Options for Storing My M4 While in California

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  • MDHunter

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 12, 2007
    1,207
    Free America
    I will be spending several months in Cali at my girlfriend's house while we build a home in Tennessee. Unless I am misinterpreting the current California firearm laws, I can't bring my M4 with me and have it there...

    if my interpretation is correct, what are my best options for storing my M4 for several months? Is there any law against leaving it with a friend in Maryland, if the friend has a clean record? If I shipped to an FFL in Tennessee, do FFLs offer any type of temp storage service?

    Just want to understand my options for the M4 if I can't bring into Cali. Thanks.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,176
    Sun City West, AZ
    Store it in a locker at the bus station. :lol:

    I see no reason why you can't leave it with a friend in MD...even if you want to consider it a transfer it's a face-to-face transaction which is non-regulated.
     

    danb

    dont be a dumbass
    Feb 24, 2013
    22,704
    google is your friend, I am not.
    FFLs do offer storage services. You have to call and ask about pricing. Since you are talking about shipping, I assume its a semi auto. If its a real m4 with full giggle switch or an NFA item though thats a bigger problem.



    "While you are building a home"... where is your stuff going? To CA then TN? Is it staying in MD? Are you renting a place or storage locker in TN?
     

    MDHunter

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 12, 2007
    1,207
    Free America
    It is a semi auto, I bought it just before FSA 2013 was enacted.

    I rented a 9' cargo van and took 1 load of stuff down to a storage facility in south Tennessee last week. I am not taking any of my furniture and have never been a packrat, so that helped a lot. I will be driving my car to California when I go, with the remainder of the things I am keeping. We are keeping a lot more of my GF's furniture and things, so the move from Cali to TN will require movers and more work.

    If there are no legal issues with leaving it with a friend in MD until we are settled in TN, that would be my preferred option. Per Bob's reply above, sounds that that may be an option....

    Thanks as always for the quick and informed replies guys.
     

    danb

    dont be a dumbass
    Feb 24, 2013
    22,704
    google is your friend, I am not.
    So, the reason I asked about the locker is that my informed opinion is that a lot of of storage lockers have guns in them. My educated guess is that a lot more storage lockers in TN have guns than in MD. Many storage lockers have a lot more valuables than guns, and in TN a gun is pretty ho-hum. Just saying.
     

    cantstop

    Pentultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 10, 2012
    8,159
    MD
    Pop the upper off and let your friend store the lower. You can take the upper with you to Cali (it's not a gun) or store it in your locker. Write up a letter that you and your buddy sign so that he agrees it is just a loan and there are no misunderstandings down the road.

    Buy your buddy a decent bottle of bourbon for his help. :)
     

    MDHunter

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 12, 2007
    1,207
    Free America
    So, the reason I asked about the locker is that my informed opinion is that a lot of of storage lockers have guns in them. My educated guess is that a lot more storage lockers in TN have guns than in MD. Many storage lockers have a lot more valuables than guns, and in TN a gun is pretty ho-hum. Just saying.

    Thanks Dan. I thought about that, but the storage unit in TN (like most storage units I have used) was a little dustier than I would prefer for storing a firearm. I know I could seal it up well, but leaving it with my buddy is the preferred option to that in my mind.
     

    MDHunter

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 12, 2007
    1,207
    Free America
    Pop the upper off and let your friend store the lower. You can take the upper with you to Cali (it's not a gun) or store it in your locker. Write up a letter that you and your buddy sign so that he agrees it is just a loan and there are no misunderstandings down the road.

    Buy your buddy a decent bottle of bourbon for his help. :)

    I am treating my buddy and his son to an Alaskan caribou hunt in a few years, so I think I can lean on him to store 1 semiauto rifle for me for a year or so... :)
     

    Nickberg500

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 20, 2019
    1,064
    North of Baltimore County
    The original wording of Atterbeary's long gun transfer bill would have made lending your firearms illegal. Luckily (most) of the Republican representatives worked to strip that part out, which made her throw a temper tantrum online.
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    Loaning it to your friend is no problem as long as he is not a prohibited person. I would write up a page that says it is a loan for use at his discretion, include identifying information about item(s), duration of loan, and make copies. This will protect each of you should the arrangement ever come into question. IANAL
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    All you really need to do is store the lower, incidentally. You should be able to take the upper to Cali. Maybe you could do a Cali-compliant lower build while you're out there.
     

    1841DNG

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 17, 2016
    1,143
    If it is pre 2013 is it in a grandfathered config that you can't leave with a friend?
     

    Topher

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 8, 2008
    4,817
    Fredneck
    Pre-2013 makes it tricky.
    Do NOT do any transfer paperwork.

    I think you can loan it to a friend but the friend can not take possession thru a legal transfer.

    Maybe a secure storage facility with other items. Many have 24/7 security and climate-controlled.
     

    MDHunter

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 12, 2007
    1,207
    Free America
    If it is pre 2013 is it in a grandfathered config that you can't leave with a friend?

    Here is a pic, not sure if any of this counts as a grandfathered config...
     

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