Laws In Pennsylvania

[Voodoo_Man]

Never heard of the "AR pistol must be unloaded" rule. Would love to see where this idea came from. That claim doesn't sound right to me at all.

Mistype on my part, meant AR's in general, but typed AR pistol, my apologies was thinking about what the OP posted.

Rifles cannot be loaded.

I'd also recommend that you have the code printed out with the explanation for why a pistol in rifle caliber can be loaded. Not all LEO's care to know the difference, "a rifle is a rifle" regardless of size or caliber, so if you get stopped by the wrong LEO and you might have some legal issues in your future.

Not saying its correct or you will lose in court, just saying it can happen.

[Ick]

Whew! I thought I was uninformed and wanted to get to the bottom of that right away.

[TommyG]

And...welcome to PA. Always good to hear when good folks move in.

[DreadPirateMoyer]

Mistwolf: in PA, concealed carry is limited to "firearms", which are legally defined by a few characteristics, one of which is being less than 26" in length. If it's over 26", it's not considered a firearm (dumb, but don't let the terminology confuse you) and thus cannot be carried concealed. The same goes for SBRs: can be carry concealed IF SHORTER THAN 26" OAL, which is pretty rare for an SBR in my experience.

Also, DO NOT transport your gun here if you don't have a license or reciprocal permit. People stating above that simply driving around with an unloaded gun in your car is OK are misleading you and are wrong. Without a license/permit, transport in PA has some whacky restrictions that could get you in major trouble. It's our greatest weakness in terms of our otherwise-awesome carry laws. You simply can't transport your gun around without a license except for a few exceptions. Fall outside those exceptions (easy to do) and you're screwed.

As for the PAFOA bashing, with the bad information being given in this thread, it doesn't surprise me that many of you aren't members. And as for scoffing at Tom Wolf's inevitable election, if you haven't learned anything from Colorado's recent plight, you haven't learned anything at all. Tom Wolf is a huge existential threat to PA gun rights. Any D governor is.

[DreadPirateMoyer]

Honestly, you'd be better off getting your information from PAFOA itself, Mistwolf: http://forum.pafoa.org/

Our laws are very good except for a few key weaknesses: we don't recognize all out-of-state licenses/permits, our transport laws if you don't have a license/permit are very restrictive, and you have to go through an FFL to transfer a pistol. Some of our hunting laws are also whacky due to a huge fudd population (no semi-autos, for example), but otherwise, our gun laws are Grade A prime beef: NFA-legal, state pre-emption, no AWB of any sort, lots of pro-gun Sheriffs, and a surprisingly-high population of pro-gun democrats in the legislature as well. It's a great state.

Are you moving here or visiting? If you're moving, most of the problems in this thread disappear by getting a License to Carry Firearms, which is a shall-issue process and is super simple to acquire. It's harder to buy a cell phone in PA than get a LTCF. If you're just visiting, I'd recommend getting a non-resident LTCF, which functions identically to a resident LTCF for all purposes of carry and such.

[jpmuscle]

Really quick, any of you gents live in around Butler county? I lived near Hilliard for a couple years when I was in my teens.

[Inkslinger]

Rifle with a barrel length of less than 16 inches"OR"(not "with") a rifle with an overall length of less than 26 inches. Call me crazy, but my 11.5" SBR only has to meet one of those criteria, not both.

Specifically,
""Firearm." Any pistol or revolver with a barrel length less than 15 inches, any shotgun with a barrel length less than 18 inches or any rifle with a barrel length less than 16 inches, or any pistol, revolver, rifle or shotgun with an overall length of less than 26 inches. The barrel length of a firearm shall be determined by measuring from the muzzle of the barrel to the face of the closed action, bolt or cylinder, whichever is applicable."

http://reference.pafoa.org/statutes/...2/definitions/

Honestly, you'd be better off getting your information from PAFOA itself, Mistwolf: http://forum.pafoa.org/

Our laws are very good except for a few key weaknesses: we don't recognize all out-of-state licenses/permits, our transport laws if you don't have a license/permit are very restrictive, and you have to go through an FFL to transfer a pistol. Some of our hunting laws are also whacky due to a huge fudd population (no semi-autos, for example), but otherwise, our gun laws are Grade A prime beef: NFA-legal, state pre-emption, no AWB of any sort, lots of pro-gun Sheriffs, and a surprisingly-high population of pro-gun democrats in the legislature as well. It's a great state.

Are you moving here or visiting? If you're moving, most of the problems in this thread disappear by getting a License to Carry Firearms, which is a shall-issue process and is super simple to acquire. It's harder to buy a cell phone in PA than get a LTCF. If you're just visiting, I'd recommend getting a non-resident LTCF, which functions identically to a resident LTCF for all purposes of carry and such.

[Mr. Clean]

As long as we are talking PA Laws ... I have a current PA Non-Resident LTC that I originally got through the mail from Sheriff Nau in Centre County. I need to renew sometime this August.

Does anyone know if Sheriff Lotwick in Dauphin County is Non-Resident renewal friendly? Or any other counties around Hershey Park? Figured if I have to drive to renew in person ... might as well make it a family trip.

[Inkslinger]

Well Mistwolf, what do you think of "da ville"

[Nra-Life-Member]

Any Sheriff's office can renew for you. Some offices have remote stations, outside of the county courthouse. Check websites or call the Sheriffs office and ask. My understanding is permits must be done in person. I also think UTAH offers a permit that is valid in PA and you can apply via US Mail.