TexasCHLforum.com

Part of the discussion centers around how long you will be in each State. For the most part, I submit that no person can remember all of the differences in as many States as you are visiting even if you study those differences at every State Line change. We drove 950 miles in one day, traveling through PA, MD, WVA, VA, and TN. Putting aside the extraordinary steps that are necessary for the 12 mile stretch of MD on I-81, just trying to remember the important stuff from the others is staggering.

So here are a couple of questions to ask yourself:

1. How likely is it that I will need to know the unique no-carry places in a State? Since we were driving on Interstates and had no plans to go to sit-down type restaurants, I spent very little time studying those. Perhaps you will be out and about in one or two of those States and those deserve more attention. If I had been faced with a breakdown or other situation that required a delay and increased this exposure in a specific place, I had paper versions of the handguns.us web information with me.

2. What is the most likely situation that I could face? I'll submit that it is a traffic stop. Knowing whether or not, like Texas, you must disclose your concealed carry is an important thing. I made myself a cheat sheet with all of the States on it and had a column for officer notification. There are some situations, like no hollow point ammo in NJ or places that ban larger capacity mags that you may need to deal with in advance of the trip but I didn't see any of those on your list. Those could come out quickly in a traffic stop situation during disclosure.

3. Do I understand any unique situations among the States that I'm visiting regarding the use of deadly force? I do agree that if a situation quickly develops, you will do what you need to do but it might be a good idea to understand specifically any State which requires retreat first. You can be prosecuted for carrying in the wrong location but the penalties are much more severe for the improper use of deadly force.

We have an RV and travel in many different States. We have a pending trip through OK, KS, SD, & WY. I will have a cheat sheet with all of the highlights from the handgun.us for those States as well as the more detailed descriptions in a travel bag right beside my driver's seat. I need some place for things like my tactical flashlight and simply keep my CHL reference info in it.