unclenunzie

I'm also a lefty so was interested in a southpaw charter. Just in general I am new to guns but I learn quick. I also like American made, but am fine with foreign. Here's my experience with handguns so far, bought since summer: SA loaded 1911, perfect function (frame brazil, the rest maybe USA or for parts fitting) 300+ rounds. H&K P30, perfect function (Germany) 400+ rounds. Heh just like the cars Ruger LCP 380, not so perfect (USA). Fail to extract too often, sent back for repair, good service, it's OK now. 1200+ rounds. If my new batch of permits *ever* get here, I'll pick up my new American made Kahr PM9. My own experience with lower-priced guns (LCP) and what I read of other's experiences is that quality control can be weak. Or maybe the right way to say it is weaker than pricier guns. I doubt this is due to any particular country's labor force, or factory management. So while I am always interested in bargains, and am well aware that price alone does not measure quality, I am steering away from second-string manufacturers for now. Also having to re-test for function when ammo is not cheap raises the cost to put a gun into service. I like my LCP, but I have put at least her price through in ammo to test. I think I might have been better off just buying a higher-end gun. So with revolvers, which I will eventually buy, charter, taurus, ruger, smith, etc, from what I read here and all over the net, I will likely go with smith. I just want to reduce the possibility of having to send back a brand new gun for repair, then to pump ammo cash for testing into it repeatedly. I read they also hold their value well, and that's important to me. So I sort of see a parallel between my LCP and your southpaw experiences. I wish you the best of luck, and hope charter does it right by you.

Thank you. I will wait for the permanent PD records staff to return next week before going back. I really didn't expect to be told of such a long delay, I had expected my "post FPID" applications for permits to be fairly quick as I have read of others on here. Actually I still am not clear on the "process", just the applications, SBI, FBI, Fprint check, Crim hist check, ref check, etc. I guess the process steps are kept intentionally vague. Just like I've seen in corporate circles, if there's no defined process or set of rules to point to, no one can be held accountable. I figured once my refs came back (last week) it would not be more than a few more weeks later. I still have a slim hope that will be the case once I get to talk to the detective doing the work. Oh forgot to mention before, the temp records guy mentioned the BPD no longer provides applications (must dl from web), nor does fingerprinting. You have to go to Newark to be electronically printed now. Since this is cross town, it must be a county or state wide development. For those needing to be printed, I recommend you bring Purell. :shock:

Bloomfield. Next week when the regular records person is back on duty I'll go back. I'm going to discount this temp guy's story until I talk to her, and then like last time talk to the detective - in person. Once it comes down to that it should be quick, cause he should be pretty clear that just like last time, I'm not a criminal or a mental health risk. Although this whole process could drive a person crazy....... OT but related, I hope SCOTUS finds that states and other political subdivisions must adhere to the constitution, and vacate laws that in practice infringe upon the right to KEEP and BEAR. UN

How long should a new set of permits take? I'm a little irritated because I applied on 1-Oct and stopped by today to ask, and the temp guy in records said it will be next year! He said it would be a waste of time to bother looking at my records because the "latest" hold up is the mental health check, and of course it's gotta all go back to the detectives, etc, etc. Is anyone thinking they are being told to delay so the OGAM can kick in? I don't actually think this is happening, I'm just mad as hell because I want to go pick up my paid for PM9. Sorry for creating a venting thread. :evil: :shock: Think there's a permit for an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator?

I'm thinking if drugs could be properly legalized and regulated, the money disappears and then the violence disappears. But since the money is still in the game of selling drugs, you'd think these thugs could afford some training LOL

I have just received my Florida CWL in the mail. Mailed my paperwork 8/24/09 and got it 10/2/09. I make it 44 days total, not what I was given to expect. Roughly half the time it took to get my NJ FPID and first set of handgun permits.

This is exactly what I am trying to avoid. The simple answer, for me, is to pack my gear according to the airline and TSA rules, following Federal and State laws. Thanks to S-J and all for your help.

I may still yet buy the Kahr since it is such a nice carry for FL. If I do it will be here in PRNJ with pistol permit, since I cannot make FL residency based on vacation and property inspection visits alone. Looks like I am going to take it (them) with me, declared via TSA flying rules there and back. Bought in PRNJ, I do not want it out of my personal possession when out of state unless it were in a safe deposit box. I suppose I could do that but I really don't need to explain to NJ-anything where my gun is. Gotta love gun control. Crims don't give a crap about law, to get what they want, but we non-crims (aka law-abiding citizens) have to jump through hoops just to avoid prison. If I could afford to drop out of work now I'd retire to FL now.

