# Gun cased while on hiking trails?



## thisdogfishes (Jan 9, 2014)

So I’m going to be doing some turkey hunting on public land that has hiking trails. If I’m walking on the trail to get to my location does my gun have to be cased on the trail?


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## MIfishslayer91 (Dec 24, 2013)

I never do. If it’s stateland open to hunting what’s the point of having your gun cased? A lot of small game hunters around me hunt right on the hiking trails in the rec areas.


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## sgc (Oct 21, 2007)

Theres always open season on something.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Michigan is an open carry state if you have legal intent in mind which translates to your hunting license and permission to be there. Good luck. Do not carry concealed unless you have a permit.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

Luv2hunteup said:


> Michigan is an open carry state if you have legal intent in mind which translates to your hunting license and permission to be there. Good luck. Do not carry concealed unless you have a permit.


Does carrying concealed include carrying a cased gun? Never really thought about it but it does make me wonder about different situations. 

One scenario is float hunting. I have float hunted rivers for ducks that flowed through state land and private. When I spoke with a CO about the topic I was told to unload and case my gun before entering the private streatches of the river and do not uncase until back on state land. His reasoning was that I was not legal to hunt over private land but i was allowed to travel that stretch. Seems i would have been in violation of concealed weapon under that logic.


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## Jiw275 (Jan 1, 2015)

The concealed pistol laws in Michigan are for handguns.


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## textox (Jan 30, 2020)

thisdogfishes said:


> So I’m going to be doing some turkey hunting on public land that has hiking trails. If I’m walking on the trail to get to my location does my gun have to be cased on the trail?


If the trails are on state land ,your purchase of a hunting license helped pay for that land,as well as gun and ammo sales
due to the Pittman-Robertson act.Carry uncased if you want to....


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## RS1983 (Mar 16, 2009)

DirtySteve said:


> One scenario is float hunting. I have float hunted rivers for ducks that flowed through state land and private. When I spoke with a CO about the topic I was told to unload and case my gun before entering the private streatches of the river and do not uncase until back on state land. His reasoning was that I was not legal to hunt over private land but i was allowed to travel that stretch. Seems i would have been in violation of concealed weapon under that logic.


Michigan is an open carry State. You are perfectly legal walking anywhere in this state with a fully loaded gun. You cannot have it loaded in a vehicle. You can literally walk down the road with a loaded shotgun, into a MCDONALD'S, or a Barnes and Nobles if you want. There are some exceptions to this, like you cannot open carry in an establishment regulated by the liquor control commission, ect...but you are pretty much good to go anywhere you are outside.

Regarding your float hunting experience, it would be on the CO to prove that you were either taking game or attempting to take game while you were floating over private riparian bottom lands. He would have to testify that he saw you shoot at a duck or that you had decoys out, calling, ect. As long as you are legally allowed to be on the river, you can have a gun with you, even if it's in the middle of the summer when no season is open.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

RS1983 said:


> Michigan is an open carry State. You are perfectly legal walking anywhere in this state with a fully loaded gun. You cannot have it loaded in a vehicle. You can literally walk down the road with a loaded shotgun, into a MCDONALD'S, or a Barnes and Nobles if you want. There are some exceptions to this, like you cannot open carry in an establishment regulated by the liquor control commission, ect...but you are pretty much good to go anywhere you are outside.
> 
> Regarding your float hunting experience, it would be on the CO to prove that you were either taking game or attempting to take game while you were floating over private riparian bottom lands. He would have to testify that he saw you shoot at a duck or that you had decoys out, calling, ect. As long as you are legally allowed to be on the river, you can have a gun with you, even if it's in the middle of the summer when no season is open.


Open carry doesn't apply when it comes to hunting because there is no law stating you can open carry. I am not sure your logic holds water for all scenarios. There are laws stating when you can and cannot hunt. Also how you have to transport a weapon for hunting. 

For instance I cannot carry my shotgun openly in my truck while traveling to my grouse hunting spot....there are laws forbidding me to do so. The officer told me to case the gun to prove I am not hunting while passing through private lands where it would be illegal for me to hunt. I didnt ask if this was his suggestion or if that was law but it seemed to make sense to me so I did.


