quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
Your mom needs your help and unfortunately trying to do it being armed sounds like its gonna add stress to an already stressful situation so given the circumstances, go pick up your mom, drive ya ass home.

I'm probably not qualified to offer advice on the situation, but I'll go ahead and say, "I like OttoSig's advice."

Occasionally I go somewhere where going armed is a non-starter. I grumble about it, suck it up, go, take care of business, and hurry the heck back out.

Good luck to you, Smudge, you're in a crummy bind. But "scoop up Mama, keep the peace with the wife, head back west, and carry on with your life."

Not without a current HR 218 Card

No I wouldn't, and no I didn't.

I don't care what the idiots in NY do. I wouldn't fly, as others have pointed out...the communists there will arrest you and make you a convicted felon. Concealed means concealed, and I'd damn sure leave the scene if I had to use it.

Strongly consider other options to get your mom out.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Alternatively, can you ship your carry rig to an FFL outside of New York, and just pick it up on the way home?

Yep. Pick an FFL somewhere on the way and ship it there for pickup on your way back. To answer your question, no I would not drive cross country unarmed. I'm unwilling to drive to the grocery store unarmed given current conditions in this country.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
This is America, not Afghanistan. Yes, I would drive across country without a firearm.

Keep your head on a swivel, stay out of obviously bad neighborhoods, don't flash your wealth, and don't be a loudmouth. The odds that you will be gunned down in the middle of the street by a complete stranger for no reason is near zero.

Your biggest risk is having stuff stolen out of your trailer. Or even having the trailer completely stolen. In both cases, it's likely cheaper to just let them take stuff or the trailer than it is to engage in a gunfight.

In a heartbeat. I agree. In fact, I would not want the hassle and complexity of dealing with a gun and the BS legalities on a trip like that. But then again, I wouldn't be staying in campgrounds, so that might be a sketchier zone than I'm used to.

Agreed.

Preference, sure, armed is better.

Real risks, very very small.

I've driven cross country eight times, all unarmed.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by h2oys:
We never expected such a potentially dangerous situation ...

And there's the rub: Nobody ever expects to end up in a bad situation.

Many moons ago, way pre-GPS, a colleague and I were headed back from the G.M. Lordstown Assembly plant and took a Seriously Wrong Turn. We're driving around, trying to find some kind of main road, so we can find our way out of there. Finally pull into a boarded-up gas station lot. We're sitting there, looking at a paper map, when a two-man cop car pulls up next to us.

The conversation went something like:

"What are you doing here?"
"We took a wrong turn. We're lost and trying to find our way out."
"You're stopped, in the dark, in the neighborhood with the highest murder rate in the country."
"Oh."
"Get out of here. Go that way." <points> "I don't want to see you here again."

In retrospect, I imagine they tagged us as suburbanites looking to score drugs or whatever.

Similar happened to my wife and SIL they got off some exit in Atlanta and were immediately in a very bad area, I was able to Ping them on the Find My Iphone and guide them out, SIL had her 38 with them and on her lap...

Two women in a car with FL plates in a bad area of Atlanta simply by getting off at the wrong exit for food and fuel...

Ship it to a FFL in Ohio, pick it up there, avoid Chicago if you can and skip IL, looks like you're good to go in the rest of the states outlined above.

You can't ship it to an FFL. They will have to log it in. They can't transfer it back to you as a non resident. Not gonna work. Sadly the same applies to "others" like Shockwave's I believe.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

You can't ship it to an FFL. They will have to log it in. They can't transfer it back to you as a non resident.

That was my understanding, as well, despite the several suggestions previously posted in this thread, to do it this way.

Something that would be legal: Arrange with a trusted SIGforum member, or somebody else who you know and trust, ship it to yourself care of that trusted person. S/he receives and holds the package, unopened, until you pick it up on your return trip. That works, it is legal, you would need to identify somebody to receive and hold it for you.

You mom needs you. She doesn't need extra stress brought on by a complex route built around a handgun, or to have you risk a felony by violating the law of states you have to do business in.

We all make risk based decisions every day. On vaccines, on driving in the rain, on crossing a parking lot when we can hear thunder, on getting on an airplane, on going to the dentist.

The risks are very low that you would have any problem even if you were unaware of your surroundings and took the easiest, quickest, least thoughtful route. Since you are obviously aware of your surroundings, can pick a route that avoids bad areas, can plan hotels and stops in advance, and can have other forms of protection, like a good knife in your checked bag, and a baseball bat or fish billy you pick up at a sporting goods store in New York before you head for Seattle, your risk will be far lower than the "average" person who goes through life blissfully unaware of risks you evaluate every day.

If it were me, I'd just make the trip, and get mom to Seattle as quickly and smoothly as possible. It seems to me that the mileage risks, time risks, and legal risks, of the alternatives you are considering are greater than the safety risk of just doing an unarmed, well planned cross country trip.

I strongly suggest that you fly to NY, get a knife and a bat legally, and head for home.

Good luck.

