Hi guys,

I'm thinking of moving to Hawaii from Cali. I love the islands and everything about them, Cali has too many people, real estate here is ridiculous, and cost of living goes up every day. Anyways, I have four (California neutered) semi-auto assault rifles (all between 5.56-7.62), a 9mm semi-auto pistol and a pump 12ga shotgun. When I say "California neutered" I mean they have been modified to comply with CA laws. Calguns provides a flowchart on the legality of assault rifles in CA and how to get by with a legal rifle. The ones I'm most concerned about are the assault rifles, but not sure if there are other laws for my pistol/shotgun. Here are my questions:

I briefly read over the laws regarding assault weapons in Hawaii and I understand that I'll need to register my guns with the local police station. Is this true? If so, how often (if at all) do individuals get their firearms confiscated?

All of my rifles are modified to meet communist CA compliance. For instance, I have to replace the factory mag release with a "bullet button" in order to prevent myself from release the mag with my finger. Bullet buttons require a "tool" (such as a screw driver, allen wrench, bullet tip) to drop the mag. Are these mods required in Hawaii?

Is there a magazine capacity limit in Hawaii?

What is the best way to get my firearms from CA to Hawaii?

And lastly... what is the best island to live on? 

I have only been to Oahu and Maui (have not spent a lot of time in Maui) and I enjoyed Oahu.

Anyways, thanks for reading, any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Cali has too many people, real estate here is ridiculous, and cost of living goes up every day. Anyways,

....If that is what you are trying to escape from... my advice... this is the last place I would move to.

The other thing is that living here is different then just coming to visit. Hawaii is fine and dandy to come on vacation when you dont have a care in the world but to live here all the time is another story. I grew up here. It wasnt until I was 25 that I moved to the maine for a couple of years, Then last summer I came back because my girlfriend who was originally from maine wanted to live here for a while. I cant wait to go back and get out of the islands. Many people I know who moved here from somewhere else eventually ended up wanting to leave and eventually did. After having lived somewhere else, and in a different culture I am no longer proud to say I am from Hawaii. Just my experience and opinion.

....If that is what you are trying to escape from... my advice... this is the last place I would move to.

The other thing is that living here is different then just coming to visit. Hawaii is fine and dandy to come on vacation when you dont have a care in the world but to live here all the time is another story. I grew up here. It wasnt until I was 25 that I moved to the maine for a couple of years, Then last summer I came back because my girlfriend who was originally from maine wanted to live here for a while. I cant wait to go back and get out of the islands. Many people I know who moved here from somewhere else eventually ended up wanting to leave and eventually did. After having lived somewhere else, and in a different culture I am no longer proud to say I am from Hawaii. Just my experience and opinion.

I see your alluding to a point against living in Hawaii but I'm not sure what exactly it is. Can you elaborate?

Hi guys,

I'm thinking of moving to Hawaii from Cali. I love the islands and everything about them, Cali has too many people, real estate here is ridiculous, and cost of living goes up every day. Anyways, I have four (California neutered) semi-auto assault rifles (all between 5.56-7.62), a 9mm semi-auto pistol and a pump 12ga shotgun. When I say "California neutered" I mean they have been modified to comply with CA laws. Calguns provides a flowchart on the legality of assault rifles in CA and how to get by with a legal rifle. The ones I'm most concerned about are the assault rifles, but not sure if there are other laws for my pistol/shotgun. Here are my questions:

I briefly read over the laws regarding assault weapons in Hawaii and I understand that I'll need to register my guns with the local police station. Is this true? If so, how often (if at all) do individuals get their firearms confiscated?

All of my rifles are modified to meet communist CA compliance. For instance, I have to replace the factory mag release with a "bullet button" in order to prevent myself from release the mag with my finger. Bullet buttons require a "tool" (such as a screw driver, allen wrench, bullet tip) to drop the mag. Are these mods required in Hawaii?

Is there a magazine capacity limit in Hawaii?

What is the best way to get my firearms from CA to Hawaii?

And lastly... what is the best island to live on? 

I have only been to Oahu and Maui (have not spent a lot of time in Maui) and I enjoyed Oahu.

