Road trip to Florida, want to take my rifle..and be compliant.

Famas · June 24, 2017, 07:20 PM

Hello - It has been a while since I've been here. I am taking my family on vacation to Florida. We live in Indiana and we are driving. My wife has a CCW and a handgun but I do not, so I would like to take a rifle with me. After reading various sites on firearm laws, it appears to me that laws regarding long arms are a bit less strict/confusing. So my question is simple: if I keep a rifle in a hard case, locked and ammo in a separate box also locked...and all of it in the trunk...will this be compliant with the law?

I normally would not ask this but this trip comes with bad timing as I hear rumors and read some things about impending mass protests and disruptions across the nation on the very weekend we are traveling and this has me worried. We planned this for too long and it is too late to cancel everything without incurring financial losses.

**Tom Servo** · June 24, 2017, 09:16 PM

Quote:

if I keep a rifle in a hard case, locked and ammo in a separate box also locked...and all of it in the trunk...will this be compliant with the law?

You're fine under federal law. I assume you're going 65-24-75, which will take you through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. None of those states have laws problematic to the transport of firearms.

Quote:

I hear rumors and read some things about impending mass protests and disruptions across the nation on the very weekend we are traveling

Most likely, any large demonstrations will be taking place in the northeast and west coast. I really don't see any of the states through which you'll be passing presenting such concerns.

rwilson452 · June 25, 2017, 12:05 AM

I would suggest you make any stops outside major metro areas. Use "beltways" around them when possible.

FITASC · June 25, 2017, 07:05 AM

If you have a handgun and want to bring it, bring it. Florida does not require you to have a CCW just to bring your gun to the state (to carry concealed is a different matter), so if the goal is to bring it and go to a range, you're fine.

And try to go around Atlanta - the traffic just plain sucks...........besides, there are some great minor highways with much better scenery (unless time is a serious consideration)

jmhyer · June 26, 2017, 08:19 AM

I don't think either you with your rifle or your wife with her handgun and Indiana resident permit will have any problems in any of the states mentioned. And if you can, swing through my state. We would welcome your guns and your company.

**Spats McGee** · June 28, 2017, 04:51 AM

I'm also going to suggest a visit to http://www.handgunlaw.us/. The folks over there do an excellent job of keeping their information current.

June 24, 2017, 07:20 PM	#1
Famas Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2009 Location: French, currently living in US Posts: 162	Road trip to Florida, want to take my rifle..and be compliant. Hello - It has been a while since I've been here. I am taking my family on vacation to Florida. We live in Indiana and we are driving. My wife has a CCW and a handgun but I do not, so I would like to take a rifle with me. After reading various sites on firearm laws, it appears to me that laws regarding long arms are a bit less strict/confusing. So my question is simple: if I keep a rifle in a hard case, locked and ammo in a separate box also locked...and all of it in the trunk...will this be compliant with the law? I normally would not ask this but this trip comes with bad timing as I hear rumors and read some things about impending mass protests and disruptions across the nation on the very weekend we are traveling and this has me worried. We planned this for too long and it is too late to cancel everything without incurring financial losses.

June 25, 2017, 12:05 AM	#3
rwilson452 Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2004 Location: Tioga co. PA Posts: 2,647	I would suggest you make any stops outside major metro areas. Use "beltways" around them when possible. __________________ USNRET '61-'81

June 25, 2017, 07:05 AM	#4
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	If you have a handgun and want to bring it, bring it. Florida does not require you to have a CCW just to bring your gun to the state (to carry concealed is a different matter), so if the goal is to bring it and go to a range, you're fine. And try to go around Atlanta - the traffic just plain sucks...........besides, there are some great minor highways with much better scenery (unless time is a serious consideration) __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

June 26, 2017, 08:19 AM	#5
jmhyer Senior Member Join Date: June 19, 2012 Location: MS - USA Posts: 899	I don't think either you with your rifle or your wife with her handgun and Indiana resident permit will have any problems in any of the states mentioned. And if you can, swing through my state. We would welcome your guns and your company. Last edited by jmhyer; June 27, 2017 at 11:07 PM.

June 28, 2017, 04:51 AM	#6
Spats McGee Staff Join Date: July 28, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 8,821	I'm also going to suggest a visit to http://www.handgunlaw.us/. The folks over there do an excellent job of keeping their information current. __________________ I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer. If you need some honest-to-goodness legal advice, go buy some.