Moving firearms from NY to AZ

R

rjoy

Inactive
I am going to be moving from NY state to AZ in the next couple of months. I want to move my firearms with me. I am beginning to hear horror stories about how hard it is going to be for me to move my guns with me. I contacted the mover and they are telling me they are not sure they can move them and they are telling me, although I am not one bit convinced the lady had any idea what she was talking about, that I need a "special" license to transport them to my new home. Does anyone have any direct information about what I need to do to legally move my firearms from one state to another or can anyone provide a link to a site that might have the legalese printed so I can read it myself. Thanks. I await all your knowledgable replies.

Bob
 
how many guns we talkin here? i would wrap mine up or put them in gun cases and put them inside my gun safes and not tell the mover what was in the safes. or rent a uhaul and drive them yourself. maybe all you need are a few gun cases and the trunk of your car. i don't believe you need a special permit. drive safe and don't hold up any gas stations along the way and you should be fine.
 
It mainly depends on the state you are moving to.

Arizona has very good gun laws. You have no worries. It is perfectly legal. You need no license. The lady doesn't know what she is talking about.

Either box them up before the movers arrive and don't tell them what is in them (you are not required to by law), or move them yourself in your own car (assuming you are driving).

Be sure to box up ammunition separately. Again, no law requiring you to inform the movers of what is in them.

If you are talking NFA firearms, then it is a different story because the movers will be taking possession of them. If we're talking your standard rifles and pistols, you're fine.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/18/parts/i/chapters/44/sections/section_926a.html
 
We moved from NY to AZ in 87, I was just a kid but I remember my father taking pics of all his guns and having a gun store in NY ship them to a gun store in AZ (Dons sport shop on McDowell).
We took a train because my grandmother wouldnt go on a plane, I think Mayflower moved us maybe they are the reason he had the shipped.
 
Made the same move (WNY) a year and a half ago, should of made it 30 years earlier.
Welcome to a free State.
If your the last one don't forget the Flag.

kenny b
 
Last edited:
Kenny:

Also from WNY, near Rochester, LeRoy actually. Am finally going to make the move to get out of these ridiculously long and cold winters. Like you, I will probably be saying I should have done this 30 years ago.
 
5 years ago my father passed, in NY state

Where he had lived his life. His gun collection passed to me (my brother wasn't interested). I brought two rifles back with me on the plane. His 3 handguns I had to go to a dealer and have shipped to a dealer where I live, because I didn't have a NYS permit to posess them.

If you are leaving NY, just take your guns with you. As long as they are legal where you are going, no problem.
 
Az is good just be on down the road! Your problem is in between! Stay on HY-40 drop down in to AZ and all should be good!

New mexico will not bother you! Just be clean and drive like a man!
 
1st, congrats on moving to America

2nd, you are right, the lady hasn't a clue, not even a smidgen.
I used to try and convince people like that but it is useless, what I do now is offer them ten bucks to show you the law.
However, do you really want the clueless to take your guns?
Take them yourself.
 
When we moved from texas to alaska the movers refused to take guns/ammo on the truck so my dad just boxed it all up real nice, labeled it "sporting goods" and stuck it on the truck. Its not like the movers are even going to go through all your boxes to ensure compliance with their stupid policies. just be aware that if you have alot of money invested in your firearms (we didnt at the time) the you'll probably want to send them via other means since the moving company wont want to take responcibility in the event anything happens to them since it was against their policy or whatever, which exists probably because they dont want to be held accoutable for anything You can legally mail fireams from state to state as long as its to yourself but I wouldnt trust shipping companies anymore than I would the moving company. Acutally I'd wager that they would be less likely to get damaged with the moving company.
 
Bob, I actually drove mine down in cases. With the exception of a few states you could actually carry on the way down if driving.
Hope this helps:
http://www.handgunlaw.us/
When you get there your home free, no one cares what you have, there is no regristration of handguns to the powers of the Goverment elete like NY. Your NY permit is honored for ccw but being a resident you have to apply for a ccw, open carry is allowed for everyone.

Depending on you location here you may have a rough first 3 months, June, July & Aug are not our best months here, but the other 9 more then make up for it.

kenny b
 
I am going to be moving from NY state to AZ in the next couple of months. I want to move my firearms with me. I am beginning to hear horror stories about how hard it is going to be for me to move my guns with me. I contacted the mover and they are telling me they are not sure they can move them and they are telling me, although I am not one bit convinced the lady had any idea what she was talking about, that I need a "special" license to transport them to my new home. Does anyone have any direct information about what I need to do to legally move my firearms from one state to another or can anyone provide a link to a site that might have the legalese printed so I can read it myself. Thanks. I await all your knowledgable replies.
Click to expand...

