Camping trip- target shooting out of state

C

Cool_Hand

New member
I am a Mass resident and I am going to be going camping in either Maine or Vermont and I want to bring a couple my guns with me to do some plinking. I was wondering if I need to obtain some sort of temporary license of some sort to carry in the woods and shoot?
 
Check the game and parks sites for those states, or call the DNR office there and ask the ones that will know.
 
Vermont has no licensing requirements of any kind, so that one's easy. Maine requires a license for concealed carry - you can open carry without it, but I'd really recommend getting the license, and you need it to transport the handgun in a vehicle anyway. It's relatively painless to get a Maine non-resident license, particularly if (as I assume) you already have a Mass LTC.

Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean you can just walk out into the woods and shoot, even when properly licensed, so check with the appropriate state agencies on that part.

ETA: Note that Maine will not honor a resident Mass LTC, nor will it honor a non-resident NH permit. New Hampshire will not honor a non-resident Maine permit.
 
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Don't take our word for it !!!

Whenever I travel out of state, and I will be carrying I always contact the State Police of that state and ask them about any firearms laws. Don't trust you and your families safety to someone on an internet forum. ;)
 
i have a non res concealed permit for maine

i booked a week at a state campground and saw on the website
"no guns allowed....except during deer season"

called the park rangers....they said they werent sure if a non res
maine permit was allowed, but did say that if i got caught i would be in
a world of hurt (that sounds pretty sure to me) and why take the chance

they said call the state police

i did...got shuffled around to a few different people....they said: NO GO

so, i uninvited myself by cancelling my reservation and
voted with my feet and went camping in the very gun friendly state
of vermont, which got my hard earned bucks, instead of maine

i have no idea what the law is for long guns, so you still have
to do some homework......
 
But a State campground isn't National Forest...it's a bubble inside the National Forest. In National Forest you are ok to be armed, unless you ask then the answer is no.

This is one of those things where you are expected to know the law and if you don't and ask then what do you think they will say?

Can't have a gun in the woods? That is absurd. Maybe not in the State campground but further into the woods and it'd be foolhardy to not have one and any police you run into out there will feel the same way unless you are acting stupid.

Your first clue was that no one could give you a straight answer and kept redirecting your call. until one man lied and said no. I bet he couldn't quote the statute to you. One about campgrounds maybe but not open forest land.
 
But a State campground isn't National Forest...it's a bubble inside the National Forest. In National Forest you are ok to be armed, unless you ask then the answer is no.
Click to expand...

In many eastern states you are not allowed to fire a gun in the National Forrests except on ranges or during hunting season. In VA you can not be armed in the National Forrests outside of hunting season, unless you have a CPP and are carrying a handgun. If I have my facts straight you can open carry in the cities, on private land (unless banned by the owner), in National Parks and Monuments, in restaurounts that serve alcohol but not in National Forrests. Something for the VCDL to work on next legislative session.
 
But a State campground isn't National Forest...it's a bubble inside the National Forest. In National Forest you are ok to be armed, unless you ask then the answer is no.
Click to expand...

Wrong Again!!!

Here in the great state of Kentucky 90% of the campgrounds are RUN by the US Forest Service! If you are on US FOrest Land ... you have to abide by USDA / US Forest Service laws ... no matter what state you are in. US Forest Service Laws trump any state laws. There are big signs going into Land Between the Lakes .... "NO FIREARMS Unless During Respective Hunting Seasons". Can't say it any clearer than that.
 
National Park service, National Forest service, Bureau of Land Management and quite a few other Federal agencies follow state laws when it comes to weapons on their lands. If the state does not allow it, the federal agency will not allow it.

Yes, Federal laws usually trump state laws, but in this case, Federal laws just follow along with state laws.

Maine is currently trying to outlaw weapons in the National park there, and the park service has stated, they will abide by the law if passed. About eight or ten years ago, NC did not allow carry into a National Forest in their state, and the National Forests would not allow concealed carry due to state law.

Some examples, in Utah and Colorado, you can carry open or concealed in National Forests, National parks and BLM land. However, if a state does not allow open carry such as in TX, you cannot carry open in a National Park of Forest in TX (discounting hunting seasons); however, you can carry concealed.
 
Be very careful with any camping and guns combination on public land. Check the park websites for where you are going, and call the local ranger office to get the final word.

I've lived in FL, NC, and GA, and it's not legal to target practice or "plink" in the state/national parks in any of those states.

Park Rangers can and will search your campsite, it's just not worth it.

Find out what the law requires, and follow it.
 
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