My wife and I will be moving to the Houston area when we retire next year. I have several handguns and long guns(AR, AK, VZ58, CZ Evo) to move. Have several high cap mags too. Have a fairly large amount of ammo to go with the firearms. We will be passing thru MD, VA, NC, TN, AR, and TX. This is almost a 1,500 mile drive for us. My wife will be driving her Toyota Highlander, I will be driving my Mustang. What is the the best way to transport all of these? Specially concerned about safety and legality.
Moving from MD to TX
- Thread starter dohc97
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DJW
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and do not openly display any of your stuff. concealed means concealed. MD is the only place I'd worry about but do check the laws of each of those states as already suggested. welcome to Texas.
edwardware
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Once you exit the Suck (and I include Virginia in that), none of the other states are a concern provided you're unloaded, cased, and behaving yourself. You should verify this yourself via NRA's State Law summaries on their site.
And, once you get to Texas, remember why you left the Suck and don't bring it with you.
And, once you get to Texas, remember why you left the Suck and don't bring it with you.
I agree. Leave the bad behind. Exercise grace when people rib you about being Canadian or a Yankee. They don't know the difference.
People do things differently in different regions. Usually there is a reason for it.
Gardening is different. Fishing is different.
My favorite rifle now sits in the closet because it's a 17 HMR and wind destroys its accuracy.
JR24
Member
Lol, that's so true. They never could quote understand that an upper Midwesterner finds Yankee just as derogatory as they would, but then again when I said I was from Wisconsin it was almost immediately followed by "where's that?" just about every time.
Had to teach a few Texan good ol boys how to drink too, but at least we were good buddies by the end of the night
Great folks down there though, enjoy retirement!
Follow the state and Federal laws. You will have little problem. Think about where you leave the guns if you stop overnight. A motel parking lot may not be the best idea.
You will find a rich, gun friendly environment there. Check out competitions. Don't make a big deal of being from the North. Most gun folks are welcoming.
You will find a rich, gun friendly environment there. Check out competitions. Don't make a big deal of being from the North. Most gun folks are welcoming.
I've driven TX to the NE several times. We called it the Cracker Barrel tour of America. I do suggest stopping overnight, long term driving at night with no sleep is a way to see weird monsters on the road. Been there - REM deprivation.
AlexanderA
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CapnMac
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Houston is a vast megaplex. The metro area is about 50 x 50 miles, and only about 7 million folk live there.
Soon enough you will know that after saying "Houston" you will often be asked "whayat?" and need to be able to specify things like Katy, Spring, Tomball, Memorial, or the like, just to narrow it down.
Driving a half hour for supper can e all too common.
On the trip, plan ahead, choose stops ahead of time as much as possible. Especially since you are driving two vehicles. Figure to need to stop about every three hours, if only for fuel.
Having moved too many time in my life, start planning on a small, closed, uhaul for the Highlander. Lock the ammo in the trailer (or make it the bottom layer of stuff in the highlander covered in blankets).
Run the cased armed in the backseat of the Mustang, where they can be covered up in other items, and are unlikely to be disturbed.
Save the passenger seat for your day-gear--traveling clothes, toiletries, personal electronics, etc. That way only the two passenger seats need emptying on reaching the motel.
At the motel Ask for Ground Floor Rooms if possible. Use google maps to look at actual motels along the route. Good news is that taking I-85 you are going to be headed into generally safer places (barring Atlanta).
Soon enough you will know that after saying "Houston" you will often be asked "whayat?" and need to be able to specify things like Katy, Spring, Tomball, Memorial, or the like, just to narrow it down.
Driving a half hour for supper can e all too common.
On the trip, plan ahead, choose stops ahead of time as much as possible. Especially since you are driving two vehicles. Figure to need to stop about every three hours, if only for fuel.
Having moved too many time in my life, start planning on a small, closed, uhaul for the Highlander. Lock the ammo in the trailer (or make it the bottom layer of stuff in the highlander covered in blankets).
Run the cased armed in the backseat of the Mustang, where they can be covered up in other items, and are unlikely to be disturbed.
Save the passenger seat for your day-gear--traveling clothes, toiletries, personal electronics, etc. That way only the two passenger seats need emptying on reaching the motel.
At the motel Ask for Ground Floor Rooms if possible. Use google maps to look at actual motels along the route. Good news is that taking I-85 you are going to be headed into generally safer places (barring Atlanta).
Well, with a Maryland carry permit, things look really good, regarding handgun carry, along your stated route:
https://handgunlaw.us/states/maryland.pdf
Seriously, if practicable, get a Maryland resident carry license/permit, before the move. It appears that each state along your route recognizes an MD license/permit to carry. Another best move would be to get a non-resident permit for Texas, before the move, but realize that not all states recognize non-resident licenses/permits.
Without a MD carry permit, one can abide by the federal Firearms Owners Protection Act, or FOPA, for short. This means, in summary, carrying the firearms unloaded, in a vehicle trunk, or, if in a vehicle without a trunk, inside a locked container, separate from the ammo, as far from the vehicle occupants as possible.
