Ask a Trooper

[Lee Borgersen]

              Ask a Trooper:

              Does a permit to carry extend to rifles in cars?

Nov 8, 2015

Q: If a person has a permit to carry in Minnesota, can they transport a loaded rifle or shotgun in a vehicle?

A: The permit to carry law applies only to handguns, so the answer is no with some exceptions.


MS 97B.045- A person may not transport a firearm in a motor vehicle unless the firearm is:

(1) unloaded and in a gun case expressly made to contain a firearm, and the case fully encloses the firearm by being zipped, snapped, buckled, tied, or otherwise fastened, and without any portion of the firearm exposed;

(2) unloaded and in the closed trunk of a motor vehicle; or

(3) a handgun carried in compliance with sections 624.714 and 624.715

Subd. 3. Exceptions; hunting and shooting ranges — a person may transport an unloaded, uncased firearm, excluding a pistol, in a motor vehicle while at a shooting range, lawfully hunting on private or public land; or travelling to or from a site the person intends to hunt lawfully that day or has hunted lawfully that day, unless:

(1) within Anoka, Hennepin, or Ramsey County;

(2) within the boundaries of a home rule charter or statutory city with a population of 2,500 or more;

(3) on school grounds

Sgt. Neil Dickenson is a public information officer with the Minnesota State Patrol.