Edited: 11/13/18
We all know Open Carry is allowed in PA and only Philadelphia requires you hold a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms in order to be legally open carry there
There is another set of laws that could get you in trouble. The PA laws governing transportation of firearms in a vehicle require it to be unloaded. Likewise if the weapon uses a magazine and ammunition is loaded in the magazine, it must not be in the firearm and must kept separate from any container that the firearm may be in. If your firearm is an a 'range bag' you could not have loaded magazines in the same pocket as the firearm, but pockets outside are acceptable.

These laws also place strict limits on where your vehicle can go with a firearm in it. Essentially it is between your home to a range or hunting area or to a gun dealer.

If you unload and are on your way to the range or some other legal place listed and decide you want to stop at the mini mart for a slushy therein lies the problem... If you left the firearm in your car, it will likely go unnoticed. If you decide to stop and 'gun up' you have really put the icing on the cake. How many law enforcement officers are aware of this? Probably not too many unless their chief is anti gun and directs them to look for violators.

I realize this opens up a can of what ifs... and I will not go beyond what I have said because there is one simple solution to this! Get and maintain a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms!

We are a Shall Issue State and while there are a couple of Sheriffs that make it a pain as much as possible, you cannot be denied as long as you do not meet one of the prohibited individual conditions. The previous Lancaster County Sheriff used to require you pickup the license form at their office and you could only have one. Fill it out and submit along with the $25 and they would let you know. It was always a minimum of 2 trips to get it done. Even so, it just eliminates any need to tippy toe through the minefields of conflicting laws

If you’re not aware, look at a bill that has been proposed in PA to restrict loaded guns in cars. I forget the bill name but the gun collective brought it up recently so you can watch the video for more info. Basically it’s written vaguely so that it won’t exempt people with a license to carry. Meaning if you have your carry gun loaded and caught, you can prob kiss that license goodbye.

1) There is no such law in PA requiring the firearm or ammunition to be inaccessible to the driver or anyone else in the vehicle. If you lack the PA "license to carry firearms", you can have the unloaded firearm on the seat next to you if going to the range and other places allowed by law.

Transporting unloaded firearm;

Range: (4)  Any persons engaged in target shooting with a firearm, if such persons are at or are going to or from their places of assembly or target practice and if, while going to or from their places of assembly or target practice, the firearm is not loaded.

Gunsmith, gun dealer, etc: (8)  Any person while carrying a firearm which is not loaded and is in a secure wrapper from the place of purchase to his home or place of business, or to a place of repair, sale or appraisal or back to his home or place of business, or in moving from one place of abode or business to another or from his home to a vacation or recreational home or dwelling or back, or to recover stolen property under section 6111.1(b)(4) (relating to Pennsylvania State Police), or to a place of instruction intended to teach the safe handling, use or maintenance of firearms or back or to a location to which the person has been directed to relinquish firearms under 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108 (relating to relief) or back upon return of the relinquished firearm or to a licensed dealer's place of business for relinquishment pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108.2 (relating to relinquishment for consignment sale, lawful transfer or safekeeping) or back upon return of the relinquished firearm or to a location for safekeeping pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108.3 (relating to relinquishment to third party for safekeeping) or back upon return of the relinquished firearm.

2) There is no such law in PA requiring the ammunition to be in a closed container. The only requirement for transporting a firearm and ammunition without having a LTCF, is that firearms that use a magazine cannot have the firearm and loaded magazine in the same compartment, ie, touching. If the magazine is in a pouch with a secure flap, then that would be considered a separate compartment and fall within the legal requirements for transportation. If I have my unloaded handgun in a soft or hard case, I can have the ammunition in a coffee can.

Loaded definition: "Loaded."  A firearm is loaded if the firing chamber, the nondetachable magazine or, in the case of a revolver, any of the chambers of the cylinder contain ammunition capable of being fired. In the case of a firearm which utilizes a detachable magazine, the term shall mean a magazine suitable for use in said firearm which magazine contains such ammunition and has been inserted in the firearm or is in the same container or, where the container has multiple compartments, the same compartment thereof as the firearm. If the magazine is inserted into a pouch, holder, holster or other protective device that provides for a complete and secure enclosure of the ammunition, then the pouch, holder, holster or other protective device shall be deemed to be a separate compartment.

Steve, I think in your #2 explanation you mean to use "without."

Yup!

I think it's in SB 17

Steve of PA, thanks. I did look over the things you put forth and edited my post to correct it. I think I got it all [fingers crossed]

The main thing I am after here is to dispel the idea that open carry means a free pass to do whatever you want while carrying a loaded firearm in PA. We see far too many of these simple replies, 'concealed means concealed' or 'pa is open carry'. Without going into other portions of the laws, one can be banned from ever owning a firearm again without any real effort on our part.

Considering how incredibly easy it is to get a PA ltc, no one has an excuse not to.

For the record, I think PA has this process right.  Not a prohibited person and paid your dues?  Here is your license.  
Took me almost a month to get my TX ltc in the mail and I probably bitched about it every day I had to wait. Luckily my PA ltc was recognized here.