Move to Denver (Aurora), Colorado

[Nephrology]

So, I am moving to start as a student at the Anschutz medical campus in Aurora, CO. A few gun related questions -

1. What is the deal with >15rd capacity mags, exactly? Am I in the clear to bring my 17rd Glock mags into the state? The law seems to suggest there is no problem bringing them in temporarily for a match/competition, and it is clearly against the new law to buy or sell them IN the state, but there doesn't seem to be much for or against the importation of personally owned >15rd capacity magazines. Safe to do so? Thoughts/opinions?

2. I will be living with 2 other current students (south of Colfax in Aurora) for the time being. any advice on securing my firearms ? I haven't had a roommate in quite some time, but I'm pretty strapped for cash and the real estate market in Denver is absolutely ridiculous. Additionally, while Aurora isn't necessarily the worst neighborhood I've seen in my life, it also isn't the best.... I've always had some sort of SentrySafe-style metal gun cabinet but I am open to alternatives. Unlike before, I am basically guaranteed to be in Denver for the next 8+ years, so I am willing to sink money into a good safe. Trouble is that I really only own pistols (~7 of them) and then 1 longarm (12ga 870). Not sure I need a $1k Liberty safe or anything - looking for something in between - especially something well suited for pistols.

3. Is anyone here from the area and has suggestions for gun clubs/gun shops/etc? I've heard the Colorado Rifle club in Byers is a good facility and their website seems to suggest this is the case. I'm planning on mailing in my application soon but am open to alternatives if anyone knows of any.

Thanks all!

[GardoneVT]

So, I am moving to start as a student at the Anschutz medical campus in Aurora, CO. A few gun related questions -


2. I will be living with 2 other current students (south of Colfax in Aurora) for the time being. any advice on securing my firearms ? (snip)

Pick one handgun, then secure every other firearm you own at a bank safe deposit box(es).

The reasons are multiple.A safe only centralizes items for easy theft if its not bolted into the building structure-which will be impossible given you're a renter. With a roomate, it'll be virtually impossible to hide the safe's presence and location in the unit. Multiple roomates= whole city knowing about your guns inside of a week. Can you vouch for the quality of your roomates' acquaintences ?

I cant.

I keep one pistol in the unit , and leave the rest of the hardware at the bank. The logistical difficulty of having to withdraw and deposit my guns during bank hours is more then balanced by the fact firearms theft from the bank vault is unlikely-and anonymity can be preserved.

No massive safe has to be dragged into the unit where prying eyes will see it.
Your roomates or their friends wont scheme on compromising it.
No worries about an angry Ex girlfriend yacking to the neighborhood thug about a score of guns she can get .
No concerns about a landlord freaking about about firearms-or the bf/gf of the roomates raising a stink.
No coming home to find out a roomie got into your safe and committed a crime with your hardware.

Keep one pistol, get a singular pistol safe and hide it well, and keep the piece on you at all times. If you're in the legal environment where your job and your campus is an NPE and jail time/academic explusion is a risk if you're made, I would seriously consider leaving all your weapons in the bank's deposit box vault and taking classes in knife centric self defense.
There's no way you're going to keep concealed carry of a firearm a secret for more then two years unless you live like a monk.

Check your lease carefully-if its private property that is leased by or owned by the university, you may be subject to a "Gun Free Zone" and the attendant academic consequences despite being off-campus. I'd advise against keeping all your weapons at home. On top of the given reasons, your roomies are likely to be lax on security. You'll come downstairs and find the backdoor is unlocked, the front screen door unchained, and if you daresay "quit being turds and lock the house up" they'll shrug and go 'whatever man, no one's gonna burglarize us in Liberal Utopiaville '. Ask me how I know this......

[Nephrology]

Can you vouch for the quality of your roomates' acquaintences ?

I cant.

Both of my roommates are medical students at CU, and both of them spend most of their time with other medical students from CU. So, I am not super concerned about them exactly... and one of them is a gun owner, too (though admittedly it's just his elk gun). Plus it will eventually be just him - the other student is in the market for a house and is putting down offers right now. I appreciate the advice, but I am not really that concerned about the roommates. Both are pretty reasonably security conscious people.

[MDS]

The magazine law is simple - you can legally possess as many full-capacity mags as you want, as long as you've possessed those mags since before the law went into effect a couple of years ago. The law says explicitly that it's the prosecution's burden to prove prior ownership. And no one has been prosecuted with that law yet. For myself, it's very burdensome because I am a full-capacity magazine aficionado - I have so many that I haven't even bothered to count - and I really wish the law would let me buy more, because my collection has been totally stagnant since the law went into effect.

I've been meaning to check out the Colorado Rifle Club. I wanted to also visit the Golden Gun Club so I can compare, because the GGC is significantly closer than the CRC, but the CRC looks a bit nicer.

And if you don't feel comfortable keeping your guns in your house, feel free to keep them at mine!

[JackRock]

So, I am moving to start as a student at the Anschutz medical campus in Aurora, CO.

Welcome to CO!