First of all don't tell a mover anything about your guns 'cause it's non of their business, and no you do not need a "special license." I suggest you do NOT put your weapons in a commercial moving van that someone YOU DO NOT KNOW will be driving!!! Bring your guns with you.

YMMV, but here's what I did in September 2004 when I moved from Pennsylvania to Arizona via automobile pulling a 5X10 open trailer. I trailered one motorcycle and a ton of stuff in the trailer and lots of stuff on the back seat and lots of stuff in car trunk.

In my trunk, just behind the rear seat I hid several unloaded hand guns and long guns, individually wrapped in strips of old blanket. Piles of clothing and assorted gear were then piled on top. All gun magazines and boxed ammo were packed in separate motorcycle saddlebags.

I stayed on the Interstates, drove the legal speed limit, stayed at several motels and five days later, me and my guns arrived safely in Arizona.

BTW, when you get settled in Arizona and receive your Arizona drivers license and local phone number, you'll be ready to take the 8 hour CCW training and get your Arizona CCW and be treated as a citizen, not as a subject!
 
matt870 said:
You can legally mail fireams from state to state as long as its to yourself...
Click to expand...

Not exactly.

You can legally mail long arms from state to state as long as its to yourself...
Click to expand...

Fixed that for you. :)

Depending on the size of his collection it could cost hundreds of dollars to ship his firearms.

Robert - Are you driving there?
 
Lived in AZ for years, and it's great. Only thing better is Fl. Gun laws are just as good and it's got Disney!
 
Long guns should not be a problem at all. If you trust the movers put them on the truck and they can drive them from NY to AZ. Take pictures of them all first with the serial numbers visible. I suggest emailing the pictures to a Yahoo or Gmail account so they are accessible from any internet enabled PC.

There is one catch in NY and that is handguns. You cannot let someone else take possession of them. Even if that other person has a NYS Pistol permit since the only handguns that can be in someone's possession are the ones they own that are listed on their permit. As long as the moving truck is parked in front of your house with the handguns on it they would be in your possession the same as if they were in your car in the driveway. From the moment the movers drive away with the handguns on the truck until they cross the NYS border, they and you are in violation of NYS Law and could face serious charges and fines.

I moved from NY to KS four years ago (best thing I ever did) and the company paid for a pack-up / move / unpack moving company but my firearms all came with me in the Explorer. I didn't have many so they fit in two of the plastic rectangular rifle cases. If I'd had a bigger collection I would have put the long guns on the truck and just kept the handguns with me.


The company would not move anything explosive so they wouldn't transport ammunition, powder, etc.
 
I moved from Rochester to Tucson in the mid 70's and lived there til 5 years ago. I sold out and had to move back here to help take care of my parents aged 89 and 91. I used a Ryder or some other flavor of moving van both ways. I simple put all my guns in cases and loaded them on the truck first followed by tons of furniture, clothes etc.
It is perfectly legal to move long guns through any State in this Country (handguns being an exception). I just figured even if stopped for some reason, I doubted that any Cop would want to remove all the stuff I had loaded in to "inspect" I guess if the guy that rented the truck just before you was hauling drugs and the Cop had a drug dog, you might have a problem. :D
In time I expect to be making the trip one last time to Tucson.
 
It's also legal to move handguns between states under the Federal laws. The guns have to be unloaded in the trunk or locked in a way they are not accessible to the driver or passengers. Ammo should also be stored separately. The problem comes in only if you are letting someone else transport the handguns in a state like NY where you must have a permit to even possess a handgun and even then it is limited to the guns with the serial numbers listed on your permit. If doing the move yourself there is no problem.
 
If you have a friend who is a L.E.O. he could legally escort or ride in the truck to the state line covering the firearms under his badge. A NYS law enforcement badge can cover any handgun as an open license. Many do this for families when the permit holder becomes deceased until a family member can become licensed to legally obtain the firearms.

kenny b
 
Hey, wait for me! I live in Western NY and now I want to go to AZ also!
Click to expand...

Funny I now live in Arizona and can't wait for the day I can return to Chautaugua for a deer season or a glass of real water.

The only two things I really miss.

kenny b
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top