Transporting a firearm in Mississippi is broadly permitted. Miss. Code Ann. Section 97-37-1(2) makes it lawful for any person over 18 to carry a...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Transporting a firearm in Mississippi is broadly permitted. Miss. Code Ann. Section 97-37-1(2) makes it lawful for any person over 18 to carry a firearm or deadly weapon concealed within any motor vehicle. Section 97-37-1(3) makes it lawful to carry concealed while engaged in or going to or returning from a "legitimate weapon-related sports activity" - hunting, fishing, target shooting, or any other legal activity normally involving the use of a firearm.
Mississippi does not require a transported firearm to be unloaded, cased, locked, or stored separately from ammunition. Federal law in 18 U.S.C. Section 926A provides a separate floor for interstate transport (unloaded, locked, ammunition separate); the federal floor is independent of state law and is rarely the binding rule in Mississippi.
"It shall not be a violation of this section for any person over the age of eighteen (18) years to carry a firearm or deadly weapon concealed within the confines of his own home or his place of business, or any real property associated with his home or business or within any motor vehicle."
This covers:
"It shall not be a violation of this section for any person to carry a firearm or deadly weapon concealed if the possessor of the weapon is then engaged in a legitimate weapon-related sports activity or is going to or returning from such activity. For purposes of this subsection, 'legitimate weapon-related sports activity' means hunting, fishing, target shooting or any other legal activity which normally involves the use of a firearm or other weapon."
The carrier need not be at the activity site. "Going to or returning from" extends the coverage to the trip itself.
For all of Section 97-37-1, "concealed" means hidden or obscured from common observation, and EXCLUDES a pistol carried in a wholly or partially visible sheath, holster, scabbard, or case. A long gun in a wholly or partially visible case is not concealed for purposes of Section 97-37-1 either.
Constitutional carry under Section 45-9-101(24) authorizes a 18-or-older person to carry a loaded or unloaded pistol on the person in a sheath, holster, purse, handbag, satchel, similar bag, briefcase, or fully enclosed case. The same authority covers the carry method during transport on foot, on a bicycle, on a scooter, or any other non-motor-vehicle mode.
Long guns (standard-length rifles and shotguns) are not on the Section 97-37-1(1) list of weapons that the criminal baseline prohibits from concealed carry. A long gun transported in a vehicle - cased or uncased, loaded or unloaded - is therefore outside the Section 97-37-1 prohibition entirely. The Section 97-37-1(2) vehicle carve-out covers it as well.
For NFA-regulated long guns (short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, machine guns, suppressors), federal law under 26 U.S.C. Section 5841 (registration), 26 U.S.C. Section 5845 (definitions), and 27 C.F.R. Part 478 (regulations) applies regardless of state law. The owner must possess the firearm in compliance with the federal NFA framework. Mississippi law does not impose additional restrictions on NFA-registered items.
Section 97-37-1(3) explicitly covers "hunting" within "legitimate weapon-related sports activity." A hunter transporting a hunting rifle, shotgun, or handgun to or from the hunt is within the carve-out. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks publishes hunting regulations that may impose case-specific rules (for example, prohibiting hunting from a vehicle on a public road); those are hunting-method rules, not transport rules.
A competitive shooter transporting a pistol, shotgun, or rifle to or from a match is within Section 97-37-1(3). The same rule covers a recreational target shooter going to or from a public or private range.
The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 922(q)(2)(A), bars carrying a loaded firearm within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school. The Section 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) exception for state-licensee holders applies in Mississippi:
Mississippi state law independently bars firearms on K-12 school grounds (Sections 97-37-14, 97-37-17, 97-37-19). The 1,000-foot federal zone reaches farther than the state school-property rule.
Common carriers (airlines, Amtrak, intercity buses) have their own federal rules:
A Mississippi resident driving to or from another state where the resident may lawfully possess a firearm is protected by 18 U.S.C. Section 926A during the in-transit portion. Section 926A requires that during the in-transit portion the firearm is:
This federal floor protects the traveler from prosecution in an in-transit state with stricter rules. Within Mississippi, the Section 97-37-1(2) carve-out is more permissive, so Section 926A is rarely invoked. It matters for travelers leaving Mississippi for a state with restrictive transport rules.
A Mississippi resident transferring a firearm in a private transaction to another Mississippi resident is not, by Mississippi law, required to use an FFL. Federal law in 18 U.S.C. Section 922(d) prohibits transferring to a known prohibited person; 18 U.S.C. Section 922(a)(3) and (a)(5) restrict interstate transfers. A Mississippi resident transferring to a non-resident must use an FFL on the receiving end.
A Mississippi resident transporting a firearm to an FFL for transfer, repair, or pawn is acting within ordinary Mississippi practice. No special transport rule applies.
This page covers one part of our Mississippi concealed carry guide.
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