Buying weapons while Active Duty?

M

MB21

New member
I'm sure some of you guys on here are vets or currently in the service, so maybe you can answer my question.

How did/would you go about purchasing a weapon while on active duty and living in barracks? Currently I am in EOD school, so for the next year its off the shelf anyways, since I'm not permanent party. I'm not married, and am an E-1, so I will be living in the barracks for awhile.

Would it be feasible to keep a personally owned firearm in the armory while living in barracks, or should I just plan on not blowing my money on weapons at all?

Everyone, not just service members, please feel free to chime in with your own opinions.

I should note that its Army I am asking about.
 
I think you should exercise your 2nd Amendment rights any time you want to, even if you have to store the weapon off-base with family or friend.
 
It depends on the post commander. Some posts may not allow personal weapons. Those that do, require that the firearm(s) be stored in the unit armory. Since it isn't a unit firearm and the armorer isn't responsible for it, don't expect to get it out in the same condition in which you put it in.

Personally, in your situation I would save my money.
 
Once you are permanent party you can buy the FA with your assignment orders and ID and DL. PX in most places is now selling guns. For you, while living in barracks/dorm your option will be (if cmd permits) to store in arms room or off the installation. The FA will have to be registered with MPs to have on the installation. Its your cmds SOP that will control how you go about checking it in/out. Unless you have a trusted friend off the installation (or in installation family housing) its probably more hassle to do the arms room thing. Remember to register it if you intend to bring or keep it on the installation.....this is a big deal and don't even think about bringing it into a barracks/dorm (very very impt). I would recommend that you know your options prior to purchase. Also, consider what you will do with it when you are deployed, OCONUS, change units or KIA.

You might also check with the the rod/gun club which most places have. Perhaps they have a storage capability or look into a private club for such. Any way you look at it a single soldier on the installation in a barracks/dorm is not in a good position to have a private FA.
 
I'm an Army vet out of Ft. Bragg, NC. Read this very carefully, please. You need to inform your NCO, 1st Sgt and Commander of your intent. Next steps depend on base command rules. You may be able to keep it at a friend's house off post, possibly even on post. Most likely, it will be held in the armory. Your chain of command will guide you through the process. Basically, If you want to go shoot, get a transport permit from the provost marshal, sign your firearm out and go have fun. When you are coming back on post, it needs to be unloaded and separate from ammo. Inform the gate guard that you have it and present permit from PM. Go straight to armory and sign it back in.

I know this all sounds like a PITA, but it's a military base, gotta play by the rules. I did not follow the steps listed above... Surprise! Pull over sir, random vehicle inspection! Oh, that's just a loaded gun under the seat... Dude, it is not fun being arrested by MP's & having your vehicle impounded. I seriously almost messed up my honorable discharge in a very bad way and could have gotten prison time. I was a good soldier, reprimand was left to my commander and I got off because of a technicality, not even an article-15. It was a mess and I was lucky to ever get my pistol back.

Don't be like me!
 
Not the most current information, but in 1970, I was able to go to the BX and purchase a pistol, since I was permanent, the same way as if I went to any retail store. At the time, however, I was an NCO and lived off base, so I didn't have to deal with any base policies BS.
 
You probably can do it. Check with your CO on the rules. Likely need to register and transport unloaded and store in arms room. Need permission to get it out. No carry or personal possession allowed on base (Except unloaded transport). Consider off base storage. I rented a bank lockbox). Rules (NDAA 2010) prohibit requiring registration if you never bring it on base) . This is all current info.
 
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While I cannot comment on Army regs, I know in the Air Force you had to register your firearm with base security and store it in their armory. If you know someone off base and trust them well enough, that may be an option as well.

That's what I'm doing until I can move our of the base dorm's and get a place of my own. However, if I'm not mistaken, you're still in training for your field of duty , so things may be a bit different (I'll leave that for someone with more experience with Army regs to expand upon).
 
another old army guy

I would suggest you wait until you reach a permanent party station and are allowed to live off post. The requirements for having a gun on post and storing it are quite complex and it is easy to run afoul without intending to. By having off-post housing you will be able to (in most states) purchase the gun with your orders and ID and store the gun at your home. I would not trust anyone, even my relatives, to take care of a firearm for me. My name is on the paperwork that needs to be filled out and I do not want to put my rights and freedoms into any hands except mine.
 
Assuming you are at Eglin, see the personal weapons policy, far right of this link page:
http://www.eglinguideonline.com/ (Click right to 3rd page "First Things First"

Nothing dramatic here. and the same regs/requirements that I followed like everyone else
as a commander/colonel when I checked in so long, long,.... long ago. ;) It was no big deal.
As a matter of courtesy, I would inform your unit CO/his Exec/1stSgt if/when you decide.


BTW: It appears you do not have to be a state resident to purchase a long gun in Florida.
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/getdoc/70d071b8-8b18-4f8d-8269-8819c33054f4/FAQs2.aspx
 
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Thanks everyone for the replies. Still not sure what I will do, since making that decision is a long way off, but the info helps!
 
One of the great benefits you have by accepting the call is most BXs now sell firearms. The BXs offer discount coupons and have discounts. You also save big by avoiding state and local sale taxes.
 
