Actually, transport in MD is VERY clearly delineated, but it's mostly in "opinions" issued by the MD Attorney General, and by Common Law established in cases, not statutory law. Like MOST of the "laws" in MD.
And the applicatin of firearms laws in MD is also subject to LE whim and judicial fiat--just like MOST of the laws in MD...
I guess "Clearly delineated" depends on how much research a person is willing to do...
Anyway, in MD, you may transport a firearm from out of state into MD if you are going to an "approved location" like a dealer, gunsmith, competition, practice, or commercial shooting range.
You need to go DIRECTLY from your starting point to the "approved location", and when you are done, you need to go straight back out of MD. You cannot make any stops, or side-trips, or visits. You can make "incidental stops" like to put gas in your car, or potty break at a rest stop, but I wouldn't stop for a meal. And DEFINITELY don't go to your friend's house first on your way to the range, or stop at his house on the way home.
As for mde of transport, I would stick with FOPA transport guidelines. Gun needs to be unloaded, and locked up in a location inaccessible to the driver or passengers. Ammo should be in a separate container, preferably locked an inaccessible too. Magazines, clips, or speedloaders MAY be loaded during transport in MD, according to the AG.
Of course, the better alternative would be to have your friend come to a range in VA to shoot with you. The ranges in the parts of MD that are close to VA are all pretty sketchy, and the staff in most of those ranges has been, in my experience, rude, uneducated, elitist, and cliquish.
Oh, and your VA CPermit to Carry a Concealed Handgun License is worth abut as much as a wooden nickel in MD. The joke about MD and permits is that
MD doesn't recognize ANY state's permits--not even their own some of the time...
I have a NC permit, and non-resident permits from PA and UT, and I have family in MD. In fact I just spent a week up there visiting for the holiday. Because we own property in both NC and MD, it makes transport for me MUCH simpler, because "residential or business property you own" qualifies as an "approved location" under MD statute...
But if I didn't have two amazing stepdaughters and a precious granddaughter in MD, I would most likely NEVER set foot in that god-forsaken pit...
On the drive home, I stop at the FIRST exit I can in VA and "strap on". :banana:
