Shotgun transport/transfer question

[billped]

I believe I have answered a question I've had for a while, but I want to validate.

Scenario: I have several shotguns that I have owned for 20-30 years and they have been stored with my father who lives out of state. They were purchased out of state and have never been in California. I am a California resident and have been for a while. All are hunting shotguns so they have no evil features (i.e. no pistol grips, proper length, sub-10 shell capacity, etc.)

I believe I can have him bring the shotguns to me and I can now keep them in my safe with no paperwork, no fee, and no other governmental intervention.

My information is from the CA DOJ: http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/ab991.php

Is that correct?


Cheers,
Bill

[billped]

I suspect one of three situations exist explaining why no replies:
* Nobody knows the answer, it's tricky, best consult a lawyer
* The answer is obvious: of course I don't need to do anything special!
* The answer is obvious: I am so completely off base it is laughable!


Bill

[Quiet]

When you acquired the firearms, were you a resident of another state?

[surfcitydude]

Yes

[billped]

When you acquired the firearms, were you a resident of another state?

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I was an Oregonian at the time.


Bill

[billped]

Yes

;-)

[Cokebottle]

If the guns were owned by you when you were a resident of Oregon, then you may bring them to California with you.
If they are currently owned by your father, then they need to be transferred in through an FFL.

Oregon laws might make a difference on the legality depending on your time living in California:

In California, you can only lend someone your gun for 30 days until it becomes an illegal transfer.
Now, father to son, long guns may be transferred "paperless", so what your father has done with these guns can make a legal difference...

1 - Were the guns simply stored at his home?
2 - Did he have access or were they secured?
3 - If he had access, did he regularly use them?

If the answer to 3 is "yes", then the guns MAY be considered to have been a gift to your father when you moved.


So legally, the answer is: If the guns were your property when you lived in Oregon and remained your legal property continuously while you have been a California resident, then yes, you can legally drive to Oregon and retrieve them, or your father can bring them to you.


Ethically? Can you tell the DOJ with a straight face that the guns were your property when you lived in Oregon and remained your legal property continuously while you have been a California resident?

[Quiet]

So legally, the answer is: If the guns were your property when you lived in Oregon and remained your legal property continuously while you have been a California resident, then yes, you can legally drive to Oregon and retrieve them, or your father can bring them to you.

[billped]

Thanks guys. These were guns I bought, I own, and I used during father/son hunting trips over the years which were all in Oregon. My father's 20ga O/U is his and not included in what I would like to bring in-state. My guns were stored with my father because 1) that's where I used them and 2) I had very young kids at the time with no safe storage.


Bill

[ysr_racer]

I think you meant to say they've been in your possession the whole time, right?

[kemasa]

There could be in issue with the father bringing them due to Federal law. The son could go and get his own firearms without a problem, or could ship them to himself, but for another person to transport the firearms across state lines, between residents of two different states could be an issue. Since it is a Federal issue, you would need to talk to the BATF.

What is being asked is whether it can be done or not, not whether it is legal or not though.

I believe you can store firearms at other locations without a problem, so being in possession would not really be an issue.

[billped]

Good point. I will change my plan to bring them here, not have my father do it.

I will also check federal laws.


Cheers,
Bill

[Cokebottle]

I think you meant to say they've been in your possession the whole time, right?

No, you can leave your guns stored in a different state and they do not cease to be your property.
My boss at a previous company owns three banned rifles... Bushmaster, Colt, and AK47.
He did not want to register them, so he took them to Arizona and has stored them at his condo there.
He owns the condo... he bought it in the 80s planning for his kids to live in while they were in college, and it has doubled as a vacation home.
The kids do not have the combination to the safe.

Those rifles are and always have been his property, even though he is only in physical possession 4-6 times a year.