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The Town of Quantico

altajava

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I have wanted to go to the Command Post for lunch for years but have not gone under the assumption I would not be aloud to(the urge comesprimarily during motorcycle weather). The reason being isthat I haven't left the house without my "American Express" for 10 years and a loaded firearm by a civilian on base is not permitted. IS there a way to carry OC or CC in the town if you don't live there?
 

streetdoc

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Yes, but to do so you are going to have to unload it and put it in area that you do not have access to so you can legally take it through the Marine Base. You may also need to inform the MPs that you have it and are going to the town of Quantico. I think the best thing to do would be to call PMO (MP Headquarters) on Quantico and get the requirements straight from them.
 

rlh2005

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The train station is in the Town of Quantico and, except in an emergency, you'd never exit the train on the grounds of MCB Quantico. VRE should be like Metro rail/bus or other muni tranit systems in Virginia. Thanks to state preemption, they cannot forbid legal weapons. Just make sure you exit the VRE at/before Crystal City.
 

SouthernBoy

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I've gone to Q-Town in the past with firearms in my trunk: an AR15 and a small 9mm handgun. Both were unloaded and they were examined at the guard's station. I was headed to Quantico Arms. I had removed the ammo from the handgun and put it elsewhere before entering. Not one problem. Still a call would not be a bad idea.
 

Xeni

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I'd be surprised that you'd even have to declare a firearm to the MPs.

Ref http://www.quanticoshootingclub.com/downloads/mcbo_8000_1_privately_owned_weapons.pdf

MCBO 8000.1 also speaks to motorcycle carry - sorry no motorcycle OC allowed. :(

There was another thread on here regarding carry to Q-Town, the link is http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum54/9585.html.

xd.40 made a comment that seems pretty clear:

I worked as an MP on the base, and I can tell you that you can transport a firearm in your vehicle onto the base, as long as it is:

All firearms are CASED and UNLOADED

[*]A cased firearm must not be readily accessible in the vehicle
[*]Ammo must be as far away from a cased firearm as possible; ammo should be cased, if practicable, and not readily accessible
[*]All magazines must be unloaded This is for the Front and Rear gates of the base, not the gates leading to the shooting club. Different rules apply there.

Once you are in Quantico town, none of the base rules apply, as it is an independent incorporated city. They have preemption, just as the rest of the state.

If you want to call the Provost Marshall's Office, call 703-784-2251, 703-784-2252 or 703-784-2253.

(Ask for the desk Sergeant, the shift supervisor (usually staff NCO), or shift commander (commissioned officer, usually a lieutenant or captain)).
 

skidmark

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My last trip to Q-Town was worthy of a Three Stooges short feature.

I pulled up to the MP station and informed the young Lance Corporal that I was headed to Q-Town for shopping and lunch, and asked how he wanted me to deal with my legally carried firearms. He responded by saying he did not know the appropriate procedure, but would get someone who did know. He asked me to pull into the area between the guardshack and the blast wall (jersey barrier).

A corporal (perhaps The Corporal of the Guard?) appeared and stated that I needed to remove the ammunition from my firearm and place it somewhere different from where I placed my firearm, and that both had to be "reasonably inacessable" from the driver's seat. He did a wonderful :what:when I asked him if I had to place all my ammo in the same place, and all my firearms in the same different place. After recovering a bit, he inquired as to how many firearms I had in the vehicle.

He, the young lance corporal (and a few other young men with m-16's banging their knees by being hung on single-point slings who were kibittzing) did a multi-:what::uhoh::lol:when informed that I had four handguns, two shotguns, and a rifle to hand. They all backed up a respectful distance (some crossing to the other side of the jersey barrier) to watch as I off-loaded and unloaded. After reviewing the physical layout of the Honda Element we all agreed that it would be best if the firearms were to remain in the vicinity of the front passenger seat while the ammo removed from the various weapons could be stored in the bins in the rear side walls.

The drive into Q-Town was uneventful. I made the first legal left (forget the street name) and parked with the passenger side closest to the sidewalk. Walked around to the pasenger side and re-holstered/repocketed, then walked to the back to reload. Nothing furtive, not trying to use the vehicle as concealment - just putting things back where they belonged. reloaded the shotguns & rifle, then put them under the folded-down rear seats and attached the cable locks. (Yes, loaded and locked:).) Then drove about town doing my errands and getting lunch. Walked about town OC-ing with nary a look from anybody.

As I had ended up not being able to get a parking spot in front of the Marine Exchange, I was parked around the corner in front of the Town Police office. Had no problems offloading and unloading in preparation for the trip back out. Too bad neither of the cops were about, as I would have loved to see their expressions.

Stopped at the guard shack on the way out to ask where the base boundary line was so I could re-arm off base. Was invited to pull onto the shoulder right there and take care of business. Had just about the same audience as going in, along with a few tire squeals from inbound and outbound folks "slowing down" to see what was going on. No fenders were damaged, but I did have one E-7 in civvies stop and call out that I should not be fearful as the place was full of Marines. He did hang his head when I loudly called back to him that with the exception of the guard contingent, all the Marines on base were disarmed, and that I had more weapons and more ammo than all the guards put together.

