Moving from Indiana to DC with guns.

[rockhopper46038]

Hard to fathom. Good luck.

 

[mssmith44]

One option no one has mentioned yet is to just get rid of all your guns and enjoy the liberal mecca with no worries.

 

[dyerwatcher]

I would support the N. VA suggestion. I lived in MD for 7 years. Gun laws suck. Period. Quality of life was very good. VA is quite a bit better than DC and MD. Cost of living is quite high. If it's the right move best of success. You will figure it out.

 

[Que]

As is often the case, much of the "advice" received here turns out to be criticism. Sounds to me like you are going to DC for reasons which make sense to you. So, my little piece of advice is ignore the useless negative crap and "When in Rome, do as the Romans do".

Yep, that's how it goes. If you don't have anything good to say... then say it!

 

[jamesb]

Having lived in Northern VA for 9 years and working in DC, I would suggest like others you get a place in NOVA. The sticker shock will go down as you get further away from DC. I lived in woodbridge and the commute was not that bad when I used the slug lanes and HOV. Arlington, Alexandria, Springfield all have very good access to the metro which makes trips into DC bearable. One thing you will need to get used to though is even small trips in those areas take along time because of traffic. The 95 corridor starting on Friday around noon time to the Monday morning work commute is all traffic. If you do like to shoot a lot it is hard to find a good range. The NRA range is there but is a pain to get to because of traffic. There are a couple of IWLAs, I was a member down in Stafford (Alexandria IWLA). There is a club in Fairfax but the wait list is long and it is super expensive. Not a lot of gun stores in the three counties closest to DC but several in Prince William. If you have kids or are thinking of them Fairfax and Prince William county schools are excellent. I do not have access to reply to PMs yet but if you PM me you email address I can try and answer questions you have. We moved to DC in a similar situation when I got out of the Army I took a job in DC and we moved to NOVA from CO.

 

[buckstopshere]

So, you have a G34 but mentioned that you own other firearms as well. Are you thinking of pairing down your collection or is your primary concern with the 34 having a long slide coupled with the mag restrictions in DC?

How long before you would make your move? You're only 5 posts away from getting into the classifieds. I'll bet you could make a trade on that 34 or sell it out right. Perhaps you could go to one of the ranges in your area and try out a few different Glocks since you seem to like the platform. My edc is a G19 and I love it. I trust it with my life. Perhaps you'll like it or the 17 or another caliber.

If you have the time, explore some options and shoot some other firearms. I don't think it's the number of guns you own but the number of guns you shoot well. Perhaps that's only 1 or 2. You'll know what's best for you.

Good luck to you

 

[Indy317]

If the money is good, I can't blame you for making the move. That being said, I have a high school friend who moved out that way along with some of his family members. One sibling had over an hour commute. What's funny is that if the money is great, that is all good and well so long as you save the bulk of it. World class cities are costly, even if you can find reasonable rent there is so much to do and if one is a doer, they will quickly find themselves living paycheck to paycheck. So then it becomes a question of was it really worth it?

If the opportunity is great, I can only assume the money is good as well. If the money is good, you will eventually be allowed some form of firearm protection. While many of us want an "assault rifle" or magazine that holds over ten rounds, the vast majority of us will only need those types of things if there is some sort of societal breakdown. Most self-defense shootings will be over with having minimal rounds fired. Prolonged self-defense shootings, requiring tens of rounds, magazine reloads, and I would say even semi-automatic fire are fairly rare. My suggestion is go for a six shooter, get a matching lever action rifle, and get a shotgun. Then make a plan on how you will get out of the city/metro in the event of even a partial societal breakdown.

The most import thing though isn't even the ownership of firearms, it is the thought process of those who will be lording over you. Given how draconian the firearms laws are, do you really want to be involved in a justified shooting of an "honor student" who just happened to be inside your apartment? Do you really want to live in a city where the vocal majority could easily be anti-self defense, pro-criminal? So in addition to whatever firearm you can muster, in a city like DC, you need to make sure you have at least $10K, if not more, for the retainer of a proven self-defense attorney. I see the possession laws as the least of your problems. Even if you kill someone with a knife, if it causes any sort of neighborhood controversy, you could see be treated like a fool who didn't call the cops and wait for the powers that be to respond.