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## Tron322 (Oct 29, 2011)

I hunt Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore a lot, trials everywhere. Had a park ranger tell me about five years ago there was talk of treating a particular trial that is paved just like it is a building and having hunters stay 150 yards away. The thing is ussually busy even on the firearm deer opener (I have seen geniuses walking it wearing brown clothes) and hunters here avoid it from what I have seen. Plenty of pockets that are hard to get to or less used trails I like to hunt.

Not sure what the feds can or can't close in there so I just try to learn where all the trials are and avoid them. The northern border is a couple miles from my house and I hope it stays open to hunting for a long time becuase it's so easy to access for me the months that no one is here visiting.

Pictured Rocks is the only other spot I have been around for hunting seasons and did the same thing, but for state or federal land else where I use hiking trials and old two tracks to access different areas with no issues.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

RS1983 said:


> Michigan is an open carry State. You are perfectly legal walking anywhere in this state with a fully loaded gun. You cannot have it loaded in a vehicle. You can literally walk down the road with a loaded shotgun, into a MCDONALD'S, or a Barnes and Nobles if you want. There are some exceptions to this, like you cannot open carry in an establishment regulated by the liquor control commission, ect...but you are pretty much good to go anywhere you are outside.
> 
> Regarding your float hunting experience, it would be on the CO to prove that you were either taking game or attempting to take game while you were floating over private riparian bottom lands. He would have to testify that he saw you shoot at a duck or that you had decoys out, calling, ect. As long as you are legally allowed to be on the river, you can have a gun with you, even if it's in the middle of the summer when no season is open.


From November 10-14, it is unlawful to carry afield a rifle. It's in the hunting digest.
Also, you can only carry a firearm into any business or on another's private property if they allow you to. There is no state law that grants you permission to do that.


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## RS1983 (Mar 16, 2009)

Petronius said:


> Also, you can only carry a firearm into any business or on another's private property if they allow you to.


That is covered under the trespassing law. The owner of private property can ask you to leave for any reason, the question of if you have a firearm with you is irrelevant.


Petronius said:


> There is no state law that grants you permission to do that.


You don't understand how the law functions in a free society. Laws don't grant privileges, they restrict them. If something is not *specifically prohibited by the law, then it is considered legal. *Try to find Michigan's Open Carry Law. You won't find it. That's why you are allowed to do it because it is not prohibited except in certain situations.
Regarding the date range you mentioned, I haven't seen that in the digest. That is pertaining to the act of hunting, not possessing a firearm.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

RS1983 said:


> That is covered under the trespassing law. The owner of private property can ask you to leave for any reason, the question of if you have a firearm with you is irrelevant.
> 
> You don't understand how the law functions in a free society. Laws don't grant privileges, they restrict them. If something is not *specifically prohibited by the law, then it is considered legal. *Try to find Michigan's Open Carry Law. You won't find it. That's why you are allowed to do it because it is not prohibited except in certain situations.
> Regarding the date range you mentioned, I haven't seen that in the digest. That is pertaining to the act of hunting, not possessing a firearm.


There are laws that specifically give permission for certain acts.



Page 22 of the Michigan Hunting Digest.


https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/hunting_and_trapping_digest_461177_7.pdf



*Deer Seasons - Bringing Equipment Afield 

November 10-14* 
It is unlawful to carry afield or transport any rifle (including rimfire) or shotgun if you have buckshot, slug, ball loads, or cut shells.


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## RS1983 (Mar 16, 2009)

DirtySteve said:


> For instance I cannot carry my shotgun openly in my truck while traveling to my grouse hunting spot....there are laws forbidding me to do so.


Yes that law is mcl 750.227d.

What law would he charge you with for having an uncased gun in the canoe while floating over riparian bottom lands?



DirtySteve said:


> The officer told me to case the gun to prove I am not hunting while passing through private lands where it would be illegal for me to hunt.


And I would have probably laughed at the suggestion that I be required to PROVE that I'm not breaking the law. That's really not how things work. The burden of proof is always on the prosecution/State.

Hunting involves more than simply possessing a gun. If you were duck hunting it might involve:

Aiming
Shooting
Calling
Concealing yourself
Decoying

The job of a law enforcement officer requires alot of cooperation from the public. Good for you voluntarily complying with his request.


