Buc-ee’s can feel like a safe haven for weary travelers with Beaver Nuggets, clean restrooms and a full tank of gas just minutes away, even if you can’t take a nap there. But how safe would you feel if you saw someone lugging a rifle across your local Buc-ee’s parking lot for a photo op?

The plethora of multicolored paper and metal warnings plastered across every entrance and gas pump at the New Braunfels site revealed something interesting — Texas’s favorite bucktoothed beaver bans a lot of things, but guns aren’t one of them. Turns out, there’s no clear policy prohibiting concealed or open carrying of rifles or firearms of any kind at Buc-ee’s. 

Signs banning pets and smoking and threats of criminal liability for drinking alcohol on the premises adorn the front doors. Your four-legged friend isn’t allowed inside unless it’s trained as a service animal, but your long-barreled or handheld metal shooter is, it seems.

This exact scenario played out in front of one visitor at a Buc-ee’s in Denton, a suburb of Dallas. Adam, from the account FoolishChoices on TikTok, caught someone lugging their rifle from the trunk of their sedan to the front of the beloved gas station for a quick photo.

“Guys is this legal in Texas?” the TikToker asked. It’s a fair question that could be difficult to answer if you haven’t kept up with Texas gun laws over the past decade or so. But the long and short of it is, yes, this is legal. 

While MySA reached out to Buc-ee’s for comment on whether there’s any internal policy over weapons in stores, the company did not respond by publication time. However, state law requires specific signage in front of a business prohibiting the open or concealed carry of a handgun (or even a rifle) if business owners want to boot someone for criminal trespass.

In the past, you might have seen a warning outside saying it’s illegal to carry a weapon without a license into a Buc-ee’s, punishable by a felony and up to 10 years in prison. But a law enacted in September of 2021 rendered that Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission rule moot since nobody over 21 needs a license to carry a gun in Texas.

However, if Buc-ee’s alcohol sales ever made up 51% or more of its overall revenue, carrying a weapon could become illegal.