Carrying while in West Virginia

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  • mmpbal

    Member
    Apr 18, 2020
    31
    Dundalk
    Hello all, I was in West Virginia this past weekend, I am a Maryland resident, my question is while there could I carry my handgun without any type of permit?
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,847
    Constitutional carry, though I carry on my Virginia non-resident permit as a matter of practice.
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,230
    Montgomery County
    I'll confess I'm a little confused as to why a state that allows constitutional concealed carry ... would have an in depth discussion about which concealed carry permits they honor or don't from other states.

    Likewise, WV provides a $25 trip to the Sheriff's office in order to procure a WV concealed carry license. I presume that's so that WV residents have something they can present in other reciprocally friendly states that require a permit (Maryland ain't one of them!).
     

    jef955

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 26, 2011
    758
    Maryland
    Frequent flyer here.. In New Creek yesterday as a matter of fact.. No permit required, Wv permits are issued for out of state reciprocity, but not required for in state concealed carry, other than a few restricted places which can be found with a quick online search. Full guidelines are on the Wv Attorney General's website, and the State police as well.

    Happy carrying
     

    photoracer

    Competition Shooter
    Oct 22, 2010
    3,318
    West Virginia
    Yes its for reciprocity in states that only allow a resident permit from that state. Having moved to WV in 2014 I have not yet felt the need to get a WV permit even though I will need reciprocity for FL, TX, NM, and CO someday to visit relatives. Not to mention all the out-of-state shooting events I go to. Personally I am not a big fan of Open Carry except on the farm. When I leave the farm packing its always concealed. I want it to be a surprise for the bad guys not an annoyance for the citizens. That way I can do what I want.
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    Constitutional carry, no bans on evil black guns, standard capacity magazines without having to travel to another state, free 100 yard ranges at many state parks and state forests, friendly people, the best damned biscuits on the planet, there's a reason it's Almost Heaven.

    When I finished college and was working in Charleston, a buddy and I went to the KSF range on a weekday and were the only guys there shooting my 1911, his Red Label, and a mini-30 until this Mercedes SL500 pulled up. Dude gets out and starts setting up a registered MG34. He was a cardiologist with CAMC and had both a 34 and 42 (though he only brought the 34 that day). Full auto without a care in the world. Meanwhile any range open to the public here in MD would go ballistic if you dared go over the 1 shot per second rule.
     

    motorcoachdoug

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Hmm all the more reason to move to west by *** virginia now that scotus has turned down our hops.. hmm let western md from washington county west become part of wva and it would cut the cost of all state agencies that belong to md but then that is only a dream since the mga will not let that happen at all.
     

    rbird7282

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 6, 2012
    18,530
    Columbia
    Constitutional carry, no bans on evil black guns, standard capacity magazines without having to travel to another state, free 100 yard ranges at many state parks and state forests, friendly people, the best damned biscuits on the planet, there's a reason it's Almost Heaven.

    When I finished college and was working in Charleston, a buddy and I went to the KSF range on a weekday and were the only guys there shooting my 1911, his Red Label, and a mini-30 until this Mercedes SL500 pulled up. Dude gets out and starts setting up a registered MG34. He was a cardiologist with CAMC and had both a 34 and 42 (though he only brought the 34 that day). Full auto without a care in the world. Meanwhile any range open to the public here in MD would go ballistic if you dared go over the 1 shot per second rule.


    AGC wouldn’t. You can shoot as fast as you like as long as rounds are hitting the impact berm. Correction, apparently I forgot the meaning of the words “open to the public” lol


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    Grumpy Bill

    Member
    Aug 9, 2012
    8
    Cumberland, MD
    I asked that question to a WV. police officer. He said that if I had a Utah, or Florida nonresident permit, I could carry conceled. I could not carry without a permit from another state that was recognized by WV. He also told me that WV. does not issue nonresident permits. Same rules for open carry. I do know that in some cases the police really don't know and understand their own laws!
    Use caution!!
     

    Nanook

    F-notso-NG-anymore
    Politely ask the officer that seems confused to call his sergeant or watch commander. Or ask him look it up on his phone. The law changed a few years ago so if GB asked a while back, the officer may have been correct AT THAT TIME. Things change - sometimes for the better.
     

    steves1911

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 2, 2011
    3,026
    On a hill in Wv
    I asked that question to a WV. police officer. He said that if I had a Utah, or Florida nonresident permit, I could carry conceled. I could not carry without a permit from another state that was recognized by WV. He also told me that WV. does not issue nonresident permits. Same rules for open carry. I do know that in some cases the police really don't know and understand their own laws!
    Use caution!!

    He was wrong the only people that can't conceal in WV is because they are under 21yrs old. 18-20 yr Olds have to open carry.
     

    gamer_jim

    Podcaster
    Feb 12, 2008
    13,233
    Hanover, PA
    I asked that question to a WV. police officer. He said that if I had a Utah, or Florida nonresident permit, I could carry conceled. I could not carry without a permit from another state that was recognized by WV. He also told me that WV. does not issue nonresident permits. Same rules for open carry. I do know that in some cases the police really don't know and understand their own laws!
    Use caution!!

    This is why it's always good to carry a printed copy of the rules from the state's website on your person at all times when carrying in another state.

    Also not a bad idea to have CCW insurance so that you can phone-a-lawyer if you do get unlawfully detained for this.
     

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