Maryland Gun Laws And Ipsc?

[Wakal]

My wife just received orders to lovely Maryland, and from perusing some of the CHL boards I see that we will be leaving the Republic for the People's Democratic Republic

How is the IPSC up there on the other left coast?

I see that having a gun in the automobile is a misdemeanor, and that concealed carry permits are nigh-impossible to get (unless connected, which I rather doubt a couple of TSgt's are)...what other fun can I expect in my military-enforced incarceration?

Help?

Alex

[ErikW]

IIRC, Maryland has restrictions on things they consider assault weapons or assault pistols. Maybe magazine capacity restrictions, too.

http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws.asp?FormMode=Detail&R=MD

[THS]

Alex,

Live in Virginia! We have right to carry, and STRONG limited crowd at local events! Like Todd Jarrett, Phil Strader, John Benton, and a slew of others who are GM's and M's. I live in Fredericksburg and am stationed at Quantico, and could shoot every weekend, plus indoors a few times a month, within an hour to hour and 15 min ride. Maryland has some well run clubs too, although I've never shot up there.

Where are you going to be stationed?

Tom

[BigDave]

Perhaps Bill Schwab can chime in here.

I have competed in Marland, high caps and all, even seen Open guns. The Mid-Atlantic section there is a pretty good group (folks like Bill Schwab, Todd Jarrett and Phil Strader) and are pretty active. If there are problems, I haven't heard of them

[Wakal]

Tim,

And Virginia recognizes my Texas CHL, although with the itty bitty states that doesn't help much. From looking at Mapquest, it seems like I'd cross state lines there about as much as I cross county lines around here

Looks like we will be stuck at Fort Meade, although living in Virginia sounds like the way to go.

VERY glad to hear that IPSC is active around there, the weird "more than 20 round magazines not allowed" thing had me worried.

Alex

[THS]

Alex,

Fort Meade is a little way from here, FXBG and Quantico, but it's all relative. The traffic is heavy and unpredicaable, and makes my 23 mile commute over an hour on occasion. Normally though it aint to bad though.

You'll find a good bit of shooting here, and despite MD's gun laws, they have some strong shooters. You'll always be welcome at Quantico with the NVPS or FXBG with the F-burg club there.

When are yu coming? The Summer blast is in June, and the VA MD sectional in October, I think.

Later

Tom

[Wakal]

The RNLTD is 30 Nov, so we should be there around the 28th. Enough time to catch the end of the season here, which is rather nice of the Air Farce.

A

[mcginnes]

IPSC is very strong in Southern Maryland and Northern Virginia, with enough clubs to shoot just about every weekend (Fredricksburg, Quantico, and St. Charles/Waldorf.) Not to sure about Northwestern Maryland or the Eastern Shore, but I know there are clubs there. Not to mention the NRA range in Fairfax, VA! Hopefully, Shooters Paradise will start having some sort of competition during the week (are you listening Phil?)

Marylands gun laws are, well, unique. When I moved here, I learned just enough to know that what I have is legal, the rest is a little fuzzy. Try calling 'Maryland Small Arms Range Inc.' at 301-599-0800, or Southern Maryland Firearms at 301-475-9826 for more specific information.

Rifle mags:

I know you can bring in whatever you want, but you can't buy or sell 'high cap.' mags in Maryland. Maryland calls anything over 20 rounds 'highcap,' but I'm not sure if that means you can buy 19 round mags in Maryland or just 10 rd mags. Either way, you can still go to Virginia and buy all the hi-cap mags you want and bring them home.

Pistol mags:

I know you can bring in all the <= 20 round mags you want. I'm not at all sure, but I don't think you can posses any handgun mags that carry more than 20 rounds. I have no idea if you can legally buy mags that hold more than 10 rounds in Maryland.

Other laws of intrest

• Maryland has:
  
• A 'One gun a month' law.
  
• De facto registration of guns and owners. -- You don't have to register the guns you bring in, but you have to register any gun (new or used) you buy in Maryland.
  
• A de facto 7-10 day waiting period.
  
• A required 'gun safety' course/video that will make you puke.
  
• Legal Class III weapons!.
  
• Ballistic fingerprinting of new handguns.
  
• New this year: New handguns must have an internal/integral lock.
  
• Concealed carry to protect your money/business, but not your wife and kids.
  

Hope that helps. And yes, if at all possible, try to get a place in Virginia, West Virginia or Pennsylvania. On the plus side, there are a lot of great ranges and great shooters in the area.

[mcginnes]

double tap

[B.J. Norris]

MPSA near Frederick is a very well run club, with high round count stages and a LOT of movers. Also(Shameless plug mode on) NMPS (my club) is run near Strasburg, VA, we have made some raneg improvements for the new season and will be able to run some large stages later this year. Phil Strader also shots with us nearly every month, plus a slew of other A, M and GM shooters. E-mail me at NMPSmatchs@hotmail.com for more info.(Shameless plug mode off) I don't see your guns being that big of a problem, there are many IPSC shooters active in MD, with many Open shooters and their 170mm mags.

