By Aug 1st we'll be leaving AK beginning our road trip through Canada and the Western States.
We'll probably be on the road for at least a month before actually boarding the flight to HI.
Instead of shipping a crate or two of household goods,
we've decided to divest ourselves of the major portion of our possessions and simply Parcel Post a number of boxes of "treasures" that we want to keep.
We'll be setting up a forwarding mail drop/storage unit before mailing the packages just before leaving.
We may arrive before the shipment arrives, maybe not.
That does not appear to be a problem as far as those goods are concerned.

Now, as far as my firearms are concerned, after doing some checking I think there should be no problem with mailing my two rifles to myself at the mail drop/storage unit.
Any comments on that?

What I'm not completely clear on is being able to mail a handgun to myself.
I cannot find anything that specifically says that I can do it like it says that I can mail a rifle.
Will I be required to send it through an FFL, or do the same rules as for rifles apply?
Bringing it with me and transporting it through Canada is not an option.

I understand that I could use UPS or FedEx to send it.
I would rather send it by USPS.
I am given to understand that UPS and FedEx's rates to transport firearms, especially handguns, are almost abusive.

I am having to divest myself of all my ammo, primers and gun powder.
I do not see any way of being able to send them over.

I'm having a bad case of separation anxiety.

Hawaii will welcome you and your family!!! You just have to worry about the menehunies, the night marchers, and the white lady!!! But for your rifle being shipped, FFL is safest. 

Bring me an In-N-Out Burger T-Shirt when u roll through Cali    Have a Safe journey.

Why you would leave a liberty loving patriotic state and move to the socialist republic of Hawaii.....I'll never know. But if you must....you should just call a local FFL and work it out with them. If they take a shipment from a non FFL then you can send everything to them for a nominal transfer fee per firearm; maybe 20$. This way you can pick them all up and register them at once. If you're moving to the big island, no big deal otherwise, but if you're going to Oahu, you don't want to have to make multiple trips to HPD firearms reg.

It is best to bring the Firearms with you.

If you send them to a FFL (cant send them to yourself) you will have to get a permit to aquire which requires pistol or hunting class requirements
and the dreadded 2 week wait.  If you carry them with you. you just need to go to HPD on Beretania and register them within 48 hours of your arrival.

What I did when I moved was ship the long guns to myself, and bring the pistols with me on the airplane. Obviously if you have too many, this isn't going to work. Then you'll have to go SpeedTek's route and get a permit to acquire.

i did pretty much the same thing as 2a when i moved back here from NC.

Not sure if you're military, but I flew with my guns into Hawaii and charge the extra fees to my TONO number.

hawaii is a great place to live, welcome

aloha
-branz

I have decided how I'll do it.
2ahawaii has hit on the head.
I'll mail the rifles to myself c/o the mail drop/storage unit.
Then, I'll FedEx the Redhawk to myself c/o either my brother or son down in Washington.
I'll pick it up from them when I come through, bring it with me on the balance of the trip, then check it on the flight when we fly over.

@ HUCKLEBUCK
As soon as I quit laughing I'll answer you.
Don't think that idea hasn't occurred to me.
I'm going to be completely and totally paranoid every time I even look at one of my firearms.
I've been in Alaska for 32 years now.
I've just turned 70, my metabolism is slowing down and I just don't seem to have the energy to play outdoors the year around any more.
My cut-off temp for playing outdoors used to be -15°F.
Now, as it goes below freezing, I look out the window and say to myself:  Maybe tomorrow.
Over there I can play out doors the year around.
That's the reason I am making the move.
Plus, they say people are healthier and live longer in Hawaii.
That's what talked my gal friend into wanting to make the move.

Glad to hear that you've got your plan figured out. There is a lot of misinformation to navigate. I moved to Hawaii earlier this year with 2 rifles, and mailed them to myself (care of my father, who already lived here) via registered mail. I had the boxes each rifle came in, and I put both of those in a golf club box from the UPS store, and filled the empty space with packing peanuts.

