junglebob
Regular Member
I did most of that on my last trip (by car) to Illinois--except for the in-car carry which I didn't realize I could legally do, so the gun went into the trunk (unloaded, ammo separately cased) in the Iowa quad cities.
Come to think of it I am not sure "separately cased" is necessary there. Is it?
I have one of those little safes that you actuate with your fingers and has a cable to tie around your seat anchors (or the hinge of your trunk) and brought the gun into the hotel room in that--and used it to secure the gun inside the room while I went about my business. (I unloaded the gun and separately cased the mags just before departing, too--I don't know if I had to do that or not; please chime in.) Brought a second cheapie case for the (loaded) mags. There doesn't seem to be any issue about whether a loaded mag not in the pistol or even in the same container is a "loaded weapon" in Illinois, unlike some other states.
No ammo doesn't need to be in a separate case from the firearm, and a loaded magazine can be in the case with the firearm, just not in the mag well. I see that Iowa's transport laws aren't as good as Illinois if you don't have a CCW. - Iowa says You have to have it in a closed and fastened container or securely wrapped package which is too large to be concealed on your person or inside the cargo or baggage compartment not readily accessible to anyone. Again the previous sentence is Iowa law not the more gun owner friendly Illinois law!