Out of State Ammo Purchase?

k_dawg

New member
I have a question on the legality of ammo purchases.

Many internet/mail order places will not ship Ammo to certain states. Assuming it is legal for the individual to own and purchase ammo; is it legal to purchase mail order ammo, and have it shipped to another state?For example, if its legal for a citizen of California to purchase and own ammo, but the mail order dealer will not ship to California; can he have it shipped to an address in Nevada, and go pick it up?

If not, is there any limits on 'strawman purchases' for ammo? I.e. one person buys it, with the intent to resell it/give it to another individual?

[ if it makes a difference, i'm talking about plain old ammo, not incindierares, tracers, etc ]
 
Last edited:

Colonel Klink

New member
If there is a law that says you can't have xxx ammo that means you can't have xxx ammo. It doesn't matter how you get it - it's still against the law.

This doesn't mean you can't have xxx ammo. It just means that no matter how you get it it is still against the law.

If you are talking about self-defense ammo, DO NOT BUY IT!!!

If you ever have to shoot someone and have illegal ammo they will put you in jail and throw away the key.

Did I make this clear?
 

USP45usp

Moderator
K,

Sure, it would be legal for the shipment to be sent to an out of state area and even for you to own it while you are in that state that the ammo was sent to.

But (I'm guessing that you live in a non-xxx ammo state) when you cross the state line, you are now a criminal.

Sucks, yeah. Would I do it, yeah, would I advocate it, no. If it is illegal, then it is illegal, vote people in (or run yourself) that think the same as you do.

The one and only thing that you have to ask yourself is this, if you do the crime (no matter how unConstitutional it is) are you willing to do the time?

Another route that you may try, which as far as I know is legal, is reloading your own. Even California, time being, allows for reloads.

The only thing that I can say is that if you wish for the Freedom but don't wish to pay the price then to move (the price being that you spend most to all of your spare time fighting, showing up at meetings, spending money).

No one here is going to advocate breaking the law but we will advocate voting for change. It's an individual choice of what one is going to do and how to do it, legally or not.

I suggest that you do what you want, don't broadcast it over the net, and hope that you're a small enough fry to get away with it.

All actions of an idividual is the action of the individual.

Wayne
 

k_dawg

New member
I guess my question was not phrased right.

The ammo is PERFECTLY legal in the state. It is only that mail/internet orders refuse to do business there.

i.e. you can walk into any store in thestate, and buy the EXACT same ammo.

The reason why I am asking is, you can save a *BUNDLE* by buying thru CheaperThanDirt, Midway, etc. But they do not ship to all states, even thou that ammo is perfectly legal.

For example: Standard 230grain ball .45acp ammo. You can order via the web for around $155/1K. But, buying the exact same ammo in a store at california, will run you over $300/1K.

I am *NOT* *NOT**NOT**NOT* talking about obtaining ammunition that is itself illegal to own, or by a person who can not legally obtain/purchase ammo. ONLY about saving some money.
 

2002gti

New member
im in cali too and i do what i must to get what i need. its gonna be real hard for THEM to prove any shenanagins. just do what you need to do and dont worry about it. have you heard of THEM trying to serialize all ammunition?, then it'll be a little tougher but still hard to prove.
 
Maybe you should order it through an FFL that they do not mind shipping to. You might have to "bite the bullet" when it comes to a fee, but with today's gas prices, it might be about the same as the cost of a drive to Nevada.
 

USP45usp

Moderator
K,

I take it with your edits that even through the state that you are in allows ammo to be sold, it restricts you from buying from internet sites.

So therefore, the ammo that you buy in the store is legal but to buy it online is illegal.

There is a difference or else you would not be asking this question.

So therefore, most to all of the replies still stand.

Do what you feel is right for you and quit going online to ask a question, get ticked off by the replies, and then feel that you have to enlarge the text in order to get your point across.

The simple question is this: Why do the internet sites refuse to ship to your state? 99.99% of the time it's because it's illegal to ship bulk to the state so therefore, it is illegal and you buying, having it shipped to another state, and then taking it into the state may well be considered illegal.

