Interstate move question

So I've got an interstate move coming up in the near future. The initial arrangement is going to involve me renting an apartment in the new state while Mrs. Write stays behind in the current state to prep our house for sale. At some point, we will locate an acceptable house in the new state, I'll take the opportunity to buy a larger safe, and all will be well.

Obviously, the best-case sequence for this is to have the new house available before we're out of the old house, so I can grab a binder of approved 5320.20s, pile everything into my truck, and drive it directly from House A to House B with minimal exposure.

However... there is a chance that we won't find a new place that meets our requirements before the current house sells. In that case, we'll be in the apartment for an indeterminate period of time. It is unlikely that any apartment manager will let me install and bolt down a gun safe. I also take it as a given that any apartment manager is going to display slack-jawed incompetence with regards to key control, so there's basically no assurance of security in that situation.

Having said all that... what's my best option for maintaining positive control over my NFA items while assuring legal compliance? Rental locker? Local NFA FFL? Find a friendly police chief and ask him to secure all my stuff in his armory?

You might want to provide a rough count. 2 NFA items and 2 non NFA long guns may require a different solution than 10 or more.
Also, destination state/city may get you a specific recommendation if you're comfortable disclosing.

Good luck with the move. Hopefully it's a smooth transition. :cool:

Get a large safe deposit box, and only keep the registered part(s) in it?

You'd need an approved form 5 to give it to LE temporarily, not that I think it'd be a good idea.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RoyGBiv

You might want to provide a rough count. 2 NFA items and 2 non NFA long guns may require a different solution than 10 or more.
Also, destination state/city may get you a specific recommendation if you're comfortable disclosing.

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Valid points. 7 suppressors and 5 SBRs heading to Iowa.

A small but quality safe could be bolted to studs in a closet without much drama, any holes could be easily patched after removal. A keyed entry doorknob could also be put on the bedroom or closet door to add some extra snooping deterrence. That could be put back to original configuration when leaving. 3" screws in the strike plates and hinges add some kick-in resistance. Doors with hinges on the outside can have security pins installed so the hinge pins being removed wont allow the door to come open. The security pins replace one hinge screw per hinge.

You could bring in the safe on a dolly covered with a blanket. It could be a book case or other furniture for all anyone could tell.

A friend dealt with a similar situation following a divorce.

He rented an apartment that had a walk-in closet with a normal closet door. For the ~6 months he was in that apartment, he secured the safe to the wall of the closet (which was completely internal to his floorplan) and installed a keyed doorknob on the closet door.

About 2 months in, the apt maintenance guy had to work on something in the apartment while my friend was away. Later on he asked about the lock on the closet. My friend just shrugged and said 'I've got a couple fitted suits in there that I paid a lot of money for' and the maintenance guy shrugged and said 'oh that makes sense, I felt the door and it was cold so I knew it wasn't a grow op, which is all I cared about'.

When he moved out, he patched the holes in the wall himself and the inspector didn't even notice, and he got his full damage deposit back.