Here is what I know about sending a firearm via registered mail:
- long guns only, handguns are not allowed
- guns must be unloaded, obviously
- guns must be shipped separately from ammunition
- box must be sealed with paper packing tape, no cellophane tape.

I took my ammo on the plane in my checked luggage. You have to make sure you declare the ammo to the check-in desk. TSA weight limit is 11 lbs of packaged ammunition, no loose rounds allowed. I did my best before packing to weigh out 11 lbs with the fishing scale I had, and one of my friends scored a box of CCI standard.
The TSA guy weighed it out to 11.2 lbs while asking me the standard profiling questions. He was a bro and let it slide. I had read that Hawaiian Airlines had a ammo weight limit of less than 11 lbs, but it didn't affect my experience.

To register your out-of-state purchased long guns with HPD, you need to go down to the Beretania St. station. My understanding is that you have 72 hours to register once you *take possession* of the firearms.

Oh, and welcome!

I have decided how I'll do it.
2ahawaii has hit on the head.
I'll mail the rifles to myself c/o the mail drop/storage unit.
Then, I'll FedEx the Redhawk to myself c/o either my brother or son down in Washington.
I'll pick it up from them when I come through, bring it with me on the balance of the trip, then check it on the flight when we fly over.

@ HUCKLEBUCK
As soon as I quit laughing I'll answer you.
Don't think that idea hasn't occurred to me.
I'm going to be completely and totally paranoid every time I even look at one of my firearms.
I've been in Alaska for 32 years now.
I've just turned 70, my metabolism is slowing down and I just don't seem to have the energy to play outdoors the year around any more.
My cut-off temp for playing outdoors used to be -15°F.
Now, as it goes below freezing, I look out the window and say to myself:  Maybe tomorrow.
Over there I can play out doors the year around.
That's the reason I am making the move.
Plus, they say people are healthier and live longer in Hawaii.
That's what talked my gal friend into wanting to make the move.

First off congrats on the milestone and all the ones yet to come!  I think you will find Hawaii's weather most agreeable - the warmth means your body stays limber, the humidity is good for your lungs and skin, the sun provides natural vitamin D, the outside is a never ending source of fun and recreation and on and on   

See you at a Pau Hana or other event soon - would love to hear your stories of AK!

Aloha

OK, I'm coming together on this.
Getting the handgun to Washington Will be a few dollars cheaper by UPS than FedEx, in the $70 to $75 range.
It will have to go by 1 day service no matter which carrier I use.

Neither will allow any ammunition to be included with the firearm.
If any is sent, it will have to be sent separately ... not worth doing.

My intent is to leave it in the package it was sent down in for the remainder of the trip, or as far through the trip as I can.
The only complication I can see, is that here in AK, if I am pulled over by a law officer,
I am required to inform him that I have a firearm in the vehicle.
I tend to worry about doing this in the "less progressive" areas of the country, but still think I should.

Hawaiian Airlines will allow up to 11# of ammunition to be included with the firearm.
I'm thinking that I'll have the revolver locked in its original factory box still inside the packaging from shipping by UPS.
Then, that and almost four 50 round boxes of 240 grain .44mags inside a locked 4 handgun hard case.

I bought and carried the .44 for bear protection.
I have always used 300gr bullets loaded to ~1300fps.
I certainly will not need to use a load like that in Hawaii.
And, a 240 grain bullet also may be a bit heavier than any thing required,
except for possibility of needing to cut brush.
If I dropped them to 180 grains I could pack even more in.

You'll have to excuse me.
I have this hoarder complex that tends to run wild with me.

So the question is, will I run into regulations in CA that will hamper doing a quick grab and dash for ammo?

Well, I'll be out of here in a few more days and on my way to HI.
The long way.
I had arranged to mail my rifles to our storage unit in Hilo and the hand gun to a FFL where my son lives in Washington.

Then, I decided to look a bit further into it yesterday.
I went to this page:
http://www.hawaiipolice.com/services/firearm-registration

Where I read this:
"... If you move to Hawaiʻi and bring in a firearm of any description, you must register the firearm within 72 hours after the firearm enters the state. ..."

