Question on recieving a few family guns. Need advice and citations or references to official docs.

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Hi all.

I have searched around and have not been able to find the answer that I am looking for, so hopefully someone with a bit more experience can lend a hand.

I am just getting back into firearm ownership and shooting sports since last enjoying the sport since I was a kid. I have in my family a few firearms that my decessed Grandfather wanted me to have. These range from 1800s Austrian shotguns, to pre-war .22 match rifles, to a couple of Colt handguns and a luger. These handguns are the subject of my question. They currently are in the possession of my father, who inherited my Grandfather's property. He has offered to give or sell the two pistols to me in the near future. However, he has major concerns about legality and registration. He refuses to believe that he could just give me the rifles even. He wants to see a "pamphlet" or something similar from the state or CSP stating transfer rules and laws. He thinks is it a complicated tast, where based on my understanding of the law, registering the long-guns with an FFL will just make MORE work than needed. Here are the facts:

Dad wants to give me a couple of inherited old pistols in minty condition.

I applied for my Concealed Carry last week. Have taken the NRA course, background, prints, yadda, yadda. Am 27 years old, no criminal or psyche background what so ever. I expect to be lic'd within by August 1st.

Dad does not have a Concealed Carry Lic. Guns never leave house obviously. They are just an old WWII Vet's/LEO booty.

We are both CT resident.

As far as we know there was never any "paperwork" filed on these guns. The newest is maybe from the mid-60s and appears to never have been fired. If there had been, we would not know where to look.



So, can anyone point me in the direction of a state statute to quote, or maybe there is a "pamphlet" to obtain. Neither of us like the idea of calling the PD/CSP as they would probably invite us to "bring it down for a look":uhoh:
Furthermore, does anyone know what the proper thing to do would be? I suspect at MINIMUM, that I have to wait until I recieve my CCW permit, which makes absolute sense, but what do I do from there? Neither of us want to break the law here, but I dont want to open a can of worms by trying to register some old pistols with very menacing nationalist engraving and no history other than a few war stories followed by 60 years in a sock-drawer.

I want these guns, badly. Dad wants to do everything "right." I dont blame him for acting like a boyscout, since thats where we both learned to shoot:lol: Where do I start?

One of them is a VERY nice .22LR 10 shot Colt semiauto match pistol. I am very much looking forward to putting some serious range-time on this gun and getting back into the sport the right way. By mastering the lower calibers completely before I start spinning the big wheelgun I would also be getting. I tried shooting a .40S&W Glock 27 this weekend, and it was very apparent that like anything, you have to master the basics. But man that BOOOM! was fun!:celebrate:

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Welcome, I am sure someone here will chime in and point you to the right direction, you can actually find information on the DPS site, oh by the way, I am looking to start a Colt collection :lol:as you said I have a G27 and it takes some getting used to.

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Sorry double post erased

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I'm not all that knowledgeable about this stuff but can point you to some areas that mayhave the info you seek.

For general firearms information see this link: http://www.ct.gov/dps/cwp/view.asp?a=2158&q=294488

And there is also this link to CT laws about firearms: http://www.jud.state.ct.us/lawlib/Law/firearms.htm

Good luck trying to decipher the firearms laws though.

I doesn't hurt to call a few local gun shops and ask them. They'll probably tell you to use a FFLperson for alltransfers and sales. And you will be charged a fee (from what I understand it varies between FFL person).In asking around a month or so agoabout both instate and out of state gun transfers between family members this is basically what I've been told. You will find thatyou will get many different answers depending on who you speak with. When Iasked questions to thegun shops, the localPD and the State Firearms guys,I was amazed to get conflicting and contradictory responses to my questions.