We had a similar thread years ago, either here or on the S&W forum, where a guy needed to travel from somewhere in the north east to Texas. So he asked the question. He got the usual good advice and that was to call the state police in the places he planned on going thru for their advice. So the guy called Kentucky State Police. The guy on the desk answering the phone told him "everyone else here carries a gun, no reason you shouldn't too".

I was proud of our answer.

Also, I would like to remind the readership that your carry rig is just a tool.

Your most important and effective defensive assets are your mindsets and your skill sets.

I spent all day on the phone with movers. Looks like because of the remote location she currently lives in, it will be prohibitively expensive to have the car and travel trailer transported. I gave her some figures, she's going to think it over and get back to me. It may very well end up that I fly out there with a pocket knife and a D cell Maglite and hope for the best.

Special thanks to Flashguy for the research and posted information, very helpful.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Also, I would like to remind the readership that your carry rig is just a tool.

Your most important and effective defensive assets are your mindsets and your skill sets.

I'm going to assume you don't intend to lecture us, but it sure is coming off that way.

Look, I'm not witless, and I can manage to keep a low profile in public. I don't dress flashy and I don't give off the "please mug me vibe." Most of the basic mindset and awareness that comes with responsibly carrying a gun doesn't stop because you don't have it on you.

That said, I grew up with law enforcement for both parents. I grew up with a bit of a different mindset. From a very young age, I was taught that bad shit happens to good people all the time. This isn't Afghanistan, but plenty of people get carjacked and murdered in this country, so let's not just dismiss that.

About five years ago, I got followed most of the way home by a road-rager who wanted to play fuck-fuck games on the interstate on my way home from work. I did not initiate these games, I simply pulled away from her and had a faster vehicle, which apparently pissed her off. She took my exit and followed me through town. I saw her pull a baseball bat out of the backseat and tuck it by her leg while she was sitting behind me at a stop light. My thinking got less clear, and I took some turns and found myself in an elementary school parking lot. She wound up blocking me into a turn-around, and edged her car in nose to nose with mine so I had nowhere to go. She reached down where the ballbat was and put her other hand on the door handle and I went ahead and drew. I held up the pistol sideways so she could clearly see what it was and slapped it down on the dashboard. She glared, and I pantomimed the "I see you" signal and then pretended to grip a baseball bat. She glared harder. We sat and stared at each other for several minutes while I kept pointing for her to back up and leave. Thankfully, she did, and left me be. She had a toddler in the back seat who couldn't have been older than three. Had I not been carrying, that story would've ended very differently.

I'll do what I have to for my mother, but understand that I'm very reluctant to go through such a situation again, let alone with just a Maglite and a pocket knife.

quote:

Originally posted by 1flynDO:
Shot if you drove through Columbus Ohio I would sell you a P228 for 1 dollar. I am sure when you got home you would hate it and I would gladly love a right of first refusal.

Not a lawyer, but I think federal law only allows individuals to buy handguns in their home state.

That said, this very generous offer is an example of what a fantastic forum this is and what an awesome membership it has.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:

quote:

Originally posted by 1flynDO:
Shot if you drove through Columbus Ohio I would sell you a P228 for 1 dollar. I am sure when you got home you would hate it and I would gladly love a right of first refusal.

Not a lawyer, but I think federal law only allows individuals to buy handguns in their home state.

That said, this very generous offer is an example of what a fantastic forum this is and what an awesome membership it has.

I want to agree with, and echo this sentiment. Thank you for the incredibly kind offer, 1flynDO.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
According to this web site
It's 3117 miles and would take about 6 days.


flashguy

I want to acknowledge your effort in going through the trouble of mapping this out.

I'm with the others that say you don't really need to be armed to drive cross country. My wife and I have done it twice.

Just to be clear, I am not the one contemplating the trip--I was just trying to be helpful. I, myself, have driven totally across the US several times and have never been in a situation where a firearm would have been necessary. I don't think I even had any guns at the time, and if I did I left them at home. (I have a LTC/CHL/CCW but I've never carried. It's a mindset problem.)

flashguy

Correct me if I am wrong but what about "black Powder". Seems like under certain states and certain condition "black powder" falls into a different classification as related to being a firearm that is subject to restrictions. Please correct me if I am wrong. ............ drill sgt.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:


I'm going to assume you don't intend to lecture us, but it sure is coming off that way.

Apologies. I didn't intend to lecture, nor are my comments directed towards you (or anyone else) in particular.

I just wanted to weigh in with the notion that none of us are truly defenseless with our wits about us.

I carry most everyday, so I too see the value of carrying a gun.

I sure would.

If you take the emotion out of the question, I would bet the chances of you having anything other than a crime-free trip are so small that we would laugh about worrying about the risk of something happening if it was anything else.

But, this is a gun forum so my suggestion to you is to mount a 50 on your car roof and wish you a good trip. (And post pictures of the 50 or it didn't happen. )

I’m in Cleveland OH if you need me to hold anything. It’s probably on your route.