Anyways, thanks for reading, any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

the only resriction we have is no pistol mags over 10 rounds.  if its legal in cali, its legal here.

no need for bullet buttons or thumbhole stocks or any of that garbage.  at the present (subject to change thanks to retards proposing new laws currently) as long as it isnt full auto or an SBR, you're good to go: 30 round mags, flash suppressors, adjustable stocks, all that good stuff.  Toss those bullet buttons!

as for best island.  depends.  i live in oahu, and love it, but really love some parts of maui.  not sure if i could live thre though.

I see your alluding to a point against living in Hawaii but I'm not sure what exactly it is. Can you elaborate?

i dont know what his point is, but i do like hawaii.  if he's alluding to the politics, yes, we're a pretty blue state, and that will likely frustrate you at times.


but to each their own.  some lov e living here, others cant wait to leave.

the only resriction we have is no pistol mags over 10 rounds.  if its legal in cali, its legal here.

no need for bullet buttons or thumbhole stocks or any of that garbage.  at the present (subject to change thanks to retards proposing new laws currently) as long as it isnt full auto or an SBR, you're good to go: 30 round mags, flash suppressors, adjustable stocks, all that good stuff.  Toss those bullet buttons!

as for best island.  depends.  i live in oahu, and love it, but really love some parts of maui.  not sure if i could live thre though.

Sound suppressors are illegal though right? And how about registering the weapon with the local police station?

Sound suppressors are illegal though right? And how about registering the weapon with the local police station?

yes, they are, as far as i know.  no NFA items allowed, basically. 


if you live in oahu, registration can only be done at HPD's main station.  i dont know the situation on the outer islands, but i THINK you can register at a local station.

Hey groundshark, (whoa! lots of responses while I was typing...)

I made the same move 7 years ago. Only had a Ruger Old Army that I inherited from my dad at that point so I didn't have to fuss with any of the laws. I have since.

The only magazine limit applies to magazine that ~can~ be inserted into a pistol. That means your 9mm and, unfortunately, any ARs since a pistol version is made. The AR magazine limit is NOT currently enforced, though. Still, I wouldn't waltz into the police station to register it with a 30 rounder. When I register I don't bring any mags at all - not required and visibly safer. If you are in doubt about any of your mags the safest thing to do is disassemble them. Having the parts for 11+ mags is not illegal.

Bullet buttons are NOT required here, thank heavens. You can replace those atrocities with standard mag releases when you get here.

Also make sure your 9mm doesn't meet the state's idiot definition of "Assault Pistol." You're probably fine, as long as its not a semi-auto version of an Uzi. Anything like a Beretta or Browning Hi-Power is good. 

Best way to get your firearms here is probably in your airplane luggage when you fly over yourself. Just book your ticket with an airline that allows this. The TSA allows it but the airlines have their own policies. I forget the rules but the airlines post them on their websites. Otherwise you're looking at shipping it to yourself and possibly having to deal with FFLs. If you are shipping other things like furniture and whatnot by boat I think you can include the firearms there. Not sure about ammo. I know small amounts can be packed in your luggage if you are transporting firearms but weight quickly becomes and issue and if you've got a couple battle packs...

Which island? Everyone has their own opinion, really. Each island is very different.

Oahu is by FAR the most populated with all the pros and cons that comes along with that. The most work, the most crime, the most shopping, the most traffic, etc. Oahu has the best selection of... well, everything including gun shops.

The Big Island, where I live, is probably the most gun friendly due to the relatively high population of local hunters. Pig hunters. We have precious few places to shoot, though. Its a difficult place to move to unless you have family or friends here. Work is very hard to come by and the areas that are more welcoming to newcomers have other drawbacks - crime, drugs, etc. Not more so than Oahu, though.

Maui is... interesting. Somewhat more welcoming than the Big Island and has a hunting culture (including Axis Deer and Mouflon) but it is expensive. And think Country Club when I say "hunting culture," though there certainly are local hunters. The island is generally more welcoming if you have a bit of cash on hand. And then there are the locals and recent transplants who don't have much cash that resent everyone who does. (Can you tell I'm not a huge Maui fan?) Still, it does have some rural left and it is a gorgeous island. If you can find work there then it would be worth considering.

Kauai is kinda like a little Maui that never quite reached a critical mass of cash so the difference between the have's and have-not's is much less. They still tend to feel the same way about each other, though, so its a hard place to fit in as a newcomer unless you are clearly one or the other.

