Firearm in Boat Question

johnkn · Jun 14, 2016

Checking on the legality of having an unloaded Shotgun on a boat while on an overnight trip. I'll be spending a few nights anchored sleeping in my boat on the Maryland Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Getting there means spending a day on the Potomac moving south while fishing, fishing the Bay, then anchoring for the night. Repeat the next 1-2 days. Only considering for these overnight trips. Thoughts? thanks

outrider58 · Jun 14, 2016

johnkn said:
Checking on the legality of having an unloaded Shotgun on a boat while on an overnight trip. I'll be spending a few nights anchored sleeping in my boat on the Maryland Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Getting there means spending a day on the Potomac moving south while fishing, fishing the Bay, then anchoring for the night. Repeat the next 1-2 days. Only considering for these overnight trips. Thoughts? thanks

I don't know the law on this but it sounds ok as long as you stay out of DC and it sounds like you will be.

lx1x · Jun 14, 2016

You know having a firearm in a boat will cause boating accidents?!?

Doctor_M · Jun 14, 2016

Should be OK as long as it is not a handgun. Shotguns on boats happen all the time during duck season. When not at anchor your boat is considered a vehicle so pretty much the same rules for your car apply (it is only considered a residence when you are at anchor and your boat has a head and a galley). Gunshot is still an accepted form of emergency signal by the USCG. If you are boarded, they will ask you if you have a weapon aboard and will document the serial number... as long as it is unloaded and cased (and nothing illegal about it) you should be OK.

Doctor_M · Jun 14, 2016

Oh... under MD law you cannot have a gun on an oyster dredge.... I'm assuming your boat is not an oyster dredge :-)

zoostation · Jun 14, 2016

AFAIK an unloaded long gun is okay in a boat in MD waters. Under the MD wear-carry law handguns in boats are treated the same as in cars however (that's to stop all of those sail-by shootings).

zoostation · Jun 14, 2016

Doctor_M said:
Oh... under MD law you cannot have a gun on an oyster dredge.... I'm assuming your boat is not an oyster dredge :-)

Only the police and military should have oyster dredges.

Whatever oyster dredges are....

morechaching · Jun 14, 2016

You can't have a gun or a dog when commercial fishing / crabbing / oystering. Holdover from the days of the Oyster Wars with Virginia.

Mark75H · Jun 14, 2016

Boat counts as vehicle in MD ... long guns can't be loaded

traveller · Jun 14, 2016

zoostation said:
AFAIK an unloaded long gun is okay in a boat in MD waters. Under the MD wear-carry law handguns in boats are treated the same as in cars however (that's to stop all of those sail-by shootings).

Oh there were, as recently as the 80s. Look up the 'oyster wars' in St. Mary's county.

Gryphon · Jun 14, 2016

Keep it unloaded but readily accessible. Handguns are no go just like in cars without a permit. Although an argument does exist if it is a second home with head and galley.

Metaterra · Jun 14, 2016

zoostation said:
AFAIK an unloaded long gun is okay in a boat in MD waters. Under the MD wear-carry law handguns in boats are treated the same as in cars however (that's to stop all of those sail-by shootings).

Picturing the perps fleeing the scene at 4 kts.

Rack&Roll · Jun 14, 2016

If you are anchored, it is your domicile for the night as if you are at home. While underway you are a vehicle, so vehicle/DNR transport applies.

Same for RVs on the move cross-country.

ihriec · Jun 14, 2016

This is very confusing. I plan on spending a week on my boat in July. Do I need to keep my shotgun in a (soft) case unloaded while underway? I plan to keep it unloaded but with ammo onboard, except I will probably load it at night while anchored before i go to sleep.

winch · Jun 15, 2016

From what I know, you are ok to carry an unloaded long gun. I too am thinking about carrying a shotgun for my overnight boating trips. Personally, I would keep in a case while underway, and I would have the ammo separate from the gun. Once anchored, you can load it since it is now your home. Take the keys out of the ignition as an extra precaution.

Rack&Roll · Jun 15, 2016

Just review Gryphon's observation: if your boat has a toilet and sink onboard, and especially bunks, it becomes a home while you are anchored out overnight. You may then make firearm preparations to defend yourself as if you are at home.

Just make sure you revert to MARYLAND FIREARM STORAGE/VEHICLE TRANSPORT BEFORE you pull the anchor to get underway each morning--firearm cased (lock optional), unloaded and stowed.

Redcobra · Jun 15, 2016

johnkn said:
Checking on the legality of having an unloaded Shotgun on a boat while on an overnight trip. I'll be spending a few nights anchored sleeping in my boat on the Maryland Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Getting there means spending a day on the Potomac moving south while fishing, fishing the Bay, then anchoring for the night. Repeat the next 1-2 days. Only considering for these overnight trips. Thoughts? thanks

Search the archives. This came up a few years ago and I published the AGs written opinion that I received when I asked this question (about a pistol not shotgun).
Bottom line, you are good to go with a shotgun unloaded while not at anchor, loaded at anchor.

usa259 · Jun 15, 2016

Metaterra said:
Picturing the perps fleeing the scene at 4 kts.

You must sail the wrong type of sailboat...4 knts shm.

K31 · Jun 15, 2016

Doctor_M said:
Oh... under MD law you cannot have a gun on an oyster dredge.... I'm assuming your boat is not an oyster dredge :-)

If you pull in your anchor and it has a oyster on it, you're going to jail.

ChannelCat · Jun 15, 2016

My guess is the law, especially in left wing states such as Maryland, is a little fuzzy, and one should probably consult with a 2A lawyer.

Rack&Roll said:
Just review Gryphon's observation: if your boat has a toilet and sink onboard, and especially bunks, it becomes a home while you are anchored out overnight. You may then make firearm preparations to defend yourself as if you are at home.

I have heard that too, from the owner of a large trawler, and a gun owner, who happens to be one of my best friends as well as being completely in the tank for the Democrats. He keeps a loaded stainless steel pistol in the main cabin of his boat for personal protection.

His dream is to do the "great loop" around the east half of the continental US in his trawler, presumably with the pistol in tow. He once equated me to Timothy McVeigh because I believe that the Second Amendment means what it says, and quite frankly, it would be poetic justice if he were to get caught with that loaded pistol in, say, New Your State. Don't get wrong, I don't wish this on him, but those people would play with him like a cat playing with a mouse.

Firearm in Boat Question

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