Looking for options while traveling through Shreveport

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  • Doc147

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    Sep 1, 2018
    5
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    Cincinnati, OH
    My wife and I are doing a Big Drive this fall. We'll start from our home base in Cincinnati and our route will take us through Louisville and Memphis and we'll stop for a night in Shreveport.
    My wife was USAF and wants to see the museum in Barksdale. I was Army Guard and like military museums, too.

    The problem:
    USAF prohibits firearms.
    Shame old soldiers and airmen are not allowed, but that's the way it is. :mad:

    Which leads to my question:
    Does anyone have any suggestions on how to / where to store my EDC while we're on base?

    We plan to ask the motel if we can have a late checkout, and if they agree we can just leave stuff locked up in there, but if not...

    Is there a range or gunsmith in the local area who will store for a price?
    Or does anyone else have an idea?

    Thanks in advance.
     
    Last edited:

    LACamper

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    Jun 3, 2007
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    Metairie, LA
    I'd offer to supervise them for you but I'm a long way from S'port. Maybe another high count member/ moderator would babysit them for you?

    Other than that maybe a VFW member?
     

    mukwah

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    Aug 26, 2012
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    Shreveport,La
    You know, the more I think about it the more I feel like the Base should have a system in place at the Guard Gate to register and hold your firearm for you while you are on Base. You should contact them and find out. Let us know what you find out. I m curious myself.

    Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
     

    Blackhawk

    Blackhawk
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    Mar 3, 2008
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    Pollock LA
    Three statements: In all my years of driving onto base I've never been searched. They even sell guns at the BX on Barksdale. Concealed is concealed.
     

    340six

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    You know, the more I think about it the more I feel like the Base should have a system in place at the Guard Gate to register and hold your firearm for you while you are on Base. You should contact them and find out. Let us know what you find out. I m curious myself.

    Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

    This that's what we did with mine and my buddies when we went to his base
     

    GIJeaux

    Army Retired
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    Jan 19, 2010
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    Leesville/Ft Polk, La.
    Three statements: In all my years of driving onto base I've never been searched. They even sell guns at the BX on Barksdale. Concealed is concealed.

    I don't know about Barksdale but, I have gotten searched twice in the last month here at Ft Polk. I had to get out and let them search inside, outside, underneath and myslf. I have a portable gun safe in the truck and like everything else I had to open it up too so they could see it was empty. Don't get me wrong, I can bring a gun on post but, only if it is registered with the Provost Martial and only to go to and from the range. I don't register my guns so,...
    Also, a friend of mine forgot he had his concealed handgun, got searched and, all they did was make him turn around and let him take it home.


    Al
     
    Last edited:

    Doc147

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    Sep 1, 2018
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    Cincinnati, OH
    Thanks for the advice so far! I can contact the PD, they might have some ideas. While I doubt they do, yes, we could call the base and see if they have lockers. Really doubt it, but sure, worth a go. We're pretty close to Wright Patterson (home of THE AF Museum) and there is no provision for lockers. Granted, you can drive into the museum area without entering the base proper, but your ARE on the base once you pass their fence, and the rules still apply. I'll look into Ron's Guns - anyone else from the area know them?
     

    herohog

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    Nov 28, 2009
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    Shreveport, LA
    I live in Shreveport out near LSUS College and will hold them for you if you like. Even have a small, "real" safe to store it/them in.

    2 things:
    Shreveport Police is probably about as close to you.
    Are the risks worth the reward if your gun(s) are discovered?
     
    Last edited:

    Sig220

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    May 22, 2014
    175
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    Bridge City,TX
    During Hurricane Harvey, during the evacuation....after they told everyone they would be transported to Lake Charles and no dogs or weapons could accompany them, an evacuee approached me and asked if I would hold their firearm for them until they returned. I agreed after a CPSO deputy when asked advised they would be confiscated upon search. We swapped phone numbers and names and the guy handed me a shoulder bag that was strapped closed. I never looked in it. After several months, I called to try and find the guy to get his weapon back to him. He had made it back to Texas but was unsettled and asked I hold it a little bit longer. About a month passed before he contacted me again to get his bag.
    We met and he got his bag and I got a handshake and thanks and a good feeling.

    I would do it again.
     
    Last edited:

    Jmfox3

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    Call the base and speak to the Duty Officer or someone else with authority, aka senior enlisted or Officer. If they have an armory you can declare at the gate and go straight to the armory to check in the weapon. Every base is different and the Commanding Officer sets the local policy. Good luck.
     

    Vermiform

    Free Candy!
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    Sep 18, 2006
    5,271
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    Shreveport - or therebouts
    My wife and I are doing a Big Drive this fall. We'll start from our home base in Cincinnati and our route will take us through Louisville and Memphis and we'll stop for a night in Shreveport.
    My wife was USAF and wants to see the museum in Barksdale. I was Army Guard and like military museums, too.