If you have no connections here then Oahu is almost definitely your best choice. If you have connections for work then where ever that leads you is your best choice.

I believe all NFA items are illegal here but I know that silencers and full auto anything are verboten.

Registering is easy here on the BI - either Hilo or Kona station. I rarely have to wait more than 15 minutes. All Arlene does is measure the barrel and check the serial number. Easy. I've heard of longer lines and sometimes impolite officers on Oahu but that's only hearsay for me.

edit: I realized that I'm saying some unkind things about some of the neighbor islands. I mean that from the perspective of what a newcomer has access to. We all know that newcomers don't always have access to everything. Just like any small town kind of place, really. That takes more time.

im pretty sure anything banned as an assault pistol here is already illegal in cali?

i dunno.  if you live in maui, do yourself a favor and head upcountry to someplace like Makawao.

beautiful country side, great climate, and great people, imo.

Run in the other direction -- wtf is wrong with you lol?

There are too many people on Hawaii.  Politically, we are the only state left of San Francisco and right of North Korea.

We also have Congresswomen stupider than anything that walks in California, including Feinstein. See Hanabusa; See also Hirono.

The Big Island is still pretty rural, BUT...you'd best bring your own job.....

I see your alluding to a point against living in Hawaii but I'm not sure what exactly it is. Can you elaborate?

For me I just have to shake my head at how some people around here behave. I never used to notice it until I left and then came back.  If you are a haole here, I dont care what anyone says but you will be treated differently.  Also I see it all the time. people who just do not care. Our beaches and public places are all trashed. Our school system is terrible. Job market is dreadful depending on your industry. Local government is unorganized, and corrupt. If you need to get something at the store, forget it because you wont find it. If you hope to "get things done" forget that too because everyone is on hawaiian time. There is plenty of reasons why I personally do not like it here. But hey that is just me. nobody else who loves it here should take offense,  I was born and raised here on the big island so I think I am entitled to that opinion.   all I am saying is that life in Hawaii isint just sittin in the sand sipping mai-tais.

Well, I take that last part back, if you are loaded with money and can afford some beautiful place on your own beach maybe it is.

Life on the mainland isn't all that rosy either.  It's what you make of it here. 

Good luck with whatever you decide Groundshark.  If you need additional information or any help (not financially LOL), PM me.

Life on the mainland isn't all that rosy either.  It's what you make of it here. 

Good luck with whatever you decide Groundshark.  If you need additional information or any help (not financially LOL), PM me.

Very true... California is probably the most screwed up state in the union, so moving here cant be too bad 

Quote from: groundshark on January 29, 2013, 03:57:40 PM

Cali has too many people, real estate here is ridiculous, and cost of living goes up every day.

....If that is what you are trying to escape from... my advice... this is the last place I would move to.

Exactly, high cost of living, real estate, gas prices, utilities, etc. Nice 4-bedroom house on the mainland = small studio here, not exaggerating, I semi-watch House Hunters when my gf is watching it and I'm just amazed at what they get vs. what we get. Everything we have here has to come here by boat or plane, but mostly by boat. You think Cali is crowded? We're on islands here, we can't expand outward, only add more high rises to add to the population density.

As for guns, we're well aware of bullet buttons and think it's a joke. Like everyone said, dump em when(if) you get here.
Quickie on your gear
Semi-auto rifles - if it's legal in CA it's probably legal everywhere else in the country, barrel at least 16"
9mm pistol - fine as long as it's not classified as an assault pistol
12 ga shotgun - fine as long as it isn't sporting a sawed off barrel, and if you have a sawed off barrel don't tell anyone and don't use it
Magazines - no capacity limit on rifle/shotgun mags as long as it can't be inserting into a pistol, I believe the conclusion reached here was that since AR pistols are illegal here that restriction does not apply to AR mags. Pistol mags are limited to 10 rounds. If you have higher capacity mags you can get them pinned to 10, take them apart and store as "parts", or sell them on the mainland and buy 10 rd mags here.

This page has everything you need to know regarding our gun laws here (I see its recently been updated and nicer to look at now)
http://www.honolulupd.org/information/index.php?page=gunlaws

Best island to live on is a matter of preference. Best for me may not be the best for you. What are you looking for in terms of features? I grew up on Maui, currently living on Oahu. Maui is a slow-going more laid back lifestyle, IMO good for raising a family or retiring and relaxing. I'm in my 20's so the more metro lifestyle of Honolulu is more suited to me at this point in my life.

