MA Handgun Compliance Q+A Thread (new)

why find a new FFL?

The FFL is either dishonest or terribly uninformed. If he's dishonest, good sort to stay away from. If he's just uninformed, at worst you might be led into a purchase that is illegal for the buyer as well. Perhaps suppressors are legal if the shop is less than 15 miles from the NH border [rolleyes] for instance. Then again, at best you get your gun and maybe the FFL doesn't even get audited.

*I* would stay away. YMMV


ed. This isn't a statement that the Mass laws are right, justifiable or even constitutional. They are not any of those things, but they are the law, here.

ed. There ARE plenty of guns that you can buy and have shipped to a Mass FFL. They just have to be legal in Mass. I don't know if the particular one you mentioned is one.
 
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There ARE plenty of guns that you can buy and have shipped to a Mass FFL. They just have to be legal in Mass. I don't know if the particular one you mentioned is one.
I have been looking at makarov, but from what I understand, it has to be a pre-98 MA registered gun. I haven't seen any for sale other than online.
 
The FFL story sounds like someone I've met. If so, he's just pig-headed that "he's right, they're wrong" and just does things his way. If so, the buyer can use it to his advantage.

Just be careful if you are told that "the AWB is gone and you can buy any hi-cap mags you'd like" . . . that's one sword you don't want to fall on, as the prison sentence is all the possessor's.

There is lots of good info here in the stickies . . . and some bad info as well . . . so do a lot of reading and then VERIFY by reading the law for yourself.
 
ed. There ARE plenty of guns that you can buy and have shipped to a Mass FFL. They just have to be legal in Mass. I don't know if the particular one you mentioned is one.

Please don't use the term "legal in mass" when talking about handgun compliance- it's usually misleading at best, unless we're talking about oddball pistols that MA might consider an "assault weapon". Even guns not on the list are not "illegal" by any stretch of the imagination. Whether or not
a dealer can -transfer- said gun, without incurring legal liability, however, is another issue altogether.


-Mike
 
do a lot of reading and then VERIFY by reading the law for yourself.

A big +3 for Len. Reading the actual law yourself and taking the time to understand what it says is the only way to know for sure. I wish more people understood this, instead of relying on their favorite range buddy, or FFL who acts like they know everything, or even people such as ourselves here on this forum.
 
A big +3 for Len. Reading the actual law yourself and taking the time to understand what it says is the only way to know for sure. I wish more people understood this, instead of relying on their favorite range buddy, or FFL who acts like they know everything, or even people such as ourselves here on this forum.

well its easier to post on here, then wait for you to answer with a reference to the specific chapter and section! [wink]
 
well its easier to post on here, then wait for you to answer with a reference to the specific chapter and section! [wink]

Which is perfectly fine, as far as I'm concerned. I'm happy to point people to the relevant laws, and give my interpretation of what they mean. But it's ultimately your responsibility to actually read the law yourself. Not that you have ever had any trouble with that, Phil [grin].
 
I've heard that if FFL sells less than 5 or 4 guns a year he is exempt from AG/roster regulations, so if somebody gets FFL he can transfer non-compliant guns to himself/friends. Is it true?
 
There is no LOL about it. An entity that sells less than the purveyor amount is exempt from the regs. Problem is most ffls in ma easily blow past that number.

-Mike
 
There is no LOL about it. An entity that sells less than the purveyor amount is exempt from the regs. Problem is most ffls in ma easily blow past that number.

-Mike

And don't forget that BATFE refuses to license those in MA who do NOT have a MA License to Sell Firearms and meet all the zoning requirements, yada, yada, yada.

So the likelihood of finding someone with a FFL and NO MA License to Sell Firearms is almost nil.
 
There is no LOL about it.

Your both right. Anybody who transfers less than five handguns per year is not considered a "handgun-purveyor". So the initial question is right, if you can find an FFL that doesn't transfer more than four handguns you're all set. But the 'lol' is also correct, because it's a joke to think anybody could find a MA FFL these days that does not transfer more than four handguns yearly. That's just in la-la land. The limit is in the regulation to make it clear that private sales are not covered by the regulation.
 
But what if I get FFL for myself and buy firearms that are not AG approved for myself from out of state?

You're not going to get an FFL unless you can show both the state and the feds that you are planning on running an actual gun store with a real store front, inventory, and customers. At that point, you are going to be selling more than four handguns a year or your going to have wasted a lot of time and money.
 
