Driving through a non-reciprocal state?

rwt1405 said:
Sounds like my drive from PA to the OBX (Outer Banks, NC) used to be.

I would pull over at the end of DE, unload and lock up my firearm and ammo, in separate locked cases, then place in back of vehicle, drive thru MD (about 1/2 hour) and than pull over in VA to re-arm myself.

In 2023 I took care of that stupid situation by obtaining my MD Wear & Carry permit, and now can drive straight thru, with no stops (for firearms storage) needed.

Just took my MD W&C Renewal course, last month.

Best thing I've done in a while.
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Your trip is very similar to what I'm doing. 1/2hr in MD is the issue. I looked up the MD W&C but it requires 16 classroom traing in MD... no thanks.
Good info though.
 
413Maxwedge said:
I hope your right, but my state is 2A friendly and we still have home invasions.
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Yes, but 2A friendly and crime are not necessarily related. Some of the most 2A friendly areas are crime ridden rat holes. If you're coming to northern New England, you have the best of both worlds. Enjoy your trip, and don't forget your fishing pole.
 
413Maxwedge said:
1) I know this forum is not a proper source of legal information.
2) I have researched this topic on the NRA-IL website as well as USCCA.
3) I still gotta ask...

We are planning a vacation and will be driving through 5 states. 4 of them are reciprocal regarding my PA LTC and don't have any regulations preventing me from carrying, keeping in my car or the rental property.
But one of them, that we will only be driving through for 1/2 hour, is not 2A friendly at all.

Without anyone giving bad legal advice, um, does anyone have any tips? I plan not to get off the highway as I quickly drive through that state, but I am a risk-assessor in my professional life and my "worst case scenario" is getting into an accident and waking up in a hospital with handcuffs and a felony charge.

But a worse-case scenario would be getting mugged at a gas station during the other 12 hours of travel time. Or home invasion at the rural mountain vacation home.

Without telling me to do anything illegal, what are your thoughts.
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Lots of good info so far, handgunlaws.us is very helpful as well. Hollow points are illegal in NJ, so don't bring them at all. There could be other related laws you want to be aware of (as mentioned rest stops etc).

I have to travel through NY on my way to PA, I'm licensed in MA, CT and PA (not NY). I used two safe's one for the unloaded gun and unloaded magazines and the other for the ammo in a manufacturer's box (as if it were just purchased sans the rounds I didn't need). I also placed a gun lock on the pistol for good measure inside the safe. I have a pickup truck so both safes were secured in the bed using cable locks. Under a hard cover, tailgate locked out of plain sight.

I took the risk of locking it all up before I left MA and waited till I got to PA before returning to my usual EDC. If you don't want to incur that risk, stop just before entering unlicensed state and perform all administrative tasks in as private a spot as you can. And vice-versa on returning to a licensed state.

Note: Containers used for the purpose of storing firearms or "commonly used" for that purpose do not require a search warrant or permission for an officer to search it. If they "see" it, they can search it. Plan accordingly. Last I checked Dewalt does not make any firearms related items. Safes with cables locks could fall under that category of common use.

Detouring around NY isn't an option for me, might not be for how you are traveling.
 
I say this every time this issue comes up. If your firearm is legal where your trip starts. And legal where your trip ends. All you have to do is lock empty gun in case in trunk separate from ammo. There is an interstate firearms law that protects you when transporting firearm through state in question. You’re not carrying it. You’re transporting it. It’s fairly easy to look up and study.
 
rwt1405 said:
In 2023 I took care of that stupid situation by obtaining my MD Wear & Carry permit, and now can drive straight thru, with no stops (for firearms storage) needed.

Just took my MD W&C Renewal course, last month.

Best thing I've done in a while.
Click to expand...

How does one get one of those?
 
413Maxwedge said:
Your trip is very similar to what I'm doing. 1/2hr in MD is the issue. I looked up the MD W&C but it requires 16 classroom traing in MD... no thanks.
Good info though.
Click to expand...

You do not have to take the training in MD

There are many places in PA that offer it!

I took my training (both Original 16-hr and Renewal 8-hr) in King of Prussia,PA, from Vinco Training, @ King Shooters Supply

The courses, and qualification shoot, are very straight forward.

BTW, Vinco Training Group put on excellent classes!

If I can help you in anyway, please feel free to message me, as I'd be more than happy to help you with info, if you ever consider doing this.
 
Bald1 said:
I say this every time this issue comes up. If your firearm is legal where your trip starts. And legal where your trip ends. All you have to do is lock empty gun in case in trunk separate from ammo. There is an interstate firearms law that protects you when transporting firearm through state in question. You’re not carrying it. You’re transporting it. It’s fairly easy to look up and study.
Click to expand...

Yup, its very easy to look up...takes all of a couple seconds.

Just a moment...
 
rwt1405 said:
You do not have to take the training in MD

There are many places in PA that offer it!

I took my training (both Original 16-hr and Renewal 8-hr) in King of Prussia,PA, from Vinco Training, @ King Shooters Supply

The courses, and qualification shoot, are very straight forward.

BTW, Vinco Training Group put on excellent classes!

If I can help you in anyway, please feel free to message me, as I'd be more than happy to help you with info, if you ever consider doing this.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I live in Montgomery Co, work in Phila Co, and my office is just outside KOP. I'll definitely look into Vinco.
 
raljr1 said:
How does one get one of those?
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I'm not sure about Florida, but many/most/all(?) states in the area of MD, have Instructors (have to be MSP qualified)/etc. that are capable of presenting the MD W&C course

Original/First course is 16-hrs, Renewal course is 8-hrs, both courses require a qualification shoot.