I have been born and raised on the Big Island and everyone has been pretty much spot on. I recently moved back home and have been lucky enough to be working. Long term I am definitely planning on moving back to the mainland.

I see your alluding to a point against living in Hawaii but I'm not sure what exactly it is. Can you elaborate?

I came from Cali while back.  What part of Cali you come from will determine where you might fit in best.  PM me if you have questions.  I moved to the Big Island from Orange County.  I would have to say that some days it is paradise, and other days it feels like I am in Guatamala.  Just depends on the day!   

My journey: born in Ohio, college in Indiana, moved or Oregon out of college, moved to Cali after a divorce, moved to Hawaii.

I was invited to move here by a friend who grew up here and knows a lot of people. I knew I was moving into a particular group of associations and that if I just did my best to not be an asshole I wouldn't feel completely out of place. So far that has largely been the case but I still don't feel like I fit in well with people who don't know me. I'm not from here and there is no way to completely conceal that. Nor do I try.

My perspective on living here in Hawaii... is hard to articulate clearly. It is not a simple subject and it is difficult to explain to someone who doesn't live here. I am NOT surprised that we are all kind of skirting around the idea that living in Hawaii is not what you think it will be.

Its not. This is not the US, exactly. Its somewhat like a small town in that the "locals" don't want you there and it takes years to fit in, except that here it is possible to NEVER fit in. Simply being here for a length of time is not enough. Racism is rampant and that can be very difficult for folks from the mainland to get accustomed to. There is no racial majority and everyone picks on everyone else. Those who it tends to come down the hardest on is the white folks from the mainland and their children. With good reason, I might add, if such a thing can ever have good reasons. It takes a great deal of self awareness and understanding to get past that but if you can do that you no longer fall into the category of haole. Instead you become more ilikea - "a little white." At least to the people who know you and, in some cases, to the people they know.

Most don't get it, though. So for comfort they form groups among themselves completely separate from the co-existing groups and families of locals. Its really bizarre here on the Big Island where the overall population is so small that these little groups are painfully obvious if you know what you're looking at. There are whole communities of hippies in Puna that are all transplants here, many have lived here for decades, and they don't have any real relationships with ANY of the locals. But they consider themselves to be local.

This dynamic is MUCH less obvious or relevant in the much larger population on Oahu. Which is one of the reasons why it is the easiest place to move from the mainland if you have no other connections.

You can't think of this as moving to another State. It really is a vastly different place. The government is largely Japanese - complete with its thinly veiled corruption as a matter of course. The economy is American. The culture is.... local. Local is difficult to pin down but it is based on the old Hawaiian ideals of aloha, malama, etc. with a good sized helping of all the various cultures that came here over the years: Japanese, Chinese, Philipino, Korean, etc. with a nice glaze of social injustice and smoldering resentment.

Its a complex culture to understand much less to find a place to fit into. Lots of people who move here lose their patience with it and leave.

That said, I love it here, am completely at home in the cultural paradoxes, and have never been happier with a place or the people that I associate with. Its challenging at times but everything worth doing is.

wow, props to you, clshade
that's about the best description of hawaii that i've ever heard/read

one more note:
when we were in college, my friends from the mainland were sometimes taken aback by our casual use of the word "haole"
they would say, "hey! i am a haole"
i would tell them, "it's ok to be a haole, just don't be an effin' haole"

My journey: born in Ohio, college in Indiana, moved or Oregon out of college, moved to Cali after a divorce, moved to Hawaii.

I was invited to move here by a friend who grew up here and knows a lot of people. I knew I was moving into a particular group of associations and that if I just did my best to not be an asshole I wouldn't feel completely out of place. So far that has largely been the case but I still don't feel like I fit in well with people who don't know me. I'm not from here and there is no way to completely conceal that. Nor do I try.

My perspective on living here in Hawaii... is hard to articulate clearly. It is not a simple subject and it is difficult to explain to someone who doesn't live here. I am NOT surprised that we are all kind of skirting around the idea that living in Hawaii is not what you think it will be.