1. What is the deal with >15rd capacity mags, exactly? Am I in the clear to bring my 17rd Glock mags into the state? The law seems to suggest there is no problem bringing them in temporarily for a match/competition, and it is clearly against the new law to buy or sell them IN the state, but there doesn't seem to be much for or against the importation of personally owned >15rd capacity magazines. Safe to do so? Thoughts/opinions?

As noted above, the law states that only new purchases/acquisitions are against the law. You cannot sell or buy them in CO above 15 rounds. And not only has nobody been convicted by this law, it's being challenged by many Sheriffs (not sure how far that's gone, though).

2. I will be living with 2 other current students (south of Colfax in Aurora) for the time being. any advice on securing my firearms ? I haven't had a roommate in quite some time, but I'm pretty strapped for cash and the real estate market in Denver is absolutely ridiculous. Additionally, while Aurora isn't necessarily the worst neighborhood I've seen in my life, it also isn't the best.... I've always had some sort of SentrySafe-style metal gun cabinet but I am open to alternatives. Unlike before, I am basically guaranteed to be in Denver for the next 8+ years, so I am willing to sink money into a good safe. Trouble is that I really only own pistols (~7 of them) and then 1 longarm (12ga 870). Not sure I need a $1k Liberty safe or anything - looking for something in between - especially something well suited for pistols.

Get a smaller pistol safe that you can bolt into furniture or something. I have a Fortress safe, and have it bolted to my (rather heavy and definitely not getting through the door without disassembly) desk. One has to open the safe to get to the bolts to undo them. I recommend something of that nature.

3. Is anyone here from the area and has suggestions for gun clubs/gun shops/etc? I've heard the Colorado Rifle club in Byers is a good facility and their website seems to suggest this is the case. I'm planning on mailing in my application soon but am open to alternatives if anyone knows of any.

I haven't been to CRC or the Golden club, despite living on the border of Golden, and working in Downtown Golden. My home range is Bristlecone Shooting Center, which is .75 miles from my house, in Lakewood. It's the best range I've been to, especially for those who go with less-than-expert friends. In one nameless range, I would be yelled at when I tried to coach my wife or my mother or nephew. At Bristlecone, their only real rule is no "professional" instruction - so I can't start doing classes, and using their range for the live fire. Plus, they're just awesome people.

[Nephrology]

The magazine law is simple - you can legally possess as many full-capacity mags as you want, as long as you've possessed those mags since before the law went into effect a couple of years ago. The law says explicitly that it's the prosecution's burden to prove prior ownership. And no one has been prosecuted with that law yet. For myself, it's very burdensome because I am a full-capacity magazine aficionado - I have so many that I haven't even bothered to count - and I really wish the law would let me buy more, because my collection has been totally stagnant since the law went into effect.

I've been meaning to check out the Colorado Rifle Club. I wanted to also visit the Golden Gun Club so I can compare, because the GGC is significantly closer than the CRC, but the CRC looks a bit nicer.

And if you don't feel comfortable keeping your guns in your house, feel free to keep them at mine!

Thanks for the info. Fortunately I already have many 17 round mags... they will be coming with me for sure. A pity that I don't own an AR or AR mags but I never was a big carbine person anyway. Where do you shoot at currently?

[TGS]

If you're going to sink money in an heirloom quality safe (as you'll be there for at least 8 years), buy a big safe that you can expand into. Don't buy a high quality 8 gun safe, even though you only have 1 shotgun now.

Unless of course you are reasonably certain that you're NOT going to expand your long gun collection....

[JV_]

The downside of the bigger safes is that they're harder to maneuver through doorways and hallways (making turns). The other downside of bigger safes is the added weight, which impact where they can be located in the house.

While I always wish my safe was bigger, I think a better option is another safe.

[Nephrology]

If you're going to sink money in an heirloom quality safe (as you'll be there for at least 8 years), buy a big safe that you can expand into. Don't buy a high quality 8 gun safe, even though you only have 1 shotgun now.

Unless of course you are reasonably certain that you're NOT going to expand your long gun collection....

I would/will buy a real, heavy-duty safe if and when I buy a house or condo out there, which is definitely likely. I probably wouldn't be in the place to be putting down offers until next year around this time but it is on the horizon. Looking for more of a stop-gap. Still, even then, I am not likely to have the time or money to expand my long gun collection much. Might buy a bolt rifle and another 12ga or something but my current gun interests are pistols (hence why I post here )

[MDS]

Thanks for the info. Fortunately I already have many 17 round mags... they will be coming with me for sure. A pity that I don't own an AR or AR mags but I never was a big carbine person anyway. Where do you shoot at currently?

Great! I shoot at Bristlecone now, definitely the nicest indoor range I've been to in the area. Now that the weather's warm I might spend more time shooting in the woods again. A couple of years ago I visited a bunch of ranges and they all made me feel like drawing or holsters weren't allowed, but now I know of several so if you find a decent one that's closer to you make sure to ask about that. Actual policy is not always obvious from just reading the rules...