Some info below, along with qualification info

Hope this helps

Wear and Carry Permit
 

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I moved from Maine to Arizona last year which took me through some anti 2A states on the way. I rented a motorhome and had my entire collection and 8-10,000 rounds of ammo on board. The morning I left New Hampshire I took my carry piece off my belt and put it in a drawer, when I hit West Virginia I strapped it back on, my AZ permit was good the rest of the way across the country. I obeyed the traffic laws and didn't worry about it.
 
geeollie said:
I believe that WR Moore is correct. But, we both could be wrong. So, since you are the one who would be in legal trouble, don't take my word for it.

Do a search on 18 U.S. Code 926A. Sometimes referred to as The Peaceable Journey law.
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Well now. Like they said in The Wizard of OZ...This is a horse of a different color. If this Peaceable Journey law is indeed valid, then there is no problem getting through NJ or Maryland, as long as you follow procedures.

.38SuperMan said:
I have a similar problem. In route to Nebraska I can detour around Illinois and add considerable time to my trip or I can go through the very tip of Illinois and save considerable time and distance. If I take the Illinois route I’m only in the state for one mile or less and I go through a very remote area between Kentucky and Missouri. Actually I’m pretty certain I’m only in Illinois for a half mile or so. I’ve never seen any police in that area and rarely see another vehicle. I don’t like doing this but I just drive on through.
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I live in Illinois. You would have no problem traveling through Illinois. The southern part, anyways. I BELIEVE you can even keep it loaded,while in your car but you might want to look that up to be sure. Most south counties are gun sanctuary counties. No cop will mess with you, as long as you aren't doing anything you shouldn't. The game warden who checked me out last year congratulated me on exercising my 2A rights.

mikerjf said:
That was my approach to IL as well. But them levee roads are scary!
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See above. But yes, some of those levee roads can be scary, for other reasons. Snakes. Or you could get lost or stuck. Or some places you could hear banjos...:eek:
 
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I do this all the time. I drive from MO to ME pretty regularly, with guns.
When I get to the edge of PA, I stop and get gas/snacks whatever. I empty the pistol and stick it and ZERO ammo in a small lock box. Mags go into a separate bag or whatever. Stick the lock box (I use a small V-line cypher lock style) in the rearmost area of my car. (station wagon)
When I get to the NH border I reverse that and move on with my life.
If I have to overnight in any of the not-so-friendly states, I leave the handguns at home and bring a pump shotgun. Leave it in the back of the car, empty, with the action open, in a gun case.
Ammo separately. Rare that I spend the night in those places these days. I prefer to spend my money in free America.
 
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raljr1 said:
How does one get one of those?
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I did a little search and found these Instructors listed in the MSP site for Wear & Carry Instructors in Florida.

Might be worth checking with them, if you are interested.

Hope it helps.
 

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Thanks everyone for your input.

I contacted Vinco Training as rwt1405 recommended. Part of their reply was:

"As for transportation of firearms, federally you are allowed to transport firearms as long as they are unloaded, not accessible to the occupants, ammo stored separately. Usually this would mean the firearm is locked in the trunk in a locked container with the ammo locked in a separate container. The transportation is allowed while you are traveling. Stopping or spending the night is not traveling. "

I believe he is referring to the Peaceable Journey law that geeollie mentioned. Vinco is recommended by USCCA so Im going to follow the guidelines they (and most of you) gave.

I'm LTC in PA and the other states (besides MD) are all reciprocal: VA, TN and GA.
 
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First, don't get stopped. Don't drive like an idiot. As a general rule, if you are stupid enough to get stopped, you have failed. Don't have any kind of gun or political bumper stickers. Be gray. If you are within 5MPH of the speed limit, the odds getting stopped are low.

Most agencies are grossly understaffed. I used to count the troopers seen driving from here to Illinois, and typically it was single digits (total), especially in the big western states. A friend of mine retired from WSP and when he worked in this area, often spent 7-8 hours of a 10 hour shift running from one disabled car to another. When I was in Illinois, the same was true. A trooper who lived in the town where I worked had so many miles of State and Interstate road he was supposed to check that he would have to average 80 mph to do that.

Never ever consent to a search. If you consent, you are a dolt. Among other things, a competent search will take hours. Most agencies are looking for drugs, not guns. Some states are exceptions to that; I do my best to stay out of them.
 
From the Illinois State Police website:

WHAT IS REQUIRED OF AN ILLINOIS RESIDENT OR A NON-RESIDENT WHO IS PROPERLY LICENSED AND CARRYING A CONCEALED FIREARM WHEN CONTACT IS MADE WITH A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER?
Upon the request of the officer, the licensee or nonresident will disclose to the officer that he or she is in possession of a concealed firearm or present the license upon the request of the officer per the Concealed Carry Act. The licensee or the non-resident will also identify the location of the concealed firearm and permit the officer to safely secure the firearm for the duration of the investigative stop. During a traffic stop, all resident and non-resident passengers are required to act in the same manner.
I HAVE A CONCEALED CARRY LICENSE ISSUED BY ANOTHER STATE, IS MY LICENSE RECOGNIZED IN ILLINOIS?
No. Illinois does not recognize concealed carry licenses from other states. However, a resident from another state who has a valid concealed carry license from their home state may carry a concealed firearm within a vehicle while traveling through Illinois. If the non-resident leaves his or her vehicle unattended, the firearm shall be stored within a locked vehicle or locked container within the vehicle.


Easy enough.
 
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