Wyoming carry question.

[Torghn]

I'll be back country backpacking in Wyoming next week and would like to know what the carry laws in Wyoming are. I don't have a CCW permit (I sent in the paper work in mid May, but Utah is really backed up).

I've been told Wyoming is an open carry state, can you open carry a loaded (chambered) hand gun? Is it illegal to have a loaded handgun in backpack (backpack as in hiking/tent/sleeping bag not school backpack) without a permit? What about an unloaded handgun in a backpack?

 

[Pat McCoy]

Wyoming is an open carry state. Put the handgun in a holster on your hip, and stay out of the national parks, and you'll be fine.

 

[Tokugawa]

Call the Wyoming AG. They were helpful to me.

 

[Tokugawa]

PS- Just got back from north west Wyoming and had the opportunity to see a big Griz rolling 55 gallon drums around the campsite in the middle of the night. Have not seen one in the lower 48 before. Some bear spray might be nice also on your hike.

 

[sacp81170a]

Just got back from north west Wyoming and had the opportunity to see a big Griz rolling 55 gallon drums around the campsite in the middle of the night.

I can unequivocally state that I have never seen a grizzly in the wild that didn't look big to me.

Rules in grizzly country:

1. Carry.
2. Carry heavy.
3. Have your friends carry.
4. Heavy.

 

[bl4ckd0g]

No need to call the AG. Wyoming's carry laws are way more liberal than UT. In your situation, I'd consider carrying a pump shotgun loaded with hardcast slugs.

Also, carry a can of bear spray should you encounter any tourists from NYC.

 

[CB900F]

Torghn;

As a former long-term Wyoming resident I can state that if you use the bear spray on NYC tourists, you will be subjected to: A medal. Award ceremonies throughout the State. Make all the newspapers and electronic media. Be offered a key to the State.

If this makes you uncomfortable, just make the tourists the present of your sardine & bacon bear attractor grease. So's they can see the bears close-up and get good pictures ya know.

The problem will go away.

900F

 

[sacp81170a]

If this makes you uncomfortable, just make the tourists the present of your sardine & bacon bear attractor grease. So's they can see the bears close-up and get good pictures ya know.

This works really well if you can convince them that it's great for making tents, boots, and other gear wind- and water-proof.

 

[Torghn]

As a former long-term Wyoming resident I can state that if you use the bear spray on NYC tourists, you will be subjected to: A medal. Award ceremonies throughout the State. Make all the newspapers and electronic media. Be offered a key to the State.

Awesome post.

So does any know if it's legal to carry a handgun in a backpack without a permit (loaded or otherwise). I plan on just open carrying, but it's good to know the laws if for any reason I need to put the gun away.

 

[Tokugawa]

The powers that be told me it was ok to carry a loaded revolver under my motorcycle seat. Or to open carry. Very refreshing.
And the comment on BIG griz- yeah, they ALL look big! And I never thought I was overgunned with a 12 gauge pump with Brenneke slugs either. Actually, it felt sort of puny!

 

[sacp81170a]

And I never thought I was overgunned with a 12 gauge pump with Brenneke slugs either. Actually, it felt sort of puny!

I think that's why Wyomingites view firearms the way they do. It's a different perspective when you're around things that look at you the way a hungry man looks at a cheeseburger.

 

[Matthew1911]

Hello Everyone,

Does anyone have the answer to the original question?

Here in CO, I've read, that it is legal to carry concealed w/o a ccw while hunting.

Thanks

So does any know if it's legal to carry a handgun in a backpack without a permit (loaded or otherwise). I plan on just open carrying, but it's good to know the laws if for any reason I need to put the gun away.

 

[Nomad101bc]

If this makes you uncomfortable, just make the tourists the present of your sardine & bacon bear attractor grease. So's they can see the bears close-up and get good pictures ya know.

Also, carry a can of bear spray should you encounter any tourists from NYC.

Two greatest quotes of all time!

 

[Leanwolf]

TORGHN - "Is it illegal to have a loaded handgun in backpack (backpack as in hiking/tent/sleeping bag not school backpack) without a permit? What about an unloaded handgun in a backpack?"

Torghn, a handgun stowed away in your backpack, loaded or unloaded, is virtually useless. If you were the object of an animal attack or an attack by two legged predators, NEITHER is gonna allow you to holler "King's X!! I gotta get my gun outta my pack and load it!!"

Ain't gonna happen.

Carry it openly, loaded, and don't worry about what the yuppies might think who might see you with a gun on your hip.

L.W.

 

[Agent 006 &7/8]

Here in CO, I've read, that it is legal to carry concealed w/o a ccw while hunting.

My understandung is this is Montana State Law.

Now, I have had a few encounters with the WY G&F people while both hunting and fishing. Every encounter has been friendly. Usually I end up in a discussion as to what I am carrying .vs. what they are carrying. One officer spent about 10 minutes admiriring my KImber .vs. his issued Glock.

