How many is TOO many for a road trip?

Legal & Second Amendment
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Several years ago I visited my Father in Oregon (I already hear your groans…). While there he gave me an air rifle of his as well as a small 22 rifle. I flew there and was flying back home. So I looked into the laws. I could not afford to buy two lockable cases for each (cheap) rifle… so I looked into mailing them home. Supposedly, that is completely legal as I understood it. Not one of 5 carriers would touch it. Advice to me from every gun buddy I asked said “Just stick in a box and don’t tell the carrier what’s in it”. Like most, if not everyone, in here I try to stay inside the law. So, instead I ended up having to use a FFL gun shop in Oregon (first one of those also wasn’t touching this) who agreed to ship them to my NC FFL… I never compared the cost of two lockable containers versus the damn Shipping + FFL + FFL costs to see which one was actually the best price in the end, I was just so exasperated at trying to do the right thing. I just gave up on worrying about the ammunition.

Now, my Father passed away last year. He left all his guns to me including his not at all fancy gun cabinet plus a wooden chest I always loved. (You see where this is going?)

My current thinking is to just fly to Oregon, rent a a SUV with rear seats that fold down, map a course through only reciprocal states (I have NC conceal/carry), use blinkers excessively, maintain speed limits etc. and I figure it would be smart to ship a box full of gun locks there first (his widows home). But if I did get pulled over, its going to look like I headed to do seriously bad things… it sure ain’t gonna look good…

Curious of y’alls advice… also regarding ammo.

If I got stopped for any reason, im supposed to disclose them… if I do.. im going to have a long conversation with several officers (best case scenario)… if I don’t and they find a reason to search (we all know they can “find” a reason if they wanna see what’s in the clearly visible chest or metal gun cabinet) then Im ■■■■■■■

Also, just leave the ammo in Oregon?

How many weapons becomes too many. (We all have heard of the “weapons cache/armory” of two pistols and 15 bullets that we were all saved from by law enforcement stopping them).

Don’t get me wrong, I am very much a “Back the Blue” guy and I try extremely hard to stay in gren areas only and away from grey areas legally…

Appreciate you all.

(Some of you will ask me for a final count, I don’t have that yet, I just know its enough that an accurate count won’t change my questions at all ( guessing around 4-5 rifles/shotguns… no scary AR’s… and… 6 or so pistols?)

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Ive mailed guns before to myself and just declared them as sporting goods. Your not lying.

Not sure on laws prohibiting amount of ammo as long as they are in an approved box. Left coast may be different

Karacal will be along shortly

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My opinion only. You’re over thinking this with regards to driving cross country with XX number of guns. I would pick up a few double rifle cases and load what you can into them, get locks and hit the road. Take the ammo with you and make new memories with what you have been given.

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+1

Looking at minimum requirements of hostile CA, driving a SUV means you don’t have a “compliant trunk,” but the gun cabinet may serve as “a locked container or a qualifying locked toolbox or utility box.”

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I’m sorry for your loss. Safe travels.

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Once out of Oregon you can drive through Constitutional Carry states all the back I believe. VA isn’t cc, but think they honor NC.

I did do some traveling from free state through ban states carrying things my home state had banned when my son died in OH, then carried that and more when I’d had enough of the bs ( hb 6667, part of which had me registering my home builds… yeah, how about no) and got tf out of CT, moving to WV. Waze app to kept you informed while driving helps. I used to tell my wife “see you in a week, or 10 years” when I’d be bringing things to the new house, and figured sale of the old house was my defense fund. Never came to that, let the rabbits flush the police out, do a walk-around before driving, don’t stop in the ban states. RV, one trip had 6 AR’s, 1400 pounds of ammo, body armor and night vision Glad I didn’t make the NY Post :laughing:

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@David2025 Welcome to the Community! Please Introduce Yourself

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Hope for the best; plan for the worst. Have your paperwork complete and ready. Package everything as if you were flying: ammo and guns in separate locked containers. Know which States have a duty to inform. Don’t volunteer any information. Plan your stops to minimize staying overnight in “gun unfriendly” States. Have fun.

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If you are driving through states where your firearm possession is illegal, the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 926A) allows interstate transport under strict conditions:

Unloaded: The firearm must be completely unloaded.Inaccessible: Neither the gun nor ammunition can be readily accessible from the passenger compartment.

Locked Storage: If the vehicle has a trunk, place it there. If there is no trunk, it must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.

Continuous Journey: Your trip must start and end in states where you can legally possess the firearm, and your travel through restrictive states should be direct and continuous.

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Agree with all the elements listed by Stuart Bradley with one more caveat: depending on the state you may be in and stopped by the police (*HOPE NOT*) the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA] can be used in one of two ways; 1) defense to avoid arrest (No Jail Time), or 2) An affirmative defense in court (Jail Time). All this being said - pack and follow through with all provisions of the FOPA. Enjoy your road trip and condolences to you and your family in such a time as this. Drive safe.

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Well, the other caveat is don’t drive stupidly. I follow this religiously when crossing Illinois or Minnesota. Don’t give the LEO probable cause to stop you, and they’ll never have a chance to search you or your car.

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Thank you all for the insight and help! I really appreciate it! Good advice, things I hadn’t thought of at all. Sweating the trip less than I was lol.

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Anecdotal but relevant - My dad was a pro trap shooter, he pulled a trailer all over the country going to tournaments. One afternoon his trailer got a flat just after crossing into AZ (his home state). A cop pulled up to “Help”, noticed several boxes of 12Ga shot shells (about 2,000 rounds) in the back of his pick up. The cop threw a fit, asked my dad why he needed that much ammo and did he have a permit to carry it across state lines. My dad, a life long red neck, answered “None of your f’''ing business…”. The cop called for back up, intending to arrest my dad. When back up arrived, it was a AZ State cop that was also a trap shooter, he recognized my dad, they had a random conversation they changed the tire and dad left. Moral to the story, depends on the cop and the day, you never know what will happen…

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Never assume these about Blue :blue_heart: with a badge

• they’re pro-2A

• they may be not anti-2A but may also not be aware of ever changing gun laws

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Yup, *which officer pulls me over" is my biggest concern

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I like to think that my veteran plates help with favorable outcomes during LEO encounters, but someone pointed out to me it is just a flag to a LEO that says “This one is probably armed.”

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