That brings some serious doubt to my mind as to whether or not I can mail the rifles to BI ahead of myself.
So, I call Hawaii Police @  Firearms Registration - East Hawaiʻi:  (808) 961-2239.
The gal I spoke with said that Hawaii state law says that I cannot mail a firearm of any type into Hawaii except through a FFL.
I told her that the federales say that I can mail rifles from one state to another state addressed from myself to myself c/o a second party not needing to be a FFL.
She said that I could fight it if I wanted to.
Being as I am not out to set the world straight, right all wrongs, or set any precedences, I declined.
I will bring them along with me as checked baggage as well as the hand gun when I fly over.

Then, I began thinking about the trip down through Canada and the Western States. We intend to visit a number of National Parks and similar attractions as we pass through the states of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California.
My first thought was about transporting firearms from state to state. So, I checked a bit and found the Federally mandated right of Peaceful Journey. Now, as long as I am not trying to travel through Washington DC, New York, Mass., Conn. or any of the "liberal" bastions, chances are I should be OK. In those areas I might have to resort to a legal battle to enforce my right of Peaceful Journey.
Again, I decline.
The states that I will be traveling through are all much more enlightened and "liberal" in their attitudes towards firearms. They adhere to the federal laws or have their own that meet or exceed the "liberalness" of the federal mandate.
So, transporting them through the states will not be a problem as long as I follow the rules that apply to doing it in a personal vehicle.
 
Then, my second thought:  about the National Parks. It used to be illegal to pass through Mt. Rainier NP carrying a firearm in the vehicle. So, I emailed a question to the NP people about visiting NP's with firearms that are being transported in my vehicle.  outlined my intent and the conditions they would be carried under.
Their response was that they held to whatever rules the state the park was located in enforced for transporting firearms.

So, as I see it, I should have no problems transporting my firearms once I'm south of Canada as long as I use common sense and don't step on any land mines.

You can mail a long gun just like you thought. Only, Hawaii has its own messed up laws that will not allow it. Just like how we cannot carry either open or concealed. And just like how if you show up at JFK airport in NYC with handguns in your luggage and even if you are just stopping over to change planes and you have to claim your baggage... you'll be arrested, even though federal laws say this is unlawful.

By the way, when you do get here. You should know you are only allowed to take your gun to and from a hunting place.. or the police department

And if you buy a box of ammo and happen to stop to get a bite to eat on the way home you just committed a misdemeanor.

If you want to cut down on some weight you could take apart the guns and only bring the serialized part with you on the plane and just ship the rest. This is the only part that is regulated anyway.

The trip has begun. We are now in Washington.
I got the usual grilling from Canadian Customs about firearms and ammunition when entering Canada.
I had all the right answers to all the questions and was passed through no problem.
I've picked up my rifles from my son, no problem.

I've picked up the handgun from the FFL
There I ran into my first glitch.
When arranging the transaction by phone from Alaska, I was told there would be a $35 charge to receive and hold my handgun for pickup.
When picking up MY firearm, he announced that I had to pay another $35+ in sales tax before he would release the gun to me.
I think that I can recover the sales tax, but will have to do the "two-step shuffle" the state requires to obtain my refund.
Why can't  life be simple? 

good lord, why are you moving to Hawaii?  it might be a nice place to visit but unless your extremely wealthy, Hawaii sucks!

HPD is gonna make you jump through hoops to get your firearms here. FFL is your best bet instead of trying to skirt around it. For me, I'd hate to lose any of my stuff in the shuffle.

Btw, upon your arrival, welcome to Hawaii!

Brother, Hawaii is great! Sure it is a bit expensive, but I have met some fantastic people here! I am sad that I am leaving soon (I think). I don't understand all the military people saying how locals hate us military dudes. I would imagine that if you act like an douchebag, then the people will treat you like one. Welcome and enjoy yourself!

Brother, Hawaii is great! Sure it is a bit expensive, but I have met some fantastic people here! I am sad that I am leaving soon (I think). I don't understand all the military people saying how locals hate us military dudes. I would imagine that if you act like an douchebag, then the people will treat you like one. Welcome and enjoy yourself!

Well said bother, well said.