Rifle Carry

**gis** · March 5th, 2012, 01:42 AM

I am new member moving into PA (Erie County). I am squared away on carrying a pistol, but wanted to know about long gun carry. This is primarily for the vehicle, as I never leave my house without a couple of long guns like an AR and a shotgun.

What are the rules in PA about carrying rifles? Loaded or unloaded? Can magazines be loaded at least? Can long guns be carried in a rack, concealed, etc? What about carry outside the vehicle?

Thanks.

Jerry

**redturbo0** · March 5th, 2012, 01:57 AM

carrying outside the vehicle has been covered many times here, I never really paid attention since I have my license to carry. But I'm sure some one can chime in on that.

If you get a license to carry you'll have nothing to worry about. I'm not sure if mags can be loaded, but I know a gun can't be ready to fire if you don't have a license to carry while in a vehicle. Hope I helped atleast a little bit here...

**twency** · March 5th, 2012, 02:12 AM

Re: transporting long guns in vehicles, per Your Pennsylvania Gun Rights, published by PAOpenCarry.org:

Transporting within PA: Long guns MUST be unloaded (clear chamber and no magazine in weapon) and for magazine fed weapons any loaded magazines must be in a separate container in order to be transported in vehicles within PA.

**rwb1500** · March 5th, 2012, 02:33 AM

Originally Posted by redturbo0

carrying outside the vehicle has been covered many times here, I never really paid attention since I have my license to carry. But I'm sure some one can chime in on that.

If you get a license to carry you'll have nothing to worry about. I'm not sure if mags can be loaded, but I know a gun can't be ready to fire if you don't have a license to carry while in a vehicle. Hope I helped atleast a little bit here...

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

The Pennsylvania LTCF (as we refer to it) or a reciprocal permit or license have nothing to do with the carry of long guns. At all. (Unless you're in Philadelphia or there is a declared state of emergency.)

You can transport an unloaded long gun in your vehicle, ammo must be separate from the gun. In magazines is kosher, as long as the magazines are separated from the firearm. On foot you may carry a loaded long arm, with no permit, license, or permission.

Be wary of this though.

Sec. 2301. Prima facie evidence of hunting.

(a) General rule. - For the purpose of this title, any one of the following acts shallconstitute prima facie evidence of hunting:

(1) Possession of any firearm, bow and arrow, raptor, trap or other device of any description usable for the purpose of hunting or taking game or wildlife.

(2) Possession of the carcass or any part or parts of any game or wildlife.

(3) Pursuing game or wildlife in any manner prohibited by this title or commission regulation.

(b) Lawful cooperation or assistance. - Notwithstanding any other provision of this title to the contrary, any person who has lawfully taken the bag or season limit for a particular species of game or wildlife or any person who meets the requirements of section 2701(c) (relating to license requirements) may aid, assist, abet or cooperate in any manner specified by this title or commission regulations with another person who is engaged in any lawful activity permitted by this title or the regulations of the commission.

Basically carrying a gun in the wrong place at the wrong time will get you accused of hunting....

This thread will probably answer any questions you have. Welcome to the madhouse.

http://forum.pafoa.org/open-carry-14...e-shotgun.html

**steviesterno** · March 5th, 2012, 09:18 AM

You could also get an AR set up as an SBR (tons of info in the NFA thread). Then it no longer counts as a long gun, and you could legally carry in the car locked and loaded. Also, a few of us have been known to carry AR pistols loaded in car as needed.

**ungawa** · March 5th, 2012, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by rwb1500

You can transport an unloaded long gun in your vehicle, ammo must be separate from the gun. In magazines is kosher, as long as the magazines are separated from the firearm. On foot you may carry a loaded long arm, with no permit, license, or permission.

Ammo does NOT have to be separate from the gun. The gun can be inside a bag filled to the brim with loose ammo.

No ammo in chamber; no ammo in fixed mag; in the case of detachable mag, a loaded detachable mag should be in separate container or separate compartment of container if multiple compartments in one container.

