Traffic Stops While Carrying A Firearm Across Country (My Experiences)

[bravo30]

I was stopped 3 times while traveling cross country. We ended up covering 20,000 miles in 3 months from phila out to Montana and all over in between.


first stop:

i got pulled over for speeding in Yellowstone. the ranger got me with his forward facing radar and made a u-turn to get behind me. i pulled into a gas station and rolled both front windows down and cut the van off while placing my hands on the wheel. the ranger came up on the drivers side and informed me that he pulled me over for doing 55 in a 30 and asked for my license/registration. i handed over my info along with both of our carry permits. the ranger asked if the guns were on us and if so where they were. i told him i was carrying a Glock 20, chambered at the 8 o'clock position in a OWB holster and my wife had a Bersa .380 in her purse, chambered, hammer down with safety off. the ranger then asked if it was a retention holster and informed me that he was going to open the door and wanted me to lean forward while he removed the gun from the holster. seemed a bit awkward to me but he was cool so i went along with it. next he had me pass my wifes purse over from the passenger seat where he grabbed it an removed the gun and returned the purse. at this point backup had arrived but didnt get involved. they just hung back by their cars.

the ranger spent a few mins looking up my info etc etc and when he returned he explained that i would be getting a ticket etc ($300 some dollars, ouch) . i asked if he was going to take the guns apart or anything and he said he would go over that with me at the end. fair enough. so, at the end he told me he was going to hand back our firearms and that the bullets would be left on the rear bumper and that we were free to go retrieve the ammo only AFTER THEY LEFT THE PARKING LOT. it was a crowded lot but is what is it. after they left the lot we went back an loaded our magazines and racked the slide right there in broad light. that was an odd experience as people by this time had begun to gather around the van. through out the entire time the ranger nor any of the back up asked us anything about the guns or if we had more etc etc.

second time:

trooper caught me in Missouri with his rear radar after i came over a hill. i pulled over, rolled the windows down and cut the engine off while placing my hands on the steering wheel. he came up on the drivers side and informed me that he clocked me at 82 mph which i replied ''i believe you because thats what the governor is set at'' we both laughed. same as before i handed over my info along with our permits. he went back to his car to run the info. when he came back back he told me that he only wrote me down as going 5mph over the limit so i didnt get any points and it wouldnt be that much money (ended up being $80 or something) after he gave me the ticket he told me to stay out of the left lane unless i was passing and to keep my speed down. i joked around with him by saying i was only in the left lane cause i was passing everybody and he laughed an said ''well, you got half of it right'' he was a good guy! and that was it. he never once asked us if we were carrying or had anything on us.


third time:

i was driving down the highway in Tennessee in the right lane when i saw a trooper in a tinted out Tahoe on the grass on the left. the tahoe was facing the opposite direction i was and just as i got about 40 yds from him he pulled out and did a u-turn to get into the left lane so i figured he was after somebody judging by how quick he pulled out so i pulled over onto the right shoulder to give him some room. now hes in front of me to my left and starts to slow down so i slowed down a bit to see what he was up to. at some point i realized he wanted to get behind me so i gave him some room an sure enough he got behind me hard to get eyes on my plates i assume. few mins later he pulls me over. i pulled over the same as i always do etc etc. he comes up on my passenger side and said the reason why he was pulling me over was because i was driving on the shoulder and wanted to make sure i wasn't tired cause they get a lot of guys that are tired on the road. before i could even get a word out he asked me if my tint was legal in PA which i replied i wasn't sure. the minute he mentioned the tint i knew he was just fishing for shit and must have gotten a call to pull the black van over. when he asked for my license i just gave my DL to him, no gun permits. to be honest i didnt trust him and didnt want to give him any more info than i was legally supposed to. he never ran my info or anything just asked me where i was going, whats in the back and where we are from. i told him were traveling the country in a converted van and heading toward the Elvis Presley museum. he lets us go and we were on our way.

[MikeStull]

First, thanks for the relating your firsthand experiences. I too suffer from a oversize right foot so I can identify with the speeding aspects. I am curious, based on some quick research Wyoming, Missouri and Tennessee are not "Duty to Inform" states and National Parks recognize the state law. Why did you pass along the carry permits only in the Yellowstone/Wyoming instance? Please understand, I am not questioning your judgement. I see your thread as valuable, real life experience that can inform others on the best approach.

[bravo30]

First, thanks for the relating your firsthand experiences. I too suffer from a oversize right foot so I can identify with the speeding aspects. I am curious, based on some quick research Wyoming, Missouri and Tennessee are not "Duty to Inform" states and National Parks recognize the state law. Why did you pass along the carry permits only in the Yellowstone/Wyoming instance? Please understand, I am not questioning your judgement. I see your thread as valuable, real life experience that can inform others on the best approach.

Well, for the yellow stone stop the ranger was young and I could tell he was new to all of this. I decided that it was best to put everything out in the open an let him navigate his way through it all. I didn’t want to be in a situation with a young ranger where he asked m to get out of the van an saw my gun or something. It the end it was a judgment call on my end.

The Missouri Trooper was cool and we got along from the start. He was professional from the beginning and just had had a way about him so I returned the favor.

The Tennessee cop rubbed me the wrong way. He questioned me about the tint and that brought back Delaware county memories and was a red flag right away. Most, if not all cops who question tint are jerkoffs so I didn’t know where he was going with his stop. I figured less is more so only gave him my drivers license. He was going to have to work for any info he got off of me.

[bravo30]

Also, the park ranger and trooper from Missouri were very upfront with why they stopped me. The Tennessee trooper was all over the place with tint questions, asking if I was tired and pullin me over when he was in front of me. I got a feeling like I was about to be in some type of back woods bullshit where they’re looking to search the van or something so I decided to play everything tight so if they were going to try anything they were going to have to work for it.

[Walleye Hunter]

Cool cops don't give tickets, they give pointers.

[icp4life162005]

Cool cops don't give tickets, they give pointers.

^This.

When they start asking about tint, better hope they pull out the lube too, because you are probably going to need it.

[middlefinger]

.

Tennesee especially I40 is a major drug route

[bravo30]

I think he just wanted to pull me over because the van looks suspicious so he started laying the ground work just Incase he stumbled onto something and need to back up his stop. It turned out we were just a couple travelers so he let us go.

[bravo30]

.

Tennesee especially I40 is a major drug route

No doubt! I don’t have anything against the cop. He was just doing his job. I just wasn’t taking any chances that’s all.

[alpacaheat]

You need to stop speeding when carrying.