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## RS1983 (Mar 16, 2009)

Petronius said:


> *Deer Seasons - Bringing Equipment Afield
> 
> November 10-14*
> It is unlawful to carry afield or transport any rifle (including rimfire) or shotgun if you have buckshot, slug, ball loads, or cut shells.




















Read the first sentence of the actual law that you are citing. It says what is listed in the guide plus a very important caveat:. *In an area frequented by deer*

It would be pretty obvious to any prosecutor, conservation officer, ect that the intent of that law is to stop people from poaching deer. If you were sitting on a bucket at the edge of a swamp with deer trails headed out into some oak trees with a shotgun and slug then I bet you might catch a ticket. 
That would be different than open carrying a weapon for personal defense, especially when there is no obvious indication that that person is intending to poach deer. A DNR officer would be expected to articulate why they believed that you were trying to poach a deer rather than just carrying a weapon.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

RS1983 said:


> View attachment 764544
> 
> 
> Read the first sentence of the actual law that you are citing. It says what is listed in the guide plus a very important caveat:. *In an area frequented by deer*
> ...


Right, in an area frequented by deer, which is exactly what the post was about. The law has nothing to do with attempting to take deer. By the way, many urban areas have deer populations and poaching in those areas does exist.
You're starting to put me asleep.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

RS1983 said:


> Yes that law is mcl 750.227d.
> 
> What law would he charge you with for having an uncased gun in the canoe while floating over riparian bottom lands?
> 
> ...


You sound like someone who has never been to court to dispute a ticket with the judge while an the officer is present in the court. 

I am convinced that 80% of our judges dont really read up on game laws. Traffic violations or theft they deal with every day.

Where does it state that you have to be doing any of your listed actions to be hunting? The last time l looked up the legal defintion i believe it said the act of pursuing or attempting to take game.


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## RS1983 (Mar 16, 2009)

Petronius said:


> You're starting to put me asleep.


Maybe you outta take a nap, lol.



Petronius said:


> The law has nothing to do with attempting to take deer


So that sentence about an area frequented by deer is there by accident? I think that the people who drafted that law understood that citizens have a right to bear arms but didn't want that to be an defense for someone who was actually poaching.


Petronius said:


> Right, in an area frequented by deer, which is exactly what the post was about.


And the OP's post is talking about turkey hunting, during this time of year, so your regulation you bring up about the five days prior to deer season isn't even relevant to the OP's question, as long as being germain to the original question is suddenly important for you, lol.


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## Nostromo (Feb 14, 2012)

RS1983 said:


> Michigan is an open carry State. You are perfectly legal walking anywhere in this state with a fully loaded gun. You cannot have it loaded in a vehicle. You can literally walk down the road with a loaded shotgun, into a MCDONALD'S, or a Barnes and Nobles if you want. There are some exceptions to this, like you cannot open carry in an establishment regulated by the liquor control commission, ect...but you are pretty much good to go anywhere you are outside.
> 
> Regarding your float hunting experience, it would be on the CO to prove that you were either taking game or attempting to take game while you were floating over private riparian bottom lands. He would have to testify that he saw you shoot at a duck or that you had decoys out, calling, ect. As long as you are legally allowed to be on the river, you can have a gun with you, even if it's in the middle of the summer when no season is open.





RS1983 said:


> That is covered under the trespassing law. The owner of private property can ask you to leave for any reason, the question of if you have a firearm with you is irrelevant.
> 
> You don't understand how the law functions in a free society. Laws don't grant privileges, they restrict them. If something is not *specifically prohibited by the law, then it is considered legal. *Try to find Michigan's Open Carry Law. You won't find it. That's why you are allowed to do it because it is not prohibited except in certain situations.
> Regarding the date range you mentioned, I haven't seen that in the digest. That is pertaining to the act of hunting, not possessing a firearm.





RS1983 said:


> Yes that law is mcl 750.227d.
> 
> What law would he charge you with for having an uncased gun in the canoe while floating over riparian bottom lands?
> 
> ...





RS1983 said:


> View attachment 764544
> 
> View attachment 764544
> 
> ...