[InTheBlack]

Commuting to Ft Meade from Va would be debilitating. The border is the Potomic River, and the Woodrow Wilson bridge is so overtraveled that they are currently building a new one beside it. The highway (495/95) is always crowded.

NoVa (Northern Virginia) is overpopulated and overpriced.

MD is properly titled the People's Socialist Republic; but our new Republican Governor is a ray of hope.

Pistols & "Assault Rifles" are registered & have a 7 day waiting period, but at least you can obtain types that you cannot get at all in CA. Garands and AR15 "HBAR" are excepted.

Magazines OVER 20 rounds can be possessed but not "transferred" (buy, sell, given/received) within the Commissar's jurisdiction.

Combination of requirements for a shell casing and "integral mechanical lock" limit sales of new handguns. Glock, Beretta, Ruger are no longer selling in MD. Figuring the date of manufacture of used guns to see if they were made prior to these regulations will get more complicated as time passes; the shell casing requirement went into effect 2002, the lock in 2003.

You don't want to live in Prince Georges or Montgomery counties. You can't affored Montgomery anyway. Anne Arundel and Howard thus remain. East-West commuting from Howard is hell (building a "connector" highway is a big political issue).

[gm iprod]

Is the one gun a month compulsory or just a guide?

[Carlos]

Here are a few more fun ones:

1) no private transfers. Any handgun TRANSFERS (not just sales) must be conducted through an FFL and handguns/assault guns subject to the 14 day waiting period (that used to take 20+ days - I moved in 1997). Want to lend your buddy a handgun? Better take to the dealer and ask Maryland's permission, then wait 14 days for a form to came back w/ a state police stamp that reads "Not dis-approved" (I am not kidding - that is what it says; would not want to have the state approve of any gun ownership you know).

2) No transportation in automobiles. Exceptions: going to/from match, practice range, gunsmith. If you get pulled over, you had better be able to explain where you were headed. Gun has to be in locked trunk that you cannot get to from inside the cab. If you can get to it, it had better be in a LOCKED case and seperate from the ammo (different locked bag).

3) Loaded mag = loaded gun (and a trip downtown). I bought my 1st 1911 (STI Edge) from a Baltimore city police officer & we talked about this. Don't forget to unload those mags after a match or you will at least loose your gun & possibly more.

4) No manufacturer's internal lock or factory fingerprint shell casing = banned handgun. Exception: used model of the handgun if its made prior to 2003. Just find the model gun you want and buy a used model from out of state and arrange a transfer through an FFL (Gunpowder Range near Bel Aire used to have the best price at $15 vs. $60 at most places in MD). Want to buy the latest model, brand new STI, SV, etc.? Sorry, its not possible in MD.

Thank GOD I moved to VA!! The rest of the country:if you have not done so yet, wake up and join NRA, GOA, or pro gun rights group of your choice. Sarah Brady views MD code as a model for new laws in your state.

[FloatingYogi]

ZERO discretion on class 3 transfers.

It is all done at the state level, and if you are able to legally buy a gun, you will be approved for a machinegun in Maryland.

Go figure.

I had a harder time getting a Machinegun in Georgia than I would here in Aberdeen- the state that thinks a 170mm 38 Super mag is too dangerous for me to own

[Bill Schwab]

Is the one gun a month compulsory or just a guide?

Weelllll, it's compulsory UNLESS you send them a request (and other necessary paperwork) to be a "collector". Needless to say I am a "collector". I don't recall what paperwork they required of me but it was a joke, like a copy of my drivers license...

Wakal,

Give me a call when you're settled in. I'm a ways from you, but we can still meet at a match. I'll PM you my phone numbers.

[gm iprod]

I am already a license collector here (Handguns, Military Long Guns, Machine Guns and a fair assortment of supressed goodies), so if I start one up there I will have to visit more regularly and make sure they are not lonely.

OK I can live with that.

[THS]

Oops.

One down-side to VA's gun laws. We have a one handgun per 30 days law. Buy all the long guns you want, but handguns are different. Interestingly they recently changed to allow a transfer inside of 30 days if you are trading in a handgun to get another. Maybe the intent is one additional gun per 30 days, but you can use a dealer for a trade as long as you dont have a net gain in HG's.

I always mark my calendar when I pick up a gun, so I know the exact day I'm up again. It was an issue when I saw a sweet deal in a pawn shop, no layaway there, so I had to wait to pick up another I'd already paid for. Just another pain in the but, but better than the ohter DC area options.

Tom