    The problem:
    USAF prohibits firearms.
    Shame old soldiers and airmen are not allowed, but that's the way it is. :mad:

    Which leads to my question:
    Does anyone have any suggestions on how to / where to store my EDC while we're on base?

    We plan to ask the motel if we can have a late checkout, and if they agree we can just leave stuff locked up in there, but if not...

    Is there a range or gunsmith in the local area who will store for a price?
    Or does anyone else have an idea?

    Thanks in advance.

    Depending what day/time it is, I can hold them for you while you're on base. If you don't come up with a viable option for storage, give me a holler via PM. I work in Shreveport during the week and I'm usually off by 1pm, though I have breaks throughout the morning.
     

    LACamper

    oldbie
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    Jun 3, 2007
    8,629
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    Metairie, LA
    I really wish they would put lockers at base entrances with a clearing station. We go to Pensacola NAS occasionally to watch the blue angels. It'd be nice to have a place to leave them. Sometimes we'd like to go there before checking in to a hotel / condo.
     

    BlueJay100

    New Member
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    Jan 29, 2009
    2
    1
    My wife and I are doing a Big Drive this fall. We'll start from our home base in Cincinnati and our route will take us through Louisville and Memphis and we'll stop for a night in Shreveport.
    My wife was USAF and wants to see the museum in Barksdale. I was Army Guard and like military museums, too.

    The problem:
    USAF prohibits firearms.
    Shame old soldiers and airmen are not allowed, but that's the way it is. :mad:

    Which leads to my question:
    Does anyone have any suggestions on how to / where to store my EDC while we're on base?

    We plan to ask the motel if we can have a late checkout, and if they agree we can just leave stuff locked up in there, but if not...

    Is there a range or gunsmith in the local area who will store for a price?
    Or does anyone else have an idea?

    Thanks in advance.
    DO NOT, under any circumstance, EVER lock your weapon in a hotel/motel room!!!! You chance losing it!!!
     

    Doc147

    Member
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    0   0   0
    Sep 1, 2018
    5
    1
    Cincinnati, OH
    DO NOT, under any circumstance, EVER lock your weapon in a hotel/motel room!!!! You chance losing it!!!
    Well, locking anything in a hotel room but otherwise unsecured is a bad bet, sure. But I have a very sturdy, military-shipping-grade lockable case we use for electronics and as a private safe. I can lock it, then lock the case to a wide variety of things in a motel room (as long as the cable cannot be slipped off or the item easily moved) and feel pretty secure. The motel staff would have to bring in power tools or an axe to open it, and since I also do at least a half-ass job of concealment, they'd 1) have to know it was there and 2) know it had something in it worth making a large amount of noise to get it out. It's a system I'm comfortable using.
     

    Doc147

    Member
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    0   0   0
    Sep 1, 2018
    5
    1
    Cincinnati, OH
    Well, the trip is over, so I thought I'd close the loop for anyone interested.

    Thanks to all who contributed ideas!

    We looked closely at the schedule, and my wife agreed to get up extra early in Memphis and that let us get on the road early.
    We made it to the Holiday Inn in Bossier City (on Texas St, near where 20 and 220 meet) by about 14:30 on Sunday, and the front desk had no problem getting us in the room early.

    After I locked the unmentionables in the room we drove to the base.

    We were "greeted" by one of the AF Gate Guards, who was just barely polite.
    She took our IDs, directed us to park to the side, then went back to the guard shack for a few minutes.

    On her return she asked if we had any firearms, which I answered in the negative.

    So while she could have searched our car, she did not. Drizzling rain might have helped our cause.:mamoru:

    The museum was much more sparse than we had anticipated. Maybe six rooms that formerly were classrooms (my wife remembered the building), plus an outdoor display of some aircraft.
    We walked through all six rooms in under an hour.

    The aircraft outdoor were a little sad - obviously they do not have a budget to maintain them.
    We walked the entire row, since the KC-135 was on the end and was one type of plane my wife had worked on.

    When we finished we drove back around the parking lot to the guard shack where the gate guard handed us back our IDs and off we went.

    So... Yes, we might have been able to leave the "contraband" in the car as it was not searched.
    But that would still have been a felony, and we MIGHT have been searched.

    As I had expected, there was no provision for lockers (just like Wright Patterson up in Dayton), and the gate lassie was taking her job very seriously... or she didn't like being in LA heat and humidity in body armor and sprinkling rain?

    I had also considered parking in the credit union parking lot and walking the block to the gate, but was not sure how the guard would view that. I'm sure some base employees walk - there are apartments near enough.

    So, thanks again for the assistance!
     

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