I'll be escaping, I mean moving from California in a couple of months. What's the best way to move my guns? I have 15 long and 20 handguns. FedEx or UPS would cost too much. Any moving companies you would recommend? I know some companies won't move firearms. I am not moving my safe. Too much of a pain. Getting a new safe at the new house. Tennessee, here we come!

Thanks
Jaycat

How are you getting there?

I personally would put them all in the car that I was driving.

If I was flying and not driving myself I think that I would probably find a FFL in the area and have a FFL in CA ship them to the FFL in TN. You might have to pay for that but I would prefer they go to a place that I know is secure instead of simply shipping them UPS to my new house.

As posted above, in your vehicle if you can. The probl0em is not so much where are you moving FROM but where are you moving TO?

I moved (drove) from Pennsylvania to Arizona with firearms. All guns were placed in trunk behind rear seat. Clothes and stuff piles on top. Was pulling a 5X10 trailer, too. Took about 6 days.

I did obey speed limit. Be careful driving thru Tennessee in small towns at night. Police like to trip the traffic light to red just as you approach it.

I would not use a moving company to ship firearms.

I’d keep the firearms with me,to easy for them to go missing otherwise, pretty much leaving CA you are in free America till you get to certain sections of upper Midwest, and east coast.

To add to my post:

When I drive across state lines with firearms I call the State Police in every state I am going to drive through and ask what the laws are. It is easy enough to find them online, which I also do, but I like to all and record the name of the officer and time of day that I called.

For the most part if you disassemble the guns and put them in locked cases stored in the trunk of your car (in my SUV I just put them in the cargo area) and separate the ammo and store it in another container you should be pretty clear in all states.

I would definitely keep them with you as you drive to your new home. Once you leave California you’ll be in free states. Getting out of California will be the tricky part, as I think handguns need to be in a locked container while driving in California.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaycat:
I'll be escaping, I mean moving from California in a couple of months.

Congratulations on your escape.

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:
To add to my post:

When I drive across state lines with firearms I call the State Police in every state I am going to drive through and ask what the laws are. It is easy enough to find them online, which I also do, but I like to all and record the name of the officer and time of day that I called.

For the most part if you disassemble the guns and put them in locked cases stored in the trunk of your car (in my SUV I just put them in the cargo area) and separate the ammo and store it in another container you should be pretty clear in all states.

State law is irrelevant as long as you comply w/ FOPA’s transport requirements. It’s not like you’re going to take a wild detour through NJ or DC on your way to TN.

FYI - Moving companies won’t take ammo st all, so you couldn’t use them for your pallets of 5.56 anyway.

-Rob

Last time I did we rented a medium sized U-haul trailer and towed behind the wife's SUV. Our moving company, Wheaton Van Line would have transported them after recording serial numbers. They would not transport any ammo or reloading supplies. So we did the trailer for guns, ammo, reloading supplies and things that we would need for the couple of days we were waiting on the truck to show up.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:
To add to my post:

When I drive across state lines with firearms I call the State Police in every state I am going to drive through and ask what the laws are. It is easy enough to find them online, which I also do, but I like to all and record the name of the officer and time of day that I called.

For the most part if you disassemble the guns and put them in locked cases stored in the trunk of your car (in my SUV I just put them in the cargo area) and separate the ammo and store it in another container you should be pretty clear in all states.

State law is irrelevant as long as you comply w/ FOPA’s transport requirements. It’s not like you’re going to take a wild detour through NJ or DC on your way to TN.

FYI - Moving companies won’t take ammo st all, so you couldn’t use them for your pallets of 5.56 anyway.

-Rob

The reason I like to familiarize myself with state laws isn’t because I’m worried about them being more strict. It’s so that when I’m allowed to have the firearm loaded and in reach I can. When I drove from GA to MI, with a detour in IL I carried my pistol up to the last gas station in Indiana, unloaded it and locked it away, then stopped at the same gas station on the way back out and put the gun back on.

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:
To add to my post:

When I drive across state lines with firearms I call the State Police in every state I am going to drive through and ask what the laws are. It is easy enough to find them online, which I also do, but I like to all and record the name of the officer and time of day that I called.

For the most part if you disassemble the guns and put them in locked cases stored in the trunk of your car (in my SUV I just put them in the cargo area) and separate the ammo and store it in another container you should be pretty clear in all states.

State law is irrelevant as long as you comply w/ FOPA’s transport requirements. It’s not like you’re going to take a wild detour through NJ or DC on your way to TN.

