Hello,

I live in California, and I was wondering if it would be legal for me to buy an AR out-of-state as long as I kept it out of California itself, like in a warehouse or a relative's house or something. I have a cousin who's about to move to Texas; I could leave it with her.

Any insight apreciated.

You need to show your CA Id to buy anywhere.  I do not think that a dealer would sell on to you.

Sounds like it would be ok to me,as long as the state you buy the AR in allowes out of state people to purchase that firearm and you keep it out of CA. When I lived in Maryland I always went to Delaware to buy my guns(less restricted firearms and no sales tax) and it was all good.

Good luck!

I too have been wondering about this, and am interested in doing it. I live close enough to nevada I could just store and use the guns out there, keeping them at Frontsight, NV. Though when I was in NV they didn't seem to want to sell me any guns if I had an out of state license... I think that was either their "policy" or at worst just a state law, not federal. There's got to be a way... anyone with actual experience (successful or not) have any input?  

I've purchased several Long guns in south Georgia from FFl's with no problem being a Florida resident.

Unless I'm mistaken you can purchase a Long Gun in any state boardering the state in which you live. As long as it's legal for you to purchase a firearm in the first place.


edited........cuz no has no "t"

A couple years ago a friend of mine who was visiting here in NV tried to buy an old .22 single-shot at a gun show. The mood completely changed when he showed his CA ID. The guy got paranoid and said he wouldn't sell it to him without an FFL. We both thought it was ridiculous at the time.
Kind of strange that fear of California laws spills over into neighboring states.

Quoted: Unless I'm mistaken you can purchase a Long Gun in any state boardering the state in which you live. As long as it's legal for you to purchase a firearm in the first place.

Don't they also have the requirement that the firearm is legal to own in both those adjoining states? I think I read that here a long time ago in the legal forum.

In the case of California, since you cannot own an unregistered AR15, and the registration period is long over, I believe the Nevada dealer could not sell an AR15 to a CA resident.

You would have to first establish Nevada residency, even if it is temporary.

Quoted: Quoted: Unless I'm mistaken you can purchase a Long Gun in any state boardering the state in which you live. As long as it's legal for you to purchase a firearm in the first place. Don't they also have the requirement that the firearm is legal to own in both those adjoining states? I think I read that here a long time ago in the legal forum. In the case of California, since you cannot own an unregistered AR15, and the registration period is long over, I believe the Nevada dealer could not sell an AR15 to a CA resident. You would have to first establish Nevada residency, even if it is temporary.

I do not believe this to be true. California law carries no weight in adjoining States or Federally. I think it would perfectly legal to buy in an adjoining State but you would have to find a dealer who knew the law. This really isn't even an ATF issue. It's a State law valid in California.

Phone calls are cheap. Call around see how many different opnions you can get.

Federal law requires that an out of state purchase must comply with the laws of both states.  An unlicensed California resident cannot legally purchase any firearms out of the state unless they are forwarded to a California dealer for the actual transfer.  By the way, the adjacent state rule in Federal law was repealed several years ago.

So, if I were to temporarily establish residency in a neighboring state, made my purchase, and officially moved back into CA without bringing the rifle in, that'd be legal? Would I still have title to it?

Ordinarily I would just be patient until I had the financial means to move out, but I wanted to have it so that if the AW ban were replaced by a permanent one and prebans could no longer be transferred, I could get one ahead of time.

www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm

A person may only buy a firearm within the person's own state, except that he or she may buy a rifle or shotgun, in person, at a licensee's premises in any state, provided the sale complies with state laws applicable in the state of sale and the state where the purchaser resides. [18 U. S. C 922( a)( 3) and (5), 922( b)( 3), 27 CFR 178.29]

Quoted:
So, if I were to temporarily establish residency in a neighboring state, made my purchase, and officially moved back into CA without bringing the rifle in, that'd be legal? Would I still have title to it?

If you are a resident of ANY state (not necessarily neighboring) that allows sales without additional state bs, you can legally buy the rifle.  Buying the gun will require a driver's license.  Getting the license will usually require some kind of proof of residency...power bill, paycheck stub, passport, etc.

If you're thinking of dual residency, make sure you talk to a professional tax person, as there a lot of ramifications that affect your PRK state taxes (imagine that).

I'm not recommending or condoning anything, but if you even think you might move to the prk in the future, consider getting a duplicate copy of your current driver's license before you move.  Give the old one to dmv in prk when you get a prk license.

-hanko