Transporting Long Arm...National Park

[bubbagump]

I will be going on a camping trip in the Sequoia National Forest. My understanding is that having a firearm (in this case a shotgun) in the campground & while hiking is legal, as long as you follow 12031 near public areas. I also have a hunting license, in case game wardens decide to get crazy.

We are also going to visit nearby Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Park. The shotgun will come with us in the vehicle, and stay in the vehicle while we are exploring the area.

This is the only relevant code I could find regarding transporting firearms in National Parks:

36 CFR 2.4 (a) Cannot carry in a National Park. However firearms may be possessed within a temporary lodging or vehicle when unloaded and
“packed, cased or stored in a manner that will prevent their ready use.”

Is there anything else I need to worry about? I read in a random forum during a google search, that you have to declare the firearm to a Park Ranger and render the firearm inoperable...is this true? It doesn't say this in the above cited code...so will a locked soft case suffice? Should the firearms be partially disassembled?

[djleisure]

I don't know about declaring the firearm to a Park Ranger (it's none of their business) but I have been told by a National Forest Park Ranger that I need to disassemble my firearms (remove bolt, separate upper from lower, etc.) I thought that was VERY odd and specific, so I asked here as well and nobody has been able to show me anything other than what you stated above:

36 CFR 2.4 (a) Cannot carry in a National Park. However firearms may be possessed within a temporary lodging or vehicle when unloaded and
“packed, cased or stored in a manner that will prevent their ready use.”

...so, I would just make sure they are locked up which makes them not ready to use...

[sfpcservice]

I would think being unloaded and locked in the truck would be sufficient. I believe it was argued by the justices in Heller that having a trigger lock or any means of disassembly would render the firearm useless in a home defense scenario. I would call that stored in a manner that will prevent their ready use. Also, all of your 4th amendment rights exist on a national park as well; so as long as you don't show it, they won't know it or have any right to.

[bubbagump]

Thanks for the information gentlemen.

Since the vehicle will be left unattended during the hike in the national park, I figured it may be a good idea to take the shotguns trigger group with me (Mossberg 500). I doubt thievery runs rampant in that area, but just in case...whoever steals that gun won't be able to shoot it.