Without an MD permit, one may well be able to carry loaded handguns INSIDE one’s vehicle, in some of the listed states. This does include Texas, as I type this. Check each state’s page, at the Handgunlaw dot US site.
Some of the states on your list appear to allow permit-less “open carry.” Again, the Handgunlaw dot US site is a valuable resource. Notably, Texas is NOT one of the states that allows permit-less open carry of handguns! Open carry of handguns, in Texas, with a few exceptions that are mostly related to hunting and the shooting sports, requires that one has a License To Carry A Handgun.
Texas is notably VERY long gun friendly, at the STATE LAW LEVEL. Loaded or unloaded makes no difference, in Texas, with long guns. Concealed, or unconcealed, makes no difference, in Texas, with long guns. Not all states are as long-gun-friendly as Texas.
Keep in mind, the federal “gun-free school zone” law. This a reason that I recommend getting and maintaining a carry permit/license from some state. Search for this, on line, and be informed.
Keep in mind that laws can change. The Texas legislature is in session, right now, and could make changes.
Do not trust ANY old copy of the Texas Penal Code, especially, because there was a FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT regarding firearms laws, a few years ago. Specifically, one change was that the “traveling defense” was DELETED, and with it, one of the few ways that one could open carry, inside one’s vehicle, without a License To Carry a Handgun. Now, one can carry a handgun, inside one’s vehicle, in Texas, but the handgun must be concealed, unless one has a Texas License To Carry A Handgun, or a carry license from a state that Texas recognizes.
Texas does not issue a “Concealed Carry” license. Texas issues a License To Carry A Handgun.
I am not a lawyer! Nothing I have typed is “legal advice.” I have done my best to be understandable.
I did enforce Texas criminal law, from 1984 to 2018.
Welcome to Texas!
https://handgunlaw.us/states/maryland.pdf
Seriously, if practicable, get a Maryland resident carry license/permit, before the move. It appears that each state along your route recognizes an MD license/permit to carry. Another best move would be to get a non-resident permit for Texas, before the move, but realize that not all states recognize non-resident licenses/permits.
Without a MD carry permit, one can abide by the federal Firearms Owners Protection Act, or FOPA, for short. This means, in summary, carrying the firearms unloaded, in a vehicle trunk, or, if in a vehicle without a trunk, inside a locked container, separate from the ammo, as far from the vehicle occupants as possible.
Without an MD permit, one may well be able to carry loaded handguns INSIDE one’s vehicle, in some of the listed states. This does include Texas, as I type this. Check each state’s page, at the Handgunlaw dot US site.
Some of the states on your list appear to allow permit-less “open carry.” Again, the Handgunlaw dot US site is a valuable resource. Notably, Texas is NOT one of the states that allows permit-less open carry of handguns! Open carry of handguns, in Texas, with a few exceptions that are mostly related to hunting and the shooting sports, requires that one has a License To Carry A Handgun.
Texas is notably VERY long gun friendly, at the STATE LAW LEVEL. Loaded or unloaded makes no difference, in Texas, with long guns. Concealed, or unconcealed, makes no difference, in Texas, with long guns. Not all states are as long-gun-friendly as Texas.
Keep in mind, the federal “gun-free school zone” law. This a reason that I recommend getting and maintaining a carry permit/license from some state. Search for this, on line, and be informed.
Keep in mind that laws can change. The Texas legislature is in session, right now, and could make changes.
Do not trust ANY old copy of the Texas Penal Code, especially, because there was a FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT regarding firearms laws, a few years ago. Specifically, one change was that the “traveling defense” was DELETED, and with it, one of the few ways that one could open carry, inside one’s vehicle, without a License To Carry a Handgun. Now, one can carry a handgun, inside one’s vehicle, in Texas, but the handgun must be concealed, unless one has a Texas License To Carry A Handgun, or a carry license from a state that Texas recognizes.
Texas does not issue a “Concealed Carry” license. Texas issues a License To Carry A Handgun.
I am not a lawyer! Nothing I have typed is “legal advice.” I have done my best to be understandable.
I did enforce Texas criminal law, from 1984 to 2018.
Welcome to Texas!
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Upon crossing the Texas border, it is important to know that signage that prohibits carry of handguns, if properly displayed and worded, does have the force of law. Signs that prohibit concealed carry of handguns will refer to section 30.06 of the Penal Code. Signs that prohibit open carry of handguns will refer to section 30.07 of the Penal Code.
Texas law holds private property rights in high regard, so, if one is denied entry, or receives notice to depart, for any reason, or no stated reason, whatsoever, one really should back-down and depart. Failure to do so subjects one to arrest for Criminal Trespassing, Penal Code section 30-05. In my previous post, I mentioned that Texas is “long-gun-friendly,” but that does not mean that the owner of private property, or the owner’s designee, has to allow folks to enter the premises with a long gun, or anything else that makes them uncomfortable.
Again, Texas STATE law is long-gun-friendly. Watch out for federal properties, within Texas.
