Moving: How to Transport Firearms??

H

hivoltagefx4

New member
Hello all,

We are looking into possibly moving from Va to Idaho and this got me thinking? What is the best way to move firearms? I have close to 55 handguns ad rifles. I'm going crazy trying to figure out the best way to do this when the time comes.

Open to ideas and the legalities of doing this. Part of me feels uneasy transporting them in a U-Haul and leaving them in there as we stop throughout the trip to spend a night in "said state"

Anyway, if you were in this situation, what would you do??

Thanks all!!
 
By U-Haul do you mean truck or trailer?
If trailer, what sort of towing vehicle and available space?

Is your concern theft/break in at stops or contacts with local law enforcement?
 
The company that moved us would not handle pistols but rifles were fineas long as that had a list of SN’s. The list was returned by the driver immediately after unloading. I wrapped each rifle and packed them inside stack-on cabinets. The locked cabinets were well wrapped to not advertise their contents. The safes were shipped with miscellaneous lightweight goods inside.

The moving company never asked if they were transporting NFA34 items.
 
ballardw said:
By U-Haul do you mean truck or trailer?
If trailer, what sort of towing vehicle and available space?

Is your concern theft/break in at stops or contacts with local law enforcement?
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U-Haul truck with no trailer. If I went this route, I know I would box them up in non discreet boxes and all the way forward towards the front. I still feel uneasy about this. I do have a safe, but we are leaving it with the home as I don't want to haul a 1000 lb safe. It's cheaper for me to buy a new one once in Idaho.
 
I have made several cross country trips to shoot pdogs and sage rats. I have packed my long guns in the normal padded case I have for each rifle, and placed them in the bed of my truck, then packed other items around and on them (clothes, soft items) and kept the tonneau cover locked except when we needed some clothes out of the bed of the truck. I also carry the related ammo in ammo crates, but all firearms were/are unloaded while in the truck. I've never been stopped for any reason in my travels, but one never knows.
 
This method is legal in every jurisdiction in CONUS.

Make sure your insurance will cover the items as they are being moved.

Take a picture of each (showing condition) with the serial number and store separately, preferably in more than one place.

Separate out the guns you want with you on the road accessible.

Your best bet would be renting a moving van or enclosed cargo trailer.

If you are using a moving van or an enclosed cargo trailer load them first. This means that if someone breaks in the firearms will be the last thing that they can get to.

Use a hitch lock if using a trailer, high security lock on the van/trailer gate.

Place an Apple Air Tag on the truck/ trailer while moving in a discrete, secure spot (don't forget it and leave it behind). On a moving van under the hood is very discrete and few people look there. Alternatively you could just put it in a moving box near the roof, don't bury under a lot of stuff.
 
I used large fiber drums, the type used by industry for pellet plastics with hoop closure lids. I had the same amount of guns. Dismantled the long guns and separated the bolts for each into a case put in my personal vehicle. 20 hand guns cased in soft cases. All the guns minus my most precious which traveled with me. Were put in the drums with extra padding on top I put bubble wrapped dishes. The barrels were marked dishes and informed the movers these were fragile etc. Duct taped shut. Since they were already packed for the movers, those drums went on the truck first. Buried behind a 4 bedrooms furnishings. Went from AZ to TX that way. 8 years later used the drums and same process from TX to FL....I'm not thru...same deal 4 years later. FL to TX...then 3 yrs TX to MS.
You get the picture. Be friendly, buy everybody lunch. Spring for a tow truck with a live bed to meet the truck during unloading and pop the 2 ton safe out and slip into the garage. etc
 
Depends on your vehicle. If you have a trunk, I'd store them there; if it's a truck, I'd keep them in the back of the cab. I'd leave a person in the vehicle during any stops. Hotel stays would be a hassle, but I'd back the vehicle up to the door and unload it for the night. Everything should be cased, and you should be armed.
 
Many years ago it was advised to contact each state that your going thru and ask them their particular rules/laws regarding traveling with firearms, say the state patrol of that state. I know Illinois has an online pamphlet that explains how to handle travel within that state while in possession of firearms.

A friend once moved from the East coast to middle America and used a large U Haul trailer. He was able to lay 2 gun safes on their backs, pack all his cased firearms inside and then close/lock the safe door. Obviously, with you leaving your safe behind, this is not an option for you.

My Dad used to lay his mattresses down flat, lay out all his firearms, then stack another mattress on top, stacking as room ran out on each mattress.
 
I put them in a gun safe behind a wall of boxes in the rental truck. I slept in the truck cab overnight while the rest of the family stayed in the hotels. I made sure to only stop in states in which I was allowed to carry a handgun.
Truck was never unattended.
 
I would think that using one of those large shipping boxes would work. whaat the heck is their name ? Big red bins they drop in your driveway, to let you load up . They pick it up, and drop at your new place. U-Pack is kinda like I am thinking.
 
I moved across country with my firearms in my vehicles.

When my father passed away and we moved my mother across three westerns states, I used the same method to move all my father's guns and kept them from being damaged as I did when I drove across country.

I bought enough cheap knit long gun socks from Amazon for each long gun. I found these to be superior than hard or soft gun cases because they aren't bulky and don't take up as much room as gun cases do. I was able to stack several long guns on top of one another in the trunk of the car without any issues.

For handguns, I bought a bag of cheap heavy boot socks from Walmart and put the handguns in them, and put them all in a couple of fabric tote bags.

Everything made it across the country without suffering any damage or rust.

You can put gun socks on you long guns and put them in a wardrobe box, and your handguns in a small box(es).
 
The company that moved us would not handle pistols but rifles were fineas long as that had a list of SN’s. The list was returned by the driver immediately after unloading. I wrapped each rifle and packed them inside stack-on cabinets. The locked cabinets were well wrapped to not advertise their contents. The safes were shipped with miscellaneous lightweight goods inside.
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The company we worked with a few years ago accepted rifles and pistols under the same circumstances, but not ammo. That was important to me because I had to drive myself through MA, CT, and NY.

But I have a relatively modest collection. If I had 55 I'd worry about the movers spreading the word to thieves. The OP's route doesn't force them into any of the states that I had to deal with, so that makes it easier.
 
…as we stop throughout the trip to spend a night in "said state"
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If you are moving yourself, you’re going to have to have someone watching the truck the entire time it’s stopped.
People just steal the entire truck nowadays, no matter if there’s guns in it or not.
 
Not really about guns, but my girlfriend's parents had a U-Haul truck stolen from the parking lot at a hotel with pretty much everything they owned inside it. They never got their items back.
 
cjwils said:
Not really about guns, but my girlfriend's parents had a U-Haul truck stolen from the parking lot at a hotel with pretty much everything they owned inside it. They never got their items back.
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I've heard of this happening. I seem to recall the FBI lost a bunch of firearms in a Suburban parked in a Hotel parking lot.
 
When I moved 2800 miles W2E, I had the moving company move them after I packed them in one of those wardrobe boxes. I listed every one of them on the manifest, paid for full replacement value, and taped and marked the box against tampering with a marker. I transported my ammo, handguns, powder, primers, gasoline, etc in my pickup truck (full bed) with nothing more than a blue tarp to protect from rain. I had to take an alternate route instead of going over Hoover Dam since I was a rolling bomb and they were checking vehicles due to terrorism at the time. 4 days later, we arrived without issue; a few days later the movers arrived and all came through just fine. Moving companies are interested in one thing - getting your goods from A2B without a claim at the fastest time.
 
Back in the day before electronic ignition, you could remove the cable going to the distributor rotor and completely disable the engine from starting.
 
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