**gis** · March 5th, 2012, 10:55 AM

Thanks everyone who has responded so far. I have my PA license to carry from Centre County and have other credentials on which I can carry pistols in PA.

What I gathered from the thread so far is:
1. Carry in a vehicle requires an unloaded long gun and loaded mags in sepaate container/compartment.
2. Carry outside the the vehicle of a loaded long gun is legal open or concealed with or without a permint, except in Phily where permit is needed.
3. Understod about hunting regs, but I am a city person and usually don't run around in the woods, so hopefully not going to be mistakenly accused of hunting.

Please correct if I am wrong somewhere.

Also please elaborate on Class 3 carry. I have Class 3 weapons currently in Virginia. I was planning to do a 5320.20 (ATF travel form) so I could take them into PA when I establish my address but before I change residency to PA.

So what are the rules about carrying SBRs and machine guns in PA? Can they be loaded inside and outside the vehicle?

Thanks again.

Jerry

**ungawa** · March 5th, 2012, 11:13 AM

Originally Posted by gis

Thanks everyone who has responded so far. I have my PA license to carry from Centre County and have other credentials on which I can carry pistols in PA.

What I gathered from the thread so far is:
1. Carry in a vehicle requires an unloaded long gun and loaded mags in sepaate container/compartment.
2. Carry outside the the vehicle of a loaded long gun is legal open or concealed with or without a permint, except in Phily where permit is needed.
3. Understod about hunting regs, but I am a city person and usually don't run around in the woods, so hopefully not going to be mistakenly accused of hunting.

Please correct if I am wrong somewhere.

Also please elaborate on Class 3 carry. I have Class 3 weapons currently in Virginia. I was planning to do a 5320.20 (ATF travel form) so I could take them into PA when I establish my address but before I change residency to PA.

So what are the rules about carrying SBRs and machine guns in PA? Can they be loaded inside and outside the vehicle?

Thanks again.

Jerry

You are spot on.

A Class 3 is a dealer license, your firearms are Title II firearms which a Class 3 dealer is licensed to deal in.

Carrying an MG with no reason to justify it to yourself is probably not a good idea. They are so uncommon it's likely a cop won't understand and so expensive you don't want them seized. If you want to, go for it. PA doesn't care if it's an MG or not with respect to loaded in a vehicle.

Rifle <16", shotgun <18" short overall length (I forget but I think it's probably AOW), PA treats them the same as handguns for purposes of licensed carry. For the most part (or completely?) these requirements match NFA requirements, but this part of PA law does not specify "NFA," it just specifies firearms that are clearly not Title I longarms.

And, yes, you can carry a loaded firearm with suppressor. And, yes again, think it through first.

**RuthlessZ** · March 5th, 2012, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by gis

So what are the rules about carrying SBRs and machine guns in PA? Can they be loaded inside and outside the vehicle?

Thanks again.

Jerry

Anything that is legally a firearm in PA (NFA Weapons and Handguns, NOT Rifles/Shotguns) may be carried loaded in a vehicle with a LTCF (I don't know how NFA items would work with a reciprocal permit). A long gun (Rifle/Shotgun) may NEVER be loaded in a vehicle and loaded mags must be seperate, seperate is as simple as a side pocket on a rifle case. Losse ammo can taped to the long gun if you want it to be. You need no license to carry a loaded rifle on foot concealed or openly except in Philly.

IANAL

**hotrodcummins12v** · March 6th, 2012, 02:04 PM

My biggest concern would be theft. Having guns in your truck as is inviting as a bar of gold. If you are driving a pickup with a standard cab, I would definitely hide it behind the seat or with any other vehicle I would design a case that doesn't look like a gun case, and if you want quick deployment, incorporate magnetic snaps into it so you can just tug and remove. And it will keep dirt and dust off your guns/optics as an added bonus. Even though you don't have to, if you get pulled over, kindly inform the officer that you have legal guns in your possession to prevent any false alarms, but never consent to any type of search.