 

[wakproductions]

Congrats on your opportunity for an adventure in DC. I agree with you on the benefits of living in a city. Having lived in both New York and Chicago myself, I understand the appeal of all the excitement and conveniences. But unfortunately dense cities like DC tend to come with unfriendly gun laws. If you want to be in compliance with DC's ordinances then you'll just have to sacrifice the firearms and either sell them or leave them behind somewhere in Indiana. It's a tradeoff. If you choose to take any prohibited firearms with you, then you will probably get jail time if you ever get caught by accident or have to use them. IMO, not worth the risk.

 

[sb0]

DC is a hellhole and the gun laws are only a small part of it.

You can live in Rosslyn in NOVA and walk across the bridge to Georgetown in well under 5 minutes. It's expensive, but so is DC. Virginia is if anything an improvement over Indiana where gun laws are concerned.

As far as your question goes, were I in your shoes I'd go pump shotgun and full size .45. Sure, it might seem a waste with only 10 rounds, but it's not like you're going to be able to carry the thing so no point in going smaller.

 

[Sha]

As is often the case, much of the "advice" received here turns out to be criticism. Sounds to me like you are going to DC for reasons which make sense to you. So, my little piece of advice is ignore the useless negative crap and "When in Rome, do as the Romans do".

I appreciate the encouragement.

 

[Sha]

Having lived in Northern VA for 9 years and working in DC, I would suggest like others you get a place in NOVA. The sticker shock will go down as you get further away from DC. I lived in woodbridge and the commute was not that bad when I used the slug lanes and HOV. Arlington, Alexandria, Springfield all have very good access to the metro which makes trips into DC bearable. One thing you will need to get used to though is even small trips in those areas take along time because of traffic. The 95 corridor starting on Friday around noon time to the Monday morning work commute is all traffic. If you do like to shoot a lot it is hard to find a good range. The NRA range is there but is a pain to get to because of traffic. There are a couple of IWLAs, I was a member down in Stafford (Alexandria IWLA). There is a club in Fairfax but the wait list is long and it is super expensive. Not a lot of gun stores in the three counties closest to DC but several in Prince William. If you have kids or are thinking of them Fairfax and Prince William county schools are excellent. I do not have access to reply to PMs yet but if you PM me you email address I can try and answer questions you have. We moved to DC in a similar situation when I got out of the Army I took a job in DC and we moved to NOVA from CO.

Awesome advice. I'll shoot you a pm with my email.

 

[Sha]

So, you have a G34 but mentioned that you own other firearms as well. Are you thinking of pairing down your collection or is your primary concern with the 34 having a long slide coupled with the mag restrictions in DC?

How long before you would make your move? You're only 5 posts away from getting into the classifieds. I'll bet you could make a trade on that 34 or sell it out right. Perhaps you could go to one of the ranges in your area and try out a few different Glocks since you seem to like the platform. My edc is a G19 and I love it. I trust it with my life. Perhaps you'll like it or the 17 or another caliber.

If you have the time, explore some options and shoot some other firearms. I don't think it's the number of guns you own but the number of guns you shoot well. Perhaps that's only 1 or 2. You'll know what's best for you.

Good luck to you

Yeah, the G34 might be getting sold. I wanted to get into IDPA shooting, but have only put about 200 rounds down the pipe and haven't even installed the warren tactical sights on it yet. They've just been sitting in the bag...

I'm thinking about just taking 2 good .45s at this point...

 

[Sha]

If the money is good, I can't blame you for making the move. That being said, I have a high school friend who moved out that way along with some of his family members. One sibling had over an hour commute. What's funny is that if the money is great, that is all good and well so long as you save the bulk of it. World class cities are costly, even if you can find reasonable rent there is so much to do and if one is a doer, they will quickly find themselves living paycheck to paycheck. So then it becomes a question of was it really worth it?

