Handguns stuck in CA, can anyone help?

I am not a CA resident. I'm not sure where that came from. I am a MA resident. Grandma has dual residency as she owns a house in both places. I agree there's no way she's even going to touch the guns. I'm opposed to flying out there as she'd be happy to see me anyway, so if the cost between flying out and shipping them myself is not much more than having an FFL go to the house then I'd rather do that. Not sure I would trust some random FFL to go there, especially when I'm not even sure what is out there.

I'm also a civilian employee of a police dept. Would it help if I can ship them here to the station care of the Chief of Police?

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correction: I'm not opposed

AFAIK there are only 3 ways for a Non-FFL to transport/ship handguns inter-state:

1. Ship using FEDEX/UPS overnight. I've never used either carrier but I believe I've read somewhere they now will only ship a handgun to an FFL in the destination state (I may be wrong on this).

2. Transport in your possession as checked baggage on an airline. I know some airlines limit the number of handguns they will allow to be checked.

3. Transport in your possession via auto.

I don't know about regulations for trains/busses

An FFL can use the USPS to ship handguns
 
OP...call a lawyer. In one hour they can explain to you what you need to know. How much will it cost you for one hour? $100-300? ... that's not much if the guns are worth it.
 
Look, I hate to beat a dead horse here but what's the aversion of finding an FFL to handle the transfer for you? I mean they've been vetted by the Feds and local LEOs and they are in a business and they are knowledgeable about firearms. They are in the business of handling firearms and will handle your situation without having to worry about anything. You arrange it with Grandma to expect them to call when they are coming over and you'll have them in your FFL's hands in a few days. It'll cost you the price of a couple of bottles of good wine but you'll get them here, period, end of story. Why all the machinations and expense of flying anywhere on the crappy airlines? FFLs are in the business and they'll take care of you, especially if you are able to find one that comes highly recommended by some of the locals. The longer you wait, the better the chance that Grandma will call a gun shop herself and say 'come and get 'em' just to be rid of them and you'll lose out.

Just my 2 cents. This is the simplest and cleanest way to handle this and it's all above board and compliant with laws in both states.

Rome

PS I'm a NRA pistol and rifle instructor here in CT myself. I wouldn't be suggesting this course of action unless I knew it would work for you.

R
 
LOTS of terrible info here!

FFLs do NOT know the laws, we could prove that with a 5-minute visit to almost any FFL in MA! No idea about CA FFLs, but wouldn't expect it to be much better.

Handguns are a problem wrt FFLs in MA due to MGL C. 40 S. 123 requirements. There is NO exception there for inheritance wrt what a MA Dealer can transfer (even though inheritance does NOT apply here).

Yes, UPS and FedEx changed their tariffs (rules) and will no longer accept shipment of ANY guns unless an FFL is either shipping or receiving.

Getting ANY PD involved in this is likely to end up with the guns confiscated and hassles beyond belief, don't do it. You have to be very careful what MA Dealer you work with too, or the handguns will be "gone" wrt any transfer to a MA resident.

Knowing CA law is key here and outside my range of expertise. I know MA law and Fed inheritance law, but again this is NOT an inheritance issue, this is a straight transfer between two parties who live in different states, so you have to abide by the laws accordingly.

If more stupidity is posted (not by OP) in this thread, I'm out and don't expect any further responses from me here.
 
LOTS of terrible info here!

FFLs do NOT know the laws, we could prove that with a 5-minute visit to almost any FFL in MA! No idea about CA FFLs, but wouldn't expect it to be much better.

CA FFLs are not any better. Go to 2 different CA FFLs and you will get 3 different answers
 
Knowing CA law is key here and outside my range of expertise. I know MA law and Fed inheritance law, but again this is NOT an inheritance issue, this is a straight transfer between two parties who live in different states, so you have to abide by the laws accordingly.

This is the key. How to get it to the CA dealer and shipped legally. Once its onboard a common carrier, its a MA transfer like any other one.


JoeMoia - I actually had a chance to talk to Ed Peruta about this. We are both board members on CT Carry and I get a chance to talk to him at our monthly meetings. When he originaly applied, one of the reasons he was denied because they did not consider him to be a resident. He made his case that he was a resident because he legitimately made a home in CA. They eventually dropped this objection and then denied on the basis of need.

So maybe I overstated the current situation. If you have a weekend, winter, vacation home in CA, and you push, there is precedent of them accepting a residence for a part time resident. This is certainly not legally binding. But Ed Peruta (the person, not the decision) had his claim of residence accepted by CA despite the fact that he is neither Domiciled there nor does he spend most of his time there.

