imported post
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