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I recently traveled to Arkansas to visit old friends, and I carried my SIG P250 9mm Compact in a Vedder OWB holster under my 14-year-old ScotteVest Stealth jacket with 357SIG kit installed, one spare magazine on me, one spare mag in center console, and in the trunk was a range bag with my EDC SIG P320Subcompact, loaded in a Vedder Light Tuck holster, and about 300 rds of 9mm and 357SIG cartridges, including several 9mm and 357SIG mags fully loaded. I also had an ammo can full of 9mm and 357SIG cartridges in case I had a chance to go to the new indoor range there, or just in case of a problem arising. I also have a BOB (Jack Bauer type shoulder bag) with all the routine survival gear.

thaidragon wrote:After reading everyone's input, it made me think differently now. I never even bothered to think that I should bring a backup firearm besides my edc. I guess you have to be prepared for the unexpected when traveling long distances also. Your family's safety is your number 1 priority.

The thing about these trips (road trips in particular) is that it's real easy to end up in a sketchy area. When at home I know the area I'm getting gas or grabbing a meal. My wife is seldom armed and won't carry. But she has a gun withing reach whenever we go on a road trip.

Depending where I am going and the purpose but I always carry my EDC (1911 of some sort) and my "truck gun" (full size XD45). Now if we will be staying in a location out in the country, I will take my AR 15 and/or one of my deer rifles.

Jose_in_Dallas wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:When I go to California in May, I'll be bringing along my G26, and either my Mossberg 590A1 or my Marlin 336. I'll be towing a travel trailer, and plan on possibly overnighting at unimproved camping sites on the way. My wife will bring her G43.

Just curious but I always thought you could not bring a firearm while travelling in California. I've always wanted to go camping at one of the National Parks but not being able to bring a firearm with me has always kept me from even considering a trip there.

You cannot bring a magazine of higher than 10 round capacity. My G26 is not on the California roster of approved guns. However, the regulations concerning the approved roster apply only to FFL transfers for California residents. I may travel into and through California with my non-roster gun as long as (A) it does not have a magazine of greater than 10 round capacity, and (B) as long as the gun leaves with me when I leave. I could buy 10 round CA compliant mags for my G19 or G17 and bring them instead if I wanted to. But the G26 is already restricted to 10 rounds by its size, and it weighs less and conceals more easily, so it makes more sense as a traveling gun.

Since I am not confident that any of the above would apply to an AR15 brought in from out of state, lacking all of the California-mandated mechanical and capacity restrictions on that platform, I am not willing to tempt fate by bringing one of my ARs along. Hence my choice of either my Mossberg shotgun or Marlin 336, since either of those two weapons is perfectly legal in California. Of the two, the Marlin is the least "tactical", and therefore be the least likely to get someone's panties in a twist. OTH, it would be somewhat less useful in a tactical situation than the shotgun.

As long as I transport both firearms lawfully while in California, which is to say unloaded and locked in a case, in the back of my vehicle or in my trailer, then they are perfectly legal for me to bring. When I am trailer-camping for extended stay (several days to a week) in/near a big city, the pistol will be uncased and loaded inside the trailer at night, while the long gun remains locked up. If I am camping overnight in more remote areas while traveling in California, I'll get the long gun out at night too. The only federal law/regulation about national parks is that the laws of the state in which the park lies apply. So for instance, it is legal in Texas to open carry a handgun in a national park......you just can't carry into any of the federal gov't owned buildings in that park. Unless California has specific laws against possessing a firearm in a national park, the same laws that apply everywhere else in the state would apply in the national parks. In any case, I won't be camping in any national park campgrounds while in California, so none of those regs will affect me. In the past, I've made the trip with just a pistol - usually a full-sized M&P45, which uses 10-round magazines - partly because I was staying in hotels, and partly because I didn't own any California compliant long guns that were practical for self-defense, or that wouldn't draw unwanted attention. For instance, my 26" heavy barreled Remington 700 with 5-20x scope is pretty useless inside of about 50 yards, and I can just see a CA LEO's eyes bugging out when he sees my "sniper" rifle, and automatically assumes that I'm up to no good.

So that's why I am restricting my long gun choice to a shotgun or a lever gun. If I were traveling to somewhere more gun-friendly, I would probably bring an AR15 instead, although my Keltec Sub-2000 might be a good choice. The Keltec doesn't work for California because it uses Glock 17 magazines, and I don't own any 10-round reduced capacity G17 mags, so I am leaving it at home. I am possibly going to spend time camping in national forests in AZ and NM either going or returning (I haven't decided all the details yet), but there won't be any "gun issues" to worry about in those cases. But an AR15 solves a lot of problems if you're going somewhere that is more gun-friendly that California. It's compact and light, has plenty of capacity with the standard mags, is easy to use close up, and powerful enough out to medium ranges.

thaidragon wrote:I had a discussion with a friend of mine about traveling long distance. He told me that when he travels with his family out of town, he normally carries his edc and bring his ar 15 also. Normally, when I go on family trips, I just bring my glock 19 and 2 spare mags. Now, I was just curious on what the members here actually would bring along with them if they were traveling out of town on a family trip. Do u guys just bring your normal edc or do u bring an extra firearm/rifle with u?

Typically Glock 19 and 8-15 rnd mags (4 w/FMJ & 4 w/JHP) and often a Henry Survival Rifle with 3-10 round mags (in the rifle / stock) and a small box of 50 or 100 .22LR. Sometimes also my Kimber Solo 9mm with extra mags for deep concealment situations.

