OT: Woods walking guns ... lament

[J Miller]

rjohns just got him a new woods walking gun. A beautiful Colt SAA in .44 Spcl. And apparently there are woods in PA for him to walk with it in.

I do not know the details of the carry laws back east, but here in IL I cannot find any place in the laws where carry in the woods is legal, except when actually engaged in lawful hunting, or if you're on your own land.
That was one of the first things I researched when I moved here.
I have several guns that could be considered as woods walking guns, but no woods to carry them in.

I know there are other forum members that live in IL, so what do you guys do?

And another question is, do any of you IL residents know of any places anywhere near Sangamon county that a person can just go plinking without having to use a gun range? If you do and don't want to tell the world, then by all means PM or email me.

Lamenting over ...

Oh, please don't tell me to just pack up and move. We've gone through all that before. If you really want me to move then send money to the "J Miller Moving Fund".

Joe

[Blaine]

When you've sold off all your stuff, and have the car packed, I'll buy the gas. Find a job online before you go.

[J Miller]

When you've sold off all your stuff, and have the car packed, I'll buy the gas. Find a job online before you go.

Blaine,
That pic is funny I got to send it on to some friends of mine.

[BigSky56]

On your computer look up state lands and federal land for Illinois I know the southern part of the state is national forest then find out if you can target shoot or hunt on those lands in your area I'd check county lands too. danny

[J Miller]

On your computer look up state lands and federal land for Illinois I know the southern part of the state is national forest then find out if you can target shoot or hunt on those lands in your area I'd check county lands too. danny

Danny,
A very good idea. The forests down south are really too far for a one day trip, but for camping over night or a long weekend it might be worth the effort.
Will do as you suggest though.

Joe

[ceb]

Joe, you're right, this is a real backwards state. I wish Chicago would fall into the great lakes, the rest of us would be better off.

It's tougher where you live, but here in the southern part of the state things are a bit more relaxed. I used to teach the state Hunter Ed course. Had a student ask a conservation officier if it was legal to carry a handgun on the shawnee down here. His reply was "Well coyote is in season year round". In other words carry your FOID and a hunting license and you would be fine. Wouldn't take that as gospel though.

I have many times carried in the Shawnee down here, but in truth it is usually in the spring or fall when I most enjoy being in the woods and usually I am fishing or some kind of game is in season. Of course we are talking open carry.
Outside of the 4 county area of North East Illinois, most of the state I believe would readily accept open and concealed carry. I still have hopes that the legislature will get its head out of you know where and get things right in this state.

[AJMD429]

How about getting an 'out of state' CCW permit from IN or a state that IN recognizes, and heading east? Might be a shorter drive than to Illinois southern edge.

[J Miller]

How about getting an 'out of state' CCW permit from IN or a state that IN recognizes, and heading east? Might be a shorter drive than to Illinois southern edge.

AJMD,

Good idea. Doing that never occurred to me. You got some links I could check out?
Besides being a shorter drive, I actually know more people in IN than I do IL. Pathetic isn't it?

Joe

[Hillbilly]

I dont think Illinois accepts any other states carry credentials.. be they resident or non resident.

I live in Oklahoma... our CCW is good in over 30 states... when I travel, I skip Illinois altogether... or bag the gun per Illinois regs... buy gas in Iowa or Kentucky and try not to stop until I hit Indiana.

Yea... if you folks downstate could get the upper hand and take over your state things would get better soon enough. Iowa changed it's handgun laws and Wisconsin is next.

[J Miller]

I dont think Illinois accepts any other states carry credentials.. be they resident or non resident.

I live in Oklahoma... our CCW is good in over 30 states... when I travel, I skip Illinois altogether... or bag the gun per Illinois regs... buy gas in Iowa or Kentucky and try not to stop until I hit Indiana.

Yea... if you folks downstate could get the upper hand and take over your state things would get better soon enough. Iowa changed it's handgun laws and Wisconsin is next.

The Illinois govt will hold out against any forms of carry, concealed or otherwise, until we get rid of the Chicago and East St Louis power mongers. Those two areas have more pull in this state than the rest combined. And they are the most corrupt as well.

