Have to make a trip up to Maine to attend my wife's grandfather's funeral.  We will be taking our 2 year old daughter with us.  My Virginia CHP is no good once we cross into Maryland and is not honored again until we reach New Hampshire.  I looked at what it takes to get out of state permits in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, hoping they could be backup stopping points if we have to break up the trip because of the baby. You have to apply in person in both states, making it essentially impossible for me to be able to get one.    

In addition, the popular opinion I read online concerning federal safe passage laws is that it's the defense you get to use after the local authorities arrest and lock you up for possession of an illegal weapon when they pull you over for speeding. It really pisses me off that I have to compromise my ability to adequately protect my family in order to comply with other states' bullshit laws that I'm just traveling through.  Furthermore, it really pisses me off because it appears that Virginia honors most of the northern states' permits here with reciprocity agreements.  You're welcome.

I understand that I'll just have to get over it and do what I have to do, but I'm not happy about it at all.  Wanted to post here and make sure that I'm not missing something that would allow me to be legally armed in Maine aside from flying.  There's just too much baby crap that we have to carry to make flying feasible.

Well, statistically speaking, you are more likely to need a gun in those states you are travelling through than in Maine, unless you are going to Portland or the Dirty Lew.

Your only other option would be to send one ahead.

It is a bit puckery relying on FOPA when travelling, but it is done a lot. Don't drive too fast, don't drive too slow, don't get in an accident, and don't drive like a dick.

I'm pretty sure PA is OK with travelling through with unloaded firearms (Philly might be different). Maine and NH don't require you to have a permit for transport or carry.

NJ, NY, and Massholia are the biggest problems and it would be a crapshoot in CT, though I have heard of some officers not making a big deal of it if you are following FOPA provisions. You could just go up 81 to 84 and avoid MD, NJ, and the NYC area, but it might add some time to your trip.

When I do road trips I limit my driving time to 8 hours per day. I plan my stops in states that recognize my Missouri CCW.
If I were you, I would do the same.

Otherwise, look for a cheap flight.

Depending on where you're going in ME and where you are in VA, you could take the western route so you're only passing through NY.

81-88-NY-VT->NH->ME

It's a much better drive than up 95.

How many times when you've been pulled over or  aided by cops have you been patted down?

Never. Just don't speed.

Seems like this might be the way to go.  Thanks for the advise.

You make a good point.  I just hate having to take the chance.

Looks like PA might not be as bad as I first thought with regards to lawful transport.  If I can have the option to spend the night in PA if I have to on the return trip, then I might be able to make it work.

While it adds time, I agree this is a totally viable option and a far nicer drive.  The "fastest" route (95 if you're eastern or Richmond) is going to bring you right through MD then NJ and NY right between Newark and NYC then through CT and mid-east MA.  It's the liberal gauntlet.

That said, think of the number of criminals traveling those roads every single day without getting pulled.  Keep to yourself and only stop at the main service stations on the NJTPK, which you might have to b/c NJ is a long drive.  Quick off-on for break, gas, restroom.  Try not to stop in MA at all with your dirty terrible redneck VA plates.

You can get your out of state PA permit with very little effort.  

Apply online (I used Adam's County) submit your application, pay your $10 fee and wait for the background to complete.  Mine was completed in under 24 hours.  You do have to go in person to the court house to pick it up and get your photo taken.  It's good for five years and the appointment for pick up took me 20 mins.  Might be worth a quick stop to pick it up if you are already driving though.

Doesn't take long to get through Mass, drive the speed limit and don't make any stops.

With regard to Pa. Permit, Adams County like many will let you apply online and pick up in person. It's literally a 10-15 minute pit stop to pick it up.

It clearly says on the Adams County Pa Sheriffs Office website that you have to be a resident of Adams County in order to be issued a permit from that office.  I'll give them a call next week and see if they issue permits to out of state residents.  Appreciate it.

@leng

When did you apply for your permit through Adams County?  Their sheriff's department website says clearly that you have to be a resident of Adams County in order to be issued a permit through that office.  Thanks for the info.

@vteng

I applied in Oct/Nov 2023.  Can you share what you are seeing?  They definitely issue non resident permits..

Stop overthinking things.  Just go.

I interpret the 3rd bullet listed here to mean they don't issue out of state permits.  

https://adamspa.permitium.com/ccw/start

Carrying Firearms in Pennsylvania: must meet ALL requirements
To Apply for a License to Carry Permit at the Adams County Sheriff's Office, the applicant must:

-be a citizen or a naturalized citizen;
-be twenty-one (21) years of age;
-be a resident of Adams County;

Now I see in the text immediately below the bullets that out of state residents may apply to any PA county's sheriff office.  That's encouraging.  I'll give them a call next week.  Maybe this becomes an option for me.  It's ~3 hours each way but maybe we just need to do a family trip to Gettysburg during the week sometime so I can get this done.

Really appreciate the responses and help.

Yeah, this, for sure.   Even without the gun issues.   I never use 95 when I'm heading south or southwest; it's a nightmare.   Driving through MA & CT also sucks, even without gun issues.
And even if you get stopped, as long as you're polite and deny having a gun if asked, chances of your carry gun being discovered are slim.

The Adams County permit is a go to for many people in Virginia and Florida. They absolutely do issue non-resident permits. Many people get it to have reciprocity  with Wisconsin.

Sounds like it is not worth the hassle.  I would suggest not going if you have to disarm.

This is the best solution for you.  But what happens if some thugs try to carjack his wife and baby in one of the commie no-gun states?

Ship SUB-2000 to your hotel in Maine.

I have this concern driving through Colorado.  

Only took 3 days to get approved for the out of state PA permit through Adams County.  Easy.  Just have to figure out when I can go pick it up.  Hopefully over my wife's spring break sometime and will justify the long trip spending time visiting the battlefield.

Exactly. Knock on wood, I’ve never been patted down from a traffic stop. Therefore. Don’t ask don’t tell

I’d recommend avoiding the liberal states as much as possible, but even with that said, if you get pulled over, you follow rule number one and shut the fuck up.
Do not consent to any searches under any circumstance, and do not volunteer any information.

Also, be aware that FOPA is a protection for firearms. The law does not stay anything in regards to magazines or ammunition and Massachusetts for example, requires a FID card or LTC to possess.

Vermont is permitless carry but they do have magazine restrictions.

New Hampshire is constitutional carry with no restrictions.

Maine is constitutional carry except for Acadia national park.

Don’t over think it.

1) Drive the speed limit, use your turn signals, don’t provide probable cause for a stop.

2) Pack your unloaded hand gun in a locked container in the trunk or if no trunk in the back well out of reach of the driver in full compliance with the safe passage provisions.

3) *If* you are for whatever reason stopped, be polite, be professional, don’t pull the sovereign citizen BS, cooperate…but don’t provide any probable cause for a search and *do not* under any circumstances consent to a search.

Realistically the odds are extremely low you’ll be stopped and of stopped are very low that law enforcement would find a reason to search your car, unless you are smoking pot, have alcohol in the car, are acting impaired.

Even then, if all that happens, your hand gun is found, and you are unlucky enough to get an ignorant officer who is clueless about the safe passage provision, you’ll end up cuffed and stuffed.  But it’s almost certain the desk sergeant at the station will straighten it out and you.l be released. If you get arrested, it won’t be a lawful arrest.  Go with the flow. Don’t be a jerk, don’t resist and don’t give the officer any grounds for other charges such as resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, assaulting an officer, etc. and you’ll be fine, with  just an hour or so delay and grounds for a civil suit for unlawful arrest.