fast ed
22lr
I have a hunting and target in New York. I have a non resident in Florida. Can I legally drive to Florida or mail the gun to my self.. I will be there at least 3 months.
transporting firearms 1200 miles south
- Thread starter fast ed
- Start date
MadScientist
.45 acp
Yes, technically you can travel anywhere with firearms.
What’s tricky is how you transport them. Usually guns need to be locked in a case separate from ammunition. Sometimes states have weird laws, for instance IIRC Michigan is weird in that they want the ammunition as far away from the gun as possible (glove box vs trunk). So look into each state first.
And finally take into account stoppages. Some states frown on you stopping with a firearm even if it’s unloaded and locked up. Also I think it is South Carolina that has weird reciprocity laws, thus your N.Y. permit is not recognized there. And last but not least avoid NYC if you are from Upstate. They are notorious for not respecting the FOPA
Traveling With a Gun & Transporting Firearms; Safe Passage Provision Under the Firearm Owners Protection Act - Shooting Range Industries
What’s tricky is how you transport them. Usually guns need to be locked in a case separate from ammunition. Sometimes states have weird laws, for instance IIRC Michigan is weird in that they want the ammunition as far away from the gun as possible (glove box vs trunk). So look into each state first.
And finally take into account stoppages. Some states frown on you stopping with a firearm even if it’s unloaded and locked up. Also I think it is South Carolina that has weird reciprocity laws, thus your N.Y. permit is not recognized there. And last but not least avoid NYC if you are from Upstate. They are notorious for not respecting the FOPA
Traveling With a Gun & Transporting Firearms; Safe Passage Provision Under the Firearm Owners Protection Act - Shooting Range Industries
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Federal law (US Code 18 subsection 926a) provides for legal transportation of your firearms from one state where you are allowed to another one where you are allowed. They must be unloaded, ammo separated from where they are, such as your trunk. Also a Florida CWP allows you to carry in many of the states you travel through depending on the route. SC only allows for resident cwp.
Deplorable Me
.700 Nitro Express
When I travel south I stay away from the coast. MD, NYC, DC, NJ are 2A stupid states; but keep an eye on South Carolina!
Deplorable Me
.700 Nitro Express
A fun little link. I can not vouch for it's accuracy buy if you plug in NY and PA; SC still has says NFW.
Concealed Carry Permit Reciprocity Maps (Updated October 10, 2018)
Concealed Carry Permit Reciprocity Maps (Updated October 10, 2018)
Deplorable Me
.700 Nitro Express
I think SC hates Yankees.
Marine Cpl
.577 Tyrannosaur.
Are you talking about a pistol? If so, you can legally drive over there carrying concealed except in the states where you licenses are not valid.
New Jersey, Washington DC, and South Carolina. You'll have to unload before you get to those states and lock them up.
I make this trip to Florida yearly. To avoid those states, I go through Pennsylvania into West Virginia into Virginia into North Carolina into South Carolina into Georgia into Florida.
In South Carolina, you can't legally CCW but you can have a loaded handgun in your glove box.
As far as the route, I take 84 West into PA onto 81 South and it eventually connects to 77 South. At the Pennsylvania- Maryland border, you have a choice. You can go around Maryland which takes you about a half hour out of your way or you can go through Maryland. It's a small piece of Maryland that is only about 10 minutes long before you get to West Virginia. In South Carolina, 26 East brings you back to 95 South.
It sounds complicated but it's not. My 80 year old parents go this way. If they can do it, you can do it. Going this way avoids over 50 dollars each way in tolls. It only adds about 2 hours to your trip compared to going through 95 South directly but from my experience, time wise it's about the same because going through 95 South directly, you usually lose 2 hours in traffic anyway by Washington DC, Maryland, and North Virginia.
Target
6.5 Creedmoor
If you mail the firearm I believe it has to go to a FFL. I dont think that you can mail it ( UPS / FedEx for pistols, not Post Office) to a private address.
Truebeliever
6.5 Creedmoor
FOPA is recognized in all states and NYC, it’s not interpreted as it should be. Or the person isn’t following it to the letter.
