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Hi all....

I have a friend who has a potentially complicated matter to deal with, and I think we've gotten it sorted, but I figured I'd get some other opinions too, in case we've missed something. My buddy will be moving a fairly large quantity of firearms from PA to TX in the near future...basically the family collection. It's going to be way too many to check as luggage for a flight, not to mention we figured he'd probably get his name instantly placed on the Watch List for trying to fly that many guns!

We discussed shipping them, but paying an FFL $20 per would quickly get exorbitant, not to mention the fact that he'd have to purchase a significant number of shippable cases (hard sided). So what that leaves is driving back, looks like. The guns will be unloaded and inaccessible (back of the vehicle) except his carry piece (when he's past WV or OH and legal to carry again).

Anyone have any input for additional precautions or things to consider? Ownership is not changing hands at this time; his folks are still alive, and will eventually be relocating to the area, and this helps give them one less thing to worry about come moving day. Any potential issues? Should he have a note from mom and dad?

Thanks in advance for any input.

http://chris.cc/firearmstransport.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used a hidden (and locked) Stack-On cabinet in my SUV to transport my firearms from WA to TX.

Well one minor potential issue I see would be if you were stopped for some of type of traffic violation and the LEO learned about the guns, you can pretty much bet they would run them thru NCIC to see if they were stolen. The issue here is it would just delay your trip a bit.

Since this is the family collection and many of them are probably priceless, I would suggest that he get a team of drivers together to round robin the drive and try to make it straight through without any overnight stops. He doesn't want to risk having them stolen out of the truck / car at a Motel.

Do you need an FFL to ship to yourself or whoever the owner is? I thought we could ship to ourselves across state lines. If so then crate up and send thru one of the big carriers.

lkd wrote:http://chris.cc/firearmstransport.htm

I used a hidden (and locked) Stack-On cabinet in my SUV to transport my firearms from WA to TX.

+1
That's what I did. I sealed the door and other gaps with tape, put it in the bed of my truck, piled all my worldly possessions on and around it, and covered everything with a tarp very securely tied down. I drove by myself from Los Angeles to Indiana, then months later to Texas. Had to stop over night along the way, always got a room where I could park in front of the door. No problems.

Define "fairly large quantity". I'm not being nosy, I'm just trying to get a handle on the amount of volume and weight involved.

I know people whose "fairly large quantity" could be carried in a suitcase, and others whose "small collection" would squat a 3/4 ton pickup.

If yours is closer to the latter than to the former, or otherwise can't be easily and discreetly moved into the motel room at night, I second the suggestion for team driving for a straight-through trip.

Thanks for all the input so far, guys. I don't know the exact numbers of what he'll be moving; he's not sure at this time himself, as the collection has gotten a bit fluid over the last handful of years. (sell this to finance that, trade that for this, etc).

The guess is probably 10-15 long guns, and about the same in handguns?

I carried multiple long guns and a few handguns from IL to TX a bunch of years ago, under the couch in my RV, with no qualms about legality. They were possessed legally where I came from, and where I went to, and they were all mine already.

jimlongley wrote:I carried multiple long guns and a few handguns from IL to TX a bunch of years ago, under the couch in my RV, with no qualms about legality. They were possessed legally where I came from, and where I went to, and they were all mine already.

A lot of mine were in the safe laid in the U-Haul trailer, but the trap doors and long rifles were wrapped in indian blankets. We actually did get stopped to check for produce, he asked me what all that was. I said about 40 rifles and assorted handguns, he just shrugged and had me button it back up.

We had detoured to Orlando before leaving FL but the unassuming trailer with a pad-lock drew no undue attention (Disney even accommodated us with directing us to a pull through space and shuttling us in). A U-haul with a privately owned padlock is what I would suggest. Even in a straight through drive you will be stopping for gas and eats.

I was also going to suggest an RV, if there was one available. Then you could stop at some camp grounds or wally-world parking lot and not have to leave the firearms unattended.