The other big thing is (this is a SWAG) about 95% of the land in IL is either private or govt owned. Very little if any open land.

I don't blame you for trying to stay out of this place. Once I get out of here I will NEVER return.

Joe

[L_Kilkenny]

Joe, you might try this.... It satisfied the the laws of Iowa before we became an shall issue state as of Jan. 1.

Fine, you want to go woods bummin with a gun. So go hunting.....kinda. Here in Iowa coyote season is open all year around. There are other critters that also don't have a season. All you needed to carry in areas open to public hunting is a small game license and a $5 predator call. Anyone questions you? You aren't hiking, you're coyote hunting and play em a tune.

Some states have critters that have no seasons or are open year around and don't even require a hunting license for. To my knowlege, you don't need a license here in Iowa to shoot starlings so you may not even need a hunting license or predator call. Just tell em you're hunting starlings .

You'll have to check your regs and seasons but it worked here.

LK

[stretch]

I mostly don't worry about it in Maine. I've got my CCW permit,
so I do believe it's legal. It's also now legal to keep a handgun
under one's coat while hunting to keep the weather off it.
I'll double-check, though. Open carry is legal in Maine as well.

-Stretch

[AJMD429]

I dont think Illinois accepts any other states carry credentials.. be they resident or non resident.

No, what I'm talking about is if Joe got an Indiana out-of-state or a Utah out-of-state (Utah's are popular because so many other states recognize them) CCW, then he could go to INDIANA to woods-walk. Northwest Indiana is VERY CCW-friendly, as is the whole state, whereas Illinois is one of the worst hell-holes there is for CCW.

Lots of folks get Utah CCW licenses so they can travel the U.S. with less hassle, due to the greater reciprocity for whatever reason with Utah, vs. say Indiana.

Some states don't recognize Indiana's CCW license, because we don't have "classes" you have to take. Sometimes I'd like them to be required philosophically, but I would ADAMANTLY oppose them in practical terms, because they are typically 'token' classes that don't educate those who don't want to pay attention anyway, and can be abused by government to make CCW difficult due to high fees, scant or inconvenient class offerings, etc.

Of course Indiana recognizes Indiana CCW licenses, so if that's the only state one plans to 'woods-walk' in, might be easiest to just get one for Indiana.

Joe - look for state handgun license rules and licenses on the internet, shouldn't be too hard to find. There are 'gun' sites that go into detail on reciprocity, etc. you can find, as well.

[Blaine]

Washington is a shall issue state, an open carry state, and no county or city can pass gun laws, only the state can do that. Very good gun climate in this state.

[2X22]

rjohns just got him a new woods walking gun. A beautiful Colt SAA in .44 Spcl. And apparently there are woods in PA for him to walk with it in.

I do not know the details of the carry laws back east, but here in IL I cannot find any place in the laws where carry in the woods is legal, except when actually engaged in lawful hunting, or if you're on your own land.
That was one of the first things I researched when I moved here.

Wow. I read this first thing this morning right before I strapped on my Ruger 44 special, loaded up my 20" Marlin Cowboy .44 with the same load, threw on my coat and daypack with my coffee thermos and lunch and headed out the back door for a long hike in the hills above my cabin where I live. Spent all day tromping around watching a couple herds of elk and a few deer and getting my butt scared to death by ruffed grouse flushing near under my foot.....

I ended up stewing and fretting about Joes post most of the day. I reckon I can boil it down to this for me. Which upsets me more, a State that treats their residents like this and gets away with it, or gun owners and shooters rewarding the State for their mistreatment by living there paying taxes and generally living under their thumb spending money that rewards the State in the long run. I just can't get past that. As liberal as Washington State is, I can still pack a gun just about everywhere I would go. Heck, the last time I got pulled over by a State Policeman that I didn't know, I had 5 rifles and 3 pistols with probably 600 rounds of ammo with me on the way to punchin' holes in paper. Long story short we ended up talking huntin' and shootin' for at least 30 minutes.

I'm not picking on Joe personally, nor anyone else that lives under a Police State. I just am terribly glad that where I live isn't like some of the NE States as I love my home and would truly be devastated to have to leave it as this place is truly a life long dream.

But I would.

2x22