If they don't have a limit on how much ammo you can buy in another state and bring home to your state then what is the meaning of the question, just do it.

Geez.

Wayne
 

Handy

Moderator
I guess I don't see the problem. I just used the Midway shipping calculator on a box of .45 to Sacramento - no problem.

Cheaperthandirt: "Ammo restrictions: We do not sell ammunition to Massachusetts; New York City; Washington, DC; or Cook County, Illinois."

Who won't ship to Cali? Midway and CTD appear to.
 

cuate

Moderator
Out of State Ammo Purchase

I feel for you People that live in those areas, but I know you have jobs and families and other ties there and you can't just up and go to a free area. It is understandable that there are more goblins in the heavy "gun controlled"
states and you probably need more protection from the goblins than we in the free areas.

How often do we see headlines like,"Former Marine kills intruder, veritable arsenal and stockpile of ammunition found in his home"? When it consists of a handgun, a .22, and a shotgun with a few boxes of shells?

Sometimes an illegal is merely a sick bird!
 

Kayser

New member
Note - as far as I know there are precious few states in the country where mail-order ammo sales are illegal. If you go to Cheaperthandirt, the only places they list as no-sale are

Alaska (I'm betting because of cost/distance)
Hawaii (same)
Massachusets
New York City
Washington, DC
Cook County, Illinois

I live in Illinois, which is right up there with the absolute worst of the gun control states, and even we have no issues here (as long as you're not near Chicago).

I must stress - I am not a lawyer and I'm not familiar with the laws of your state. Do your research - there's plenty of firearms law reference. It almost certainly will be legal to buy your ammo online.
 
K_dawg,
I have the same problem buying C&R pistols. A few of the distributers (AIM surplus, Century International Arms, etc) have posted on their websites that they cannot sell pistols to Md unless it is to an 01 FFL and will not sell one in the mail to an 03 FFL (me). There is no restrictions on the books that disallow them to sell a pistol to a C&R FFL in Maryland whatsoever that I have ever found. The State Police, the ones who regulate handgun transactions in my state, have even said it is legal for me to purchase a C&R pistol and have it mailed to my address.

Because one or two of the big distributers have put these false interpretations [of the law] that both you and I have been suffering from on their websites, the other distributors follow suit because they use the big boy's websites as a reference. I would suggest that you call them and ask just which laws they are following, look up that law, and if they are wrong, ask them to change their policy. Of course, this did not work for me at all when I asked AIM surplus to change their website to reflect the real reason they don't sell to us. (in my case it was that they just don't like Maryland)
 

progunner1957

Moderator
So the Demosocialist gun haters are now outlawing "self-defense" ammo, huh? Their plan is obvious. If all We The People can only have FMJ ammo, what happens?

A gunowner who is under attack will have to shoot the attacker multiple times with FMJ to stop them, increasing the chances of the attacker dying. Then the gunowner is automatically a "bloodthirsty murderer" who "only needed to shoot the poor thug once" but was hell-bent on killing him/her, NOT just saving their own life.

OR, the FMJ overpenetrates, hitting an innocent bystander. PRESTO! Now we have "a bloodbath in the streets," "a war zone in our cities and neiborhoods," and "cold-blooded gun owners killing anyone they think deserves it," "death of innocents," "vigilante justice," and --GOD FORBID-- "our streets are no safer than DODGE CITY in the wild west!!"

Of course, the ONLY solution is to outlaw concealed carry by law abiding citizens and hope the thugs will also play by "the rules" (well, of course they will!)

When the inevitable rise in crime happens, then the ONLY solution to save us from ourselves is to outlaw gun possession except for "the police and military" (does that song sound familiar??)

I feel for people who live in CA, IL, MA and other states where the politicians serve the Demosocialist agenda and not the will of The People; it is an uphill battle to overcome these situations, but there is too much at stake not to try. If this malignant thinking is allowed to take root and grow, it will someday be the law in every state.
 
Top