Summer Road Trip

[Robalero]

Planning a summer road trip. Driving from Houston to Tallahassee one day and spending the night in Tallahassee. Driving from Tallahassee the following day to Augusta Georgia. Gonna work on their archives and do some research there for two days, then the following day, driving from Augusta to Charleston SC. Gonna work on some arvhives there and do some research for around two days, then drive from Charleston to Richmond. Gonna work in Richmond and do research there at their archives for a couple of days, then drive form Richmond to Philadelphia. Couple of days in Philly, then drive from Philly to Burlington Vermont. Drive back isn't figured out yet, but I have around four days to drive back slowly and try and stay and visit Texas Reciprocity States. Driving through Maryland thenNew York will be my only problems all the way to Vermont, I think.

Any thoughts?

Robalero

[Hyunchback]

Did you run it through the interactive reciprocity map?

[Xander]

Did you run it through the interactive reciprocity map?

The interactive one was out of date last time I checked it out, and that was just a couple of weeks ago.

This one is much better: http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... f=9&t=4738

And for a summary of the applicable laws in each state, check out: http://www.handgunlaw.us/

[frankie_the_yankee]

You can actually drive around Maryland but you would add a couple of hundred miles to your trip. That's what I did when I drove from RI to TX when I relocated in 2001. (I was pulling a small UHAUL full of guns, ammo, reloading equipment, etc.)

No way around NY unfortunately.

Depending on how much time you want to spend driving through NY, you could avoid MA entirely on your way to VT.

Both NY and MA have horrible laws that travellers can get caught up in, FOPA notwithstanding. Don't be surprised if a vehicle with TX plates gets "extra" attention from LE either on the road or during a traffic stop. Don't be surprised if you get a "friendly" question like, "Say, you don't have any weapons in the car or anything I need to know about, do you?" Since it is never adviseable to lie, you're either gonna tell him the truth or refuse to answer. Either way, you've got a problem. (Briefly put, the LEO doing the stop is not obligated to believe you if you tell him that you are travelling THROUGH the state to VT.)

At a bare minimum when passing through such repressive jurisdictions, I would suggest stowing your gun in a nice locked case in the trunk of your vehicle. Have a pair of muffs and some shooting glasses in there with it. A spotting scope? So much the better. And stow any holster or ammo you may have in other luggage. In other words, make it look like a target shooter's or plinker's rig, not a CHL's.

Set your cruise control at no more than 4 MPH over the limit.

Just my advice. I lived under Northeastern style repression for 50 years, some of it with a pocketful of state CHL's (almost no reciprocity up there) and some without. Along the way, I learned a few ways of avoiding "misunderstandings" with LEO's.

Note that unlike TX, neither NY or MA (or VT for that matter) has any requirement that you notify or declare to an LEO that you have a gun or (assuming you have a valid permit) are carrying should you be stopped or asked for ID.

As it happens, I'm flying to RI this Thursday to visit with family and some old friends. (My granddaughter turns 2 years old! ) I'll be taking my new Para 6.45 LDA with me. But I won't be carrying it except at the range.

Finally, getting a non-resident NH permit is easy and cheap, and NH is a beautiful place to visit Summer and Winter. (Not a bad place to live either.) So if you don't want to spend all your money in high tax neo-socialist VT, it's an easy and pleasant alternative.

I hope you find some useful info here.

[aardwolf]

You can actually drive around Maryland but you would add a couple of hundred miles to your trip. That's what I did when I drove from RI to TX when I relocated in 2001. (I was pulling a small UHAUL full of guns, ammo, reloading equipment, etc.)

West Virginia doesn't recognize a Texas CHL so make sure you don't conceal it. If you're against open carry, you can take the long way around Maryland and go through Ohio and Kentucky.

Whatever you do, stay out of DC even if the handgun is triple locked in the trunk and the ammo is in a different vehicle.

[Robalero]

Thanks Fellas, thanks for all of the heads up. Trip should be fun and interesting, I will have to drive through Maryland, but will keep it brief. I will definately stay out of DC.

Once again, thanks for all of your replies.

[Sport Coach]

Be aware that OH doesn't recognize TX CHL and they have some odd laws of keeping things separated in different compartments of the vehicle as well as locked up etc. There's a thread on here somewhere, "legal carry in every state" or something like that and you'll find info on creatively covering CHLs in various states. I'll be in OH this summer and it looks like getting my UT carry (reciprocity with OH and available to Texans) is going to be the easiest way. OH AG e-mailed me back and said no way to non resident permits.

[Sport Coach]

Search "How many states can you get legal in" for an interesting discussion about 50-state carry.

[KBCraig]

The trip through MD is so short that your odds of being caught are miniscule. New York is the problem. (It's a problem that could be solved if upstaters got their wish, and everything north of Rockland and Westchester counties was split off into a different state.)

On my only (so far) trip to New England, I was driving our huge honkin' Razorback Red full-size conversion van, pulling a 24' travel trailer, with Texas plates on both. I had a dozen or so guns in the trailer, and several thousand rounds of ammo (we were going to Porcfest in NH, and liberty-lovers love to shoot!)

Because I am covered under LEOSA, I was also carrying a concealed handgun during the whole trip, including MD, NY, CT, and MA. Even with my credentials I had some worries about those states, and I definitely wouldn't recommend carrying in those states for unlicensed non-LEOs. I knew that even if I had gotten thrown in jail, I'd beat the charge; Joe CHL won't beat it, and could become a felon depending on the state.

[Robalero]

Once again, thanks for the heads up. Due to time constraints and for the sake of doing some proper research, not to mention the discussion going on here and my checking up on the different state laws, our trip has been modified.

We will head out to Florida on a Sat. Morning, and drive to Ocala, spend the evening there with a close family friend and the following day, then drive up to Charleston South Carolina on Monday. Do research there for three days then head out to Richmond Virginia and stay there until the following Tuesday. From there we will head out to Philadelphia and will probably spend the 4th of July there, and drive back on that same Sunday, back to Floriday, then back to Houston.

I should be safe, cept for the short time I will drive through Maryland. Still, thanks for the heads up and all of the responses.

Stay Safe,
Robalero

[doghouse]

Hate to hi-jack the thread but I will be traveling to Florida so am I good all the way there? According to the map I am but just making sure?
TIA
JR

[Keith B]

Hate to hi-jack the thread but I will be traveling to Florida so am I good all the way there? According to the map I am but just making sure?
TIA
JR

If you are implying you are going from Texas, through LA, MS, AL, GA and FL and back the same route with no other states involved, yes. However, make sure you read and follow each state's laws as you are bound by their concealed carry statutes when there, not Texas' laws.