Its not. This is not the US, exactly. Its somewhat like a small town in that the "locals" don't want you there and it takes years to fit in, except that here it is possible to NEVER fit in. Simply being here for a length of time is not enough. Racism is rampant and that can be very difficult for folks from the mainland to get accustomed to. There is no racial majority and everyone picks on everyone else. Those who it tends to come down the hardest on is the white folks from the mainland and their children. With good reason, I might add, if such a thing can ever have good reasons. It takes a great deal of self awareness and understanding to get past that but if you can do that you no longer fall into the category of haole. Instead you become more ilikea - "a little white." At least to the people who know you and, in some cases, to the people they know.

Most don't get it, though. So for comfort they form groups among themselves completely separate from the co-existing groups and families of locals. Its really bizarre here on the Big Island where the overall population is so small that these little groups are painfully obvious if you know what you're looking at. There are whole communities of hippies in Puna that are all transplants here, many have lived here for decades, and they don't have any real relationships with ANY of the locals. But they consider themselves to be local.

This dynamic is MUCH less obvious or relevant in the much larger population on Oahu. Which is one of the reasons why it is the easiest place to move from the mainland if you have no other connections.

You can't think of this as moving to another State. It really is a vastly different place. The government is largely Japanese - complete with its thinly veiled corruption as a matter of course. The economy is American. The culture is.... local. Local is difficult to pin down but it is based on the old Hawaiian ideals of aloha, malama, etc. with a good sized helping of all the various cultures that came here over the years: Japanese, Chinese, Philipino, Korean, etc. with a nice glaze of social injustice and smoldering resentment.

Its a complex culture to understand much less to find a place to fit into. Lots of people who move here lose their patience with it and leave.

That said, I love it here, am completely at home in the cultural paradoxes, and have never been happier with a place or the people that I associate with. Its challenging at times but everything worth doing is.

I'd like to weigh in on this if I may. My wife and I are moving to Oahu most likely near the end of this year. We got married in Waimanalo almost two years ago, and she loved it. We were always going to move back to the US, but didn't know where. We decided to visit Oahu again but this time without the "holiday blinkers"! We tried to imagine ourselves as already having moved and what it would be like day to day, obviously as much as you can without having to go to work. We decided that it is the right place for us, and we've been planning as much as we can since then. I grew up in a town just like Waimanalo, so for me it seems like my old town, just relocated a few thousand miles away.

We currently live in London, I've been here since 1998 and my wife has been here for only around 5 years. We live in a two floor house which has been split into 10 apartments, all have approximately 120sq feet of space, and rent in dollars is around $1400 a month. We have no yard, and no space to park a car and so we get around using public transport. It always makes my American friends laugh when I tell them you have to have a license to own a tv here, for real, if they catch you without one they fine you up to something like $2000 (they even have vans that cruise around with gear that can tell if you are receiving a signal, they check it against their license list and bust you if you aren't current with your fees. We have 20% tax on almost everything, and in central London everything is very expensive, even the basics like milk and bread. Before I lost my job I earned just enough to pay rent, my travel and a tiny amount left over to either save or to use for entertainment, about 20% of my salary.

I've been in the UK for about 15 years, and I still find it hard to adjust. Every time I speak my accent gives me away and people know I'm not from around here, let alone my real name! We have racial tension here too, we even have a political party known for it, but they are still allowed to operate. We also have known terrorist supporters who for some reason the UK won't deport because the person in question may be in danger should they return to their own country. I always defend the US when someone here berates her, I always have and I always will. But then again over here the French aren't particularly popular, nor the Germans, nor almost anyone else who isn't British  I lost my job in forensics because the government decided there was no profit in it, and so they closed all the labs down and 1600+ of us became unemployed.

I won't elaborate on how the gun ban is useless, my last job was in fighting gun crime in the UK and business was good 

My wife and I are moving to Oahu with no solid job offers, with nothing else but the determination to work our asses off and to do the very best we can. We both have very good resumés, and aren't picky about what we do for work. We are going to try our absolute hardest to make it work, if we fail it won't be because we didn't try. We would rather try and fail than wonder if we could have done it.

My point is that every state, in every country has it's good and bad sides. It has to be what you make of it. Life is to be lived and that includes the hard parts that make you sad, and wish things could be easier. One thing I have learned from martial arts is that there is no shame in not winning, victory isn't black and white.

I wish you the very best of luck in your move to Hawai'i, I hope it's the right fit for you and your family. My wife and I are headed there later this year. God bless us all