Non Immigrant Alien wants to buy a Rifle. Please Help!

[kzkv]

Hi guys,

This was a true treasure trove of information for me on the topic of the Resident Alien Permit!
I'd like to get back to the post, as I hopefully will get my permit in a month or so, and I suppose it's best to keep all the relevant info in one place.

Are there any new (more recent) recommendations on the legal way of rifle purchase by a Permit holder?

The way described above has five steps, as I understood it:
1) get the MA Resident Alien Permit,
2) get Alaska hunting permit,
3) get NH hunting permit,
4) buy a rifle/shotgun in NH,
5) file an FA-10 form to register the firearm.


If the list still holds, I'd very much appreciate some clarification on the particulars:

2) Why do I need the Alaska hunting permit? Why isn't NH one enough for a purchase there? Do I need the permit for a hunt which will be still open at the time of a firearm purchase? Which one to choose? (There are so many!)
3) It seems that I can buy NH hunting license online, same as the Alaskan one. Do I need any specific license? Or do I need only one of those (AK/NH)? I'm not going to hunt in New Hampshire (or anywhere else).

4) Can I just pick an FFL store in NH near the MA border and order the rifle to be delivered there, then just appear with my Permit and two hunting licenses paperwork?

5) Do I need to know anything special about the FA-10 for my own out-of-state purchase? It says I might need a PIN to complete a transaction, would I get one with the Permit? Or do I not need it for the registration FA-10?


Other questions I have:
a) If I need ammo, I just go to the NH store (or order it online there) with the Permit/hunting license?

b) If there's a person who's willing to lend me their rifle, I can possess it, store it at home, transport to the range, shoot it? If I have only the oral consent from the legal owner, would it be enough?

c) Can the said willing person just give me some ammo? (If they feel extra generous...)

d) Would the ranges and shooting clubs accept me as a member with the permit? The rules I've seen mention that the person should be licensed, am I licensed with the Resident Alien Permit?


Thank you all so much!

 

[Rob Boudrie]

1. I believe Alaska was suggested because it is the easiest and cheapest hunting license to get.

2. The law allowing purchase of long guns out of state requires that the sale be legal in your state of residence. I don't know if this simply means the type of gun must be legal for sale, or if you personally must be able to legally purchase the same gun in your home state. I believe the later interpretation would be the correct one, as the intent of that provision is to prevent people from subverting prohibitions in their own state's law by buying out of state. Comments/corrections welcome.

 

[kzkv]

2. The law allowing purchase of long guns out of state requires that the sale be legal in your state of residence.

Is it something new, or was the out-of-state purchase for the Permit holder a questionable act when discussed previously?

I found a few mentions of this "legal in both states", like the Cabelas FAQ which states "Long guns can be purchased and transferred to a resident of any state in any state provided that the
transfer is legal in both the purchaser’s state and the state in which the transfer is taking place". But I'm also not sure if the transfer is legal in the permit holder's case.

I also wasn't able to find any actual laws on that, only speculations and said mentions. I'd very much appreciate if one pointed me in the right direction!


What I got from my Chelsea interview, is that I should be able to import the gun from my home country and that I can legally possess all the non-large capacity long guns. So if the purchase in NH is legal, I don't think it would be subverting or circumventing the permit limitations.
But I obviously want to abide the law here and don't commit a felony!

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Nothing new, it's been part of federal law for a eons. The key wording is "Long guns can be purchased and transferred to a resident of any state in any state provided that the transfer is legal in both the purchaser’s state and the state in which the transfer is taking place".

If you cannot acquire a long gun in your home state because your type of permit does not cover it, logic would suggest that this proscribes out of state purchase.

 

[falcon123]

Small corrections: The license is actually an "Alien Permit" not an Alien FID. You need some type of hunting license, just one. The Alaska small game permit is $5 on line (I think). That's easiest and cheapest for you to get and solves the federal problem terraformer is referring to.

Under Chp 140 sec 131e, you cannot actually purchase a firearm in MA, but you can buy one out of state and bring it back providing you comply with the paperwork requirements that terraformer laid out.

Remember though, under MA firearms law all aliens are regarded as a suspect class almost on par with felons, drug dealers, and habitual drunkards.

Not if you're an ILLEGAL alien. Then you can do whatever you want with the blessings of the carpet muncher.

 

[KBCraig]

3) It seems that I can buy NH hunting license online, same as the Alaskan one. Do I need any specific license? Or do I need only one of those (AK/NH)? I'm not going to hunt in New Hampshire (or anywhere else).

Alaska doesn't require a hunter safety course, so you can simply purchase the license online. NH requires a hunter safety course unless you already have, or previously had, a license. It's not clear that they will accept a non-NH license, but perhaps that was the intent of the suggestion.

 

[kzkv]

Thank you, guys!

I still very much like to get any clues on which laws dictate the "purchase legal in both states" condition and what it actually means.
My googling isn't very rewarding yet, American law system is so bizarre and complex! :0)

I'd also like to understand if I need the hunting license to buy ammo in NH, and if it's also subject to "legal in botch states".
The MA laws clearly state that I can't buy ammo here and so I also can't have someone buy it and then pay them back.

But if I could, I'd just buy me a bucket of .22-s and some 9mm and go to the range which provides rental guns.