Travel to/through MA with Garand rifle?

[D.B. Cooper]

I'll be flying into Boston this summer, renting a car, and then driving up to NH to visit family. I'm considering bring my WWII M1 Garand along with me. What issues might I have with the following:

On my last visit, my uncle, a Korean War veteran and now in his mid 80s, commented he'd like to see/shoot a Garand again, so I thought I would bring mine and take him to a range in NH one day during my visit. This would require me to get the rifle from the airline on arrival and get it out of the state. It would also require me to get the rifle back into the state and checked into he airline and through security on the way out. (I did the last part on my last trip with two Winchester 94's - gifts from two of my other uncles.)

A second thought: Springfield Armory is in Mass, and I would like to pay a visit. My girlfriend asked "Are you taking your gun there?" (I hadn't event thought of it myself.) A sort of "My M1 Rifle comes home" kind of thing. Probably nothing more than I get out of the car at the sign that says "Springfield Armory" and my son takes a photo of me and the rifle in front of the sign. (If this become a serious idea, I'll probably write to the Park Service people who run the Armory now and et their input.) What are your thoughts on this? What kind of trouble would I be asking for?

 

[627PCFan]

I'll be flying into Boston this summer, renting a car, and then driving up to NH to visit family. I'm considering bring my WWII M1 Garand along with me. What issues might I have with the following:

On my last visit, my uncle, a Korean War veteran and now in his mid 80s, commented he'd like to see/shoot a Garand again, so I thought I would bring mine and take him to a range in NH one day during my visit. This would require me to get the rifle from the airline on arrival and get it out of the state. It would also require me to get the rifle back into the state and checked into he airline and through security on the way out. (I did the last part on my last trip with two Winchester 94's - gifts from two of my other uncles.)

A second thought: Springfield Armory is in Mass, and I would like to pay a visit. My girlfriend asked "Are you taking your gun there?" (I hadn't event thought of it myself.) A sort of "My M1 Rifle comes home" kind of thing. Probably nothing more than I get out of the car at the sign that says "Springfield Armory" and my son takes a photo of me and the rifle in front of the sign. (If this become a serious idea, I'll probably write to the Park Service people who run the Armory now and et their input.) What are your thoughts on this? What kind of trouble would I be asking for?

 

[627PCFan]

No ,FOID card from mass...don't even think about it. Period

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I thought there was a law that allowed you to at least pass through a state with your firearm, without staying overnight. That would still mess me up for visiting the Armory as I wouldn't be "passing through." But I don't even remember where I read that. Obviously it was on the internet, so it must be true. lol

 

[edwardware]

I thought there was a law that allowed you to at least pass through a state with your firearm, without staying overnight.

As they say on TV, "Save it for the judge!" You can tell the judge all about it at your bond hearing.

Even if Peaceable Journey applied (which it doesn't once you stop at Springfield), the Mass Staties have the ugliest of reputations about this.

Fly into Manchester, or ship the rifle. Live free or Die!

 

[F-111 John]

From the NRA-ILA:

Guide To The Interstate Transportation Of Firearms
:
MASSACHUSETTS—Massachusetts imposes harsh penalties on the mere possession and transport of firearms unrelated to criminal or violent conduct. Prospective travelers are urged to contact the Massachusetts Firearms Records Bureau at (617)660-4780 or the State Police at http://www.mass.gov/msp/firearms/ for further information.​

In the past, restrictive states such as New York have treated the Firearm Owners Protection Act interstate travel provisions as a positive defense to the charge of illegal weapon possession. This means that you get arrested and jailed, the guns are confiscated, you are arraigned at a preliminary hearing, hopefully are granted bail, return for a criminal court date, then at trial you can cite the FOPA as a positive defense against the charges, hopefully to have the charges dismissed.

An alternative is to ship the gun addressed to yourself C/O your uncle's address. When you are ready to return home, you ship the rifle back to your home address.

Hopping out of the car to pose with your rifle in front of the Springfield Armory is grounds for immediate arrest, with no FOPA protection, as the gun must be locked in a case at all times while in transit in order to comply with the provisions of the law.

 

[Salmoneye]

Fly into BTV

That would be Burlington, VT

 

[BSA1]

Also consider what laws apply if your flight gets diverted and lands in New York City.

 

[edwardware]

Also consider what laws apply if your flight gets diverted and lands in New York City.

It's an interesting question. I've handled it two ways in Boston and New Jersey:
1) Retrieve bag from general baggage claim, and drive home.
2) Drive, and depend on the airline to do their job and forward the bag to my ticketed final destination in Manchester, NH.

Today, if my flight were diverted to Boston or Newark, I would not claim the bag in state. I would drive, and inform the airline that I had to get going before the bag made it, and would they please deliver it to my ticketed destination airport.

If I don't possess the bag in MA, or better yet am not in MA by the time someone asks, then I can't possibly be in possession of the gun in the bag in MA. It's not bullet proof, but it's a good start.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

See link http://www.stockbridgesportsmensclub.org/id35.html

It would seem you may travel w/ a non-high c ap rifle into Mass for purposes of target shooting. I've never been there myself, but info is out there. As for what you'd plan at SA, you'd best call ahead---that is a Federal site and they may not be entirely receptive---or, they might have a thought such as removing the firing pin or bolt. I'd get it in writing, personally, beforehand. Sounds like a great idea.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

An alternative is to ship the gun addressed to yourself C/O your uncle's address. When you are ready to return home, you ship the rifle back to your home address.