Airport travel is not covered by FOPA. That is a federal circuit decision.
Unnecessary stops is big one. What is a necessary stop.
Stopping to pick up or drop off a friend is not covered in FOPA. Going to get something to eat or a hotel room stop is not is a necessary stop according to NJ. But FOPA is recognized and listed on NJ state police website.
People get in trouble in NYC because they left the highway. They just don’t believe you if you claim you didn’t stop or we’re going to make a stop in the city. FOPA transporting happens everyday in NYC.
Similar to a post someone out here about openly carrying a knife in NYC on a subway but when stopped, they arrested him because they didn’t believe that he was going fishing( an exemption to the rule) because it’s on a subway and he didn’t have any fishing gear. The poster said he was but they didn’t believe him.
So if you aren’t in the highway, they aren’t going to believe that you didn’t stop.
If you are on the highway, it is believable that you would continue thru.
Packaging. People don’t pack the firearm properly. It’s in plain sight you definitely didn’t pack it right to claim FOPA. Unloaded locked box/hard container even in the trunk is the safe way to go with the ammo or anything else in a separate locked box from the firearm(s).
Other than that, FOPA is recognized and followed to the letter and not what it should mean, you can travel with no problem.
And just don’t give them a reason to stop you in the first place.
Airport travel is not covered by FOPA. That is a federal circuit decision.
Unnecessary stops is big one. What is a necessary stop.
Stopping to pick up or drop off a friend is not covered in FOPA. Going to get something to eat or a hotel room stop is not is a necessary stop according to NJ. But FOPA is recognized and listed on NJ state police website.
People get in trouble in NYC because they left the highway. They just don’t believe you if you claim you didn’t stop or we’re going to make a stop in the city. FOPA transporting happens everyday in NYC.
Similar to a post someone out here about openly carrying a knife in NYC on a subway but when stopped, they arrested him because they didn’t believe that he was going fishing( an exemption to the rule) because it’s on a subway and he didn’t have any fishing gear. The poster said he was but they didn’t believe him.
So if you aren’t in the highway, they aren’t going to believe that you didn’t stop.
If you are on the highway, it is believable that you would continue thru.
Packaging. People don’t pack the firearm properly. It’s in plain sight you definitely didn’t pack it right to claim FOPA. Unloaded locked box/hard container even in the trunk is the safe way to go with the ammo or anything else in a separate locked box from the firearm(s).
Other than that, FOPA is recognized and followed to the letter and not what it should mean, you can travel with no problem.
And just don’t give them a reason to stop you in the first place.
C3D
.308 Win
If your NY licensing agency is NYPD, then no. Otherwise you are GTG. Guns unloaded in a locked container. All mags unloaded as well.
eris
.45 acp
I'm getting ready to drive from Texas to Alabama with several guns, so this thread is quite relevant to me. I just bought a couple of lockable, hard carry cases just to be safe. Looks like most of the salient points have already been covered, but I'll leave this link to the NRA page about travelling with guns, because it has some notes about special rules in specific states.
NRA-ILA | Guide To The Interstate Transportation Of Firearms
NRA-ILA | Guide To The Interstate Transportation Of Firearms
subsonic
.44 mag
MD is the nastiest state for gun laws that is hardest to avoid, but depending on where you're coming from crossing from PA to WV at Hancock may add as little as 20 minutes or so to your trip, and you'll only be in Maryland for 2 miles. Lovely part of the country too.
FOPA says we shouldn't have to worry about this but tell that to NYC/NJ/MD.
FOPA says we shouldn't have to worry about this but tell that to NYC/NJ/MD.
minderasr
6.5 Creedmoor
According to reviews, this app hasn't been updated in 2 years. Possibly abandoned by developers?
I misspoke so my apologies. Looks like I bought the app for $0.99 in 2014 and they made a change to an annual subscription model in the last year or so @ $1.99 per year. I’m grandfathered for free going forward.
I checked and found some recent updates so it’s still a valuable app even at $1.99 imo. As an example it shows updates for NJ recent change to 10 round magazines.
minderasr
6.5 Creedmoor
My apologies. It seems I got my information from a semi-recent review.