While I reside in NYC, I’m also a third Georgian and one third Oklahoman.
Should I travel in my own vehicle, I am disinclined to do so without some kind of protection against wild boar, snakes, and dangerous two-leggers.
How is this done, if at all?
For protection? Not going to happen. Federal law allows you to transport a firearm from one location to another, with a whole bunch of rules like you have to be able to legally own the aforementioned firearm in both your originating state and destination state. But, here’s the important part, the firearm must be unloaded and not easily accessible, which makes it rather useless for protection. Most of your venomous critters and such aren’t going to patiently wait while you unlock everything, take out the weapon, and load it.
ETA: btw, I happen to have a concealed carry permit in PA, which allows me to carry a loaded weapon not only in my state but also in states that honor it through reciprocity agreements. I can drive into WV with a loaded weapon in the car, but not MD. If you have a permit you can check which other states will honor it, but being able to make it completely across the country through reciprocity states isn’t likely.
Of course, if you don’t have a CCW, there’s two ways;
1> The Legal Way
Store the firearm unloaded and cased in the truck of your vehicle or somewhere not readily accessible. Store the ammunition separately.
2> The not-so-Legal Way.
Drive in a reasonable manner obeying all laws and don’t get pulled over and searched. Don’t display or brandish your firearm. Don’t be a jackass or a moron. Make sure your vehicle is in good operating condition with no lights out, cracked windows or unsafe conditions. Be sure your tabs are up to date.
Been a good long while, but I did option 2 a fair number of times back in the day.
You live in NYC?! I live in NY State and a NYS conceal-carry permit specifically states NOT VALID IN NYC right on it. Since I assume it’s next to impossible for a regular citizen to get a CCP in NYC I always figured their laws regarding longarms are equally strict. Are they not?
Even with a CCW you’re limited as to what states to drive through, but you can drive coast to coast with a Utah or Florida permit (both of who issue permits to non-residents) provided you start in VA or NC and end in WA.
I wouldn’t want to get stopped in California with what California considers an assault weapon.
There’s a big question here. Are you a law-enforcement or retired law enforcement officer?
If so you’re generally covered under LEOSA (the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004 and the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act of 2010) which allows LEO’s to carry fire-arms throughout the United States.
The question is poorly worded. It should be “Does a firearm remain legal as one drives across state lines?”
If a “legal firearm” is a hunting gun broken down in a case, then no problem. If it is a loaded handgun, it is legal only in states that have reciprocity with the carry permit in your own state.
The only “dangerous two-leggers” you will encounter are the ones firing ramdomly at snakes and wild boars.
I suspect this shows a lack of understanding of probability, and the most likely sources of danger.
You’re more likely to be killed by bee stings than a snake bite.
Being attacked by a boar is probably even less likely, unless you tend to take walks where they’re known to live. Even then it’s very unlikely; just ask any wild boar hunter how hard it is to find them.
Most gun injuries are self-inflicted, accidentally. Unless you have years of training and practice handling firearms, I do not recommend you consider one to be much use in making you safer. However, if you’re committed and get regular training and practice, then good for you. I don’t have a cite, but I would be willing to guess that self-inflicted wounds from guns are far less likely among people with training and who handle them as a matter of course.
It takes a while for the things you should and should not do to become second nature, as any young hunter hopefully learns from his elders.
I have many fears in this life, but being attacked by a wild boar or a snake while driving 75 on the interstates is waaaaaaay down the list. 
Perhaps you should consider switching to decaf.
I was thinking along the lines of actually getting out of the vehicle, and exploring out in nature and stuff.
I’m not a retired cop.
Meanwhile I’m digesting the items suggested above.
Thanks!
If you’re going to be walking around with the firearm, I would suggest just getting a holster and wearing it exposed. Many states require a permit for concealed, but I suspect few restrict unconcealed carry. State or federal land may have some restrictions, however, so check with their websites. That said, the chances of you being searched while out hiking are nearly nil.
To legally carry one almost has to be an amateur self-taught lawyer. Not only are there the state laws in all the states you might cross through but in states without preemption (state law overrides local law) there can be a patchwork of city and county ordinances. Also, note that a national park isn’t the same thing as a national forest, beware of going into a library in the same building complex as a courthouse, hunting regulations can override carry law, different states have different thresholds for when displaying a firearm constitutes threatening or menacing behavior, and as always, when a badged police officer rightly or wrongly tells you something is illegal, you can comply or go to jail to fight the charge. As the late gun-rights promoter Joel Rosenberg put it “How much justice can you afford?”
That’s why there’s a push for mandating interstate recognition of carry permits.
Done a lot of hiking around at random places and I’ve never encountered a snake or a wild boar.
If the snake is right in front of you ready to strike, it’s too late to shoot it. If it’s further away, there’s no reason to shoot it. Likewise some random pig isn’t going to attack you unless you are really really going out of your way to provoke it.
Bad people? The number one way to avoid them is to be aware of your surroundings at all times and pay attention to the people in that space. If someone is approaching you, looking at you and looking around, it’s time to find somewhere else to be. I can’t tell you how many bad situations I’ve avoided just by paying attention.
If you’re carrying a gun because you’re worried about these things, you’re probably more likely to use it or brandish it. Not necessarily so, but if you’ve never owned a gun, I’d strongly recommend against this whole idea.
This.
Get a Utah or Florid CCW (both rather easy to obtain through the mail). Store the weapon unloaded and encased in your trunk until you arrive in a state that recognizes them and then carry it as Gawd intended.
Here is a cite for which states recognize a Utah CCW permit, and This is a cite for Florida permit recognition.
It appears that on a trip to Georgia your only obstacle would be South Carolina, and on a trip to Oklahoma Illinois would be a problem. Otherwise with either permit you should be good to go once you hit Virginia or Pennsylvania depending on your destination.
If you’re traveling through Minnesota and do not posses a Minnesota carry permit (or reciprocal state permit) the firearm in your possession must be unloaded and encased.
Any adult, not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm, may carry an unloaded, encased firearm in Minnesota.
I am sick of these mothe-… oh, never mind.
My advice is to keep the gun unloaded in a locked case in your car. By the time the menacing boarsnake can pick the door lock on the passenger side, you’ll have opened the case and loaded the gun, and can respond appropriately.
Everyone mentions CCW.
Does the “concealed” apply if it’s in the gunrack on the back window of the pickup truck cab?