"Idaho does not have laws restricting 'assault weapons,' 'large capacity' magazines, personally made/unserialized firearms, or accelerators (bump stocks, forced reset triggers)."

That covers a lot of ground in one sentence. If you've been running 10-round pinned mags because that's what you had to do in your last state, you can retire those. Your 30-round PMAGs aren't a liability at a local match — they're just magazines.

"Except as expressly authorized by state statute, no county, city, agency, board or any other political subdivision of this state may adopt or enforce any law, rule, regulation, or ordinance which regulates in any manner the sale, acquisition, transfer, ownership, possession, transportation, carrying or storage of firearms or any element relating to firearms and components thereof, including ammunition."

The Jerome County example cited in the article is worth paying attention to — a county tried to ban weapons in an admin building and had to walk it back after a legal review. Preemption isn't just words on paper in Idaho, it's been tested. That matters when you're figuring out whether your carry setup changes depending on what city you're driving through.

"For Washington and Oregon specifically, if you're driving through with 30-round magazines, you need to understand those states' current law before your wheels cross the state line."

Oregon's Measure 114 situation is still a mess legally, and I wouldn't rely on assumptions about what's currently enforceable. Before you load up the truck for a hunting trip or a PNW match, make a call — either to an attorney or at minimum pull the current status from a source that's been updated in the last 60 days. The range bag that's totally fine in Boise can become a problem before you hit the Snake River crossing.

For anyone who's made the move here from a capacity-restricted state — what's the first thing you changed about your gear setup once you had access to standard-capacity magazines again?

Read the full article in The Handbook →