Moving out of state

[Christ]

Not me, but a friend of mine is moving from Texas into PA... is he required to "transfer" his handguns and long guns to himself via FFL in PA upon doing so?

FedEx said they would ship the long guns to his new address (he doesn't want to carry them in his vehicle, for whatever reason), but he's not sure how to go about getting his 30 or so handguns into PA legally while transporting them in his vehicle (in one or several locked safes, with ammunition and magazines in a separate vehicle, also locked). He's making the trip driving "doubles", so they will only be stopping for fuel and food and to switch drivers.

Also - Does any of this matter if he's only gaining temp residency in PA for work purposes? He's not sure if he's gonna stay here or move somewhere else, but he's buying a house here anyway.

[PaleDriver]

I know what I would do, but I wouldn't give anyone that as advise.

I found this: http://forum.pafoa.org/general-2/922...g-guns-pa.html because I was curious

[tl_3237]

If he is moving to Pa and intending to make his home here it doesn't matter if he will be moving along at some future date.

As to transporting the firearms personally by vehicle he would garner Federal protection under 18 USC 926A for all states intervening between TX and PA provided he can legally possess the firearms in TX and PA and he transports via the methodology specified:

§926A. Interstate transportation of firearms
Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver's compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.

I would also suggest, if he moves by vehicle to include some semblance of household goods in the car also so he can validly claim transport while 'moving'.

During the trip DO NOT take the firearms out of the 926A transport methodology unless he is sure that he can re-qualify for a new 926A protected leg on the resumption of the trip. For example when he stops for overnight either leave the firearms in the vehicle or understand that, if he takes them into his room, he will lose 926A protection at that time and comes under the laws of the state he is currently within with respect to legality of possession. When he resumes the next day he must be legal to possess in that state to re-qualify for 926A protection for the next interstate leg of his trip.


No FFL involvement is required in Pa provided he is doing his own transport. If he is planning on using FedEx be advised that, unless recently changed, their 1/2/12 tariff requires an FFL either on the shipping and/or receiving end.

[customloaded]

If your friend has a CCW from Texas, that would help him tremendously while transporting to PA.

It appears he would be legal to transport from Texas to PA and be allowed to 1) CC 2) remove guns at night into a hotel room and back to the vehicle.

Except two places, Ohio and MD. I would recommend Ohio as the entry point and while in Ohio, disarm and carry according to Federal laws already posted.


http://www.usacarry.com/concealed_ca...city_maps.html

CL

[PaleDriver]

If your friend has a CCW from Texas, that would help him tremendously while transporting to PA.

It appears he would be legal to transport from Texas to PA and be allowed to 1) CC 2) remove guns at night into a hotel room and back to the vehicle.

Except two places, Ohio and MD. I would recommend Ohio as the entry point and while in Ohio, disarm and carry according to Federal laws already posted.


http://www.usacarry.com/concealed_ca...city_maps.html

CL

I do the reverse being from "down there" and I just avoid OH by going all the way to Charleston, WV on 79

[39flathead]

Long guns can ship USPS, no FFL required if he's shipping to himself.

See sticky in General and Classified forums.


No "transfer" is legally required, however there are stories of people having their carry firearm "held until ownership is proven" by police ignoring the law, so if he plans on staying, he might want to do this so they show up in the non-existent database should the need arise.
Totally up to him, but not required by law.

[BenP]

Long guns can ship USPS, no FFL required if he's shipping to himself.

See sticky in General and Classified forums.


No "transfer" is legally required, however there are stories of people having their carry firearm "held until ownership is proven" by police ignoring the law, so if he plans on staying, he might want to do this so they show up in the non-existent database should the need arise.
Totally up to him, but not required by law.

With 30 or so guns, that could get expensive just to avoid breaking a law that doesn't exist.

[Christ]

With 30 or so guns, that could get expensive just to avoid breaking a law that doesn't exist.

His company is paying for his relocation, so it won't be his bill to foot.

Still, I don't think he wants to go through anything unnecessary, or at least he doesn't want to try to do everything immediately if he doesn't have to (legally). He might still do the transfers anyway, but if it's not required immediately (like within a week, etc), that'll certainly make his life easier.

He does have a Texas CCW afaik, so with that he'll be able to carry if he comes up through WV? I'll mention that to him if it's accurate. I don't remember where the reciprocity charts are, and didn't even think to check them, to be honest.

As far as using USPS, he's shipping a large crate of long guns, and the total weight is something north of 300 lbs. USPS won't touch it unless he breaks the shipment down into several containers under (I think) 70lbs each, and it'll cost far more that way (in time, etc) than a single freight shipment from FedEx. Apparently the reason he's going to ship them that way is because his company figured it would be easiest and guarantee everything showed up at once and the same condition in which it left his hands, but (obviously) they're insuring the shipment anyway.

[Christ]

Also, the thread title should have been "Moving FROM out of state"... dunno how I missed that.

[mauser]

Also, the thread title should have been "Moving FROM out of state"... dunno how I missed that.

You can edit your OP and click the "Go Advanved" button to edit the title.

Here is a reciprocity map to help determine the route to take.
http://www.usacarry.com/concealed_ca...city_maps.html
As mentioned before, West Virginia is the way to go but this should help to ease your mind about the whole trip.