Thanks guys. This buy and keep down there thing is a way to avoid flying with my weapons to FL, for family related reasons. If it were not for that, I'd fly according to the TSA and airline specific regs which I have read thoroughly. I just skimmed the ATF website and found the following which helps to frame the issues to be worked out. From what you all said I gather I must be a resident in a state in which I plan to buy a handgun. So this brings it down to what makes a person a resident. schutzen-jager said the ATF guidlines say 6 months in a state for residency. I'm going to search the ATF site for the specifics of the 6-month guideline, but the ATF site Q&A section says the following: http://www.atf.gov/pub/fire-explo_pub/2005/p53004/q_and_a.pdf (B11) What constitutes residency in a State? The State of residence is the State in which an individual is present; the individual also must have an intention of making a home in that State. A member of the Armed Forces on active duty is a resident of the State in which his or her permanent duty station is located. If a member of the Armed Forces maintains a home in one State and the member

I own a home in Florida in addition to my home here in the PRNJ. I'm considering buying a Kahr P9 or PM9 for carry there. If I were to buy the gun legally in FL face-to-face from a dealer, keep it down there and never bring/transport/transfer it to NJ, do I run into any NJ issues? I'm pretty sure even NJ's arbirtary and draconian gun laws don't reach all the way down there. But I am looking for informed opinions, cause I don't know and I really don't want to ask local or state police here. Thanks, UN

I think you meant to say "illegal". Is that right? I recall that NJ makes no distinction between concealed and open carry. Of course getting a permit to carry at all is a practical impossibility for the ordinary citizen. But if one has a carry permit, one could in theory carry openly?

S word = Sorry ........ I think

Yeah Florida, Near Ft Myers. [email protected] :twisted:

Congrats 67gtonut! Today, just now actually, I returned from visiting the Lee County Sheriff's office where I picked up my CWL application, got electronic printed, got notarized (by the guy doing my prints, real nice guy no charge). Stopped by wal-mart for the passport photos but they couldn't print glossy, which is required, so I went across the street to CVS. All I have to do now is: Go back home to jersey, take a copy of my NJ hunter education card/cert and add it to the package, then mail it in. Then wait..... Hopefully I'll be licensed by my next trip down here during Christmas/NewYears. Fully understand the cool part, and also more importantly the obligations taken when carrying. Youtube NutnFancy has a must-watch video "obligation of carry". I may not wish to carry every day, everywhere (where legal), but I will do it when I feel it is necessary. As others have said and/or quoted, you may never need it, but if you ever do, you will need it very, very badly. Good luck and stay safe!! UN

If anything positive can be said about the loooong NJ wait for FPID and PPs, it's that you get plenty of time to do Internet research. :shock: My "plan" from all this was to get a 9mm and as I kept reading articles, mags, forums (fora?) the CZ line just called to me. I looked at Glocks of course, but handling a training gun convinced me the grip angle was not for me. Also, and this is totally subjective, I wanted something more attractive. I looked at FN, considered Sig, HK, Beretta, even IMI/IWI Jericho. In short I considered a lot of 9mms, all of high quality reputations, and when I held and dry fired CZ-75B, P01, at Cabela's in PA, I felt "this is what I want". Decision made, and yet I was not ready to buy.... that NJ wait thing. Once I got the sense that my ID and permits were only a few weeks away, I went to Meltzer's and found they had one Ruger LCP. My interest in a mousegun such as this came from my desire to get a Florida carry permit/license, since I bought a second home there. Can't live there yet, but I really liked the idea of CCW there and in the reciprocity states. And with Ruger's good reputation for weapons and service, I thought a post-recall LCP would be a perfect future carry pistol. So I bought it and they held it for me until permits came through. On the day of the permits (lol), I went to pick up my LCP. But I was like a fat man at a Poconos buffet for the first time. I knew I also wanted to buy a 45 auto, and having read all there was to read about them, I handled about a half dozen of them that day. But when I saw, held, operated and dry fired that sweet stainless 1911 loaded from SA, I was hooked. The whole package just melted my brain and it was my heart that made the decision. I had to have it and I will tell you I have no buyers remorse, I am in love with it. 8-) I still haven't found my P01 yet, or more to the point I am enforcing my own "cooling off" period, before buying again. This is an expensive enthusiasm, and I just want to wait a little while before I use my last permit. Someone on a forum, can't remember where, said that through their gun collection they finally understood how some women feel about shoes. I get it too now. LOL best regards, UN

