I always carry a long rifle or 2 in my pickup and always have an ice chest full of drinks including beer, water, gatorade, soda etc. I asked TPWD about this and was told to contact sherriffs dept. any LEOs out there with any info. I run cattle on several pastures so spend time driving between pastures, a friend of mine says it is a felony to have a combo of rifles and alcohol. any input from a knowledgeable,credible source out there. I also always carry a hunting revolver, cant be confused with thug guns cause they are long barreled .44 mag or .45 colt for hogs and I do love to drink a beer or 2 or 3 when checking my cows.

TPWD gives good advice.

I am definatly not credible I'm a drunk, but, You can carry both as long as you are not drinking. Take a drink and it becomes a FELONY. I always have guns and alcohol together but I do not drink and drive. As long as you dont do that you are A OK.



EDIT: The above statement made by me is clearly false.

If you are on private property you can do whatever you want as the majority of alcohol laws apply to public roadways and public places.

You can have alcohol in your system and drive as long as you are under .08 and aren't a danger to anyone so I'm not sure about the felony that wp75169 is talking about, or how having a gun in the car would change the situation, but I'm no expert.

Also, there are specific paragraphs in the laws describing whatis "open", I'm sure 5-0 would frown on an open container and guns on a public roadway. So if your cooler is in the back seat, and there is vodka bottle in it that has been opened, but the cap is on it, I think that's considered an open container.

WRONG

Drink less and many things in your life will improve.

Right

Yes, if a seal is broken on the drink, then it is open container.

it was my understanding that it needs to be locked up & out of reach inside the vehicle if it has been opened...(that was how restaurants got by with sending you home with portions of bottles you have bought but not consumed)

Trunk is fine, bed of truck is fine. BUT, all officers should use common sense in dealing with these issues.

I guess me and all my fellow cattlemen I know are a felony waiting to happen I guess....

if its opened it has to be behind the last row of seats or other wise of out accessible reach.

Heres an interesting fact though if the lid is taped shut then it is sealed.

There are liqour stores that will mix you a huricane in a 32oz cup and put a lid on it and cover the straw hole and both sides with tape...there for it is sealed until you poke the straw through or open the lid, your not suposed to open it until you get home right.

There are lots of misconceptions about booze laws in Texas. Such as if the place you are eating at sells beer and wine then you can order some to go(they will most likely seal the top of a bottle of wine that has been opened); how ever if they sell liquor they cant let ANY booze leave the building.


Sorry to get long winded but I think this post is the same as "CAN I SHIP A GUN"...where lots of people have opinions from their brother inlaws half cousin that was a sheriffs officer for 1 year.

I would like to have a real law enforcement officer find and post the actual verbage of where it constitutes a fellony to be in the possession of liquor and firearms(while not legally intoxicated)

if you are swiggin' the everclear and covered in junk they may frown upon that

Unlikely you'll find one (how boring is that for an LEO, right?). I mean which area do we look at? Local city ordinance? Texas penal code? TPWD code?

let's start here:

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.46.htm#46.02

The simple combination of possession of both (firearms/alcohol) is not illegal, but consumption can make it iffy. CHL's are burdened with the vague definition of "intoxicated" (not the 0.08% definition), indicating any amount in the bloodstream can "potentially" be considered a violation.
But even that's not a felony....

Internet forums are basically a chitty source for accurate legal answers

Seriously, why would you believe it would be a felony to have an ice chest with beer, and a firearm in the same vehical?

What on Earth is your friend suggesting?

I guess that 90 percent of people that go huntng are felons

I am a LEO and I am not aware of those circumstance being illegal. Now if you change something in the scenerio it could change the legality. If you are on private property where the public is not allowed you cannot be DWI.

All I got from this was thug gun what exactly is a thug gun? o

There is so much mis-information here its laughable. I am a Police Officer and I will set the record straight. Number one, if you are on private property, DWI and open container laws DO NOT apply. DWI has to be committed in a public place and a private pasture is not. You can be drunk as a skunk driving around your own property and it is not against the law. Open container only applies to a motor vehicle that is located on a public roadway. You can sit in your vehicle and drink beer all day in your own driveway, pasture, or whatever.

There is nothing in the DWI statute that makes having a rifle in the vehicle with you a felony if you are stopped and arrested for DWI. Rifles do not apply to the Unlawful Carry of Weapon statute which is what folks most commonly refer to when situations involving handguns and motor vehicles arise. It is against the law to have a CHL and carry your handgun while intoxicated. I believe that is a Class A misdemeanor.

In short, you are not in violation of ANY law that I am aware of, and certainly nothing in the penal code, by driving around your pasture checking cows while drinking a few beers and having a rifle in your truck.

That pretty much sums it up.....kinda like the "felony" comment earlier.

Interesting. What if I'm on my private pasture driving an unregistered lease truck drunk as heck and shooting ground squirrels; in addition my TX drivers license is currently REVOKED due to DWI. This is purely hypothetical, there's no squirrels living on my property.

Hypothetically, you are fine.

Realistically, there probably are a few squirrels living on your property, whether you know it or not.

Riding around drunk on a gator at night shooting rabbits with a 22 is a good time.