Open carry is legal in Wyoming, except in National PARKS (not Forests). Strap on, Smile and Wave, Boys, smile and wave!

 

[sacp81170a]

Strap on, Smile and Wave, Boys, smile and wave!

But remember, be polite and use all your fingers when doing so...

except to the NYC tourists.

 

[Agent 006 &7/8]

except to the NYC tourists

Well, I did have a guy from NYC get VERY concerned that I had my Kimber in a holster on my right hip while hiking in the Big Horn Mountains. He kept telling me that I was breaking the law, and that I should put my gun away. I tried to explain to him that open and concealed carry are legal in Wyoming, but it never sunk in. He was adamet that one could not have a gun in the National Forest! I again explained that not only were guns legal in the forest, but that a goodly amount of HUNTING with (gasp) GUNS went on in the National Forest. This guy even tracked me down that evening at our campsite and told me that he was going to report me to "the authorities" for "carring a gun". I said, "Go right ahead. Make sure that you tell them where I am and how you found me." A few days later I ran into a Warden from Wyo G&F who told me the most entertaining tale of a New Yorker who was quite upset that he wasn't going to get a SWAT team together and go after some guy hiking in the mountains had a gun!

 

[sacp81170a]

a New Yorker who was quite upset that he wasn't going to get a SWAT team together and go after some guy hiking in the mountains had a gun!

Ya shoulda waved at him with one finger, woulda made him feel more at home...

(Sorry, I know that comment wasn't High Road. Lord, fergive me and bless the starvin' pygmies...)

 

[Tokugawa]

That NYFC resident poses a great danger to the free west - namely that he and all his California buddies are buying up the land for trophy ranches and vacation homes and given enough numbers, will control the state government. I have seen it happen. Montana and Wyoming are sparely populated which just makes the effect even more pronounced. And they have WAY more money than the average resident of the mountain west.
This is ongoing right now, as the rich boomers retire from the coastal hells they have created with their leftist crap and move to the places they can leverage their money the most.
My recent trip to Montana and Wyoming reinforced my belief that a new feudal system is evolving- The rich trophy rancher transplant and the working stiff long time resident. Any real estate mag will show the enormous price increases in these areas, to the point where ya gotta wonder how a resident with a "standard" wage could afford to live thier anymore. A lot of the prices I saw were not significantly lower than Puget Sound prices.
I would love to hear from any Wyoming or Montana residents on this- Am I right- or not?

 

[AntiqueCollector]

What you are describing is exactly what happened to Vermont and is happening to Maine and NH. Liberals moving in, taking over, etc. They have been prevented in Vermont from restricting carrying so far because of state supreme court decisions that forbid restricting it through requiring permits. So, we still have CC/OC without permits. Having those decisions will be what you'll need to protect your rights. I assume there are state supreme court decisions in your states that protect the right to carry? It may not be an issue now but it will in the future so have those decisions in force...

 

[Mortech]

Tokugawa you are so right , its happen here in the Puget sound area . Land prices have gone from $5000 an acre to over $50K an acre in a span of 8 years . This whole place is becoming Calified , so much I'm thinking of moving to Montana or Wyoming just to get so breathing/shooting room again .

 

[TallPine]

I would love to hear from any Wyoming or Montana residents on this- Am I right- or not?

That's especially true in Western Montana, but not so much out here in the east. It's too hot/cold and too dry for the typical Californicator. They ruined Colorado (IMO) and I left there 10 years ago (about 25 yrs too late ).

All of eastern rural MT is losing population. Seems like most of the people who move in around here are pretty decent - they are the down-to-earth ones who have escaped the ruination of their home states.

Dunno how long it will last ... my lifetime at least, but that's not saying a whole lot.

Funny, there was a guy from Florida looking at the place for sale next door a while back, who stopped by at my place. It was a warm day and I was open-carrying my sidearm. It didn't seem to bother him at all, but I got to thinking how that would have freaked out some out of state lookers - so much the better, if I scare them off

 

[sacp81170a]

So far the thing that's been keeping the well-heeled outsiders out of all the areas of the state except Jackson (that I know of) is the weather. One of the good points about 6 months of winter and the winds of the eastern plains is that it keeps all but the hardiest out. Problem is, they come in, buy a trophy ranch with a mansion, and then spend most of the time jet-setting it around other places when the weather's bad. I'll be heading back to Wyoming in a couple years (after 10 years down here in Arkansas taking care of family business) and I hope it hasn't gotten too bad by the time I get back.

I'm hoping to be able to settle in Cheyenne or just west of town, since that's where my wife's family is. Wouldn't break my heart if I had to go to Pineville.

(Kinda hard to sell crack on the street corner when the wind chill is 60 below. )