If the opportunity is great, I can only assume the money is good as well. If the money is good, you will eventually be allowed some form of firearm protection. While many of us want an "assault rifle" or magazine that holds over ten rounds, the vast majority of us will only need those types of things if there is some sort of societal breakdown. Most self-defense shootings will be over with having minimal rounds fired. Prolonged self-defense shootings, requiring tens of rounds, magazine reloads, and I would say even semi-automatic fire are fairly rare. My suggestion is go for a six shooter, get a matching lever action rifle, and get a shotgun. Then make a plan on how you will get out of the city/metro in the event of even a partial societal breakdown.

The most import thing though isn't even the ownership of firearms, it is the thought process of those who will be lording over you. Given how draconian the firearms laws are, do you really want to be involved in a justified shooting of an "honor student" who just happened to be inside your apartment? Do you really want to live in a city where the vocal majority could easily be anti-self defense, pro-criminal? So in addition to whatever firearm you can muster, in a city like DC, you need to make sure you have at least $10K, if not more, for the retainer of a proven self-defense attorney. I see the possession laws as the least of your problems. Even if you kill someone with a knife, if it causes any sort of neighborhood controversy, you could see be treated like a fool who didn't call the cops and wait for the powers that be to respond.

Very thoughtful response. I appreciate it. The B.O.B. is going to be a completely different conversation coming. That's the other thing I've been contemplating living in a dense city.

 

[actaeon277]

Firearm Registration: Complete Registration Procedures | mpdc

Ok. Seems the laws have changed since Emily Miller wrote her articles.
This is from the DC website.

 

[actaeon277]

Firearm Registration: Complete Registration Procedures | mpdc

Ok. Seems the laws have changed since Emily Miller wrote her articles.
This is from the DC website.

Looks like they might have eliminated the list of approved pistols, I can't find it.
And they added a free online class.

 

[17 squirrel]

You should join Marylandshooters website and spend some time on the forums there, I am a Maryland boy, Born and raised just outside the dc beltway in Bethesda, Montgomery Co. I also would suggest looking at living in VA. Northern VA or Arlington, Alexandria. You two will have a great time playing in the city, Endless amounts of things to see.

 

[Sha]

Looks like they might have eliminated the list of approved pistols, I can't find it.
And they added a free online class.

This a breakthrough for me, thanks so much. I read through the official site in detail and it really doesn't look too bad. I can even take my old Colt as a "relic" piece even though it isn't "drop safe". The online class will be so much easier than the 4 hour in-person.

 

[Sha]

You should join Marylandshooters website and spend some time on the forums there, I am a Maryland boy, Born and raised just outside the dc beltway in Bethesda, Montgomery Co. I also would suggest looking at living in VA. Northern VA or Arlington, Alexandria. You two will have a great time playing in the city, Endless amounts of things to see.

Thanks for the tip. That's a great idea to join an area shooters club ahead of time. They will have been through the process.

 

[d30carls]

No assault rifles allowed either,

Why does everyone think that the AR-15 means assault rifle the AR was the abbreviation for the manufacture Armalite is where the term originated from the original manufacture of the AR-15 style weapon it is in no way more an assault rifle than a sks or a mosin nagant for that matter these were also military grade weapons of their day

 

[JettaKnight]

This thread might span a few of the different topics, so I put it here. I'm moving from gun friendly Indiana to Washington DC where I'll apparently have to take a class, pay for registration for every gun I take, and get rid of all my [STRIKE]hi-cap[/STRIKE] standard capacity mags. No assault rifles allowed either, but I don't have one right now so that won't matter for me.

How would you guys handle this? Pair down to just a gun or two? I'm not sure I'll even hold onto my Glock 34, which is one of my favorite guns. I just can't stand the idea of being limited to 10 round mags with a full-size longslide.

FIFY. Don't give credence to these limitations by using anti-2A terms.

Also, I like the idea of an 870 for your apartment instead of a handgun if you can find a place to store you handgun(s). Guns laws are just too draconian there.

I bet a gun store in VA could make a good business of providing lockers for DC denizens to keep secure what they should be able to keep in their homes.