Like guys said, wait until you get to your unit. Regs n all will be everyday life you understand then and you'll get a better picture. FYI every PX I've been to (a significant amount) they'll be marked up about $200-$400 from your LGS. No offense to anyone, just my experience.
 
EOD school is at Eglin, correct? No reason for you not to have a firearm local as long as you're legally able to own one. Keeping it in the armory there is no problem... it's staffed 24/7 although they may have specific times you may check in/out personal weapons. There is a really good rod&gun club on Hurlburt with nice shooting range open to you. I'm certain however that you'll have no problem finding somebody to hold your weapon at their home off base if checking it in/out of the armory gets to be a pain. Of course you're gonna get to shoot some way cooler stuff becoming a tech though. The BX at Eglin sells firearms as well.

Unless you're on PCS orders, you can't buy a handgun in Florida unless you're already a resident there. But you can buy in your home-state as long as you meet that states' requirements, and then bring your gun to Florida. But each state has different requirements starting with a minimum age for handguns... how old are you and what state are you a resident of?

You may be eligible to purchase long-gun however. Florida has no law against out-of-state residents purchasing long-guns... they even amended their "contiguous state" clause a few years ago to clarify specifically that you could. However, the state you're a resident of may prohibit buying long-guns out of state... again, what state are you a resident of?

Florida is pretty gun friendly. As long as you're 21yrs old and haven't been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor or a felony of any kind, you more than likely qualify for a CCW as military. On TAD orders, you would qualify for a non-resident permit... which allows you to carry in Florida, all the states that border Florida, and a bunch of others. For military, it's as easy as (BEING 21YRS OLD) and walking into your local Sheriffs office with a copy of your orders and military ID. It's $140 total for the permit if you have the Sheriffs office do your fingerprints electronically... trust me, do it that way. Some offices have specific times they do fingerprints, so call ahead.
http://www.usacarry.com/florida_concealed_carry_permit_information.html
http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Licensing/Concealed-Weapon-License

As somebody mentioned, you need your chain-of-command approval to store weapons in the Armory, but not in somebody's house out in town. And you definitely don't need any permission to get your non-resident CCW... you should get it anyways even if you don't plan to carry (as long as you're eligible)... because you never know.

I don't agree with waiting until you get wherever you're going. If you want to buy/own/carry a gun, why wait? The only thing that may bite you is if you buy a gun in Florida that is illegal in anther state. But even then, you can always take an evil-featured gun and convert it to non-evil... and buy lower capacity magazines if that's the issue. I know you can find somebody to trust to hold your gun... HINT: NOT ANOTHER STUDENT... find a damned instructor, maybe even a **GULP** Officer?

As for the BX, I've never ever ever seen a gun for sale in a BX that I couldn't buy cheaper a dozen other places, especially online where there is no tax and lots of places with free or cheap shipping. Also... LGS's in towns with a gun-selling BX will always dicker for cash even if their listed price is higher... walk in with green actual cash and you can almost always walk out of an LGS having paid less money than you would in the BX.
 
The majority of the PX's (BX if that's your lingo) will work off of galleryofguns.com, and I've found them to be able to beat the listed prices fairly regularly. You will catch some weird regulations (I tried to buy a S&W performance center revolver at the exchange on Pendleton, but they have some deal with the state where they won't sell a pistol with a barrel under 2"). I'd still recommend waiting till you get to a permanent duty station, you don't know where you might end up.
 
Wait for your permanent duty station...

After all, they could send you overseas where buying and storing a gun is another story!
 
When I was in AIT I did not have a gun. It was too much of a hassle.

When I was enlisted and lived in the barracks I hid mine in my vehicle. This was a direct violation of post policy. In hindsight this was stupid but Ft. Bragg was an open post back then and vehicles were never searched. I don't think you could get away with it these days.

Some guys hid theirs in their rooms in the ceiling if they did not want to hide them in their cars. I know one guy who had at least a dozen firearms in his ceiling including some decent long guns. This was even more dumb as sometimes the rooms were searched during inspections. No one was ever caught so far as I can recall. When I was in charge later and thought it necessary I would look up in the ceiling.

Some guys would store them off post at a friends house. This could be risky if he was married or in a relationship what might end suddenly. This was also a violation of policy but less stupid.

Every once in a while someone would put one in the arms room for storage. The armorer would generally mess with it and allow whoever the inventorying officer to play with it. Guys would get their weapons banged up and occasionally seriously damaged from this and the unit would pretend like it never happened.

I would not advise breaking policy or disobeying orders. Just telling you how it was.
 
Nothing wrong with buying firearms now, as long as you follow the rules on and off base. Don't blow all your money on it though; maybe buy 1 or 2 guns a year at most.

My friends who are currently in Active duty mostly keep their guns with family off-base. This is probably the best option granted you trust your family with them. That will also help in case you get sent elsewhere in the US or deployed overseas. You'll probably train/play with better guns anyway while in training :cool:
 
I heard many horror stories both on the web and in person (lost, damaged, parts missing, armorers using them without permission, lost/misfiled paperwork) about personal firearms stored in base armories..............I would never do it.



PM Frankenmauser about his experience storing firearms on base while he was at Hurlburt.
 
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