• A sale/transfer of a handgun MUST be done by an FFL person. You can have a family member out of state send the gun via FFL in their state to an FFL person in CT. Or, and I don't know if this is legal if the family member doesn't have a CT pistol permit, have the family member bring the gun into CT and do a sale/transferwith an instate FFL person.The big question I cannot get anyone to definitively answeris what happens if the person who currently has possession of the handgun doesn't have a valid CT pistol permit.
• Long guns (rifles and shotguns) are different and those can be transfered (from what I understand) between Parent and Child, or between Grandparent and Grand child WITHOUT having to use an FFL person.But, again from what I understand,selling/transferring a long gun between other family members (between cousins for example)do require an FFL person.
• In all cases if selling or transferring a handgun the person buying or receiving the handgun in CTMUST have a valid CT pistol permit. The only exemption (I know of)is a temporary transfer (like at a gun range) between licensed and unlicensed people.
• When buying a long gun you are supposed to wait 14 days, however if you hold a valid CT pistol permit that waiting period is waived.
• There is no wait period for buying handguns with a valid CT pistol permit.
• It is illegal to buy a handgun without a valid CT pistol permit
• There is no limit on the number of long guns or hand guns you can buy when you have a valid CT pistol permit. (I bought several handguns within hours of receiving my pistol permit from the State Police.)
• A valid CT permit is good for five years and can be renewed if the holder moves out of state or moves to another residence in state. In both cases the permit holder must submit a change of address request within 48 hours of the move to the State Police Firearms unit (see the above links for more information).
• All the above is predicated on being over 18 and to not be in violation of any state laws that would prohibit one from owning or possessing a firearm. See the links above for disqualifying offences on firearm possession and ownership.

And on a side note, you indicated you have applied to your town for the pistol permit, be warned that even though it's only supposed to take two months (according to the paperwork) for towns to process the paperwork for their temporary permit, some towns like New Haven will take considerably longer (as in five or six months) to process the paperwork.

Now for the disclaimer to everything I've posted above: I am not a lawyer so when in doubt contact a local gun shop, the local PD, State Firearms Unit, or a lawyer who deals with this kind of stuff.

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Thank goodness for South Carolina laws on this. I have been through this and here you just load them up in your car trunk and carry them home. No paperwork to worry with. However you may want something in writing in case someone else in the family complains and tries to claim they were supposed to get Grandaddy's guns. When my Grandmother died some of the family wanted to know what happened to my Grandfather's guns. I didn't say a word but he had given them to me 30 years earlier and they are safely in my house.

Since bothin the OP are CT residents there shouldn't be a big problem but I don't have any idea.

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PT111 wrote:

Thank goodness for South Carolina laws on this.  I have been through this and here you just load them up in your car trunk and carry them home.  No paperwork to worry with.  However you may want something in writing in case someone else in the family complains and tries to claim they were supposed to get Grandaddy's guns.  When my Grandmother died some of the family wanted to know what happened to my Grandfather's guns.  I didn't say a word but he had given them to me 30 years earlier and they are safely in my house.

Since both in the OP are CT residents there shouldn't be a big problem but I don't have any idea.

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heh, yeah, well I am getting the "leftovers" actually. The auction guys got the motherload years back. Too bad I didnt speak up then, but I was in college and a silly liberal then. Then I started paying taxes.......So now I've found my interest in guns rekindled, and in a position to buy and fire them:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate

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PT111 wrote:

Thank goodness for South Carolina laws on this.  I have been through this and here you just load them up in your car trunk and carry them home.  No paperwork to worry with.  However you may want something in writing in case someone else in the family complains and tries to claim they were supposed to get Grandaddy's guns.  When my Grandmother died some of the family wanted to know what happened to my Grandfather's guns.  I didn't say a word but he had given them to me 30 years earlier and they are safely in my house.

Since both in the OP are CT residents there shouldn't be a big problem but I don't have any idea.

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Ok, I think this is what I am looking for unless someone can point to something more specific regarding pistols in particular. I would much rather have an FFL handle it and get it done right. $25-$50 is a hell of a lot cheaper than a lawyer, and a whole hell of a lot cheaper than buying myself a .22 pistol to practice with, because I know I need one. Is the FFL transfer usually charged per gun or for just a lot? Cant wait!

As far as my lic taking time. Who knows. Manchester has a reputation of taking a long time and I have seen stories on the net of Chief Barry gruffly questioning the applicants. But there are just as many people saying they got theirs in 3-4 weeks in town. So who knows....I guess I'll have to wait. But I have a Ruger 10/22 and a cheapo SKS that I bought and am just waiting for the 14 day waiting period to go pick up. Between that and my target air-rifle I should be able to contain my enthusiasm.:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate

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That firearm purchased in the 60's is probably on a police list in the town of the purchaser if it was purchased from a firearms dealer. I remember a detective pulling up a list of every firearm I had ever purchased when I lived in Bridgeport.

