably wouldn't even know I had a firearm in the car unless they asked me.

To the OP, I have driven through several National Parks with a firearm in the car/truck with me. Last year I went to Yellowstone while waiting for some Elk to be processed. In that case we even had rifles. We just took the bolts out of the rifles and locked them up separately. They asked us at the gate and we told them they were unloaded and locked up behind the seat. They gave us no trouble.

PepsiDad

Before I got my CCW, I'd take my handguns out to BLM land for target practice. I'd keep my ammo boxed up in a canvas bag behind my seat and the handguns in a lockbox in the locked canopied bed of my truck. The handguns itself had cable locks installed (which meant the slide was open). I kept the keys for the cable locks in the center console of my truck.

You're safe if you follow the basic premise: Out of sight, out of reach, unable to function and away from ammo.

Thanis

Fair enough.

I assume the lock box was not cabled. I do locksmith work, and many things you think are secure can be opened by dropping. Not how a locksmith would do it, but it can be done. If the lock box fell on the right edge, with enough force, on something hard, the cam (for example) of a lock could break or move out of the way.

Most gun safes are less secure then you would think (most are just preventative, to keep a child out). If you spent < $200, it is most likely easy to get into (just depends on many factors).