how do i make a gun legally mine

[nowhere]

hey guys, here's the situation. My friend left me his gun before he went back to his homeland for a family emergency. Well he found out that he's not coming back for awhile and that i can have his gun. How can i register it to my name now that he's not here to do the transfer.

[tenpercentfirearms]

Have him ship the gun to a dealer with a copy of his CA DL. The dealer then just handles it like a transfer. If it is an non-rostered handgun, then you are out of luck.

[PhantomII]

I believe the OP has the gun in his possession so shipping is not needed. He's wanting to know how to transfer ownership without the presence of the current legal owner.

[winnre]

This reminds me of swap meets in other states where you can just buy a handgun, cash and carry. Assuming it is a roster gun can you just DROS it to yourself when you get back?

[halifax]

This reminds me of swap meets in other states where you can just buy a handgun, cash and carry. Assuming it is a roster gun can you just DROS it to yourself when you get back?

Not without violating Federal & State law

[MGM Tactical]

Is it possible to do a private party transfer without both parties present, such as in this instance?

[Donny1]

Similar question

I have a revolver I bought from a pp in the 80's but it was never registered or transferred to me. The California DOJ has a form, Firearm Ownership Record FD 4542A. It just says to fill in the information and send a $19 check for each gun.

Since there is more than likely no record around for mine I don't see why I can't do it. Maybe if the gun mentioned above is not registered he can do the same.

Anyone know the laws on this?

[winnre]

I have a revolver I bought from a pp in the 80's but it was never registered or transferred to me. The California DOJ has a form, Firearm Ownership Record FD 4542A. It just says to fill in the information and send a $19 check for each gun.

Since there is more than likely no record around for mine I don't see why I can't do it. Maybe if the gun mentioned above is not registered he can do the same.

Anyone know the laws on this?

Just hope no one is looking for it!

[Donny1]

LOL, no, I got if from a friend who was training for LEO at the time. It was just so long ago and a transfer was like, you want to buy this? ok.

[QQQ]

I don't know the laws regarding registering an unregistered firearm in CA, but even here in DC you can take an unregistered rifle (or handgun, for that matter) in for registration without a problem other than the huge pain in the butt of registering a gun in DC- but that's a different story. If it turns out that the gun you're trying to register isn't DC-legal, they'll give you a week to move it out of the city.

I can't imagine that the laws would be more restrictive in most parts of CA.

[tenpercentfirearms]

I believe the OP has the gun in his possession so shipping is not needed. He's wanting to know how to transfer ownership without the presence of the current legal owner.

Reading between the lines is apparently not a strong skill in these parts.

PPTs can only be conducted when both parties show up to the shop with a CA ID or DL. So if the guy is not in the country, you cannot do a PPT.

If the guy ships it to the shop, then it can be processed as a transfer.

You could also do a self-register with the DOJ. They don't like it, but they will do it supposedly.

http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/forms/pdf/volreg.pdf

[Donny1]

You could also do a self-register with the DOJ. They don't like it, but they will do it supposedly.

http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/forms/pdf/volreg.pdf

Can anyone be more clear on this. Since talking to some friends about this it seems they have some firearms that are not registered as well. One a rifle, one a shotgun, etc. We all have owned these for years. The way the penal code reads is if something happens while using a legal, but unregistered gun, it can quite a difference. For example, unlicensed ccw with an unregistered gun is more than a misdemeanor (not that I would ever do that).

[Mssr. Eleganté]

Can anyone be more clear on this. Since talking to some friends about this it seems they have some firearms that are not registered as well. One a rifle, one a shotgun, etc. We all have owned these for years. The way the penal code reads is if something happens while using a legal, but unregistered gun, it can quite a difference. For example, unlicensed ccw with an unregistered gun is more than a misdemeanor (not that I would ever do that).

Long guns are not registered in California, so there is no benefit to sending in the voluntary registration form for long guns. If the firearms were transfered illegally, sending in the voluntary registration form does nothing to clear either party of that crime. If the firearms were legally transfered back before FFL transfers were required (1991) then registering them now is just as pointless.

If you want to register an unregistered handgun in order to avoid a felony while you are illegally carrying it concealed or because your CCW license requires you to carry a registered handgun, then that is a different story. In that case sending in the voluntary registration form would be beneficial. If it is a handgun that you acquired back before handgun transfers were required to go through an FFL then just send it in. If it is a handgun that was illegally transfered then you might at least want to wait three years after the transfer so that the statute of limitations is up. Successfully registering a handgun that you transfered illegally doesn't erase the crime of illegally transferring the handgun.

[Cokebottle]

I have a revolver I bought from a pp in the 80's but it was never registered or transferred to me.

I believe that was legal in the '80s.

We didn't get "mandatory handgun registration at the time of transfer" until 1991.

[Cokebottle]

Can anyone be more clear on this. Since talking to some friends about this it seems they have some firearms that are not registered as well. One a rifle, one a shotgun, etc. We all have owned these for years. The way the penal code reads is if something happens while using a legal, but unregistered gun, it can quite a difference. For example, unlicensed ccw with an unregistered gun is more than a misdemeanor (not that I would ever do that).

Those penalties only apply to handguns.

Rifles and shotguns are not registered in California.
The DOJ doesn't even get the serial number... all they get is "on June 11, 2010, Donny bought a long gun from Joe's gun shop."