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OC and car storage

chiefjason

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Jan 29, 2009
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Hickory, NC, ,
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New to the site and been spending a lot of time just poking around. BTW I live in Hickory, NC. My question is about storeing a firearm in an unoccupied car. I was going to OC my handgun into Charlotte this weekend. I'll be spending most of the day out of the vehicle. I have read somewhere, can't recall, that you can leave the firearm in plain view. Sounds like a bad idea. It seems that I could lock the gun in the case unloaded, but that makes for some fumbling with things when I get back in the car. I am going to a group function that does not allow firearms, so though OC is legal I am going to respect the rules. I have a Toyota Tacoma extra cab so no trunk either. Anybody else have this issue with their trucks? Oh and my glove box does not even lock. :banghead: So, will I be stuck unloading and locking the gun up when I leave the vehicle? Thanks for any help and great site!
 

JDriver1.8t

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Jul 8, 2008
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Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
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You can hide the gun when you get out.

If you don't have a secure lock box, then you can cable lock it to your seat rail or something similar. You will still have to unload though.
 

acritical

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Jul 9, 2006
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Pittsboro, North Carolina, USA
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JDriver1.8t wrote:
You can hide the gun when you get out.

If you don't have a secure lock box, then you can cable lock it to your seat rail or something similar.  You will still have to unload though.

Ok, maybe I missed something. Why would he have to unload the firearm to store it in the car. I have never heard that before...
 

chiefjason

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Hickory, NC, ,
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acritical wrote:
JDriver1.8t wrote:
You can hide the gun when you get out.

If you don't have a secure lock box, then you can cable lock it to your seat rail or something similar. You will still have to unload though.

Ok, maybe I missed something. Why would he have to unload the firearm to store it in the car. I have never heard that before...

That is the heart of my question. I have looked here and several other places. It is quite difficult to track down good reliable info on gun laws sometimes. A CC is not in my budget, it would certainly answer this question. What I don't want to do is put the gun out of site while I am away from the vehicle and run into any concealed weapons problems.

So basically can I put it out of sight while it is still loaded or do I have to lock it up unloaded to put it out of sight? Just trying to stay on the right side of the law.
 

acritical

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Jul 9, 2006
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Pittsboro, North Carolina, USA
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As long as you have the weapon visible before you start the car, you can store it hidden and loaded. There is no provision in any law in N.C. that states you have to store a firearm unloaded in any circumstance.

The closest thing that I can find is that either it has to be out of easy reach of any passenger, if not visible and it has to be stored in a manner that a minor cannot get to it and readily use it.

Neither vehicle carry nor storage requires the weapon to be unloaded at anytime. If I am wrong, someone please correct me with the statute or provision.
 

JDriver1.8t

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Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
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It can be loaded and concealed in your car if you aren't in it.

My comment about being unloaded was that if you cable lock it to the car so it can't be stolen, then it would need to be unloaded.
 

acritical

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Pittsboro, North Carolina, USA
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JDriver1.8t wrote:
It can be loaded and concealed in your car if you aren't in it.

My comment about being unloaded was that if you cable lock it to the car so it can't be stolen, then it would need to be unloaded.

Oh, ok I misread what you were saying. :banghead: Now this is making sense to me.
 

rdinatal

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Jul 20, 2007
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Lake Normanopolis, NC
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Get a good set of handcuffs with a unique key. They tend to be twice as expensive but then you're sure anyone the has a universal key can't open them. Lock your pistol to the brake pedal, put a towel the color of the rug over it,lock up and leave.

-R
 

FLMason

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Aug 3, 2008
Messages
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Location
Franklin, Tennessee, USA
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I have a 2500 chevy I mounted (bolted through floorboard)a table top combinationsafe under my rear seat for those times I had to leave my weapon in mytruck. cost about $120 a lot less then my Glock
 

NCjones

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Oct 6, 2009
Messages
184
Location
Goldsboro, , USA
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Hello Chief.

You can leave the gun loaded. In NC loaded/unloaded is all the same. He's talking about the fact that you will have to unload it to run the cable thru, not because the law requires it to be unloaded.

I never like to leave my piece in the car because of theft but sometimes there's no other option. Luckily, I have a tool box on the back of my truck that locks. Definately don't leave it in plain view! So far as "hiding it" the crooks who break into your car know all the hiding places. Thats what they do for a living. Also don't leave any other valuable items (cell phone, GPS, XM radio, briefcase) in view that would make your vehicle a nice target. They might break in to grab your GPS and your gun under the seat is just a bonus.

So far as being charged with carrying concealed just because it is locked in a box while you are absent, no problem. If you have a lockbox you shouldn't be charged with concealed carry. The statute requires two conditions to be met. 1) the weapon is concealed and 2) The weapon is "easily accessible" by a passenger or driver. The courts in NC have ruled that locked in a box is not "easily accessible".

You can also check with a local gun shop or pawn shop to see if they might be willing to put it in their safe while you are at you "no guns" function.
 

NCjones

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Goldsboro, , USA
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rdinatal wrote:
Get a good set of handcuffs with a unique key. They tend to be twice as expensive but then you're sure anyone the has a universal key can't open them. Lock your pistol to the brake pedal, put a towel the color of the rug over it,lock up and leave.

-R
Even the "unique key" handcuffs have a master key. All the crooks have one. Or better yet, a simple pair of linesman's pliers would snip the chain. He could worry about sawing the handcuff off the pistol when he got it home.
 

partemisio

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Joined
Oct 31, 2008
Messages
116
Location
Wallace, North Carolina, USA
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These responses are correct. You can't be charged with carrying a concealed weapon since it won't be in your possession. Put it anywhere you want in the vehicle when you are not in it. Just make sure not to forget to put it back in plain view when you get back in.
 
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