Greetings, I'm a Frederick area resident but originally from the Midwest. My parents didn't have firearms, but many of our friends did and were avid hunters. My interest in shooting was renewed in the past two years.
Recently, I purchased my first handgun and discovered the MDShooters site through the excellent sticky on Range Etiquette and Safety that Google found for me and have been using this website to find information on nearby ranges to potentially visit as well as other firearm and 2A (and MSI) information.
For any one patient enough and experienced with the transport of handguns or rifles in MD, I have a few questions … all mostly yes/no …
1) on the way to a shooting range, is one permitted to pick up a friend who is joining and possibly bringing his own firearm (and then drop him off afterwards)?
2) for friends that have property with space to shoot (e.g. those with farms or significant wooded acreage with safe areas to shoot with backstops), can I take my firearms if invited for target practice on their private property? Just wondering how to address this if ever pulled over by an LEO (as i think it is important to tell them that there is a weapon in the trunk).
3) if the answer to (2) is correct, if a friend gives permission to bring the firearm to his home (e.g. clean and/or disassemble firearms for the afternoon), can I take my handgun with me even if I am not going to a range or place to shoot?
4) are we allowed to lend firearms to friends who pick them up to go shooting at a range (and they are over 21, have a clean record, possibly are registered gun owners, etc)? This question is more hypothetical than the rest, just wondering what the regs are if the situation arises. Even if allowed, I would still be concerned about potential liabilities.
5) is my wife allowed to take my registered weapon to range or training class without me accompanying her? Our youngest boy is less than a year, so we don't have a sitter for him yet, and If the wife was to take a gun safety, I would be taking care of the little guy.
6) finally, if I wanted to go to an out of state shooting range in VA (Silver Eagle) or WV (340 Defense), am I allowed to cross state lines with my handgun? I will likely first go to Cresap in Frederick, and possibly join the Izaak Walton league up here (and Hap Baker isn't too far either) … however, the websites for 340 Defense and Silver Eagle both make the places look appealing.
For all the above, I will put the unloaded firearm in a locked case in the car trunk, and ammunition in another part of the car (e.g. back seat) in a closed container or zipped bag. As I understand it, it is ok to transport loaded magazines with the ammo, as this would save time at the range. If the second amendment were correctly interpreted (which means open carry throughout the US in my opinion), many of the above questions would be moot. However, I don't want to run afoul of how the laws in the state of MD are currently enforced, so am keen to avoid mistakes.
Btw, thanks to the many people who continue to give advice on this site.
A comment that you perhaps put down two years (e.g. advising on a safety matter or suggesting to new handgun owners to get snap caps, which I did) will actually get read by someone new combing the site looking for background information … a really invaluable service to the community at large … moreover the sincere enthusiasm in the posts makes this a fun site to visit. I can see why the readership is loyal and continues to grow.
Recently, I purchased my first handgun and discovered the MDShooters site through the excellent sticky on Range Etiquette and Safety that Google found for me and have been using this website to find information on nearby ranges to potentially visit as well as other firearm and 2A (and MSI) information.
For any one patient enough and experienced with the transport of handguns or rifles in MD, I have a few questions … all mostly yes/no …
1) on the way to a shooting range, is one permitted to pick up a friend who is joining and possibly bringing his own firearm (and then drop him off afterwards)?
2) for friends that have property with space to shoot (e.g. those with farms or significant wooded acreage with safe areas to shoot with backstops), can I take my firearms if invited for target practice on their private property? Just wondering how to address this if ever pulled over by an LEO (as i think it is important to tell them that there is a weapon in the trunk).
3) if the answer to (2) is correct, if a friend gives permission to bring the firearm to his home (e.g. clean and/or disassemble firearms for the afternoon), can I take my handgun with me even if I am not going to a range or place to shoot?
4) are we allowed to lend firearms to friends who pick them up to go shooting at a range (and they are over 21, have a clean record, possibly are registered gun owners, etc)? This question is more hypothetical than the rest, just wondering what the regs are if the situation arises. Even if allowed, I would still be concerned about potential liabilities.
5) is my wife allowed to take my registered weapon to range or training class without me accompanying her? Our youngest boy is less than a year, so we don't have a sitter for him yet, and If the wife was to take a gun safety, I would be taking care of the little guy.
6) finally, if I wanted to go to an out of state shooting range in VA (Silver Eagle) or WV (340 Defense), am I allowed to cross state lines with my handgun? I will likely first go to Cresap in Frederick, and possibly join the Izaak Walton league up here (and Hap Baker isn't too far either) … however, the websites for 340 Defense and Silver Eagle both make the places look appealing.
For all the above, I will put the unloaded firearm in a locked case in the car trunk, and ammunition in another part of the car (e.g. back seat) in a closed container or zipped bag. As I understand it, it is ok to transport loaded magazines with the ammo, as this would save time at the range. If the second amendment were correctly interpreted (which means open carry throughout the US in my opinion), many of the above questions would be moot. However, I don't want to run afoul of how the laws in the state of MD are currently enforced, so am keen to avoid mistakes.
Btw, thanks to the many people who continue to give advice on this site.
A comment that you perhaps put down two years (e.g. advising on a safety matter or suggesting to new handgun owners to get snap caps, which I did) will actually get read by someone new combing the site looking for background information … a really invaluable service to the community at large … moreover the sincere enthusiasm in the posts makes this a fun site to visit. I can see why the readership is loyal and continues to grow.
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), I simply won't explore the legality ... although most of my buddies to have dogs ... and I neglected the dog training angle. Number (4) surprises me ... but there are scenarios where I think that I might be asked and can't go because it's my turn with the kids. Finally your answer to number (6) is excellent and what I hoped. Both Silver Eagle and 340 Defense look pretty cool and I would love to cross state lines to check them out.