That is never an option, and I have no idea where people get this from. Yes, I know there is a law someplace that provides for this. Yes, I know people claim to have done it. I have tried it, many times, from post offices in different states. I have never, not one single time, found any employee of the post office, anywhere, at any level who would accept a firearm (long gun or hand gun) for delivery from me to me. I have never seen it happen. It's like a unicorn; supposedly, they exist, but I've never seen one. I eventually stopped trying.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

In the past, restrictive states such as New York have treated the Firearm Owners Protection Act interstate travel provisions as a positive defense to the charge of illegal weapon possession. This means that you get arrested and jailed, the guns are confiscated, you are arraigned at a preliminary hearing, hopefully are granted bail, return for a criminal court date, then at trial you can cite the FOPA as a positive defense against the charges, hopefully to have the charges dismissed.

If this is true, why didn't they arrest me at Boston-Logan the moment I declared my two Winchesters at the ticket counter?

 

[ilbob]

Don't quote me on this, but IIRC, MA exempts nonresidents from the license law WRT rifles and shotguns as long as they are encased and unloaded, and not "assault" weapons.

 

[Frank Ettin]

If this is true, why didn't they arrest me at Boston-Logan the moment I declared my two Winchesters at the ticket counter?

Anecdotes are not data. And ther have been some very unsatisfactory decision on the FOPA in the Second and Third Circuits.

 

[shafter]

Taking the rifle out to pose for a photo is a bad idea in Mass. Don't do it. I probably wouldn't even bring it with me.

 

[jrmiddleton425]

The problem you'll run into, I suspect, is that the Armory site is entirely contained within the campus of Springfield Technical Community College. I'm going to take a wild guess and say unless you fall under some exception, you can't bring a rifle there.

SEE Mass General Law, Part IV, Title I, Chapter 269, Section 10 (j):

Whoever, not being a law enforcement officer and notwithstanding any license obtained by the person pursuant to chapter 140, carries on the person a firearm, loaded or unloaded, or other dangerous weapon in any building or on the grounds of any elementary or secondary school, college or university without the written authorization of the board or officer in charge of the elementary or secondary school, college or university shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or both.

Emphasis mine: A law enforcement officer may arrest without a warrant and detain a person found carrying a firearm in violation of this paragraph.

Cool idea to bring your rifle...ALSO A VERY BAD IDEA.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

The problem you'll run into, I suspect, is that the Armory site is entirely contained within the campus of Springfield Technical Community College. I'm going to take a wild guess and say unless you fall under some exception, you can't bring a rifle there.

So I was completely unaware of this. I knew the Armory was now a National Historic Site and, therefore, under the auspices of the National Park Service, but I didn't know that it was also part of a college campus. I think we can pretty much lay this idea to rest. Perhaps I'll be able to photoshop such a picture, not that it would mean anything.

Cool idea to bring your rifle...ALSO A VERY BAD IDEA.

Thanks. It wasn't even my idea; it was my girlfriend's idea. I wouldn't have thought of this on my own.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Don't quote me on this, but IIRC, MA exempts nonresidents from the license law WRT rifles and shotguns as long as they are encased and unloaded, and not "assault" weapons.

Any idea on how I can verify that? And on what constitutes "assault weapon?" Is a Garand an assault weapon (has a bayonet lug) in Mass-land?

 

[shooter1niner]

How about this,

Remove the bolt from the Garand. Mail it priority/insured ahead to your destination. What you now have is a Garand without a bolt, therefore it is no longer a firearm but merely parts. The definition of a firearm has something to do with being able discharge, propel yada, yada, yada. I think you know what I mean.

Continue to march...

 

[Wisco]

How about this,

Remove the bolt from the Garand. Mail it priority/insured ahead to your destination. What you now have is a Garand without a bolt, therefore it is no longer a firearm but merely parts. The definition of a firearm has something to do with being able discharge, propel yada, yada, yada. I think you know what I mean.

Continue to march...

The receiver is the firearm. The bolt has nothing to do with it.

 

[shooter1niner]

About 5 yrs. ago I was going to travel into and through Ma. to buy a fully functional M1A. After a few calls to various Ma. state LE agencies almost all said "diasaasembled, in a locked case on an interstate hwy. is good to go". No side trips or overnight stays permitted, travel through to destination only. That is a federal law.

 

[Frank Ettin]

.....What you now have is a Garand without a bolt, therefore it is no longer a firearm but merely parts.......

Nope. See 18 USC 921(a)(3), emphasis added:

(3) The term “firearm” means (A) any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; (B) the frame or receiver of any such weapon; (C) any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or (D) any destructive device. Such term does not include an antique firearm.

 

[DukeConnor]

I like the idea of taking the old vet out to shoot . I would try to find a CMP affiliated club in his area. Call and explain to them what you are trying to do. I would bet they would love to help you out.

 

[shooter1niner]

How about this:

18 U.S. Code § 926A - Interstate transportation of firearms

• US Code
• Notes
• Authorities (CFR)

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Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.

(Added Pub. L. 99–360, § 1(a), July 8, 1986, 100 Stat. 766.)

 

[SharpDog]

List of airports in New Hampshire:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_New_Hampshire