Survivalist Forum banner

Purchasing a firearm in a state you are not a resident of

559K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  TomArnold 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I've got a question about purchasing firearms. Can you purchase a firearm in a state that you are not a resident of? If you can, do you need to do anything in your state of residence after purchasing it?

For example, if I lived in Maryland or New York state, could I purchase a firearm in Pennsylvanie where the gun laws seem to be less strict (although that understanding could be very wrong).

Would it make any difference what type of firearm you were purchasing - pistol, shotgun, rifle (AK)?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer,

Tom
 
#2 ·
Federal Law:

Any handgun or long gun bought from an individual in another state must be taken possession of through FFL in YOUR state after 4473.

Same for any handgun bought from FFL in another state, must be sent to FFL in YOUR state for you to take possession after 4473.

You may buy and take possession of a long gun in another state from FFL (if they are willing to do it, most will, but they don't have to).

The only exceptions to these are inheritance and loaning/renting guns.

State Laws:


There are a couple or so states that have state laws that only allow neighboring states to sell you a long gun, can never remember which ones.

No idea what's required in your unknown state if you buy a long gun in another, most don't have any registration type stuff for long guns, but of course various long gun configurations are illegal in various states period. You could buy "assault rifle" configs and/or merely rifles with +10 mag capacity that would be illegal in several states.

- OS
 
#4 ·
Sorry I wasn't clear. We're in Maryland now & moving to New York (state, not city). I'm trying to find out if you can purchase a pistol, shotgun, or rifle (AK47) in a state that has more permissive gun laws like Pennsylvania or West Virginia and what hoops, if any, we'd have to jump through to do this.

If you can post a link to this info, that would be great also.

Sorry about being unclear. We are new to gun ownership and the state laws are confusing and getting clarification from a local dealer was difficult.

Thanks
 
#9 ·
Sorry I wasn't clear. We're in Maryland now & moving to New York (state, not city). I'm trying to find out if you can purchase a pistol, shotgun, or rifle (AK47) in a state that has more permissive gun laws like Pennsylvania or West Virginia and what hoops, if any, we'd have to jump through to do this...
So you didn't read what I posted at all?

Therefore I repeat, you can only take possession of a handgun in the state of your residence. For interstate sales, either private or from dealer, must be given to FFL in your state for transfer to you.

That's federal law. Doesn't matter what additional laws any given state may have.

- OS
 
#7 ·
No matter what state you go to when purchasing a firearm and you are not a resident of that state you must go thru a ffl in your state to do the transfer for example if you saw an AK47 in Wv and you wanted it you would have to get into contact with a gun dealer in the state you have residence and have the gun ship to the dealer in your state. I cant speak for other states but transfers here in WV are cheap like 25 dollars so they may be as cheap in your home state. so to answer your question yes you can buy a gun in another state but you have to have it shipped to a dealer in your home state.
 
#10 ·
No matter what state you go to when purchasing a firearm and you are not a resident of that state you must go thru a ffl in your state to do the transfer for example if you saw an AK47 in Wv and you wanted it you would have to get into contact with a gun dealer in the state you have residence and have the gun ship to the dealer in your state....
Sigh. Totally incorrect.

You may buy long guns from FFL dealers in other states (as long as they choose to do it).

Only a private interstate sale of long gun must be shipped or carried to FFL in purchaser's state; also a handgun in any type sale must be handled same way.

- OS
 
#11 · (Edited)
From the ATF Federal Firearms Licensee Quick Reference and Best Practices Guide ( http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5300-15.pdf ), page 6:

Permitted Sales to Non-Residents of Your State

You may sell a firearm to a person who does not reside in your State by shipping the firearm to a licensed dealer in the buyer’s State of residence and having the buyer take possession of the firearm from that licensee. The licensed dealer in the buyer’s State of residence is responsible for the Form 4473 and NICS background check. Your A&D records should reflect the transfer to the out-of-State FFL and not to the end purchaser.

You may make an over-the-counter sale of a rifle or shotgun to a non-resident if the transaction complies with all the laws of your State and the laws of the buyer’s State.

We recommend that you refer to the most recent edition of ATF’s State Laws and Published Ordinances–Firearms ( http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5300-5-2011/2009-30th-edition.pdf ) , prior to consummating an over-the-counter sale of a rifle or shotgun to an out-of-State resident.
 
#15 ·
Short version:

Federal law allows you to buy a long gun (rifle/shotgun) in any state even if you are not a resident, as long as you are buying from an FFL. Supposedly inter-state private sales are supposed to go through an FFL but I doubt you will run into any problems regardless unless you're trying to mail it.

Pistols from a non-resident state is a no-no.

State laws can be more restrictive, but not less so, as far as I know.
 
#16 ·
When I go to particularly gun friendly states, I feel like I should get a gun from that state. I find what I like there, and then take it home afterward.

Neighboring states know the gun laws of their neighbors. A PA gunshop will not sell you a rifle or shotgun that is not legal in NY.

Don't be afraid of the NY laws. You want an AR, got get one in NY. Want an AK, go get one in NY. Learn the laws a little bit and don't worry about it.

Far as run of the mill hunting type firearms, they're all ok in NY. No restrictions there.

Get a NY compliant AK or AR, a plain jane old pujmp shotgun, and a 22lr rifle for small game. You got everything covered good. Apply for your pistol permit once you have the residency requirement. You will needed references in most counties. I make freinds at the local fish and game club, and then you'll have a worry free safe place to target shoot too.

No one like rules, I know outsiders of NY make the gun laws in NY seem horrible. However, you can have pretty much any semi-auto rifle you want. Some of those evil features aren't too horrible to live without anyway. A flash hider make the gun sound quite a bit louder. A folding stock usually makes a poor cheek weld.

Pre ban mag issues does suck a bit, expecially if you like the latest and greatest firearms. I have to buy mags locally, since 99.99% of firearms shops do not want to send a over 10 round mag to NY in fear of the law.
 
#19 ·
New York State doesn't have reciprocity on long gun purchases with neighboring states so you have to buy long guns in New York State. Sames applies to handguns however you have to have a New York State Handgun license. In order to qualify you have to be a resident for at least 6 months, have usually a minimum of 3 references living in the same county as you that are not LEO's and you have to attend the NRA Basic Pistol Course. The application and subsequent fingerprints are then submitted to your local court and you can apply at that point and time for a permit to have it in your house or to have it as a CHL. depending on where you live the CHL part can be next to impossible to get. I used to live in NYS and am very happy to be living in CO. Good luck with your move.
 
#20 ·
Thanks for all the feedback. I think we're going to change our plans & move somewhere else :) One of the reasons for leaving MD was the gun laws. It sounds like moving to NY might be just frying pan -> fire. Instead, guess we're going to just go to WV or PA - probably WV - found some nice places online & will start calling tomorrow.

We'd love to go to the midwest, but had to stay nearby for family. Have to have the grandkids visit :)
 
#21 ·
Good call.

If you already have handguns, moving to NY means you wont see them for a while.

Every county is different when it comes to the handgun permit, but Ulster county currently takes around 7 months to process, and you are most likely going to get restrictions as to where you can take the pistols. Thats after you meet the minimum residency time. You could not be in possession of your handguns during that time.

Buying a new handgun means you have to take the receipt to the permit office and have the gun added to your license before you are allowed to be in possession of it. So after you buy it, you have to leave it in the store until you get to the office and do the paperwork. Buying out of state would mean that you had to leave it there anyhow until you got it on your license. If you ship it to a NY FFL, at least its sitting somewhere local until you can have it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top