Well, today was the first day of the rest of my life. I fired my first handgun ever today, my brand-new SA loaded full size in Stainless. What fun!! Bill the range officer taught me the rules, and gave me instruction on how to safely handle and operate my weapon. I ran through a box of Blazer brass 230 grain ball, both strong and off-hand (I'm a southpaw). The whole experience was smooth and definitely a blast. The noise and shock waves took a little getting used to, in the small space with all the guys blasting away. But after a little while I didn't even notice it anymore. What kind of surprised me was how recoil and kick with the .45 auto did not meet my expectations. I kinda expected to feel like my hands were hit by a truck, or a baseball bat, but it was nothing like that! Just a kind of push and a bit of muzzle jump (flip?). Guess that full-size 40 oz steel hand-cannon absorbs lots of energy . Being totally new to handguns, my target was set to maybe 5 yards and I was able to keep the rounds on the target and in COM (q target). As I get more practice I know I will improve. The gun operated perfectly at all times. I also fired a few mags of .380 from my also brand-new Ruger LCP. It kicks and flips more than the 1911, and I did see some muzzle flash when firing it. I'm sure this is due to the tiny barrel. I'm not even sure if at 5 yards I put any rounds on paper with the LCP, as there were already lots of 45 holes in my target And the "sights" on that little beast kept jumping around, they must be loose or something I had one stovepipe FTE, when I was at the end of my range time. I was getting a bit tired and I may have "limp-wristed" on that round. A quick rack of the slide and the spent case fell out as I canted the port down. Of course, I was using cheap blazer aluminum, and (shame) I did not clean her when I field stripped and inspected her before initial firing. I'm not too concerned at this point, being a new shooter it is most likely me or the cheap ammo. All in all a great first experience. Even the zen-like field-strip, cleaning, oiling, and reassembly process back home was great. I really appreciate a fine quality machine and the simple design of Browning's masterpiece was a marvel for me. Great ideas really do pass the test of time. Best regards, and a special thanks to Bill at Bullet Hole. UN

Thank you. There's a Ruger LCP .380 waiting for me at Meltzers, and for 9mm I'm gonna have to Czech :mrgreen:

Received my approval letter from the PD today. Will pick up ID and PPs Tomorrow. 80 days total. :) Like Hannukah and Christmas all at once in July!

Update 7/20/09: On the good advice of a forum member, I just visited my PD and was lucky enough to meet the detective handling my FPID/PPs. Nice guy, thorough, and obviously overloaded. He's going to push my stuff through and I should be done in 3 weeks. I wish I had done this a week after 6/9/09 when they got all the paperwork back. Oh well, live and learn. Can't wait to go shopping! 8-)

Welcome from another Bloomfielder. I think that makes five self-identified Bloomfielders so far? The more the merrier UN

Just a progress report. Applied 5/12/09. Today 6/9/09 called for progress update. All paperwork is completed, my prints came back, now the detective does the "real" investigation - any criminal record, auto violations, etc. Detective will call or contact my references. The records department person I spoke with was nice and answered all my questions. She says generally it takes a total of 2-3 months (entire process). She did say that he has a lot of these to go through, but they try to push ahead the applications where the references are responsive. I'll guess I am now 1/3 through, we'll see. UN

Thank you all for your warm welcome. I'll definitely look into the HK line, and I appreciate the pics in a Lefty's grip. Right off the bat I like it's 15 round mag legal for NJ, and the ambi controls. 'Upstate NY' is near Newcomb in the Adirondacks. Haven't been up there in a long while, expect to do most of my shooting at Bullet Hole. It has a good reputation from what I read and it's close to home. I called them with an FPID question last week, and they were very helpful. Kinda cool hearing the shots pop off in the background, but those staff must be going deaf Glock and SIG were where I started my pistol research, then I broadened out to other lines. I'm just gonna have to calmly try them all. :mrgreen: UN

I just joined today. I've been reading this forum and others for a while, to learn what can be learned by reading and watching. My brother in law comes from upstate NY, a real country boy, and has been shooting and hunting since he was a kid, following in his family's traditions. It was on his father's property that I got a little rifle experience, but by no means do I have experience. Never touched a handgun, but I am willing to learn. :twisted: As a northern NJ resident since the early 1980's, I did more than once consider getting an FPID, but only recently did I actually apply at my town's PD. My hope is it will be issued along with some PTPs before the end of summer. I'm strongly considering a quality 9MM autoloader for my first handgun. From what I have read, it should be perfectly acceptable for home defense and all around use (with appropriately chosen rounds). I may also consider adding some other popular calibers, such as .40 SW and maybe even the old standby .45 ACP. But I feel going with a 9MM to gain range shooting experience, especially for control, recoil, and muzzle flip, will give me a sense of how far to go up the caliber and power scale. My brother in law says I should have no problems handling the more powerful ones, and at 5'11 and 200+ I believe him. But only direct experience will show. Naturally, safety and safe handling always come first, and I will follow the time-tested widely published rules in that regard. Being left handed limits my options somewhat where my personal comfort in operating a pistol is concerned. I am considering a number of possibilities: CZ 75/85 variants FN FNP-9 Glock 19 XD varieties SIG varieties - these are very attactive but expensive Am fully aware of the 15-round capacity limit in NJ. It's a pain, but I expect local dealers will be helpful in addressing it. I am somewhat torn between the all-steel/alloy and polymer frame pistols. I will have to feel them in a gunshop/range when I get my FPID before I make a commitment. Shooting before purchase makes perfect sense to me, so I hope these models, and others I have not considered, will be available for range renting. I am also leaning more towards hammer-driven DA/SA action varieties, as opposed to the striker fired types. This is simply a personal preference, as I think it would be enjoyable to target shoot with SA at some point. However I may come to prefer the striker type with their DAO once I have actually handled and fired them. Well, that's about it for now. Regards, UN