Honestly, the most exciting thing about my trip into Quantico was seeing the sign announcing that several hundred deer had been hit on the base roads.

stay safe.

skidmark
 

SouthernBoy

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The last time I went into Q-Town was in the spring of '03 just before the Iraqi war started. I had an AR15 (black furniture) and a PM9 in the trunk, unloaded. The guards were directing cars without a DOD sticker to the side to be examined. They ran a device under the car to search for hidden explosives and as I exited, they asked if I had any other weapons in the car (they saw my small clip Spyderco knife in my pocket. I told there was a rifle and a handgun in the trunk (forgot about the baby Ka Bar knife in the passenger map pocket). They had me get completely out of the car and move to the front while they examined the weapons in the trunk. Since other cars were behind me, I'll bet the one closest was wondering if "they got one".

Weapons were returned to their place, trunk was closed, and I was waved on. I asked if I still have my weapons and they said yes. That was it.
 

Neplusultra

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Tomahawk

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Neplusultra wrote:
Who woulda thunk the Marines would be anti-freedom?
I have my own theories concerning this, but I'll wait until I am sitting around a table with a bunch of you with a glass of bourbon in my hand to discuss it.
 

Neplusultra

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Tomahawk wrote:
Neplusultra wrote:
Who woulda thunk the Marines would be anti-freedom?
I have my own theories concerning this, but I'll wait until I am sitting around a table with a bunch of you with a glass of bourbon in my hand to discuss it.
Sounds like a date. I happen to have recently come into possession of two fine and old bottles of Wild Turkey, very drinkable.

I would assume the issue revolves around the machismo associated with weaponry and if just anyone can strap a gun on that reduces their mystical aura. Everyday OCers would be considered dangerous untrained posers. I'm not bashing the military at all here, I just would assume in a group that large you are going to have a few people with that attitude.
 

SouthernBoy

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Hawkflyer wrote:
Neplusultra wrote:
Who woulda thunk the Marines would be anti-freedom?

If memory serves the Tony's pizza restaurant incident was prompted by a call from a guy claiming to be a retired Marine, who did not like seeing people with guns and was "frightened" by 7 persons open carrying. Who knew?

Regards
Yep, he was reported to have said he was a former Marine. Really hard to imagine how he ever made it through boot camp being frightened by guns. I would have thought the DI would have discovered that one real quick and would have had a field day with him.
 

Hawkflyer

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SouthernBoy wrote:
Yep, he was reported to have said he was a former Marine. Really hard to imagine how he ever made it through boot camp being frightened by guns. I would have thought the DI would have discovered that one real quick and would have had a field day with him.

Well lets just say there are a lot of people ahead of him in line for my choice of a person to have watch my back.

Regards
 

acrimsontide

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I don't have any idea about the policies on the Marine Base at Quantico but some military bases have gotten very strict lately. I recently had business on the army base at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Knowing there was the possibility of a vehicle search, I left my carry weapon in my safe at home. However, I forgot to remove a spare loaded magazine from my glove compartment and was denied entry to the base by the MPs. I finally convinced the MP to just take the 8 rounds of ammo so that I could keep my appointmnet. By the way, the MPs were very polite about the situation when they found the magazine and said, "I'm sorry sir, but base regulations will not allow you to enter thebase with a weapon or ammunition".

Just food for thought when dealing with the military installations.
 

Tomahawk

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acrimsontide wrote:
I don't have any idea about the policies on the Marine Base at Quantico but some military bases have gotten very strict lately. I recently had business on the army base at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Knowing there was the possibility of a vehicle search, I left my carry weapon in my safe at home. However, I forgot to remove a spare loaded magazine from my glove compartment and was denied entry to the base by the MPs. I finally convinced the MP to just take the 8 rounds of ammo so that I could keep my appointmnet. By the way, the MPs were very polite about the situation when they found the magazine and said, "I'm sorry sir, but base regulations will not allow you to enter thebase with a weapon or ammunition".

Just food for thought when dealing with the military installations.
Well, Quantico is kind of a special case. For starters, there is a range on the base that is open to civilian use, and the club is open to limited civilian membership. Quantico is also the only base I've ever seen which actually sold guns in the exchange! I don't know if they still do, it's been years since I've been there. Finally, Q-Town is a seperate Virginia town surrounded on all sides by the base, so you have to drive through the base to get there. All these things conspired to force the USMC to come up with a more gun-friendly policy than most other bases, such as the cesspool I live next to, Fort Belvior.
 

Hawkflyer

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Tomahawk wrote:

Well, Quantico is kind of a special case. For starters, there is a range on the base that is open to civilian use, and the club is open to limited civilian membership. Quantico is also the only base I've ever seen which actually sold guns in the exchange! I don't know if they still do, it's been years since I've been there. Finally, Q-Town is a seperate Virginia town surrounded on all sides by the base, so you have to drive through the base to get there. All these things conspired to force the USMC to come up with a more gun-friendly policy than most other bases, such as the cesspool I live next to, Fort Belvior.


Don't forget there is also a rather large LE complex located on the base and there are a LOT of people with all manner of firearms going in and out, from couriers with evidence to sworn LEOs from all over the US and the world. This actually causes the base to have variations on the regulations depending on weather you are entering a mainside gate, or gates leading to TBS. Having the right sticker in the windshield makes a big difference. Also now they scan the DL of every person entering the base, unless you are federal LE.

But the guards are NOT playing. They have shot people who tried to run the gate.

Regards
 

Tomahawk

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Hawkflyer wrote:
But the guards are NOT playing. They have shot people who tried to run the gate.
Yes, well, they are Marines, after all. Not like the rent-a-cops at Belvior, or before that, the Army MPs carrying unloaded pistols just for looks.
 

rebfan

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There is a liberal who writes for a local newspaper who served in the USMC. He is very anti-second Amendment. He was the first person I thought of after hearing what happened at Tony's.
 
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