Wow. If you are hunting you have to follow the hunting rules. So, drifting through property you do not have permission to hunt with a loaded rifle, shotgun or bow for that matter. Is questionable at best. Having it in a case during that time you are in an area where you do not have permission to hunt would be the way forward.


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## RS1983 (Mar 16, 2009)

Nostromo said:


> Having it in a case during that time you are in an area where you do not have permission to hunt would be the way forward.


Please cite the law that requires the gun case be in the canoe in the first place. Please cite the law that requires a gun be in a case while a person is using a public waterway, in a non motorized boat, for navigation purposes only.

Because if there is no law to prosecute, then your suggestion about the gun case is:


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

RS1983 said:


> Please cite the law that requires the gun case be in the canoe in the first place. Please cite the law that requires a gun be in a case while a person is using a public waterway, in a non motorized boat, for navigation purposes only.
> 
> Because if there is no law to prosecute, then your suggestion about the gun case is:
> View attachment 764641


You're still arguing this crap?


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## Nostromo (Feb 14, 2012)

RS1983 said:


> Please cite the law that requires the gun case be in the canoe in the first place. Please cite the law that requires a gun be in a case while a person is using a public waterway, in a non motorized boat, for navigation purposes only.
> 
> Because if there is no law to prosecute, then your suggestion about the gun case is:
> View attachment 764641


It could be you have an inability to differentiate between license and liberty. I suggest you read the hunting guide and then you know, follow the rules.


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## trucker3573 (Aug 29, 2010)

Petronius said:


> You're still arguing this crap?













I would guess this would completely depend on the CO officer. If you get the ticket because their interpretation of the overall situation is that you were actively pursuing game is it worth the fight in court? I’m guessing one party’s answer would be yes the other no?? Case closed?? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Nostromo (Feb 14, 2012)

trucker3573 said:


> I would guess this would completely depend on the CO officer. If you get the ticket because their interpretation of the overall situation is that you were actively pursuing game is it worth the fight in court? I’m guessing one party’s answer would be yes the other no?? Case closed??
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Oh come on! 
We have a perfectly good (though admittedly pointless) argument going here.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

Nostromo said:


> Oh come on!
> We have a perfectly good (though admittedly pointless) argument going here.


Definately a more enjoyable read than any covid thread in the last year.


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## KJC (Mar 26, 2005)

Would everyone please go back to the OP's question and read it. It is a hiking trail through State land where hunting is permitted. He wants to know if he has to have his gun cased in order to walk into his hunting spot.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

KJC said:


> Would everyone please go back to the OP's question and read it. It is a hiking trail through State land where hunting is permitted. He wants to know if he has to have his gun cased in order to walk into his hunting spot.


No, he does not need to have his gun in a case while walking to his hunting spot.


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Asking a fishcop about a law might not be a good idea. They will often tell you what they think the law is or what theyd like it to be.

Then there is that discretionary power factor. They love that..


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

22 Chuck said:


> Asking a fishcop about a law might not be a good idea. They will often tell you what they think the law is or what theyd like it to be.
> 
> Then there is that discretionary power factor. They love that..


I have found that explaining what you want to do and how to go about it is a pretty good idea. Granted the LEO may give you advice that goes above and beyond the letter of the law......but it sure is nice to have them on your side when someone makes a complaint. If you are doing exactly as they suggested it tends to go in your favor.


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## textox (Jan 30, 2020)

KJC said:


> Would everyone please go back to the OP's question and read it. It is a hiking trail through State land where hunting is permitted. He wants to know if he has to have his gun cased in order to walk into his hunting spot.


Not: -stated "public Land" does not mean its State Land.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

textox said:


> Not: -stated "public Land" does not mean its State Land.


Good point.

I can think of a state recreation area that has open hunting after labor day in specific areas for geese. Areas around the shore that are near picnic areas and trails are off limits to hunting but you could walk the trail to access certain spots. This thread makes me wonder if uncased weapon would be frowned upon there.


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## KJC (Mar 26, 2005)

textox said:


> Not: -stated "public Land" does not mean its State Land.


Open carry?


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Jennifer said we could 'open carry' as long as the gun was in a holster, BUT be careful of the pitfalls--not in motor vehicle unless CPLd, not in liquor licensed place unless CPLd, etc etc. Bicycle carry ???


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