NEED HELP quick please!!

[ranger mac]

Hope I can get some quick help.

I am active duty and never lived in california. I am on my way to Hawaii and I am dropping my vehicle off in San Diego for shipment then flying up to Seattle to see family before I fly to Hawaii.

My question is now I am flying out of San Diego and traveling with my firearms. I know I check my Remington 700, Beretta Extrema 2, and both my 1911s, BUT can I check my ARs that aren't registerd in California? I have an S&W M&P15 16" barrel and a 20" barrel model.

Worst case I will leave them with family in Phoenix, but I would rather not leave them for three years while I am stationed in Hawaii. Any procedures I should take or personnel to contact. They are registered with the ATF when purchased thru my FFL a few years back, but no documents as Oklahoma didn't require them. Do I need any papers for my hunting rifle and shotgun or 1911s also?

[E Pluribus Unum]

Hope I can get some quick help.

I am active duty and never lived in california. I am on my way to Hawaii and I am dropping my vehicle off in San Diego for shipment then flying up to Seattle to see family before I fly to Hawaii.

My question is now I am flying out of San Diego and traveling with my firearms. I know I check my Remington 700, Beretta Extrema 2, and both my 1911s, BUT can I check my ARs that aren't registerd in California? I have an S&W M&P15 16" barrel and a 20" barrel model.

Worst case I will leave them with family in Phoenix, but I would rather not leave them for three years while I am stationed in Hawaii. Any procedures I should take or personnel to contact. They are registered with the ATF when purchased thru my FFL a few years back, but no documents as Oklahoma didn't require them. Do I need any papers for my hunting rifle and shotgun or 1911s also?

You can go to here:

http://www.calgunsfoundation.org/resources/downloads/section/3-flowchartsguides.html

To find out if they are assault weapons.

Assuming you have an off list receiver, you could buy a couple bullet buttons for your AR's to make them compliant, and keep them separate from any high cap mags you have.

The other thing you could do is disassemble the rifles and carry the lowers in one checked bag, and the uppers in another.

For legal safety reasons, I would be calling local gun stores and buying a couple bullet buttons.

[crashbubba]

I don't think there is a need for concern. I'd be more worried about having the proper container to meet your airline's requirements. When you check-in, you declare and fill out the paperwork, and after the contents are verified, you lock the container and you keep the key. I've never had the TSA or airline counter agent look look for a bullet button.

You may be concerned, however, about driving through CA on your way to San Diego with the assembled weapons.

You could always ship the weapons to yourself.

Sounds like it's too late to do this, but I've moved long guns with my household goods when I PCS'd (they fit nicely with clothes in the wardrobe boxes). They always made it safely since they weren't visible, although they were in the manifest.

[ranger mac]

thanks gents,

Yeah it wasn't an issue for me to ship or not ship originally because we were flying out of Dallas. Then instead of putting the dog thru 120 days of quarintine we can leave him with my brother and ship him later so he is under 5 days in honolulu before we pick him up. So I am driving my truck to Phoenix and dropping the wifes car off in Dallas and we are saving money by dropping my truck off in San Diego for shipment. Then I got the aaaaw thought.

So leaves me here and wondering what to do. Leaning towards just leaving them with my family in AZ now.

[r3dn3ck]

better get familiar with hawaii gun laws. they're about as draconian as ours and just as odd so you won't guess them.

[thebloodsonthewall]

Sorry to hear that you are coming to Hawaii. The gun laws are pretty bad and there is no where to shoot. I am in 2nd Brigade and I have been here two years. Let me know if you need help with anything.

[turbomkt]

The gun laws are pretty bad and there is no where to shoot.

Sounds like a good reason to leave as many behind as possible.

On the up side, if you find the laws aren't as bad as you thought, you could use it as an excuse to get more so the relatives don't have to ship them to you...

[EOD3]

Leave them in Arizona. A nice DRY climate and a little silica-gel should keep them in good shape.

As stated earlier, check the HI gun laws AND your receiving commands regulations governing storage and use of POWs.

[epilepticninja]

I was stationed at Hickam for six years. Hawaii gun laws make California gun laws look like Arizona gun laws.

[roll2li]

I would suggest for any AD PCS'ing to pick up an up to date copy of "Traveler's Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States," by J. Scott Kappas. Was very helpful for me during my cross country moves.

My edition states that all firearms must be registered with authorities within 72 hours of entering the state. Handguns may not be possessed without first acquiring an approval permit from the police, and so on. Sounds like a good idea will be to keep them in AZ and just bring some of your collection.

I would also suggest if you choose to fly with your firearms to put them in a lockable luggage case and not have a separate lockable gun case only which can be lifted from your luggage.

I think the following guide from Deviant Ollam and the video presentation he gives is an excellent introduction to flying with firearms.

http://deviating.net/firearms/packing/

[E Pluribus Unum]

Another point is this:

The current state of the law is what it is... but as many of us know, the law is not static; thanks to the efforts of Calguns and numerous other organizations, we are "suing every MFer in the room" and the law may change from now to when you die.

If you de-register the guns, short of a complete repeal of the AWB, they are gone forever. If you hang on to these AK's... or transfer them to an OL receiver, who knows what will be the law when you actually die; you just might be able to will these guns to your children....

That's the thing about unobtanium; it's a rare element... and it cannot be recovered once destroyed....