Hey all- not much of a poster but a long time lurker. Figured I'd keep this thread as up to date as possible and will provide my timeline/experience.
8/2/14- Went to the safety course at Mass Firearms School- Cost $100- This was a good course. James Wise was the instructor. He knew what he was talking about and was very helpful with regards to the application process. If your on the South Shore or even in Boston, I'd recommend this course
Sometime the week of 8/4-8/8 I called BPD to schedule an appointment. At that point the appointment range was early September. Booked an appointment for today (9/11).
9/11 Showed up for my appointment, The staff was nice and it the whole process was stream lined. I paid cash. They had you fill out the application there. I suppose if you wanted to go in at some point before your appointment to fill it out, you can. The applications are at window 1 on the first floor. If not, no biggie, they allow you to do it at the time of your appointment
She made a copy of my birth certificate, safety course certificate and drivers license. I was sent to pay the fee at the cashier window, paid it and returned, where she set me up for the Moon Island test. As of today- there is virtually no wait. I could have gone tomorrow if I wanted; appointments are at 715am or 345pm Monday Tuesday (maybe wednesday) and Friday. Booked it for next Tuesday.
She then took me behind the counter, finger printed me, and then took me into the offices in back for the "interview".. like everyone else said, just re answering all the questions on the application as they enter it onto the computer. I watched the computer as she did- it. As for the reasoning (and the determinant for restricted/unrestricted) There is a drop down menu for them, and it has either sport/hunting or for business ownership. Not much else you can do. She didn't even fill in the reason box on the computer (I had a letter expressing my desire to carry since there has been an increase in shootings/gang activity near the T stop I frequent).
And that was it. All in all, took about 20 minutes. Very painless. She said about 10 weeks. She also said it has been quicker, but didn't want to make any promises.
New change from last year is they don't take your electronic finger prints anymore. She told me it was taking forever to get approval last year and prior because they had to send electronic fingerprints to the state, and those took forever to get back. I talked with her for a few minutes about why the process was much speedier now.
I'll update this when I get my license to show total time. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck all!