You're not going to get an FFL unless you can show both the state and the feds that you are planning on running an actual gun store with a real store front, inventory, and customers. At that point, you are going to be selling more than four handguns a year or your going to have wasted a lot of time and money.

Well of course the overhead would make it ridiculous to do so if you didn't already plan to run a business, but what if...

You did open a real storefront and conduct business. Could you get away with that dodge for the first four transactions?

Even if not, an FFL is barred from selling certain things, but not not neccessarily from purchasing them?? For display or promotional purposes, for instance? Couldn't an officer of the corporation then take the "evil" items to the range from time to time?
 
You did open a real storefront and conduct business. Could you get away with that dodge for the first four transactions?

I think if you had the intention of selling more than four firearms that year, especially if you then actually did, that the first four wouldn't be 'free'.

namedpipes said:
Even if not, an FFL is barred from selling certain things, but not not neccessarily from purchasing them?? For display or promotional purposes, for instance? Couldn't an officer of the corporation then take the "evil" items to the range from time to time?

Sure, FFLs can do lots of stuff non-FFLs can't. They can have post-ban assault weapons and they can certainly trade in non-MA compliant guns with other FFLs, and take them to the range if so desired. They just couldn't sell those non-compliant guns to their customers.
 
. . . Sure, FFLs can do lots of stuff non-FFLs can't. They can have post-ban assault weapons and they can certainly trade in non-MA compliant guns with other FFLs, and take them to the range if so desired. They just couldn't sell those non-compliant guns to their customers.

That was what I was saying - become the seller, not the customer. If the hobby is important enough to you to make it your work, you can exercise more freedom, even here in Mass.
 
Let's see if I got this right. I'm a LTC-A holder and am interested in buying a Sig P229 DAK. A look at the latest gun roster lists the P229 DAK in 40S+W as approved. But since the trigger pull is only 6.5lbs it will not pass the attorney generals requirements. BUT I can buy a P229 DA/SA and legally convert it to DAK. The only drawback would be if I decide to sell it. No FFL will touch it so the sale would have to be a private FA-10 sale to another licensed massachusetts gun owner. This state is such a joke.
 
Here is another question, I have been looking around trying to find any posts on it:
I still live out of state (NC) and will be moving back to Ma. this summer. I already own a glock 23 made in 1996 and a Kel tec P3AT. I know the Kel tec is not on the approved list. Is it legal for me to bring it into the state and use / carry it? (or any other non-Mass compliant firearms) The way I read it, I can bring them and keep them, I just can't transfer / sell the non-compliant firearms.
Thanks in advance!!!
 
Paratrooper, once you move back to MA and obtain your MA license, you are free to possess them and transfer them privately. The only thing you cannot do is transfer them to another MA resident through an FFL.
 
Here is another question, I have been looking around trying to find any posts on it:
I still live out of state (NC) and will be moving back to Ma. this summer. I already own a glock 23 made in 1996 and a Kel tec P3AT. I know the Kel tec is not on the approved list. Is it legal for me to bring it into the state and use / carry it? (or any other non-Mass compliant firearms) The way I read it, I can bring them and keep them, I just can't transfer / sell the non-compliant firearms.
Thanks in advance!!!
You can bring them in, and sell the Keltec face-to-face, but not through a dealer. Not sure about selling the G23 through a dealer, but I'm sure someone will be along to answer that part. Be careful of any hi-cap magazines you have for the G23; if they are post-ban (September 13, 1994), they are illegal to possess here-in.
 
I wish I had read this thread before I transferred my residency to MA. I could have bought all kinds of non-MA compliant guns in NC or OH, and then moved here and brought them with me. Unless I'm misreading, but that seems to be the conclusion. Oh well.
 
I wish I had read this thread before I transferred my residency to MA. I could have bought all kinds of non-MA compliant guns in NC or OH, and then moved here and brought them with me. Unless I'm misreading, but that seems to be the conclusion. Oh well.

Yes, you could have done that, as long as you didn't bring any post-94 large cap mags or post-94 "assault weapons" with you. A lot of guys that are forced to move here try to pump up their collection before moving into hell. [laugh]

-Mike
 
Does anyone know how many Guns I can buy in Ma in a given year ,I was told by Fitchburg Officer that handed me my class a permit that I could only purchase three per year
The gun Dealers say I can buy all I want.
What gives
thanks tennesseeErnie
 
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