As a gun owner, you have a responsibility to store your firearm safely while keeping it in your possession. There are guidelines for each permit and state that you live in, so make sure you read up on those rules and are educated on the best way to store your pistol or rifle. Not only can law enforcement come to inspect your home and ensure your responsibility abiding by the laws, but you want to avoid the risk of anyone getting hurt due to negligence.
Of course, not everyone stays in their home forever and the prospect of moving does arise. Your gun is a part of that move. But, unlike furniture or clothes, which you can just throw in a box and shove into a moving truck, you need to take special precautions when it comes to transporting your firearm.
Let’s remember, this is not a toy; you do not want anyone getting hurt during the move, nor do you want to be careless.
So, what goes into moving your firearm?
Safety First
Your reasoning for having a firearm in your home is most likely to protect your home. Therefore, you most likely keep your pistol or rifle loaded in the event of something dangerous happening. Perhaps, you would overlook unloading your magazine before even transporting your gun, but that would be a mistake. The first thing you should do is make sure there is no ammunition in your gun, that way you can avoid any accidental misfires or any young child getting their hands on it.
Once you’ve removed ammunition, make sure to put a lock on your gun. Plenty of tactical and hardware stores will carry these items, so plan ahead of time, and invest in one for each firearm you own. This is not only the proper way to transport a gun but also to store it within your home.
While moving your firearm, you’ll want to make sure you either invest in a cushioned case or wrap your firearm with bubble wrap. Just like any of your other personal belongings, a gun can get damaged during the move, so make sure that when you take your firearm out of the safe, that you ensure it has the proper protection required to make it from one place to another in one piece.
One last tidbit and this is just basic gun safety protocol, are you should act as if your gun is loaded at all times. Even when you have unloaded it, this is not a toy. Do not wave it around or pass it along from friend to friend. Remain mindful that you have an item in your hand that can be a dangerous one, so always treat it carefully and safely.
A Gun Must Have a Gun Safe
This article is just as much about transporting your firearm from one home to another as it is
about storing your gun. In most states, the law requires that if you have guns in your home, they must be locked away in a safe. Safes run from small to large and expensive to inexpensive. Depending on what kind of firearm you have and how many you store is what determines if you have a heavier box than others.
Prepare for a heavy safe. As mentioned before, make sure there are no firearms within the safe when you move it and that said firearms are unloaded. You will most likely want to rent a dolly cart and invest in gloves, secure straps, and some flexible clothes to permit you to be able to move this heavy object. You’ll also want to make sure you have a sturdy truck to transport these items in, as some safes do weigh quite a bit.
It also is a good idea to ask for some help. This is not a one-person job that you want to make by yourself, so make sure you see how many of your friends can help pitch in to help move your guns safely. This way, you can make sure the item doesn’t prove to be too difficult, despite not knowing perhaps at first how you would even go about this.
Paperwork and Permits
As mentioned earlier, every state has its own different set of guidelines and qualifications when it comes to owning a firearm. Most states have looser laws for long guns than they have for pistols, but you should look into it all the same. A gun permit is not a blanket permit for the whole country. If you are doing an interstate move, make sure you do everything within your research to ensure you are crossing state lines correctly.
You do not want to be stopped without the proper paperwork. Most states will have you mail the gun to a gun store in the state you’re moving to so they can hold it until you get the proper permit.
Scoping Out Your New Home
When you are moving to a new home, whether it is a house or an apartment, you should try to scope out where you are going to store your new firearm. Make sure that you become
accustomed to its new location and be sure to hide all that is necessary for the safety of storing the firearm, such as keys to locks, and change the combination to the safe periodically. It’s these little things that make sure no accidents occur, as there have been far too many incidents that resulted in poor planning.
People from all walks of life make the decision to own a firearm. Whether you are using it to protect your home or you are in an area that permits hunting, you need to be a responsible gun owner. More so, you must know the do and do not’s when it comes to moving with a gun.
You may not realize everything that goes behind owning and transporting a firearm among the hecticness of moving everything else, but by doing a little prep beforehand, you can save yourself money, piece of mind, and time.
