I'm a college student from MA, currently going to school in TN. Recently a classmate of mine (who lives off campus) got a Remington 700 and found a free shooting range in the area. Unfortunately, my rifle is currently in MA (my mother has a gun license and is holding onto it). What would I need to do to legally ship this gun from my mother to my friend so he can hold onto it?

Thanks.

If it's YOUR rifle in Mass, just drive back and get it, then give to your friend for safekeeping.

If your mom ships it (UPS, FedEx, USPS) it will have to be received by a an FFL dealer in Tennessee, since the shipment was across state lines.  There you should execute the transfer with the dealer then hand the gun to your friend.

Since you are living in Tennessee, you need not concern yourself with your Mass Firearms ID Card.

I'd just drive over to get it, and leave the govt. out of the whole deal.

It's my rifle (did the transfer paperwork as soon as I hit 21), but I don't have a car so I can't just drive up to get it. Besides, I don't have licenses for all of the states I would drive through (and NY and NJ are supposedly nasty about AR-15s).

I spend 8 months out of the year in TN, and the other 4 months in MA, so I need to have a MA license so I can shoot it when I'm back up there.

There is no license required or even available to transport a rifle/shotgun through NY or NJ.  The only requirement is that it must be unloaded in both chamber and magazine and either:

1.  Locked in the trunk of the vehicle separate from the ammunition (this is preferred)

or

2.  If the vehicle has no trunk it should be in a locked case separate from the ammunition in the passenger compartment

Although not required it's a good idea to keep your ammo in locked container.  Surplus ammo cans with a padlock are good for this.

Under Federal law you can personally ship a firearm from state A  addressed to yourself in care of another person in state B provided it is also legal under the laws of both states. A third party cannot ship the firearm for you.

Ok let me make sure I understand this right.

Since I don't have a vehicle, and I'm in the destination state instead of the state where the gun is stored, it can't be legally shipped down to my friend here in TN?

That is correct.  You can personally ship a firearm to yourself in care of another person for any lawful purpose.  The "lawful purpose" could be a hunting trip, firearm competition, relocating etc.  It is lawful because you are the owner of the firearm and no interstate transfer of the firearm is taking place.  

It is not lawful for an unlicensed third party in another state to ship the firearm for you.

Any way it go legally go FFL to FFL?

Quoted: Any way it go legally go FFL to FFL?

Read again the entire post.  Here's what you missed:

If your mom ships it (UPS, FedEx, USPS) it will have to be received by a an FFL dealer in Tennessee, since the shipment was across state lines. There you should execute the transfer with the dealer then hand the gun to your friend. Since you are living in Tennessee, you need not concern yourself with your Mass Firearms ID Card.

And by the way, unless Massachussetts law requires optherwise, Federal law only requires an FFL on the RECIEVING end.

Quoted: That is correct.  You can personally ship a firearm to yourself in care of another person for any lawful purpose.  The "lawful purpose" could be a hunting trip, firearm competition, relocating etc.  It is lawful because you are the owner of the firearm and no interstate transfer of the firearm is taking place.   CORRECT. It is not lawful for an unlicensed third party in another state to ship the firearm for you.

INCORRECT.

The following is from the ATF's own website:

(B10) May a nonlicensee ship firearms interstate for his or her use in hunting or other lawful activity?

Yes. A person may ship a firearm to himself or herself in care of another person in the state where he or she intends to hunt or engage in any other lawful activity. The package should be addressed to the owner. Persons other than the owner should not open the package and take possession of the firearm.

And since certain of you are bound to disbelieve me, here is the link: www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm#b10

Next time you go home, UPS your firearm to yourself, directly or C/O a roomate, etc. I'm sure you can come up with a way to make this happen in a manner convenient to yourself.

To be clear, in this specific situation, as far as Federal Law is concerned (TN law is mute on this as far as I can tell, and I've shipped guns to/from myself before)  IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO SHIP FROM/TO ANY FFL IN EITHER STATE.

CYA: That applies only in this situation, and you should check the law in your home state to be sure.


[Edited to add that I am a resident of Tennesse (Memphis).]

Quoted: Quoted: That is correct.  You can personally ship a firearm to yourself in care of another person for any lawful purpose.  The "lawful purpose" could be a hunting trip, firearm competition, relocating etc.  It is lawful because you are the owner of the firearm and no interstate transfer of the firearm is taking place.   CORRECT. It is not lawful for an unlicensed third party in another state to ship the firearm for you. INCORRECT. The following is from the ATF's own website: (B10) May a nonlicensee ship firearms interstate for his or her use in hunting or other lawful activity? Yes. A person may ship a firearm to himself or herself in care of another person in the state where he or she intends to hunt or engage in any other lawful activity. The package should be addressed to the owner. Persons other than the owner should not open the package and take possession of the firearm. And since certain of you are bound to disbelieve me, here is the link: www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm#b10 Next time you go home, UPS your firearm to yourself, directly or C/O a roomate, etc. I'm sure you can come up with a way to make this happen in a manner convenient to yourself. To be clear, in this specific situation, as far as Federal Law is concerned (TN law is mute on this as far as I can tell, and I've shipped guns to/from myself before)  IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO SHIP FROM/TO ANY FFL IN EITHER STATE. CYA: That applies only in this situation, and you should check the law in your home state to be sure. [Edited to add that I am a resident of Tennesse (Memphis).]

The owner of the firearm must personally ship the firearm for it to be lawful.  Once again an unlicensed third party cannot ship it for him. That is unlawful. He must ship it himself in care of another person or to himself in the reciving state.

When I say C/O your roomate, I mean addressed to your self, c/o the third party.
That is legal.
Shipping it directly to your roomate with their name as addressee, is not legal.

By "convenient" I mean go home on a visit, UPS it on your way out of town, get back to your other address after Thanksgiving or whatever to receive it.

Are we on the same page?

Quoted: When I say C/O your roomate, I mean addressed to your self, c/o the third party. That is legal. Shipping it directly to your roomate with their name as addressee, is not legal. By "convenient" I mean go home on a visit, UPS it on your way out of town, get back to your other address after Thanksgiving or whatever to receive it. Are we on the same page?

Yes. The Internet sucks!