Moving to PA from NJ / Inherited guns in NJ

[Soclydeza]

First post, hello everybody!

I'm currently an NJ resident and will be uprooting eventually, hopefully to PA. My father passed away a couple of years ago and my mother naturally had the estate on everything. He didn't specifically will the guns to me but I'm the gun guy of the family so they have no problem with me taking them. In NJ, long rifles can be transferred to me from my mother simply by filling out a Transfer of Eligibility form for each rifle (which we did a while ago). For the pistols, you have to go through the whole process of applying for a permit for each pistol and doing a formal transfer through an FFL, which we haven't done and are in no rush to do (she still has them at the moment).

So my question is: moving from NJ to PA, would I have to do anything with the rifles now that I have the forms saying my mother agreed to transfer them to me? What about the pistols? Would we be able to get away with her just driving them from her place (in NJ) to my house (in PA) and that's that? (i.e., are you required to register or get a permit for pistols in PA)?

Any other insights on the matter would be very helpful. Thanks!

[father-of-five]

There are no permits to purchase handguns in Pennsylvania, nor are there limits on how many handguns one can purchase.. I am pretty sure that you would need to have firearms transferred to a PA FFL, since they are changing owners and going from one state to another.

[Statkowski]

Welcome to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, soon. If everything is transferred from your mother to you prior to your move, then there's nothing required of you when you move. If you move first, as mentioned, since it's an interstate transfer everything will have to be done through an FFL, and Pennsylvania has plenty of them, and gun shops.

Pennsylvania - No firearms registration, no limit on what you can own or how many you can own, no permission to purchase required, no license to own. License to carry handguns concealed costs twenty bucks with a simple one-page application and the entire process can take as little as fifteen minutes in some locations, up to forty-five days at others, and the forty-five-day limit is really the exception rather than the rule.

[Gun]

First post, hello everybody!

I'm currently an NJ resident and will be uprooting eventually, hopefully to PA. My father passed away a couple of years ago and my mother naturally had the estate on everything. He didn't specifically will the guns to me but I'm the gun guy of the family so they have no problem with me taking them. In NJ, long rifles can be transferred to me from my mother simply by filling out a Transfer of Eligibility form for each rifle (which we did a while ago). For the pistols, you have to go through the whole process of applying for a permit for each pistol and doing a formal transfer through an FFL, which we haven't done and are in no rush to do (she still has them at the moment).

So my question is: moving from NJ to PA, would I have to do anything with the rifles now that I have the forms saying my mother agreed to transfer them to me? What about the pistols? Would we be able to get away with her just driving them from her place (in NJ) to my house (in PA) and that's that? (i.e., are you required to register or get a permit for pistols in PA)?

Any other insights on the matter would be very helpful. Thanks!

You already possess the rifles, due to this form; http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/info/pdf...rms/sp-634.pdf

IMO, wait until you establish PA residency, then either have your mother bring the handgun(s) to PA, TO AN FFL, or have her ship the handgun(s) to said FFL.

Why bother getting an FID card from NJ.

Also, going this route, make sure the PA FFL will do the handgun(s) transfer before starting.

As always, IANAL.

[Soclydeza]

Thanks guys, it always amazes me how straight forward and simple things are in other states compared to NJ.

We both already have our FIDs, we just haven't done the pistols yet because it's drawn out process and because I already have one of my own so there's no rush.

So basically: for the rifles, I'm good to go. For the pistols, have my mother transfer them through a PA FFL once I move? Nothing needs to be done on the NJ side when she decides to "release" them to me?

Also, a little off topic for this thread but I'll ask instead of starting a new one: how's the gun law outlook in PA in general? Is there a net downward trend or more like a "you win some you lose some" kind of thing?

[SIGFAN86]

You'll be amazed at how fast buying anything in pa is.
Last time I clocked a pistol purchase, it was about 15 minutes

[Berncly]

So basically: for the rifles, I'm good to go. For the pistols, have my mother transfer them through a PA FFL once I move? Nothing needs to be done on the NJ side when she decides to "release" them to me?

I believe that is correct.
You can contact GunLawyer001 if you want to know with 100% certainty.

Also, a little off topic for this thread but I'll ask instead of starting a new one: how's the gun law outlook in PA in general? Is there a net downward trend or more like a "you win some you lose some" kind of thing?

Hard to say.
PA has been absorbing a large Liberal Democrat population influx from NJ, NY, MD, and other states.
If the gun owning community would wake from their slumber and vote in every election then we would be solid.
Unfortunately many gun owners are asleep at the wheel and we recently lost the PA Supreme Court as a result.
And at this moment there are many gun laws being considered in the Legislature that will only be halted if the gun community wakes up.
So in answer to your question, it could go either way.

[Emptymag]

Why would you pay extra to transfer the handguns in PA after you move here?
Why not do whatever dance NJ requires of you to get the handguns from your mother to you prior to moving and be done with it?

The only "advantage" (depending on your point of view) to having them transferred to you later is that PA would then have a record of the transfer. The only real instance where that could be of benefit is if you should be stopped for something and the police "run your numbers". Once nothing shows up in the PA sales database, they could make things more interesting for you by saying that the gun isn't "registered to you". (even though we don't HAVE registration)

My stance is that the more (legally obtained/transferred) guns in the hands of law abiding citizens that can't be "traced", the better, and I'd accept the odd chance that my gun doesn't "show up" if they look it up, but that's me.

[SIGFAN86]

Why would you pay extra to transfer the handguns in PA after you move here?
Why not do whatever dance NJ requires of you to get the handguns from your mother to you prior to moving and be done with it?

The only "advantage" (depending on your point of view) to having them transferred to you later is that PA would then have a record of the transfer. The only real instance where that could be of benefit is if you should be stopped for something and the police "run your numbers". Once nothing shows up in the PA sales database, they could make things more interesting for you by saying that the gun isn't "registered to you". (even though we don't HAVE registration)

My stance is that the more (legally obtained/transferred) guns in the hands of law abiding citizens that can't be "traced", the better, and I'd accept the odd chance that my gun doesn't "show up" if they look it up, but that's me.

Doing that "dance" requires pistol purchase permits and they can take up to 3 months to get, and you can only get one every 30 calendar days from first transfer

[Emptymag]

Doing that "dance" requires pistol purchase permits and they can take up to 3 months to get, and you can only get one every 30 calendar days from first transfer

I see.

So in NJ his mom couldn't give (gift) him thirty five AR15 pistols with assorted 20 round, 30 round, and 60 round mags and 100 rd drum mags - no paperwork required - like she could if they both lived in Pennsylvania?