My parents are looking to retire and travel the country in their RV. What type of firearm is is the friendliest in all 50 states. I was going to suggest a standard shotgun with a OO buckshot.
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Welcome to the community @Derek42 !
The main problem with a shotgun is that it is against the law in most states to drive around with a loaded rifle or shotgun.
I personally would go with a featureless semi auto like a Ruger mini 14 or a featureless version of the Ruger PCC. With 10 round mags you would be legal in all but a few counties and cities. More importantly you could very quickly load the rifle if you needed it and unload it when you don’t. Most importantly I think they are easier for most folks to learn to shoot well than a shotgun.
A revolver or a pistol with 10 round or less mags would also be a viable idea. I would have at least one handgun and long gun if RVing around the country.
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TY for the reply
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well, you’d be legal in states that are constitutional carry, but no firearm is friendly in all 50, unless you have a permit for that state. I’m in CT, have CT, Utah and FL permits, and can not have quick access to my firearms in any of my surrounding states, those being NY, MA, NJ, PA, RI. NY and MA are notorious violators of FOPA, NJ will issue prison time if you’re carrying defense rounds (hollow points). Once I run the gauntlet, I’m good near anywhere I want to go out to WA,( zigging to avoid OR and a few midwest), except SC, which will only issue a permit if you have property there, and sticks out as a state that doesn’t honor Utahs permit either. Several other states that stink for my RV travel include Illinois, Cali., OR, and a couple in the Midwest. States without reciprocity for any of your permits, better lock your gun up, mags in a separate safe, some you’d better have ammo separate as well. That being said, last trip I only brought my G43, prior was 2 pistols. Easy to stash, easy to grab,easy cc where legal. Drive smart, make sure all your lights work, be aware of “duty to inform” laws, skip NJ/NYC, use the WAZE app to keep up on traffic ahead etc…
Utah permit is pretty easy to get, FL can be done online and then sending in the package with your prints and training cert. from your home state, seemingly no expiration date on said training.
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Every time I travel I research the laws of each state. I have the advantage of carrying under LEOSA in all states but that is still not that simple because of ammunition restrictions, magazine capacities and location restrictions.
I would be inclined to believe a rifle or shotgun would be most appropriate but the topic would still need to be researched before entering any state in the union. And don’t even think about heading to Canada or Mexico.
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I also believe a long gun is less frowned upon in some states, but is awfully hard to carry when shopping or doing the tourist thing.
My potential move to a free state is going to involve a few phone calls beforehand, for sure.
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Much better to carry FMJ that’ll go through the front target and into another behind (as we’ve recently seen). Yeesh. 
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I can legally carry in 36 states with my Michigan permit. There’s 14 states in the county I’ll never see. I absolutely refuse to go places I can’t legally defend myself. 🤷
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I have no choice, but will not stop and support any of them. As far as NJ and NYC…as they say…fuhgeddaboudit! Homie don’t play that game.
Kind of ironic, I can get through MA in under an hour, not permitted to stop, then enjoy constitutional carry in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. I believe VT had zero homicides last year.
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Interesting question. I also RV travel a lot, have a carry permit for 35 States, and have pondered the pistol vs shotgun question many many times. I feel like getting caught with a loaded but lock secured shotgun in my truck camper might be less likely to land me in jail, than a lock secured but loaded pistol when in a non permit state. I could be wrong… Maybe the law is the same for either weapon. But maybe cops would be more understanding of the shotgun.
Regardless, they’d have to search my vehicle to find either, which means I already broke some important law. Oops.
I have a safe in the camper capable of securing either. But loaded weapons in a moving vehicle are mostly illegal without a CCW.
Even though I feel competent to do so, I also feel that loading and unloading either weapon every night at camp has it’s own dangers.
I’m still pondering the issue.
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A revolver and/or a lever action carbine in the same caliber, would be my choice for this set up. In .357 mag. You can get 8 round revolvers, and rifles with upwards of 14 rounds of .357 Ammo on tap. As @MikeBKY said, check the laws for the states you’ll be in.
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You already have a UT permit, come join us.