NH is closer than PA to VT. Buy HG, background check, state does it, load it and carry home in the open. Need a permit to carry concealed.
That sounds similar to PA. Except in PA, anybody over 18 can get a CC permit same day, for only the stated reason of “self defense”. No courses required and you don’t even have to own a gun. And you can stop in any gun shop you happen to pass on the highway and walk out fifteen minutes later with a .357 if you feel like it. I am proud of Pennsylvania in that regard. (Of course, Pennsylvania is the militia capital of the country, and the politicians are not about to screw around with gun laws in any serious manner.)