Looking at going active, but wondering what I'll do with my guns.  Can I take them on base with me?  Lock them in the armory?  
I own about 15 standard guns and 4 class 3 guns.  What if I end up at a base in a non class 3 state?  
All info appreciated!

Call ahead to your new base...if you are married ask your sponser for help.
Find out what the base policy is. The base commander gets to make his own rules. Some are very pro-gun, some aren't.
It is really a crap shoot.
The part that sucks is that putting your stuff in 'storage' for overseas assignments means having it put in building where any old crook is free to pillage at will. The gov pays out on stolen stuff in a steady stream...

I would not recommend keeping them in the base armory.
To many chances to have your item stolen, played with, and or dropped and abused.

what happy said is about right. ive been lucky to have been able to store my toys in the base armory. pain in the butt getting them out though. not that they wouldnt hand them to me, just had to make sure someone was helpful enough or physically present to do so. of course when i got married, i lived off base. also (this could be different now), overseas assignments could be a problem. Navy contracted HHG shipping companies wont ship firearms as per DOD instructions.

tip: i removed bolts and barrels before i turned them in to the base armory.

I will hold them for you.

seriously, It's a royal pain in the ass keeping them on base.

If you are married and can live off base you are good to go.

Yep, married.  Hopefully I can take your advise and live off base.  How about class 3's in an unfriendly state?  Will the gov let me lock them in the armory & just not shoot them, or am I better off filling out the moving paperwork and sending them to my pops place for safe keeping?

No don't listen to him,I will hold them for you, I will even take them out and shhot them  and send you email pics so you know  they will be happy....

these guys just want to shoot ur weapons.. ship them to me ( ill pay half )  
i wont use or abuse them..

I to however plan repated function tests and will make sure diffrent type of ammo works on each and every wkend... .... just to make sure they dont rust [;)]

Seriously,
 If you are married, you will have better chances of living off post before you get on base housing.  There is usually a long waiting list for on base housing.  I waited three years.  By the time they called me, we had already bought one.
 Living off post is your absolute best option on having firearms.  Class three is going to be risky.  Storing them in the arms room sucks.  You got to have someone usually come in on their off time to unsecure the arms room, sign them out and resecure it.  Must be able to catch them to turn them in.  The armor will not like you to much, if you shoot a lot.  Most of your armors are looking to get over.  So if you make them work, you won't have to many friends or supporters in that area.
 What branch are you going into and what MOS are you looking at?  This will help us to a small degree, because we might be able to give you an idea of where you might go.
 Let us know about the above.
 Good luck!

pakrat

It seems to me that the Army wanted any firearms owned by soldiers (and in their possession) to register them with the MP's. This was back in the early '90s. One option is to store them with a gunshop or gunsmith, as long as you feel you know them well enough. For the class III's, if you're in a state that allows them or there's a neighboring state that does look for storage there  (example: Gunsite in Nevada, they even have a range to shoot them on), if you can't keep them in your house for some reason. When I was active duty (70's) I just kept my rifle at a friend's house in town.

Become the unit armorer...

You can keep your guns on base if you dont live in the dorms. dorm guys must keep them in the armory. For the most part class 3 is a nogo on base, legal or not in your state. All firearms must be registered with base security.

And with a non firearm friendly CO, base housing is a no no as well. You can't even keep private arms on base housing. It is the same as part of the base to them. And yes they did start the registering of firearms for all military.
I used to store mine off base in a storage facility. Also some ranges near by did so for a fee as well.
The class 3's, I would leave behind. It is hassle enough just for regular firearms. God forbid you get sent to Kali, and have to give them up.

HA! HA!