FYI - Moving companies won’t take ammo st all, so you couldn’t use them for your pallets of 5.56 anyway.

-Rob

The reason I like to familiarize myself with state laws isn’t because I’m worried about them being more strict. It’s so that when I’m allowed to have the firearm loaded and in reach I can. When I drove from GA to MI, with a detour in IL I carried my pistol up to the last gas station in Indiana, unloaded it and locked it away, then stopped at the same gas station on the way back out and put the gun back on.

Of course. Sorry - I thought we were talking about moving the collection. Keeping track of various CCW laws on a road trip also depends heavily on whose carry permits you have. With all due respect to LEOs, I wouldn't rely on the legal expertise of the random desk sergeant who picks up the phone where my future rights and immediate freedom are at stake. CCW laws are pretty straight forward for the most part and if you’re really concerned, you can always keep copies of the pertinent statutes handy.

-Rob

Put the pistols in soft cases in a great big hard side suitcase with roller wheels. Then you can easily take them in your motel room at night without raising eyebrows. I'm very reluctant to leave anything of value in a vehicle in a motel lot overnight. Even in nice towns (like Kerrville Tx) there are thieves that specialize in breaking into cars at motels.

Check the reciprocity & carry laws for each state you’ll be driving through before hand. This is easily done by googling the state name and the words “concealed reciprocity”. I personally only trusted the official state websites, not 3rd party sites who list reciprocity laws of all states (but that’s just me).
As long as your collection is small enough to fit into the trunk of the vehicle you’re driving, I’d load up all the firearms into normal, non-gun looking bags/containers; something that won’t catch anyone’s eye when you’re loading/unloading them. As the other poster said put things like clothes over the gun bags to camouflage them further.
When I did a cross-country move, I brought the indiscernible looking bags into my hotel room every night of the trip and loaded them back into the car every morning. It was a pain to do so, but safer, in my opinion. I also read reports of thieves targeting whole moving trucks at hotels (stealing the whole u-haul with all its contents to unload elsewhere) so I would not transport firearms in anything but a my personal vehicle.

Federal law says you can transport them without issue as long as you can legally possess in the state you are coming from, to the state you are going. BTW, buy some real magazines, none of those shortened ones.

Are you using professionals or doing the work yourself with a rental truck/trailer? That would help to narrow things down. From CA to TN you'll be taking I-40. Once you get through Needles and cross the Colorado River into AZ you'll be in free states for the rest of the trip.

If you have woodworking ability I would consider building a box of plywood, maybe 24x24x40”. Load the box, empty, into the rental trailer. Put all your ammo in the bottom. Guns on top, screw the lid down. Pack other stuff in the trailer. You will have a box so heavy nobody could move it, should they find it. Can’t open it without the power screw driver.

Some of the trailers even have plywood floors. You could even screw the box to the floor first, just for the trip.

If necessary, keep the drill/screwdriver in the vehicle, should the LEO insist on seeing the contents.

I moved several times, doing it all myself, in the 2000s, including my guns. From CA to Las Vegas, NV and Vegas to Phoenix were less than one day's drive. For the second move, at the time, travel over Hoover Dam was restricted and the bypass over the dam didn't exist, so I had to take a long way around through Laughlin, NV and Bullhead City, AZ. These were with my own pickup truck. From Phoenix to here was of course a longer drive. I used a rental van and a trailer for my car, and I never left them for any length of time except to eat and shit. At night I literally slept in the van with a loaded handgun.

First, congrats on getting to a free state...

I never let movers touch my firearms. Always moved them (5 moves around the US in recent years) myself. Either pickup truck, SUV, station wagon or rented box trailer if need be.

If you have the room, find a used longer-size job box. (Knaack, Jobox, Rigid).
You can put all of your firearms (unless you need two and you have my admiration) in one job box in gun socks/cases/blankets if need be and lock the thing down. It rolls and you can push it into pickup truck or trailer.

I've seen several friends adopt this job box for both firearm and ammunition moves and it works well, and secure.

I moved from NJ to Utah and shipped them with the moving company, ammo, too. I did not have a lot of guns or ammo but wasn't driving a vehicle. They were in boxes, covered with clothes or books. I used a very reliable company!

My brother did the same move, he drove and packed his in a large Pelican case. He was driving a Nissan Rogue and brought the case inside at night. I think he was on the road 3 nights.