I've moved down to Colorado for college and would like to join the school's shooting team. Unfortunately, I left all the toys back at home. My understanding of the law is that a firearm must be shipped to an FFL and be picked up by the resident of that particular state. Being that I claim residency out of state, it seems to me that I would be unable to pick up or purchase any guns from a local FFL. Would my only option be to transport them from home on my person, either by car or airplane?
- Thread starter .17Sniper
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If you are the registered owner of a firearm, it can be sent directly to you from your parents etc.. If you sell a firearm or buy one over the internet from someone, you then have to have it shipped to an FFL.
Look into the campus' firearms policy. It may matter whether you live in a dorm and or off campus housing. Also look at legal magazine capacity.
The laws vary from state to state. Certain states (SD for instance) allow for the purchase and/or the FFL Licensee to transfer a firearm to a nonresident.
The quickest/most accurate answer you will find is to locate a dealer in your immediate area and explain your situation. The business owner should be familiar with the local laws/guidelines for transfering a firearm. If it is allowed, you'll likely be required to submit an additional 4473. Sucks as its already your property, but that's the deal.
The easiest means is as you suggested. Transport them yourself. Plan the trip home during Thanksgiving break.
Know this:
Colorado for the most part is pretty easy going. Denver however is another matter. (I used to live in COS) Years ago things got really ugly due to an old law on the books regarding open carry within city limits. Where it went I'm not sure, but I DO KNOW for a FACT that motorists traveling through the state that were stopped for whatever reason were sometimes run through the meat grinder because the firearm was not in a location outside of immediate access from the driver/occupants.
Where this law eventually went I don't know. At one point is was heavily contested by a number of folks as it goes against the states constitution. The best bet for you is to make damn sure that the guns are secured in locked cases either in the trunk or someplace that in no way can be interpreted as "easy access" by law enforcement. Especially within the Denver city limits.
The next thing to remember: NEVER consent to a search. "I do not consent to searches." Memorize that...
Colorado has a saying: "come on vacation and leave on probation."
Good luck.
C.
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First of all, short of NFA items, there are no "registered owners" of any firearms at the federal level. Secondly, his parents would be committing a felony by shipping any firearms out of state directly to you. Your parents can only ship your guns to an FFL in CO. That FFL can transfer them to you as long as they are not handguns (a non-ffl holder can only receive a handgun in their state of residence) and the guns are legal in your state of residence.
You can reference the FAQ section of the ATF site here: Firearms - Frequently Asked Questions - Unlicensed Persons | ATF
If you were in Oregon and wanted to ship the guns to yourself, that would be legal, at least as far as the ATF is concerned:
As info on CO. Because CO only allows transfer of firearms to residents of "neighboring states" (share a border with CO - NM, UT, WY, NE, KS, OK, and AZ) They will not be able to transfer your own gun to you via shipping it to an FFL unless you're a resident of one of those states. Also since the new Universal BGC law, there's a $10 fee for a CBI background check (CO uses it's own system instead of the regular NICS check). It's gay as a football bat, but that's the way it is now.
As to the transport BS that LRI was mentioning, that's now changed (thank god), your vehicle is essentially an extension of your home in CO these days and you can carry a loaded weapon in the vehicle even with out a CCW permit. This aspect unlike open carry, is also covered by the state's preemption law, so even Denver county/city can't do shit about it.
There is currently a bill that will kill the neighboring state requirement in the system now but IIRC it's stalled out because the dems here are all feeding off Bloomberg's tit, but that should change come November and then hopefully the crap they passed last year will also be repealed. We'll see I guess.
As for a non-resident, the mag bans have no impact. You just can't sell larger than 15rd mags to a CO resident, other than that, all previous mags, and non-residents aren't affected. Basically all the law did is make buying/selling mags larger than 15 rds illegal in CO, including shipment from vendors out of state.
As to the transport BS that LRI was mentioning, that's now changed (thank god), your vehicle is essentially an extension of your home in CO these days and you can carry a loaded weapon in the vehicle even with out a CCW permit. This aspect unlike open carry, is also covered by the state's preemption law, so even Denver county/city can't do shit about it.
There is currently a bill that will kill the neighboring state requirement in the system now but IIRC it's stalled out because the dems here are all feeding off Bloomberg's tit, but that should change come November and then hopefully the crap they passed last year will also be repealed. We'll see I guess.
As for a non-resident, the mag bans have no impact. You just can't sell larger than 15rd mags to a CO resident, other than that, all previous mags, and non-residents aren't affected. Basically all the law did is make buying/selling mags larger than 15 rds illegal in CO, including shipment from vendors out of state.
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DO NOT do business with that fucking snake, trust me, it will go poorly. There's TONS of good FFL's in the area, no reason to go to them. And last I heard, they were actually still without an FFL, as they lost it, when the IRS and other agencies raided their shop a while back.
You want to find AJ Goddard in Brighton or Mark Chanlynn up in Longmont.
Both would rather eat a bullet than rip a guy off. Good people and Mark's forgotten more about International 3P than most will ever know.
Good luck
It's federally legal to ship a firearm you own to yourself but you must comply with state law.
NRA-ILA | Colorado
NRA-ILA | Colorado
Ha, don't worry, I was just joshin'. I've seen more than enough of 'em in the couple episodes of their "reality" tv show I've watched.
If you can make it up to Northern Colorado I can have my FFL take care of everything for you. Let me know if I can help.
Please don't start with that BS. You know what was meant about registered firearms. Just incase you did not, I meant "Owner of said firearms".
Secondly, his parents would not be committing a felony if the OP was the owner of said firearms. Thanks for proving my point with your attached FAQ. Hope you realize interstate means across state lines.
Your FAQ says "in the State where he or she..." It doe not say "in the SAME State where he or she..."
I brought up the fact that there are no federally registered non-NFA firearms because you were wrong about that, just like you were wrong about advising the OP to have his parents ship his firearms directly to him.
Read the first eight words of the ATF's answer carefully:
The FAQ is clear in that you have to be the one actually shipping the firearm. If the OP's dad ships a rifle to the OP, then he would not be shipping it to himself.
If you still think I am wrong, please cite where the ATF allows a non-licensee ship a firearm across state lines, i.e. interstate, to different non-licensee.
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