Hate to burst the bubble here, but DOD policy says that as long as you are not convicted of domestic violence, or are a threat, you can store weapons in base housing. the base C.O. cannot deny you if you stay out of trouble.
Here at Cherry Point, they can restrict the amount of ammo (2000 of each caliber that you need) and a limit on the amount of powder and primes.
All weapons "have" to be registered with the M.P.'s "just in case", but I know that they are sloppy about it. I didn't have my Bushy registered, and the wife an I got in a fight and the M.P.s  came out. They didn't run the #'s but did get verification that I had weapons on file. They were quite impressed with my Wilson CQB and AR. And if you end up in housing that is gated, the M.P.'s can search your vehicle without probable cause, due to federal regulations. As far as C3 weapons, I  don't have a clue, but they probably fall under the same regs if the state is a C3 friendly state.
And NEVER store weapons in the armory if there is another place to store them.

[smoke]

Before I retired, I spent 28 years in Sam's Navy.  During those years I owned firearms and I lived in Navy quarters on a couple of posts and in several off-post military housing areas.  I never got hassled by the military police or the local cops either...but I was very careful to check out the regs for that base first.
The real risk to you will be getting stopped at the gate on many military installations for a random auto search for drugs, contraband and weapons.  If you want to see some gate guards freak out...just have a firearm in your car...anywhere in your car...loaded or unloaded.  Much of this depends on where you are.  California bases?  Don't ever THINK about it.  I remember that we had a spate of these a few years ago.  The silliest was what happened to a chief petty officer several years ago at a naval station in California.  He was coming in from the east, no doubt where gun ownership didn't carry with it a stigma, even possibly where concealed carry was permitted.  When he arrived at the naval station, in his car, with his family and baggage to check in, he was stopped in a random search.  When the guards found his pistol, they almost had a collective heart attack.  This guy was eating pavement real fast.  He was arrested, tossed in the brig for a couple of hours and totally degraded while the security police tried to contact his [new] command.  Those former military members in the reading audience will recognize what a CF that would have been...not checked in yet...but in the hoosegow...with Mom and the kids sobbing at the gate...and nowhere to go!  All but ruined this poor guy's career...and he was clueless as to what he had done...at least for a while.
Bottom line, get the book[s] on the state laws in which you might be serving/stationed.  Those laws DO affect the station/base/installation standing orders and regulations.  I know it sounds weird, but its true.  Contact the MPs/Sergeant of the Guard/Master at Arms, etc. at the post[s] in question and be very careful.  Those security personnel are careful anyway...and especially now.  I recently had cause to enter a Navy base last month after the war started.  They made me exit my rental car and went through it with a fine tooth comb...in the car, under the hood, in the trunk and underneath with the mirrors.  Had they found a firearm...I suspect I'd still be on the inside looking out.
[soapbox]

I'm active Army, and lived in on-post quarters twice.

'85-'89 & '96-'00 was at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.  No registration of any type, and I kept my weapons in my on-base living quarters.

'91-'92 was at Ft. Ord, Monterey, California.  Had to register my weapons with the Provost Marshal, and then kept them in my living quarters.

Army Regulation 190-11 is the army's rulebook on storing weapons.  It states that the individual must abide by the firearms rules and regulations of the state in which they are stationed.

Each command will have their own supplement to this overall regulation, which means that whatever the rules are at one base, are not going to be the same at another.


Chris

THERE IS NO DOD WIDE REQUIREMENT FOR A SERVICE MEMBER TO REGISTER THEIR PRIVATE FIREARMS.

Some lame-assed Army General (you know the type, the ones who order every last member to wear a hat that they have not earned) made it his policy that every Army person under his command had to register their private firearms with the base even if they lived off base.

At Tinker AFB in Oklahoma you can keep class three firearms in the base armory in addition to the "unleaded" version of them.

If you live in military housing and there is no local policy against it you can keep your personal firearms in your base housing unit. At every base I have been stationed at where it has been legal to keep firearms it is a requirement to register those firearms with base security or the Armory. This is for tracking and theft identification use only though. Yea right.

At my current duty station I can bring my conceled firearm to base security and leave it there while I am at work.
Better than having to leave it at home.

MGNiko, as has been stated before you need to contact the base where you are going to and find out their policy on personal firearms.