As far as the long guns go, it's probably wise to submit a "Transfer of Firearms" to the local Police Departments for any firearm that may be registered.

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Long guns can be transferred legally with no paperwork. They recommend that you file paperwork, but personally I'd definitely not do that if it was me. In my opinion, registration=future confiscation list. There is no need for them to know what guns you have...no reason that benefits you at least.
Handguns need to have paperwork in CT.

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Purchased handguns need paperwork, what if you brought a handgun into the state that didn't have any paperwork on it in the first place? Do you need to turn the info into DPS? What if you lived out west somewhere and purchased a pistol from a private party at a gun show?

I've wondered how all these illegal pistols (confiscated from criminals or retrieved at the scene) came to be. Isn't there any paperwork on them?

If only the law abiding people register their guns, when the powers that be decide that the public needs to be disarmed "for their own good" then the registration list becomes a confiscation list and then the only one with weapons are the police and the criminals. How does that help anyone?

I've been reading a lot on the CGS page about firearm laws and I've never seen that particular item addressed in detail.

Perhaps the paperwork thing is more of a batfe requirement so that the state doesn't bother writing it into their laws? It's been informative reading for sure but I wind up with more questions than when I started.

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If a firearm is purchased from a dealer in Connecticut, the police department in the purchaser's town gets the info. That applies to pistols, rifles or shotguns. A detective in the last town I lived in showed me the records of every firearm I purchased from a dealer dating back to the early 1960's. If you sell or give away any firearm that has been purchased from a dealer, you need to fill out a state Transfer of Firearms slip and register it with your town's police department to take any liability off of you.

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There is no Batfe requirement for paperwork on private sales, or gifts. Only on sales by FFL dealers. CT requires that there be paperwork on handguns in all sales, ffl or private, but not on long guns(ETA) in private sales.
As to liability, if they come to you and ask where your rifle is, you tell them you sold it in a private sale with no paperwork. You don't even have to tell them who you sold it to, and there is no liability for any crime on you. If it is used in a crime, then you become a dead end lead unless you choose to tell them who you sold it to, if you even retained that information, which you are not required to.

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i did it myself when my father died.



ADPS-67-C and aDPS-3-C (4 copies) must be completed. The seller of the handgun must contact the Special Licensing and Firearms Unit at (860) 685-8400, or 1-(888) 335-8438 and obtain an authorization number for that sale. This number is to be added to both forms. The DPS-67-C is to be retained by the seller for 20 years. The seller should retain the original copy their records, give one copy to the purchaser as a receipt, submit one copy to the local police authority where the purchaser resides and submit a final copy to the Commissioner of Public Safety.

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Bmoore wrote:

i did it myself when my father died.

 

A DPS-67-C and a DPS-3-C (4 copies) must be completed. The seller of the handgun must contact the Special Licensing and Firearms Unit at (860) 685-8400, or 1-(888) 335-8438 and obtain an authorization number for that sale. This number is to be added to both forms. The DPS-67-C is to be retained by the seller for 20 years. The seller should retain the original copy their records, give one copy to the purchaser as a receipt, submit one copy to the local police authority where the purchaser resides and submit a final copy to the Commissioner of Public Safety.

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Not to harp on the point, but notice this is referring to *handguns* only. For long guns (rifles and shotguns) you are only required to not have knowledge that the person is prohibited from owning them. I assume you and your dad are not felons, or labeled "mentally defective" by a court, are under restraining orders or have been forcibly placed in a mental institution within the last 20 years, which means you can gift them, sell them or do the transfer however you want, just like you can with any other personal possession.

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but don't forget..you can have a handgun in your home or business without any permit.....does this mean i can give a friend a handgun to keep at there home so long as they are not prohibited from having one??? i have wondered this...

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It is my understanding that all handgun transfers require paperwork per CT law. And the paperwork requires the permit number of the receiver.
I just noticed that the original poster is asking about handguns... woops! Sorry to get so long winded about the long guns without paperwork, but it pains me to see people putting guns on the big brother confiscation watch list needlessly.
You can do handgun transfers privately, but the paperwork described a few posts up is required. Personally, I'd be inclined to do it through an ffl, so that he has to keep the records for 20 years, not you. They will charge a fee.