Texas law holds private property rights in high regard, so, if one is denied entry, or receives notice to depart, for any reason, or no stated reason, whatsoever, one really should back-down and depart. Failure to do so subjects one to arrest for Criminal Trespassing, Penal Code section 30-05. In my previous post, I mentioned that Texas is “long-gun-friendly,” but that does not mean that the owner of private property, or the owner’s designee, has to allow folks to enter the premises with a long gun, or anything else that makes them uncomfortable.
Again, Texas STATE law is long-gun-friendly. Watch out for federal properties, within Texas.
George P
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I strongly disagree; I prefer a Hampton Inn BECAUSE there is only one entrance with security and cameras. Folks do not care what you have,especially if you use a luggage cart.
Do everyone a favor; do NOT bring the MD politiics to TX, they're getting inundated enough with CA folks. Outside if DC/MD/VA, you have smooth sailing. do not worry about mag capacity etc.
Regarding the trip, itself, the last time I used the route through northeastern Texas, it was at night, and made frightenly worse by unlit areas and construction detours along small, poorly-signed local roads. As the old US Highway 59 is being transformed into the new US Interstate 69, there is much construction all along the way. Consider the Interstate 59 route, from Birmingham, AL, through Meridian and Hattiesburg, MS, to Slidell, Lousiana, where one then goes west along Interstate 12 and then Interstate 10, through Lousiana, and continues along Interstate 10 into Texas.
Nothing inherently wrong, of course, with the Memphis-Little Rock route into northeastern Texas, but it might be a good idea to ask for local intel about construction detours, nearer the time of your move. The bottom line is that the Interstate 69 corridor is not yet completed, so, if one wants the efficiency and well-maintained Interstate experience, with really nice rest areas, the Birmingham-Meridian-Hattiesburg-Slidell-Baton Rouge-Beaumont-Houston route might be better. Notably, the rest areas in Alabama and Mississippi are really nice, and seem relatively safe. The rest areas in Texas, along I-10, are really nice, and seem relatively safe.
Nothing inherently wrong, of course, with the Memphis-Little Rock route into northeastern Texas, but it might be a good idea to ask for local intel about construction detours, nearer the time of your move. The bottom line is that the Interstate 69 corridor is not yet completed, so, if one wants the efficiency and well-maintained Interstate experience, with really nice rest areas, the Birmingham-Meridian-Hattiesburg-Slidell-Baton Rouge-Beaumont-Houston route might be better. Notably, the rest areas in Alabama and Mississippi are really nice, and seem relatively safe. The rest areas in Texas, along I-10, are really nice, and seem relatively safe.
Every time I go on vacation, I get on FB and post that I will be gone for a week, my guns are in my house in my safe which is easily accessible with a common hand grinder. I tell them when I will be leaving and when I will return. I ask myself why I advertise my absence and I must say, I never have a good answer because there is no good answer. I guess I just have a secret desire to have my firearms stolen.
AlexanderA
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The OP did not say he already had a Maryland carry permit. Those are as rare as hens' teeth.
The problem is, it's generally not "practicable" to get a Maryland permit.
Ignition Override
Member
At least the OP won't have high-profile vehicles to attract attention - or pro-gun stickers i.e. Airborne, USMC, Glock, HK..."Got Sig ?" .
Steve S.: those types of people who advertise trip schedules on Spacebook etc are of the same mentality as those who walk outside of warning barriers, smiling at their cameras.
.Steve S.: those types of people who advertise trip schedules on Spacebook etc are of the same mentality as those who walk outside of warning barriers, smiling at their cameras.
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I recommend you rent a small trailer, individually case each firearm, put'em in there, cover them with a blanket, and tow behind. Staying at a hotel will allow you to back your second vehicle against your trailer doors. Secured in front and in back. But you might want to sleep lightly and carry something locked and loaded into the room. Ground floor with the vehicles close and in site. Any Motel Six should do.
You're welcome here in the Houston area. Great gun culture and overall good and welcoming folks. Please leave your Maryland in your rear view mirror. I assure you, as glad we are to have ya, we don't care how you did it up North.
You're welcome here in the Houston area. Great gun culture and overall good and welcoming folks. Please leave your Maryland in your rear view mirror. I assure you, as glad we are to have ya, we don't care how you did it up North.
Arkansas allows you to carry even if you’re from another state as long as, if stopped, you declare you are on a “journey”. It’s a weird law. But it covers you. Even if you were to get stopped, the likelihood of having any problems is minimal.
milsurpguy
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Virginia used to be gun friendly but now who knows. Once you get west of new y, i mean Virginia you are good to go. Virginia has been ruined by people fleeing NY who seek to recreate what they ran away from.
TN just passed constitutional carry.
NC might have some dumb gun laws.
If I were playing excape from MD I would get on I-64 and then I-81 and get into western Virginia where I think all the counties aside from Roanoke are 2A sanctuaries, then when you get into TN you're good.
TN just passed constitutional carry.
NC might have some dumb gun laws.
If I were playing excape from MD I would get on I-64 and then I-81 and get into western Virginia where I think all the counties aside from Roanoke are 2A sanctuaries, then when you get into TN you're good.
This started out well enough, then drove right off in a ditch. OP, there is some good advice to be had. Best of luck on your move.
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