Moving with firearms

[Tango Alpha]

What is the law about using a commercial mover (Allied Van Lines, etc.) to transport your firearms with the rest of your personal property when you move from state to state?

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[Tired Retired]

I have made several (numerous) moves from state to state before I retired from the military. I personally never had the movers move any of my firearms or ammo. I have allowed them to move some reloading equipment and empty brass (had to certify it empty). My understanding is that the moving companies will pack empty firearms, put them on inventory and moved them to your new location (provided its legal where you are moving to). The moving company will NOT touch anything that resembles hazmat (ammo, powder, etc). With that said, DO NOT DO IT. I also spent a short period of my younger life in the moving business... giving a moving company your weapons will guarantee that they will be stolen. Additionally, the insurance you buy will only replace the value of the "lost" item up to its WEIGHT in a value formula. Move your own weapons, keep them safe and make sure that they do not hit the street.

From a legal standpoint of you moving with firearms, I suggest that you check with the local district attoney's office where you are moving TO and make sure you are not bring in weapons (magazines, ammo, bayonets, etc) prohibited in that area.

[7.62 NATO]

I must second Tired Retired...DON'T Let movers get close to any firearm or anything else you don't want stolen or destroyed. Every single move, in which a commercial mover provided the service during my military career, ended up costing me. And several times BIG TIME. Forget about insurance covering losses. You would be lucky to get 25 cents on the dollar. Even with photo's of items you get short changed. Example Craftsman Tool chest with drawers of tools got listed on inventory as Tool Box. I got the box at the other end....a small hand carry one with rusty screw drivers and other rusted junk. The amazing part is the stuff was all packed in wooden crates. You have been warned!

[RayP.]

Another thing to check out is the route you are taking when you move from place to place,some states have "Home Rule",what is legal in part of the state is illegal in another part of the state,just traveling through an area may give you problems,home rule areas of a state can make/enforce their own laws,EXAMPLE,one of my sons worked for a car dealer and was painting inside of shop on a Sunday,took break,stepped outside to eat sandwich and drink a coke,was in parking lot of car dealer at least 75/100 ft. from any public area and police pulled up and told him to take his break inside or be arrested for drinking coke/eating in public,this was South Holland Illinois,some kind of blue laws they have over there.

RayP.

[albud3]

I must agree with the others on this subject...move them yourself! DO NOT let the movers anywhere near your guns.
If needed, ship them via UPS, FedEx, etc., that way you don't have to worry about driving through some podunk town that decides your guns would make a great addition to the PD or SOs armory.
When I ETS'd from Hawaii I sent all my guns home via UPS. No problems, all arrived safely

[Tango Alpha]

Can you ship firearms FedEx/UPS? Don't they have to go from one FFL to another when shipped interstate?

[Tired Retired]

I did the Hawaii thing once (though in the mid 1990's) .... I actually bought a large LOCKABLE footlocker and paid the extra to ship the weapons on the plane as extra luggage/cargo on the same flight as me and the family. You can declare the weapons as cargo when in checked luggage on any US flight. Just notify the airlines ahead of time and have them UNLOADED, packed and LOCKED in the luggage before you get to the airport. I didn't have any problems flying them in either directions... Just don't fly into or out of California....

[Gaffer]

You are all about right. The movers don't want to touch the guns or any reloading material that is a fire or explosive hazard. I moved that all myself. I put the guns and the gun safe inot a pickup truck, drove all the way to the new home, installed the gun safe, filled it with guns and worried if they and the house would still be there in 3 weeks when the movers brought the rest of the furniture.

It is very difficult to move that sort of items. Very biased interstate rules etc.

[bd1]

Needless to say, it's another of those easier said than done things. Inventory your stuff well in advance of the move, attend to secure packing of firearms, ammo, reloading supplies, optics, everything you intend to keep. Then figure out whether you can crate it all up, purchase or build a suitably secure outer container that you can lock in a manner that would cost thieves a lot of time to break into. Then decide whether your truck or trailer will be practical for the haul or will you need to rent something larger. If you'll be hauling a heavy safe you'll need to get a commercial-grade truck. Along the way, stay with your stuff or real close. You can always replace a household appliance or a piece of furniture, but not your shooting-related property. Add the wife's jewelry & keepsakes to your stuff and she'll sleep better. You'll probably succeed getting moved vis-a-vis thieves. But depending on where you go, cops could be a different story. Just try to comply with the traffic laws. Good luck.

[stonewall56]

You can ship them to yourself w/o an FFL.