Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Moving - how to transport firearms

My carrier told me they would transport the guns provided they were locked up in something secure. I have heard of people wrapping them in packing blankets and stuffing a gun safe full.

But my guns are too valuable to me to trust them to someone else. I have a fair bit of investment in a large number of guns and their scopes. But beyond that, there is enormous sentimental value that insurance money could not replace.

YMMV

There is no carrier exception in the Colorado law.

I have been relocated by my firm 8 times since the early 90's and have had no issues with having the moving company transporting my firearms.

I do list them all with serial number on their manifest (to include optics)that I do provide to the driver on the day of the move.
I pull everything out of my gun safe, lay the shelves in the bottom of the safe; they load the safe on the truck empty.
All of my long guns are packed on soft cases and the thick gun socks and I fill the safe, handguns are in gun socks or rugs are squeezed in the spaces. Once the safe is full I close the door and lock it.
When I arrive at the destination we reverse the process.

The only time I altered this process was when I was transferred from the UP to CT as the driver was routed through Canada and just to be safe I packed my handguns in hard rifle cases and put them in the back of my Jeep with the lab.

So far all drivers have taken loaded ammunition (all packed in .50 cal. or 20 mm cans) and reloading components.

It is amazing what a couple of hundred bucks to the driver and lunch for the packing/loading crew will do.

I've never had a damaged firearm during these moves; I can't say my trophies have faired so well, but nothing too bad.

YMMV

StarchedCover

This sounds like a good idea now.

Ernie

I stacked them in them bck of my suburban..

Sorry, you are completely beyond hope...

He's a [bleep] idiot Art, don't bother.

About three years ago, daughter's job took her from Austin to El Paso. We rented the largest U-haul, loaded it and a trailer ourselves, and wife and I drove the truck/trailer. In El Paso we had reserved lumpers (through U-Haul). They unloaded the vehicles, put up beds, hooked up washer and dryer, and had everything in place better than any moving company that I had ever used. (Most moving companies use a driver and some local wino to unload.)

Daughter drove her car out. Pictures hung and everything in order the next day. Wife and I flew back to Austin, picked up our car and drove home.

If you are not comfortable going that route, do consider a smaller rental truck for the guns and other things.

Another daughter and SIL spend four to six weeks in Colorado each summer. A company owned straight truck is loaded, a trailer with a Kawasaki Mule is hooked up. A friend and SIL take the truck. A day behind is daughter in the car, friend flies home after a float fishing trip or two down the river.

If you don't want to tow the Passat, you might have a friend drive it, then fly him or her home.

There are lots of ways to skin a cat.

Best wishes,

Jack

If it was not obvious before it is now... to start, he says the act of taking the guns in VA (or the OP's current state if I misremember) is a problem in CO. If the fantasy problem is in CO it would be the act of turning the rightful property back to the owner in CO.

Without a change of legal possession no papers must be done... just for Captain Obvious. It is plain to anyone functional.

He's moving to Colorado.



He might want to learn our screwed up gun laws. A background check in not only required for a change in ownership, but also for a change in possession. Want to loan your gun to a buddy so he can take it hunting for a week? You need to perform a background check on him before you can loan it to him, and then get another on you, before you can again take possession of your own firearm. Initially, this was also the process if you took it to gunsmith, but now that is one of the exceptions.

Before you can even hand a firearm to another person is this state you may need to perform a background check or you are committing a class 1 misdemeanor. There are 9 exceptions to this background check law in Colorado, and common carrier is not one of them.

Of course in 45 of the 50 counties in this state it won't matter, because they are not enforcing it.

Antelope sniper is 100 % correct.I am a resident of Colorado and I am familair with these idiotic laws.

That is why I advised renting a truck and hauling them.

Moving to a place don't make me a resident thereof.

you need to specify what you are moving. How many? Long guns or hand guns? Any special category? Ammo? Loading supplies?

If long guns, do they even fit in the back of your vehicle in a legal cover?

Depending on what you are carrying, what states are you driving through?

Due to job moves my employer paid to move mine from PA to California, back to PA 2 years later then back to CA again.

We used Atlas Van Lines and United Van Lines neither had issues with moving guns.

There is a reason every moving company in CO ignores the fears of AS and others... FedEx and every other CC will move guns by the hundreds every day without fear.

Anyone want to guess why they are willing to take the risk?

Okay, different question... As an FFL I get all sorts of warnings about changes in enforcement and laws from BATFE. Why have there been none sent out about CO? Clearly it would involve interstate transport and that is Federal...

Whoops!

All those newer anti gun laws in CO are state,not federal

If you, as the nonlicensed public, are sending or recieving a firearm from a gunsmith ,a factory warranty,etc., Fed-EX and UPS can ship and deliver fireams to the public without a FFL still in CO the same as if you take it to an in state gunsmith. That is an exemptionin these anti gun laws in CO.

Do you realize what you just posted? A "common carrier" can transport guns in CO, period, exactly like all other 56 (a reference just for AS) states.