Maine ( and MA ) firearms laws ?

[outofbattery]

A friend of mine that I took shooting at our range here in MA has invited me up to Maine for skeet on his property and asked if I'd bring some of my handguns and an AR-15 to try . Does having the pistols and long guns in locked cases behind the seat of my truck make me legal in ME ?
He's a short distance from the Kittery Trading Post which I've heard of but never been to and I have a hard time coming out of gun shops empty handed . I've been told that it's easy and legal to buy long guns in ME/NH , just that I have to register the gun with the MA state police when I get home . Is anyone familiar with that process ? If it matters , I have my MA A LTC and a NH non-resident carry permit .

Thanks

 

[cslinger]

The 86 FOPA, firearms owners protection act was actually put in place to protect us in situations just like you describe. Those AH just attached the closing of the MG registry to it but I digress.

Anyway federal law states that as long as the firearms are legal in your starting point and legal in your ending point you are allowed to transport them without fear of local laws. Now of course the firearms must be cased, locked, unloaded and well out of driver and passenger and drivers easy reach and ammo should be stored in a seperate container. Leave all magazines, spead loaders, clips etc. completely unloaded as well.

Now apparently NY has been pulling some shennanigans regarding this and has arrested a few people but I don't have all the facts but in the end Federal Law trumps state law. You should have no trouble in ME.

Once again make sure the weapons are completely unloaded as are all feeding devices. I sometimes even field strip to an extent just in case I happen to get a real ignoramus I can always argue to Judge and Jury that not only was I following the law, I went above and beyond to keep the officer and public safe....blah...blah etc.

Chris

 

[jamz]

Hahaha, take at least a thousand bucks with you when you go to the Kittery trading post. Bring a lot of hankies so you can cry into them at the number of handguns you can't bring back to MA. (IIRC, you can buy them, you just can;t legally bring them back to MA).

The thousand bucks is for the racks and racks and racks (did I say racks?) of long guns.

I think that for MA you have to have the long gun unloaded and enclosed in a lockable case. In ME, I think it's just unloaded and stick it anywhere.

I'd check with their state regs though to be sure. www.packing.org might have some summaries too.

-James

 

[Tory]

Check FIRST!

As Massachusetts has NO reciprocity, it is not likely your Mass. LTC will be useful in Maine. Moreover, you are taking handguns and not hunting, so there is no hunting exemption to apply (if Maine even has one).

Further, the FOPA requires the gun owner to be legal BOTH where the trip started and where it will end. See above.

Finally you don't "register the gun with the MA state police." You need to file the transfer form, FA-10, with the CHSB in Chelsea.

Do you belong to GOAL? IF not, why not? It would help you with these issues.

 

[Chipperman]

As stated above, you cannot CCW in Maine with either a MA or NH license.
You can CCW thru MA and NH, stop at the border of ME and unload. Have all firearms unloaded and locked in the trunk.

You can buy long guns in ME and transport them to MA. You cannot buy any handguns and bring them back (unless you have a C&R license, and they are C&R guns). My advice would be to buy at least one Pre-ban gun and bring it back into MA. It's fine to bring in Pre-bans that were made pre-94, and regular capacity mags that were made then.

###You cannot bring in any new-manufacture regular capacity mags, or any newly made long guns with Pre-ban features!! ###

File a FA-10 for each firearm brought back.

 

[outofbattery]

I don't plan on carrying concealed in ME so that shouldn't be an issue . I was aware of FOPA but did not know if/how that would relate as I'm travelling to ME for the purpose of using them there . I was aware of GOAL and have no excuse why I've never joined , but copied the membership pdf and will be sending it in .
So : pre-ban + normal mags are OK , anything 94+ can't be brought into MA unless the mags are pre-94 as well , however that is determined if they are or aren't ?


thanks again for the replies .

 

[jdkelly]

I'm not sure about this.....

I think that you can transport through NH (or any other state) if your guns and ammo are in locked up separately. [and you can own them in your home state, and they are legal in the state you want to use them in]

You might have a problem if you bring a longgun or a handgun into Maine and are not going to hunt or shoot at a "Advertised" shoot. Shooting at a club as a guest or in a sand pit with a local might not be legal.


Respectfully,

jdkelly

 

[Jon3]

You should apply for your NH and ME permits. They're quite easy to obtain, and they get you some reciprocity that your MA permit does not!

While you're at it, you should grab FL as well. See packing.org for details.

 

[Chipperman]

He already has the NH permit. That doesn't help him for ME, however.

"So : pre-ban + normal mags are OK , anything 94+ can't be brought into MA unless the mags are pre-94 as well , however that is determined if they are or aren't ? "

You are correct. As far as determining whether mags are Pre-94 or not, that's between you and ATF. If they have no date code, and hi-caps were available Pre-94 then I should think you'd be ok. There's no way you can convince them that your FN Five-Seven mags are Pre-ban, though.

 

[sigman4rt]

If the firearms are unloaded and locked in the trunk, or out of the drivers reach, you should have no problem in Maine. Keep the ammo separate. You don't need to be going to a shoot to transport in Maine.

 

[DryDock]

Hi All, I'm brand new here as this is my first post. If you just keep your fire arms unloaded and cased you'll be all set. Also Maine has no reciprocity with anyone . have fun & be safe.

 

[jamz]

I didn't think you needed any sort of license in Maine other than for hunting and CCW. So I think as long as you pack it away unloaded, you can do whatever you want.