By Daniel Dye, Buckmasters online editor

-- Interstate travel with a firearm can be a daunting task at best. It also has the potential to be a person's worst nightmare. Anyone who has been around the hunting world long enough has heard at least one horror story of an unfortunate, yet law abiding person, ending up in some hot water and possibly jail as a result of not knowing another state's firearm laws.

Those who intend to transport a firearm beyond their state's borders will find the "Traveler's Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States" essential reading before taking that out-of-state hunting trip this fall. The book is written in a clear, concise manner that is easy to understand.

Attorney J. Scott Kappas, the book's author, explains the differences in "shall issue" and "may issue" statutes; the states that recognize out-of-state carry permits; how national park, forest and Indian reservation gun laws differ; how and where to stow a firearm in an RV and motorcycle; what the "Castle Doctrine" really means, and much more.

While the book is chock full of useful information, I found the graphic illustrations, located above the entries, extremely handy. These show how each state is rated for its overall laws regarding firearms. This is an easy and quick way to scan the book and see how firm a state's gun laws are.

The 2008 book is in its 12th year of printing, has more than 30 updates from the 2007 version, covers all firearms classifications for every state, and even devotes a page to Canada and Mexico.

This 68-page hunter's friend is just $12.95 and may be ordered at www.gunlawguide.com.

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