CCW National Park Travelogue

[Old Glock guy 1,127]

My wife and I traveled to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone last week..  It's always nice to get a taste of what's it's like to be in Free America, if only for a week and a half.

We flew out of Newark to Salt Lake City on Delta.  I had heard that Delta has made a practice of harassing travelers with firearms since the incident in Fort Lauderdale last year, where a guy retrieved his checked firearm, loaded up, and started shooting people.  You can read more about it here:  http://dryfiretrainingcards.com/blog/deltas-silly-new-rules-flying-guns/

I was pleasantly surprised that the baggage agent just had me fill out the declaration card, had me open my suitcase to ensure that my gun cased was locked and to place the card, and then just put my bag on the belt, and sent us on our way.  Turns out he was slacking, because on the return trip the agent put my bag aside, and called over a TSA agent who proceeded to go through my entire suitcase with me watching.  Upon our arrival back in Newark, I had to go to the baggage desk to claim my suitcase, which had a big sticker on it to say it needed special handling, and was locked shut with a thick zip-tie.  

I believe the most difficult part of staying on the right side of the law while carrying is not just knowing in which states one can carry.  That's pretty easy to look up.  It's some of the nuances that get trickier.  For instance, one can carry in national parks if one is allowed to carry in the state the park is in.  This can be challenging, as some parks span multiple states.  Moreover, even if one can carry in a particular park, the firearm cannot be brought into government buildings, like visitor information centers, hotels, restaurants, and even gift shops.  

Outside the parks, another sticky situation is bars and restaurants.  In some states, no weapons are allowed in establishments that serve alcohol.  In others, they are not allowed in the section that is primarily a bar, but are OK in the area that primarily serves food.  In some states, CCW in bars is OK, but one cannot consume any alcohol.  In other places, alcohol consumption is OK, provided one is below the legal limit.  

I brought along my Springfield XD 9 mm subcompact, with two mags, a 25 round box of Hornady Critical Defense, and three holsters:  an IWB for 4:00/kidney carry, an IWB for appendix carry, and an OWB.  My go-to position is the first one I mentioned, because I find that it conceals well for me, but still allows easy access to my firearm.  The problem I have found is that it gets uncomfortable when I'm driving for a long time, as I did on this trip.  I tried the appendix carry, but found that also got uncomfortable, digging into my thigh when I was on the road for hours.

So I settled on OWB at 3:00, which was comfortable driving.  I don't think it was as well concealed as the others, but it seemed to work out OK with the heavy clothing we needed for the cold temperatures while we were out there.  I made it a point to always keep an extra holster in the console of the car to stow my gun, as we were frequently going in and out of the government buildings mentioned above.  

In general, the whole thing worked out well.  My wife has been more accepting of my concealed carry lifestyle on the road, which she viewed as somewhat quirky just a few years ago.  I had no delusions that my 9 mm handgun would protect us against some of the wildlife out there, but it was better than nothing, and certainly provided protection against two-legged predators.  

While we were staying outside the park in the town of West Yellowstone, I discovered a gun range literally around the block from our hotel, which rented full auto weapons.  Having always wanted to see what that was like, I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that.  So on the last morning we were there, I strolled over and tried some out.  Since this has already gotten pretty long (AVB range), I'll post the details of my full auto experience on another thread.  

[T Bill 649]

Amazing what free citizenry can do.  Sounds like you had a great time.  Looking forward to that range review. I'll be headed to FL in a few weeks and one of the two ranges rents FA as well. Guess I better lube up the old credit card.

[JohnnyB 4,325]

There is a range in Chadds Ford PA called Targetmaster that is not that far from the PRNJ and the Commodore Barry Bridge that also rents full auto. It's fairly cheap, like $20 plus ammo to shoot.

https://www.targetmaster.com/

[T Bill 649]

But, it ain't in the Gunshine state. Just sayin.

[AVB-AMG 530]

Old Glock guy:

I appreciate your taking the time to write your detailed travel log of your trip to two National Parks and the challenges you encountered and the adjustments and choices you made regarding traveling with a firearm and CCW.

For someone like me who has just started to CCW in other states on occasion, where my non-resident permits allow me to do so, I found your experiences and suggestions to be very interesting, informative and with much important useful information....

Thank you.

AVB-AMG

[Old Glock guy 1,127]

8 hours ago, AVB-AMG said:

Old Glock guy:

I appreciate your taking the time to write your detailed travel log of your trip to two National Parks and the challenges you encountered and the adjustments and choices you made regarding traveling with a firearm and CCW.

It was very interesting, informative with much important useful information....

Thank you.

AVB-AMG

Thanks so much AVB=AMG.  I wrote it with the hope that others would find it helpful, and maybe even interesting.