Would this be legal to do?

[Wallabing]

Someone wants to pay me to store their firearms at my residence for safekeeping. I want to accept, but I'm not familiar with the legal aspects, can anybody chime in?

[Librarian]

By what means would those be secured from access by anyone but the owner?

While he could lend you his whole collection (except any registered 'assault weapons' or full auto) for up to 30 days, longer than that would like like a transfer from him to you. Such a transfer would require an FFL, DROS, all that stuff.

But, some of us think it may be the case that if the storing person has no access, then no transfer has occurred. That follows a BATF-established procedure for sending a gun to oneself, but it has not been tested in the circumstance you propose.

And then there is the fire/flood/theft aspect to worry about ...

[sigstroker]

Can't the guy just put trigger locks on them and keep the keys?

[Librarian]

Can't the guy just put trigger locks on them and keep the keys?

After all the criticism of those being pathetically easy to defeat?

[Cokebottle]

Suggest that he rent a 6x10 storage unit.

[LowThudd]

Since he obviously trusts you, he could do a PPT for the guns to you. Then when he wants them back, you could PPT them back. Safest legally speaking way. Assuming he trusts you will PPT them back.

[Capybara]

Same concerns if the friend was out of state?

[Wallabing]

By what means would those be secured from access by anyone but the owner?

While he could lend you his whole collection (except any registered 'assault weapons' or full auto) for up to 30 days, longer than that would like like a transfer from him to you. Such a transfer would require an FFL, DROS, all that stuff.

But, some of us think it may be the case that if the storing person has no access, then no transfer has occurred. That follows a BATF-established procedure for sending a gun to oneself, but it has not been tested in the circumstance you propose.

And then there is the fire/flood/theft aspect to worry about ...

Thanks for the insight. He's gonna store it in his gun cases locked, I'm gonna throw them in the corner of my closet.

[Aldemar]

Suggest that he rent a 6x10 storage unit.

I work for a Self-Storage company and I would never store firearms in one. Besides, most Self-Storage companies do not allow firearms to be stored. That prohibition is specified in our lease and in others I've seen.

[fiddletown]

Same concerns if the friend was out of state?

The federal laws relating to the transfer of a gun from a resident of one State to a resident of another are about mere physical possession, not just ownership.

Giving someone your gun to store for you will be considered a transfer. It certainly is under federal law, and would also most likely be also considered a transfer under state laws. That's just what "transfer" means.

1. Possession means:

   1 a : the act of having or taking into control...

   
   
2. Some definitions of "transfer" (emphasis added):
   
   
   • http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/transfer:

     ...Transfer encompasses the sale and every other method, direct or indirect, of (1) disposing of property or an interest therein or possession thereof;...

     
     
   • http://www.thefreedictionary.com/transferred:

     2. Law To make over the possession or legal title of; convey.

     
     
   • http://law.yourdictionary.com/transfer:

     Any and every method of removing something from one person or place to another; specifically, the handing over of possession or control of assets or title. ...

   
   
   
3. If you give possession of your gun for storage to someone who is a resident of the same State as you, it's an intrastate transfer and subject to applicable state law.
   
   
   1. In many States private transfers between residents are lawful without formalities.
      
      
   2. However, in some States private transfers require that certain hoops be jumped through.
   
   
   
4. However, if you are not a resident of the same State as the person you leave your gun with, it becomes an interstate transfer and subject to federal law.
   
   
   1. Let's look at the statutes:
      
      
      1. 18 USC 922(a)(3), which provides in pertinent part (emphasis added) as follows:

         transport into or receive in the State where he resides ...any firearm purchased or otherwise obtained by such person outside that State,...

         
         
      2. And 18 USC 922(a)(5), which provides in pertinent part (emphasis added) as follows:

         transfer, sell, trade, give, transport, or deliver any firearm to any person ...who the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe does not reside in ... the State in which the transferor resides..;

      
      
      
   2. Note carefully the words used in those statutes. Words like "transport", "receive", "transfer", "give", and "deliver" are all words that describe possession, not just ownership.
      
      
   3. Violation of the federal interstate transfer laws can get the transferor and transferee up to five years in federal prison and/or a fine (plus a bonus of a lifetime loss of gun rights).
      
      
   4. So is there no way for someone to store his gun in State other than his State of residence?
      
      
      1. One possibility if someone wants to store his gun outside his State of residence and avoid possible problems from making an interstate transfer in violation of federal law, would be to arrange matters in a way that gives no one in the storage State access to it.
         
         
      2. Therefore, he might rent a storage locker or safe deposit box to which he alone has a key. Or if he stores a gun with a person, he might keep his gun in locked cases, a locked cabinet or locked safe to which he alone keeps the key or combination.
         
         
      3. This is not guaranteed, and I haven't seen any case law or ATF opinions on this. But it is consistent with ATF's instructions for shipping a gun to oneself in care of another person. Specifically ATF has said (emphasis added):

         6. May I lawfully ship a firearm to myself in a different State?
         

         Upon reaching its destination, persons other than the owner must not open the package or take possession of the firearm.

[Wallabing]

The the legal route would be to ppt all his guns to me?

[meno377]

The the legal route would be to ppt all his guns to me?

Correct. How long is your friend planning on storing them with you?

[Bansh88]

Unless it was a friend or family, it sounds sketchy. Regardless of law.

[LowThudd]

Unless it was a friend or family, it sounds sketchy. Regardless of law.

That is another reason why the PPT is the best plan IMO. Removes doubt.

[bsg]

He's gonna store it in his gun cases locked, I'm gonna throw them in the corner of my closet.

i'd rethink this plan.