We usually leave Texas for about three months in the summer in the motorhome. Last summer we had two ARs, I had my Sig P239, wifey had her P238, brought the Sig P226 and several hundreds of rounds of various calibers of ammo with us. Too much? Nah.

We avoid California, they aren't getting my money.

Liberty wrote:

thaidragon wrote:After reading everyone's input, it made me think differently now. I never even bothered to think that I should bring a backup firearm besides my edc. I guess you have to be prepared for the unexpected when traveling long distances also. Your family's safety is your number 1 priority.

The thing about these trips (road trips in particular) is that it's real easy to end up in a sketchy area. When at home I know the area I'm getting gas or grabbing a meal. My wife is seldom armed and won't carry. But she has a gun withing reach whenever we go on a road trip.

That is very true. Years ago, before I had gotten my chl, I was traveling toward south texas with my wife and children. It was late and night and we needed gas. the only gas station available was in the middle of nowhere. While we were getting gas, there was a car that circled around us very slowly and and the people inside were staring at us with some dirty looks. I had a bad feeling about that. I hurried up and finish what I had to do and took off. That car followed us for a good 3 miles and was honking at us and flashing there high beams at us. Luckily, I saw a state trooper on the side of the road and pulled up in front of him with my hazards on. He came and asked what had happened and I told him everything. Long story short. That was very terrifying. If I was alone I wouldn't worry about it as much but I had my family with me and nothing to defend us with, if anything was going to happen.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

Jose_in_Dallas wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:When I go to California in May, I'll be bringing along my G26, and either my Mossberg 590A1 or my Marlin 336. I'll be towing a travel trailer, and plan on possibly overnighting at unimproved camping sites on the way. My wife will bring her G43.

Just curious but I always thought you could not bring a firearm while travelling in California. I've always wanted to go camping at one of the National Parks but not being able to bring a firearm with me has always kept me from even considering a trip there.

You cannot bring a magazine of higher than 10 round capacity. My G26 is not on the California roster of approved guns. However, the regulations concerning the approved roster apply only to FFL transfers for California residents. I may travel into and through California with my non-roster gun as long as (A) it does not have a magazine of greater than 10 round capacity, and (B) as long as the gun leaves with me when I leave. I could buy 10 round CA compliant mags for my G19 or G17 and bring them instead if I wanted to. But the G26 is already restricted to 10 rounds by its size, and it weighs less and conceals more easily, so it makes more sense as a traveling gun.

Since I am not confident that any of the above would apply to an AR15 brought in from out of state, lacking all of the California-mandated mechanical and capacity restrictions on that platform, I am not willing to tempt fate by bringing one of my ARs along. Hence my choice of either my Mossberg shotgun or Marlin 336, since either of those two weapons is perfectly legal in California. Of the two, the Marlin is the least "tactical", and therefore be the least likely to get someone's panties in a twist. OTH, it would be somewhat less useful in a tactical situation than the shotgun.

As long as I transport both firearms lawfully while in California, which is to say unloaded and locked in a case, in the back of my vehicle or in my trailer, then they are perfectly legal for me to bring. When I am trailer-camping for extended stay (several days to a week) in/near a big city, the pistol will be uncased and loaded inside the trailer at night, while the long gun remains locked up. If I am camping overnight in more remote areas while traveling in California, I'll get the long gun out at night too. The only federal law/regulation about national parks is that the laws of the state in which the park lies apply. So for instance, it is legal in Texas to open carry a handgun in a national park......you just can't carry into any of the federal gov't owned buildings in that park. Unless California has specific laws against possessing a firearm in a national park, the same laws that apply everywhere else in the state would apply in the national parks. In any case, I won't be camping in any national park campgrounds while in California, so none of those regs will affect me. In the past, I've made the trip with just a pistol - usually a full-sized M&P45, which uses 10-round magazines - partly because I was staying in hotels, and partly because I didn't own any California compliant long guns that were practical for self-defense, or that wouldn't draw unwanted attention. For instance, my 26" heavy barreled Remington 700 with 5-20x scope is pretty useless inside of about 50 yards, and I can just see a CA LEO's eyes bugging out when he sees my "sniper" rifle, and automatically assumes that I'm up to no good.

So that's why I am restricting my long gun choice to a shotgun or a lever gun. If I were traveling to somewhere more gun-friendly, I would probably bring an AR15 instead, although my Keltec Sub-2000 might be a good choice. The Keltec doesn't work for California because it uses Glock 17 magazines, and I don't own any 10-round reduced capacity G17 mags, so I am leaving it at home. I am possibly going to spend time camping in national forests in AZ and NM either going or returning (I haven't decided all the details yet), but there won't be any "gun issues" to worry about in those cases. But an AR15 solves a lot of problems if you're going somewhere that is more gun-friendly that California. It's compact and light, has plenty of capacity with the standard mags, is easy to use close up, and powerful enough out to medium ranges.

Make sure in NM that you only have 1 concealed weapon at a time, not sure about in the car but I know you are only allowed 1 carry gun at a time.

I take a BUG. Traveling in unfamiliar territory makes my SA go on edge. Ammo for my EDC and the BUG are in my checked bags or in my vehicle. As for an AR, not so much. In my way of thinking, if threats are far enough away to need a rifle I'll find an escape route.