[DMK]

Assume that someone is taking a road trip outside the boundries of their CCL. Perhaps they are even traveling to unfriendly territories such as **** or Jersey.

Is it legal to carry a black powder pistol concealed in their vehicle and/or luggage?

Is it even feasable to carry one loaded for a week or so?

[Preacherman]

See this thread (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?threadid=47) - the very first thread ever posted in our Black Powder Forum! :D

[P95Carry]

GREAT thread that one ..... :D

I would always feel a huge ?? if carrying one .... WILL the sucker go off when ordered too!?:p

[Jim K]

I don't know of any concealed weapons law that makes an exemption for black powder or for percussion or flintlock weapons. They are considered weapons in cases of armed robbery or ADW also. Some state laws exempt such firearms from purchase requirements or regulations, but some exempt only original guns, not repro's or something like the Ruger Old Army.

But the reality is that if a person acts with discretion, it is extremely unlikely that a car will be stopped and searched. Examples of non-discretion are driving 95 in a school zone, giving police the one finger salute, taking pot shots at other cars, weaving down the road waving a whiskey bottle out the window, or displaying "off the pigs" and "Crack forever" bumper stickers.

As a practical matter, a percussion revolver like an 1851 Colt is just as good as a .38 Special for the first six shots, and you can leave it loaded and capped for years in a dry area.

Jim

[P95Carry]

you can leave it loaded and capped for years in a dry area Agree with the theory Jim but .... would you actually TRUST it?? Doubt I could!:p

[Sunray]

A handgun is handgun and your carry permit is for a handgun, is it not? In the olden days, anyone who could afford a handgun, knew enough to unload it and reload it daily. No loading on the 1st of the month and carrying it all month or until you got around to changing the load. You cleaned it every day whether it needed it or not if your hide's integrity depended on it.

[DMK]

See this thread - the very first thread ever posted in our Black Powder Forum! Good thread. Thanks Preacherman. :D

[4v50 Gary]

BTW, in CA there is no distinction between blackpowder guns and modern guns. You go to jail all the same.

[carpettbaggerr]

In NY state, they're not firearms -- until you load them. Then all the firearm laws apply. You'd have to check the laws for whichever states you'll be in. I wouldn't trust a blackpowder gun to go bang if loaded for more than a week, especially in humid weather.

[ROAshooter]

I can say.....I have been down this road. Many years ago, I was working for a company that moved me around a bit. Now I have some fine pistols, but, the legalities of different states, and the transport of said pistols, gave me concern. Sooo, I took my SS Old Army, which unloaded, at the time, was considered a non-gun, and I never had any problems with transportation. I really didnt need a weapon, but like many I felt more comfortable in a strange town, you all know what I mean.
When I checked into my room ( I usually had it for at least a week to two weeks at a time) I would carefully load my OA with powder and ball, using dry felt pads instead of greasing over the loaded balls. Tight caps, and a fleece lined pistol blanket, and I was set. The pistol would stay loaded for as long as I was staying. People.....this gun.......NEVER!!!!!!
failed to fire when the trigger was pulled!! I had and still have faith in it doing what I need it to do!

[chaim]

I don't know about NJ or CA (the two you specifically mention) but here in MD a blackpowder pistol is not a gun when you buy it (no paperwork) but it is a gun for carry and transport purposes (no carry without the nearly impossible to get CCW license, transport in the trunk, unloaded, in a container/box/holster, with all ammo in the passenger compartment as far away from the gun as is possible).

As for other aspects of carry, I'd be a bit nervous. Remember that rimfire was considered a reliability improvement over cap and ball. Also, if you will conceal it, especially deep concealment (derringer, NAA blackpowder mini-revolver) I'd worry at least a little about the possibility of a static charge (esp. during the winter) possibly setting it off.:what:

[Johnny Guest]

I began writing a reply here, and realized I'd ALREADY used some of those same phrases. Checked the thread that Preacherman referenced above, and, lo and behold!

Previously said, but comments still apply. Trouble is, my remarks would only hold true under Texas law. I wouldn't try that plan in another jurisdiction without some definitive legal research.

Best,
Johnny

[Soundtrackzz]

The federal law does NOT recognize blackpowder guns and firearms

[Quiet]

In CA, blackpowder is considered a firearm.


CA Penal Code 12001
(a)(1) As used in this title, the terms "pistol," "revolver," and "firearm capable of being concealed upon the person" shall apply to and include any device designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled a projectile by the force of any explosion, or other form of combustion, and that has a barrel less than 16 inches in length. These terms also include any device that has a barrel 16 inches or more in length which is designed to be interchanged with a barrel less than 16 inches in length.
(b) As used in this title, "firearm" means any device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel a projectile by the force of any explosion or other form of combustion.

[Ray P]

Soundtrackzz:

Please read the link: federal law (http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/Federal/Read.aspx?id=60) *ONLY* exempts blackpowder guns from the shipping, tracking, and FFL requirements of the 1968 Gun Control Act. If you pack one across state lines, on a common carrier, you gotta report it, same as a modern pistol. If you transport one across state lines in your own conveyance, you still should comply with the fed guidance on locked storage, separate from ammo, to prevent running into state laws that vary from federal law. And state laws do vary.

I've lived in 9 states in the last 18 years, and none of them treated my blackpowder revolver as anything but a firearm under their laws. The only distinction I remember from IL, CA, CT, ME, NH, SC, UT, WA, VA or NM was: if the firearm wasn't capped, it wasn't treated as loaded for purposes of transporting a loaded firearm by car or boat during hunting season. In all other aspects, it is a firearm.

[scrat]

Quiet



good to know thanks for the info

[NavyLCDR]

transport in the trunk, unloaded, in a container/box/holster, with all ammo in the passenger compartment as far away from the gun as is possible).

If you travel through a state like this, counting on FOPA for protection, you won't have it. The ammo must be separated from the occupants of the vehicle, not from the gun. The gun just has to be unloaded, but the ammo can be in the same container as the gun, according to FOPA.

If you transport one across state lines in your own conveyance, you still should comply with the fed guidance on locked storage, separate from ammo, to prevent running into state laws that vary from federal law.

Ditto - federal guidance (FOPA) does not require separation of the gun and ammo.

[Ray P]

Checked the regs. You are correct, El-Tee.

For others: see USC TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 44, § 926A.
Interstate transportation of firearms (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00000926---A000-.html)