doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What's req'd to come to NJ or PA with my gun?

In PA just bring shells.

Chuck, I live in PA and there are no special restrictions on long guns being transported here for shooting beyond acting responsibly, keeping them cased when traveling, etc. I also shoot sporting at M&M, Cedar Creek and other clubs in NJ and have traveled to tournaments there many times. I keep my guns cased while in the SUV, also cased when taking them through the hotel lobby to/from my room, parking lot, etc. I've never heard nor read of any tournament shooters having a problem due to having a long gun(s) while traveling or staying in either state. With that said though, I wouldn't choose to stay in a big city in either state that's far away from a shooting club. Although you may be within the law it's not worth the hassle if some non shooter gets hyper seeing you with your guns in a hotel or vehicle and calls it in to 911 or wherever. Silvers

The last time I had to carry couple long guns through NJ I actually rented auto with NJ plates prior to entering.
I suppose NY or MA plates would work just as well. I would hate to have VA, NC,.....tags.

That's a scary thought that someone might call on someone carrying a cased gun.

Just a note; in CA you can still transport a long gun in a vehicle gun rack, no lock, ammo inaccessable/locked. I've often thought one of those little foriegn convertable sportscars with the little rollbars would look good with a nice double attached to the rollbar going down the freeway.

Thanks for all the info guys.

Such great information we have gotten on this thread. I am most impressed by "sweep's" post where he tells of a friend who was cuffed and taken to the station with nary a comment in reply by other posters. Is there someone other than I who believes there is more to the story? I know less about the travelling with guns business than I did before I started reading this thread.

Eightbore; Not quite sure what you are insinuating. I of course heard the story from the person which it happened, and know him not to be a BSer. I did make the story short. His truck was disabled and he didn't want to leave the gun in the truck while unattended. He, like I did not understand why he had to be hand cuffed and was told only that it was standard proceedure. The police were not malice to him in any way. That's is just how it happened as it was told to me. You will find that I am only as good as my word and live my life accordingly. Could he have told me the story wrong? I was not there, it's possible. Maybe there is a PA officer reading the post that may shed some light on what the proceedures are.
Tom

Having many friends and a brother in law enforcement has confirmed my belief that few LEO's know the gun laws governing all the situations for transporting them. Some will default to what they believe is a 'conservative' measure by detaining, questioning, or even taking a person into custody that may be abiding by the letter of the law, albeit unbeknownst to the LEO. So, even though a law may allow something, if a LEO doesn't know, his default "SOP" may be to detain or arrest. To me, that should be grounds to win a false arrest lawsuit. THEY should know the law, don't you think?

If I ever have some cop put cuffs on me when I'm traveling with a firearm that I legally own to a place where I can legally use it my first call will be to a lawyer when they let me go. If that story is authentic then that cop didn't know anything about the law, this is still the United States of America.

Destry

I don't believe it is legal to travel with an uncased and/or loaded long gun in a motor vehicle in Pa. I have never seen a pickup with a shotgun rack here. Also, there are no special gun laws for Philadelphia, but there sure are neighborhoods that I would avoid. There are plenty of places in NJ about which I could say the same thing.

In NJ, some magazines may be illegal if they are over a certain capacity and some long guns might be called illegal "assault weapons."
Possessing hollow point ammo is a crime if it is a gun that you're carrying. Of course normal New Jerseyans(sp.?) cannot carry handguns like we can in Pa.

Again, you can hunt and shoot there--I know I do, but I would buy any ammo here in Pa. or better yet, in tax-free Delaware.
*****
About the guy who was cuffed: I suspect you weren't told the entire story. This sounds something like a "Terry stop" and is likely lawful. However, I wasn't there...
Maybe some of the lawyers here can expand on the concept.

Chuck; Sorry about where this went. I have an email to the PA attorney General. I'll let you know his responce.