Don

p.s. by the way. If anyone wants to watch Ed discuss gun issues, go to sjtalkshow.com Its a joint production of American News and Information Services and CT Carry.
 
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Yes, UPS and FedEx changed their tariffs (rules) and will no longer accept shipment of ANY guns unless an FFL is either shipping or receiving.

Sorry for causing topic drift, but will FedEx or UPS let a C&R licensee ship a gun to himself (c/o someone at a residential address) in a different state? That is ATF specifically say is allowed even for non-licensees. And both the FedEx tariffs and UPS tariffs specifically say that they will ship between licensed collectors. But does it work in practice if you show up at the shipping counter—perhaps with the 03FFL paperwork in your pocket?
 
Sorry for causing topic drift, but will FedEx or UPS let a C&R licensee ship a gun to himself (c/o someone at a residential address) in a different state? That is ATF specifically say is allowed even for non-licensees. And both the FedEx tariffs and UPS tariffs specifically say that they will ship between licensed collectors. But does it work in practice if you show up at the shipping counter—perhaps with the 03FFL paperwork in your pocket?

If you have a C&R FFL, can't you just ship it yourself through the USPS? That would probably be cheaper.
 
If you have a C&R FFL, can't you just ship it yourself through the USPS? That would probably be cheaper.

USPS has stricter rules. They only allow C&R licensees to ship handguns if they're antiques (black powder, etc.). USPS policies

The use case I had in mind was shipping a non-C&R carry gun to myself when traveling. Seems like a $30 C&R license could be a cheap and easy way to make that more likely to succeed.
 
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People keep saying this isn't an inheritance situation... why not? They were grandpa's guns, grandpa passed away. There wasn't a will (or at least, the OP hasn't mentioned one) - so why doesn't intestate succession apply?
 
If you have a C&R FFL, can't you just ship it yourself through the USPS? That would probably be cheaper.

No. The USPS reg says "Dealer". It doesn't say "FFL". An 03/C&R is a licensed collector, not a dealer.

Don

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USPS has stricter rules. They only allow C&R licensees to ship handguns if they're antiques (black powder, etc.). And they only allow C&R licensees to ship long guns if they're C&R. USPS policies

The use case I had in mind was shipping a non-C&R carry gun to myself when traveling. Seems like a $30 C&R license could be a cheap and easy way to make that more likely to succeed.

Anybody can ship long guns through the USPS.

Careful folks this is some bad info. Please delete your incorrect post.

The difference if you are a license (01 or 07 FFL) is that you can ship handguns, which can be very cheap. If you are shipping anthing but the largest target gun, it can fit inside a small flat rate box for $5.60. If you need to ship a case, it fits in a medium box for $12.

But once you get into long guns, the USPS is no cheaper than the others, although it is more convenient for me.

Don
 
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Anybody can ship long guns through the USPS.

Careful folks this is some bad info. Please delete your incorrect post.

I'll edit my post and remove the sentence "And they only allow C&R licensees to ship long guns if they're C&R" because it's misguiding. (In my head, I assumed the words "to another C&R licensee in a different state," in which case what I wrote is true, but still not very illuminating.)
 
I'm sure your grangrandfather had friends. Every gun owner is friends with other gun owners. Can one of his friends send them to you?
 
To get some enjoyment out of them, I'd suggest going to CA and rent a boat. Go shooting offshore, just make sure you go past the three mile line in federal waters. If you happen to loose them in an accident, that would be real sad though.
 
Someone just left me a negative rep from my lst comment. Not sure why.

I wonder why that same person didn't give me a + rep for recomending thst the OP talk to a lawyer in a previous comment.
 
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Lemme open another can of worms. [smile] Are there ant OTR truckers on here plannind a run to Cali, and if so, could they bring a travel buddy, and can that travel buddy [the OP] transport those firearms in the truck, or does this get into a whole shitstorm of Fed and local laws regarding firearms and interstate commerce?
 
Lemme open another can of worms. [smile] Are there ant OTR truckers on here plannind a run to Cali, and if so, could they bring a travel buddy, and can that travel buddy [the OP] transport those firearms in the truck, or does this get into a whole shitstorm of Fed and local laws regarding firearms and interstate commerce?

Fed law violations. But comes with 3 hots and a cot in the Big House for a number of years!
 
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