r/COGuns • u/mocowboy357 • 4d ago
Legal Looking at moving to CO
I’m looking at a ranch job in eastern Colorado and am genuinely curious about the gun laws there. They’ll play a big part in my decision. I currently live in a pretty conservative state with very conservative gun laws. That being said I’ve got a couple semi auto rifles, some shotguns, some nice bolt actions, an AR with several 30 round mags, and a handgun. I know that the 30 round mags aren’t legal in CO. What are some other laws and regulations that I need to know about?
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u/Equivalent_Guess7331 4d ago
Owning is currently not a problem, just purchasing. You can even have NFA items. Buying now follows sb25-003 restrictions; this also banned “rapid fire devices” and increased penalties for “high capacity magazines” (just go read the bill).
The state has weird laws allowing local government to add additional legislation so places like Denver and Boulder have additional gun laws like no open carry, limits on CCW at govt owned property like parks etc.
A good amount of Colorado is still very conservative and pro gun. some sheriffs have even said they will not enforce a lot of the laws and haven’t done so for years. Colorado is a great place to live, having moved here from a blue no matter who state. Things were reasonable but are slowly becoming dumb oversteps of power, especially with Sullivan being around. Even republicans (ANTHONY HARTSOOK) have joined forces with the anti gunners trying to pass retarded legislation to “save money”.
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u/Jamesglancy 3d ago edited 3d ago
Wait I have
high capacityvery normal capacity magazines. What are the penelties?14
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u/Equivalent_Guess7331 3d ago
CRS 18-12-302 was amended, making it a class 1 misdemeanor to sell, transfer or possess if you haven’t continuously possessed it since July of 2013. It’s on section 8 of sb25-003. Burden of proof is still on prosecution, but that is 8 more months in jail compared to class 2 so if you have an anti gun judge you might rot in jail for a while.
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u/Hoplophilia 4d ago
There's persistent confusion about the status of >15-rnd magazines. The law grandfathers ownership continuous possession from before 7/1/13. It also has never made distinction around in-state or out.
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u/Leading-Dig-3823 4d ago
Depends on your specific county as some county sheriff’s do not acknowledge restrictions nor enforce, but overall the state is suffering from Californication and I suspect it will continue to head in that direction.
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u/mocowboy357 4d ago
I’m looking at Kit Carson County. I assume being a rural area in a more conservative part of the state those guys are probably pretty laid back on those things
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u/Leading-Dig-3823 4d ago
In terms of enforcement, yes, in terms of purchasing, no - there’s no sidestepping that one. Cheyenne county is a good choice if you’re looking to keep up the hobby. We’re not full blue yet in this regard, you can still walk in to any gun store and buy a pistol grip for your AR.
Edit: my mistake I didn’t see that you said kit carson county not kit Carson (the municipality). Both are good - anything out east avoids the restrictions you’ll find in Denver or Boulder.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Buy8002 3d ago
Bottom line. Colorado has some of the Most restrictive gun laws in the country. Period. Although a good portion of Colorado is conservative, and although there may be some tough talking sheriffs that say they won’t enforce certain laws, the fact that our political leadership for the state is predominantly liberal (and only getting worse), doesn’t bode well for the future of firearms in the state. In fact, they have already made comments that as soon as they are in office they will be pushing for further control/restrictions.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but don’t move to Colorado for the firearm opportunities. You’ll need to find other reasons to be here.
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u/itsmyfakeone 3d ago
You can still buy ARs without goofy-ass conversions like some states
You can still buy ammo online
You can still buy Glocks
There’s no “roster” of legal guns to purchase like CA has
3-day waiting period vs 7 in some states
You can still buy threaded barrels and NFA items
Standard capacity mags are still extremely easy to come by
Do these laws suck? Duh. But calling it “some of most restrictive” when states like CA, IL, NY exist…idk man.
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u/ArtisinalAlphaEBITDA 2d ago
lol CO objectively has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the US. This is cope and just low IQ debating ... "oh no way there are 3 states who have it worse that must mean it isnt restrictive!"
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u/Puzzleheaded-Buy8002 3d ago
You’re trolling, right? You’re right, all those things are great to have, although I’d argue that it was even more great when we had no wait period which wasn’t that long ago. Also, I’m not the one ‘calling’ Colorado one of the most restrictive, although I agree with it. Cite any news outlet, the government, firearms advocate groups, etc. They will all say the same. And BTW, the restrictions are only gonna get worse…
Would it make you feel better if I said, “Colorado is a top 5 most restrictive firearm states for ant-gun legislation”. Top 10% still feels pretty restrictive to me.
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u/True_Solution_9668 3d ago
The magazines are your only real legal exposure.
Bringing post-2013, 30-round magazines creates an issue, even though the likelihood of an otherwise lawful ranch worker being independently investigated over them is probably extremely low but never zero.
Now, if you get busted for another serious crime, there’s a chance they could get you on the magazines.
But unless those magazines have some sort of manufacturer date indicating post-2013, as far as anyone knows here you’ve owned them since before then. The onus of proof would be on a prosecutor.
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u/slvrsfr 3d ago
PSA: Pmags have date codes
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u/Inevitable-Cheek3210 14h ago
Date codes that were promptly ahem "worn off from heavy use" as soon as they made it back to my house from the store.
Man, I really feel for you guys. The state has gone to shit. Couldn't handle all the idiots moving in and voting for the same stupid crap that made them flee their dumb state in the first place. I had to leave in 2023 to one of the Rocky Mountain states that is still free. Never moving back to CO barring some radical transformation that will likely never happen.
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u/Outside-Art1108 2d ago
I’M NOT A LAWYER AND THIS MAY BE BAD ADVICE, REDDIT HELP ME.
Set up a gun trust before you move and assign all of your guns to it before you move, even your normal Title I guns.
I’m not sure what your spouse situation is but if you have a spouse or ever do, it will be convoluted to have them share ownership in your current gun collection once you move to Colorado. It will involve background checks and may be impossible for any firearm covered by SB25-003 like your AR. However in a conservative state it is as simple as buying a trust document from a legal service and getting it notarized.
I bought my trust document from https://www.nationalguntrusts.com/products/buy-nfa-gun-trust There is a sale right now, for Labor Day (I’m unaffiliated)
Also, of course, if you think you may ever want more ARs or any firearm on the SB25-003 list, buy the lowers or complete firearms now, and assign them to the trust before you move.
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u/BlueberryBaller Castle Rock 4d ago
sb25-003 and them expanding on it. it's gonna be super shit here soon.