Best Way to Move Cross Country with Firearms?

[glide]

I'm planning a cross-country move and I will have to drive through some very unfriendly places on the way to my final destination. I would prefer not to travel with guns in/attached to my vehicle.

Does anyone have any recommendations for moving with guns? I was thinking of renting a POD and having all my stuff shipped. Everything would be packed securely and I have insurance on my firearms. They have a policy against shipping firearms, but I'm guessing it is due to liability for damages. What do you say, is this a concealed means concealed' situation?

 

[eric_07]

I hope to be doing the same in the next month or two just not cross country. I know I can ship to myself, but I have to be on both ends of the shipping... I have to do some more research, but do I just lock it up in the trunk or what?

 

[ntomsw]

I can't speak on what to do during a move, but every year I drive to Michigan to visit my best friend, and last year was the 1st year I brought my firearms. I called every state that I was driving through to make sure it was ok that I 'pass through' with my firearms and ammo. They all said yes, as long as guns are loicked, and ammo is locked and stored in separate containers. Only bad state was New York. I was told by the State Police, traveling through was ok, but I was not allowed to stop, period. travel straight through, and only stop for gas, that's it. Otherwise, no issues at all. Headed back this July again too, and I plan on bringing my guns with me again too.

 

[drgrant]

The only places you really have to worry are NY and NJ, and after you get through either of those, it's basically gravy.

If it was me I would put my guns in my car/truck (out of sight) and just press onward, and not stop in either of those two states while transiting.

-Mike

 

[Scott D.]

Only bad state was New York. I was told by the State Police, traveling through was ok, but I was not allowed to stop, period. travel straight through, and only stop for gas, that's it.

Them telling you that is funny, stupid and scary all in one. So, if you had broken down (God forbid!) would you be a felon?

 

[ntomsw]

Them telling you that is funny, stupid and scary all in one. So, if you had broken down (God forbid!) would you be a felon?

Haha. Probably. The LT I spoke with said they just don't want people stopping and shopping for hours on end, while they have their cars loaded with guns and ammo, I guess. Some people will say, "why call at all?" But I was just covering my ass, because I had to drive through like 4 or 5 states, with my wife and kids. So, that's why i called each and every state, to make sure it was ok.

 

[greencobra]

Maybe I live on the edge but when I moved back to MA from Colorado, I just thew them in my transport boxes, packed em in the truck and drove east. I don't call no one, announce my plans to no one, I just get in and drive. This is another thing one can over think. I wouldn' bounce around the country for long like this but the 2 1/1 day drive was uneventful.

 

[caillean]

When we moved to WA from MA last year, we packed up all the guns (unloaded) in cases and put them in the small (locked, not juts for the guns but for protection of all the valuables inside) uhaul trailer we were pulling with the Forester and drove out to WA. The only route-concession we made was to avoid Chicago (but you always want to avoid Chicago anyway! NASTY traffic). FOPA covers you. We made the drive I90-I80-I84-I82 (didn't want to get stuck in snow on 90 in MT/SD/ND). As long as you start early on day one and don't stop for more than gas/pee/snack in NY or NJ (and avoid NJ all together, if possible), you're good to go.

The one paranoid thing I did was to print out a citation of FOPA and have that with me in the car, just in case I somehow had an encounter with a cop in an unfriendly state (read NY) who was ignorant of FOPA. Didn't need it, though.

 

[ochmude]

I just moved from MA to AZ two weeks ago (I saw people open carrying in Walmart this afternoon, btw, and no one cared). I just locked up my guns in my safe, put all my ammo and such in a footlocker and locked that, and packed it all up with everything else in the moving truck. It was completely a non-issue. As has been mentioned, NY and NJ are the only states where it might be an issue. No one else cares if you possess unloaded and locked firearms.

 

[noddaduma]

The only places you really have to worry are NY and NJ, and after you get through either of those, it's basically gravy.

If it was me I would put my guns in my car/truck (out of sight) and just press onward, and not stop in either of those two states while transiting.

-Mike

That's what I did when I moved from California to New Hampshire last year. Guns would have been *very* difficult to get to if I had been stopped, as the way I packed my truck required a power drill to undo the plywood I boxed the truck bed in with. I did this to avoid my stuff getting broke into during motel stays, and not necessarily to hide guns.

Gassed up in PA and didn't stop until I had crossed NY and MA and arrived at my destination. I guarantee I didn't break any driving laws in those two states, tho.

 

[bullseye]

If there was just a way to go west without having to go through NY. I would lock em, pack em and take them with me buried under a pile of other stuff completely out of sight so it would require a search warrant if they were to have to look.

 

[glide]

I don't want to go through NY with them. I also don't like the idea of staying overnight in a hotel with them in the car. I'm looking for options that don't involve throwing them in the trunk or shipping them individually.