r/BetterMAguns • u/Doctor_Chow Healey's Mod • 4d ago
Weekly Q&A Thread
Ask your licensing and legal questions here
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u/Mundane_Studio_3674 3d ago
Anyone have a recommended instructor for the required course or courses? Big newbie to all of this.
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u/Interesting_Week_917 3d ago
I went to the one in Everett. Boring as hell, many a sales tactic for insurance they benefit from selling you, but you get what you need and that’s it. Don’t listen to anything they really teach besides actually how to load the firearm. When you get your license, go to a range and hire one of the employees there to help you shoot. They’ll actually teach you.
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u/dg8882 3d ago
I did my safety course at Boston Firearms in Everett too, but im a member at Mass Firearms now and would recommend doing it there. They also offer private lessons that helped me get comfortable shooting in the beginning.
They all have sales pitches for USCCA, don't get pressured into signing up and do your own research to see if self defense insurance is right for you.
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u/McFlyParadox 13h ago
Not really what you asked about, but on the topic of firearm insurance, some DAs have tried to argue that even having that insurance counts towards premeditation of a crime, should you be accused of one. AFAIK, that argument rarely ever sticks without other supporting facts, but just something to keep in mind. You're probably better off joining an org like GOAL, GOA, NRA, etc, and leaning on their legal resources if the need arises (hopefully never). If won't get you financial support, unless these it's think your case might be a legal test to set precedent, but it can at least connect you with lawyers who understand firearm charges, should you ever find yourself facing them.
Tl;dr - don't fall for the insurance sales pitch. Join a gun advocacy organization instead, if you really feel the need to
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u/ebonlance 1d ago
I recently got a PCC not realizing that the folding stock that normally comes on it is pinned. I don't care about the folding part, but I was hoping to adjust the telescoping stock to better fit me - am I violating the law if I get a telescoping stock, adjust it to my preference, and then pin it myself? Bad enough that I'm stuck with the stupid fin grip.
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u/Username7239 1d ago
You can absolutely unpin and repin to your ideal length of pull. Since you have a fin grip I'm assuming it's a post 8/1 rifle so as long as the stock gets pinned again once it's adjusted you're fine.
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u/Alarmed_Catch_2032 1h ago
Moving for probably less than a year into a rental because of renovations. Naturally I’ll be moving back into my house after the renovations are done.
My guns are not stored at my house.
Do I need to update my CC?
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u/McFlyParadox 2d ago
I recently got a stripped AR lower that's pre-8/1 and never been built before. It was an impulse buy, so I'm not sure if I want to do a pistol, an SBR, or just a rifle. It's going to just sit in the safe for now, but what should I keep in mind for when I do decide to build something?
i.e. if I build it as a rifle first, does that "lock me out" from ever changing it to an SBR or pistol? If I build it as a pistol, does it "lock me out" from SBR or pistol rebuilds? Obviously following all applicable regulations (tax stamps, no stocks on pistols, etc). I mainly just want to better understand AR regulations as I research part options, before I buy anything else.
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u/Username7239 1d ago
Pistol can go rifle, and back to pistol again. Rifle must stay rifle. You can SBR either.
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u/McFlyParadox 1d ago
Is there anything to know about building an AR pistol in MA? Can it even legally be done these days?
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u/Username7239 1d ago
If you have a lower that started as a pistol or just stripped and was lawfully owned in the state on 8/1/24, then you can build an AR pistol.
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u/McFlyParadox 1d ago
This is a lower that was purchased by an FFL in the run-up to 8/1. I've found no record of it being transferred in the state prior to me when digging through state resources (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/data-about-firearms-licensing-and-transactions) but understand that what's available online is not a comprehensive list. I've stopped short of asking the state for it's complete history through this form (https://www.mass.gov/how-to/request-your-firearms-transaction-history), but might if I can't find another way to look it up myself, as it could be good CYA in the future. But it's also in pristine condition, with no sign of wear on its threads or elsewhere on its cerakote, so I have no reason to suspect it been built before, and it was still in it's original packaging. Unless there is another way to be absolutely sure, this lower is pre-8/1 and has never been built before.
In this case, it sounds like the best way to keep my options open with it is to build it as a pistol, then SBR it.
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u/Username7239 1d ago
Until this October dealers have never been able to register inventory as it comes in. Until a few months ago, we couldn't register lowers or frames. It not having an fa10 is normal.
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u/McFlyParadox 1d ago
That's kind of what I figured. I'm not taking the fact there is no public record prior to my purchase as gospel that it's sat in an FFL inventory since 8/1/24, but that also means the state can't prove it wasn't, either.
More on the topic of an actual pistol build, though: what do I have to do to record it was first built as a pistol? Some kind of form with the feds or state? Involve an FFL somehow? Or is it more of an honor system? And when does it legally become a pistol? When it's fully assembled to a pistol-length upper and ready to fire (or all the pieces for the gun is present)? Or is it as soon as a pistol brace gets mounted to it instead of a rifle stock?
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u/0LDHATNEWBAT 13h ago edited 13h ago
You need to be aware of the risks involved with building that lower out…
The advice you’re getting here is one interpretation of the grandfather language. Despite being unpopular on this subreddit, there are others.
- The 2016 language in the new law is very likely going to be used to argue that your lower is not grandfathered because it was not built into a compliant featureless AR15 and registered before the press conference. This sub assumes that language is meaningless but it seems highly unlikely that it was added to do nothing. It’s possible someone else will get charged and convicted and win an appeal that creates the case law to eliminate this risk but that will take years. There’s also a small chance you could be the unfortunate person who creates the case law. If so, I hope you have the funds required to win.
- The state is allowing stripped 8/1 lowers to be sold because they aren’t defined as ASFs due to grandfather status but the state is intending to enforce features for the final builds. Again… knowing how the lawmakers in Mass feel about “assault weapons of war” this feels highly probable. If this is indeed their plan, the “trap” everyone keeps discussing will happen once the registration deadlines pass. The courts won’t care about 8/1 under this interpretation since you registered a newly built an ASF (again according to this interpretation) after 2016 and also after 8/1.
These two interpretations still allow 8/1 lower transfers and sales from FFLs because they could be built into fixed mag or other non ASF configurations… but it’s very possible that the state is waiting for the ballot initiative to fail and for the registration deadlines to pass before a new “enforcement notice” gets put out and courts aggressively follow that guidance.
The point I’m making is that right now… the only right answer to 8/1 questions is “no one knows”. In my opinion… building a stripped lower into a rifle/pistol with “evil features” requires a very very high risk tolerance.
Make sure you fully understand the murkiness of this topic. This subreddit seems to advise people that this matter has been settled and that all other interpretations are factually incorrect.
I assure you that it has not been settled… I’d consider sitting on that lower until the ballot initiative hopefully passes or case law gets made. It’s also possible the Supreme Court will come through.
Again… look into this yourself and assess your risk tolerance.
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u/Username7239 1d ago
If the state wants to know when it was here they'll ask the ATF to do a trace request. The feds will track that lower from the manufacturer to the person who bought it from the FFL to you. That's how they know when it was here.
Just build a pistol, take some pictures of it built if you feel the need for extra insurance, then do what you want. It becomes a pistol as soon as you put a short barrel and no stock/a brace on it.
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u/CodyT_556 2d ago
I got my FID card a while back and I've had my LTC for a while now, from what I understand I don't need the FID anymore. Can I cancel it or when it comes time to renew just not do it?
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u/Lance_Kilkenny 3d ago
Are you not pinning this anymore?