In Colorado, a person may carry a concealed firearm, regardless of a permit, while in a private automobile or other private conveyance, for lawful protection while traveling.¹ However, as of 2024, Colorado requires that all unattended handguns left in vehicles must be stored within a locked hard-sided container that is placed out of plain view and stored within a locked vehicle or trunk thereof. A firearm that is not a handgun may be stored in a soft-sided container, but must have a locking device installed on the firearm while stored in the soft-sided container.²

Colorado law provides that local governments may not restrict a person’s ability to travel in a private automobile or other private conveyance while in possession of a firearm for hunting or lawful protection while traveling.³

Colorado prohibits any person from possessing or having under his or her control any firearm other than a handgun in or on any motor vehicle unless the chamber of the firearm is unloaded.⁴

Subject to limited exceptions, the state prohibits any person from operating or riding on any snowmobile with a long gun in his or her possession, unless it is unloaded and enclosed in a carrying case. Since March, 2020, Colorado has allowed people to carry loaded handguns on snowmobiles. ⁵

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1. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-12-105(2)(b). See also Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-12-204(3), providing that no permit is required to carry a handgun within a private automobile or other private conveyance if the handgun is carried for a legal use and the possessor is not prohibited from possessing a firearm by law.[↩]
2. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-12-114.5.[↩]
3. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-12-105.6(2)(b).[↩]
4. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 33-6-125.[↩]
5. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 33-14-117(1)(b).[↩]