You are legal so long as the gun is plainly visible. Every now and then someone gets nabbed because they lay the gun in the passenger seat (legal) and then end upforgettin it and inadvertently throwing a jacket or something else over it, making it concealed.
The best way to be legal is just strap it on your hip (unconcealed) and inform the officer that you are armed. I've never had a problem this way.
If you're not going to be needing it, you can lock it in the trunk. In NC loaded or unloaded doesn't matter, it's all the same. By the way, in the glove box is considered concealed in NC. There has been some squabble in the courts whether or not in a LOCKED glove compartment was "readily accessible" or not, but why get yourself into a gray area when you don't have to.
Oppps, you don't have a trunk. If it is in a locked case in the rear, basically from what court cases I have read, it is not "readily accessible". But again, why complicate it when you can just lay in on the dash and be legal.
What is illegal is carrying a gun that is CONCEALED and within "easy access" of a passenger OR driver. Areas that are clear violations of the law if you don't have CCW are places like an unlocked glovebox, inside the console, and under the seat. Remember that in NC, whether the gun is loaded or not has ZERO bearing on whether it's legal or not. If you carry 15 fully loaded HKs and AKs on the dash and hood of your car, you are A-Okay.
Yeah, I know. NC is weird.
I live @ 20 miles from the SC border and often work there. In SC your carry has to be in the glove box(locked if possible) or other non accesible area. NC is just the opposite--it has to be clearly visible. When stopped or going through checks I lay my handguns onto the dash AND inform the officer that I am armed. Keeping your hands on the steering wheel or clearly visible will make sure the situation does not arouse his suspicions of you. I often get asked--why do you have two(or so many firearms). I ask them if they carry a back up and chuckle. Usually gets a similiar response. They want to go home to their families just like we do so we cannot blame them for wanting to be safe.
Was "hassled" once in Charlotte on Independence(74). We had four handguns on the dash and three people in our old Caddy. They asked if they could search the car and found 5-600 various rounds of ammo. To shorten the story, they finally said "adios" after 45 minutes of searching and told us to put our guns into the trunk. I stiffened and told them no that they were with us for a reason(being in Charlotte). They asked to let them leave prior to us reloading. They got excited when they found five loaded AK mags in the trunk and no rifle--I had left it propped against a tree at home when we loaded the trunk--and had forgotten it--oppps.
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