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r/Hawaii•
Coarch

Gun ownership transfer: Grandmother to Grand daughter. Looking for some direction please.

Wife's grandmother has a few fire arms her grand daughter would like to take ownership of. The daughter lives in Oregon and the grand mother in HI. The fire arms are so old there probably isn't any documentation on them. What does she do? Is there a reputable shop or source of information?

Edit: Thanks for all the info. We are reading everything. Probably going to buy a qualifying simple safe for transport and check them in on our flight home.

Posted Dec 1, 2020, 12:47 AM UTC · edited

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Oldlineoahu•

There may be some wiggles depending on if there’s zero documentation (but that will be handled by the dealer on the OR side most likely), but by and large what you’ll need to do is arrange for the granddaughter to contact a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder in her area. The grandmother will then ship to the FFL, NOT the granddaughter. The FFL and your granddaughter will meet, fill out the ATF form 4473s for the firearms, and a NICS check will be completed as though it was a sale. All the granddaughter should need to pay is the cost of the FFL’s transfer fee.

Source: am a firearms instructor

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CoarchOP•

Got it, thanks for the information. She has done transfers through a pawn shop near OR before and they've used a FFL in the process. She'll get in contact with them.

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Oldlineoahu•

With HPD? Oregon has no registration process IIRC

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Makuahine0101•

Sorry, I misread that. Grandma will need to have current licenses in order to ship the firearms.

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Oldlineoahu•

Ah, makes sense. My apologies for the oversight on that, good catch.

Now, a single rifle permit will handle all the long guns, but the handguns will need individual permitting. If you want to save the hassle but play by the exact rules, I’d contact the Firearms Unit to see what their determination would be, but I think the above poster is right.

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BIBM1896Hawaiʻi (Big Island)•

Not to encourage anyone to travel unnecessarily right now, but if you know anyone heading to Oregon, the absolutely easiest way to do it would be to buy a hard-sided, locking gun case, put the guns in it, and then someone flies to Oregon with the case as checked luggage.

Just make sure they are unloaded and declare them when checking-in, and that's it. I don't think Oregon even needs them to be registered, so it's no problem for the granddaughter to have them.

If travelling with them is not an option, then yeah you'd have to do the FFL transfer like other folks are saying. But flying is covered by federal law, and they don't care what the story is or about state registration laws. As far as the feds are concerned, the 2nd gives you the right to travel with firearms, as long as the guns themselves are not banned and the person is not a felon or otherwise prohibited.

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CoarchOP•

?, you mean checking them in at the airport? We are actually here helping her grand mother. She is having health issues. Seems scary to walk them into an airport in a locked case or not but man that would simplify things.

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BIBM1896Hawaiʻi (Big Island)•

Yes, you can check them in as luggage, just like a suitcase, and then they'll come out on the carousel at your destination airport.

You actually should have the case unlocked when you get to the airport and declare them to the counter agent, because they'll need to see them and put in a slip of paper for the TSA. Then you lock the case up, they put on the luggage claim sticker tag, and off they go on the conveyor belt.

It's super easy and completely legal. Just don't be acting scared or nervous or looking sketchy, because then you might arouse suspicion and get questioned. I've never once had a problem, though.

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CoarchOP•

I think we will do this. Do I need a special kind of case/safe the tsa could open up or is a standard key safe ok?

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Raxnor•

The TSA is not allowed to open your gun case once they've been locked.

The whole point is to declare them, certify that they're property secured, lock them, keep the key, and have you be the person to open them at the other end.

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BIBM1896Hawaiʻi (Big Island)•

I think most any hard-sided, locking case that they fit in would work, but you may want to go to a sporting goods/gun store in your area and get a foam lined gun case made for the job, that will protect the guns from damage and also make it easier for the airline agent to look at them.

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asq-gsa•

Hey sorry, but this advice is against federal law. It is not legal to transfer firearms to a resident of a different state without going through an FFL. If tutu lives in Hawaii, and your wife lives in Oregon, the firearms must be shipped to an FFL in Oregon and transferred there.

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/whom-may-unlicensed-person-transfer-firearms-under-gca

It is generally allowed to gift firearms between immediate relatives without going through an FFL but only if they are residents of the same state.

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CoarchOP•

Thanks for this advice. My wife will contact a FFL in Oregon

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asq-gsa•

Hey, I commented to OP, but just FYI, your advice describes a felony punishable by 5 years and/or a $5000 fine under federal law. You cannot legally transfer a firearm to a resident of another state without going through an FFL in the transferee’s home state. It’s also against Oregon state law to transfer a firearm to another Oregon resident without going through a FFL, unless the transferor is a defined relative, who is also a resident of Oregon. There are other specific exceptions, but this does not qualify.

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