[SixTGunr]

No doubt that this question can probably be best answered by the man himself (dighawaii) but I was recently speaking with someone (can't remember exactly who offhand) and when Hawaii was mentioned he had asked me about the availability and acquisition of ammo and weapons to and within our State way out in the middle of the Big Pond.

Gunshops? Ranges? Smiths? FFL Dealers? Ammo Availability? Weapon Availability?

Questions such as this were asked of me and I really could'nt give any answers.

Maybe Tom can help me/us out here on this one .... :?

Six

 

[dighawaii]

Can do!

Six:

In Hawaii, there are several shooting ranges (military and public), although space is a limited comodity on an island. Locally, there are several popular firearm dealers but none that are too big to help the average person acquire a firearm and ammunition. Each island has its own shooting community and facilities. Certainly most of the shooting diciplines are accepted here, shotgun (trap and skeet OK), rifle (all calibers Ok except .50 bmg), silhouette (metal plates) and pistol (Match and Action (IPSC, etc. OK). For long range rifle, you gotta get on a military range (up to 800-1000 yds).

State laws on firearm and ammunition procurement can be found in Hawaii's State Web pages.

Tryng to buy ammunition, powder, etc. direct from the mainland is very difficult (almost impossible by yourself). Since 9-11 it is even more difficult and new items have been added to the explosives list. So far, CMP is the only organization that has been able to send ammo to me in Hawaii, FedEx Overnight no less! Praise CMP for their hard work and efforts.

Purchasing a firearm locally is pretty similar to many States. A long firearm (rifle) permit is good for 1 year and you can purchase as many long guns as you like (rifle receivers are included as a long gun). However, pistols have a mandatory 10 working day wait and a real hassle to get for each pistol. Most of the laws here are VERY stupid with no provisions for those who already own firearms. What? I need a new pistol to harm myself or someone else? That is why there is a 2 week wait? Gee I would never think to use a firearm I already own. Wish I lived in Arizona or Nevada. I know, I know, it could get worse.

Okay, I'm getting sarcastic and into a real gray area, but I think I hold my own as a law abiding, firearm enthusiast.

Anyone thinking of moving to Hawaii and want to own and shoot firearms should. The shooting community here is pretty solid with some good folks. I've been shooting for almost 20 years and have learned to deal with the changing times.

Any specific questions about shooting in Hawaii can be sent via e-mail direct or post it here! I will always try to respond or contribute as much as possible.

I would like to say that I have truly learned from these forums. And the sharing of information and advise received from some of the names that you see registered below have been outstanding. Count on me if I can give back some of the help that I have received.

Mahalo (Thank You) Everyone!

Aloha and Best Wishes,

Tom O.

 

[SixTGunr]

Thanks for the info Tom .....

What I understand from this basically is that its not all that hard to acquire a firearm but when it comes down to getting your hands on some bulk ammo ... Well ... thats a different story ... :roll:

Sounds like there plenty of places to shoot so one is not totally left out in the cold there but I would imagine that the military does not allow civilian shooters on their ranges ... Correct?

At least thats the way it is around my area. Military won't let us use their ranges at all around these parts ... Not even a former veteran ...

Have a great day my friend and Aloha ... :wink:

Six

 

[dighawaii]

Six:

Yup, I have jumped through some hoops trying to get some ammo to Hawaii. CMP, bless their hearts, have been only ones who have come through. Ammo in stores are most times limited and quite expensive (probably the shipping). Rarely, is there any mil surp ammo. When there is, I usually buy a FEW cases or as much as I could afford.

The military bases here allow civilians escorted by anyone with a military pass. But since 9-11, it has really gotten tougher to get on base even with a military friend. All firearms have to be registered PRIOR to admittance. Which means a separate run to the base everytime you have a new firearm that you might want to shoot on base maybe that weekend. Just something else to learn to live with.

The one thing that I cannot do here on Oahu, is plinking. It is not permitted to go into the mountains and pop rounds. I think they call it discharging a firearm on State property. With the island so small, I am sure they worry, someone might get hurt. I buy that. On the island of Hawaii, there is lots of vacant land or land where you will not disturb others and its (I think) okay to plink. I have taken an AR15 to the Big Island and really laid in some rounds on cans, milk containers, etc. Loads of fun. We shot facing the ocean and could just about shoot any distance we chose. Anyway, it was fun!

Be safe and Aloha!

Tom O.

 

[Oxmix]

Tom,
From your post about availability of ammo I have to assume that most shooters rely on reloading their own ammo. Am I correct?

Regards

Ox

 

[dighawaii]

Reloading...

Oxmix:

That's affirmative. Ammunition costs in Hawaii is a bit expensive and again, that is probably due to the shipping. I think considering everything, the local dealers here try their best to keep costs down.

IMHO, I think most "new" firearm owner's (rifles) purchase AR-15 variants and AK style variants that use ammo that is already fairly inexpensive and usually easy to get. But even with .223 and 7.62x39 ammo, I have not seen too much mil. surp. stuff around. The AR and AK variants seem to be popular.

Many of the veteran shooters (old timers), usually have a wider array and collection of firearms and in usually a variety of calibers. Most of the people that I know reload, usually due to cost and availability.

I own a couple of Dillons and they normally will take care of my ammo needs. But, occasionally, I like to just go out and blast and not have to reload. That's when mil. surp. comes in handy. I also use the mil. surp. as a baseline to evaluate and measure the performance of my "ball type" reloads. I try to use Federal GM Match as my baseline for my match loads. So far, I have my match loads close to commercial but have not been able to get better performance yet. I am still experimenting with different combinations.

As a convenience for my rifle ammo, I try to stay in the area of .308, .243 and .30-06 so that I do not have to change the shell plate and just snap in the correct die assembly when reloading. As for my AR (yeah, I got one of those to), I already have lots of military and commerical ammo to last me a while, so no reloading there.

For .308 and .30-06, I normally order GI brass (new if possible) from GIBrassman, Jeff Bartlett. My powders is mainly IMR 4895 and 4064. And I use mil spec primers on military rounds, BR primers for match loads and standard CCI for plinking stuff. I use a variety of bullets, but mostly Sierra Matchkings and Nosler J4 .30 cal heads. My match heads are Sierra Matchkings 168 gr. HPBT.

My other Dillon is setup for .45 ammo for my 1911's. That is all it does and it does it very well. IMHO, Dillon makes a great mouse trap.

My .45 load uses Bullseye powder, with CCI primers in Federal cases (new for match and once fired for practice). 200 gr. SWC lead heads only! So far, that combo has won me some matches.

I will stop here or Hawk is likely to send me to the Reload section... Anyway, I hope I answered your questions.

Aloha and Best Wishes,

Tom O.

 

[Oxmix]

Tom,
My friend Bob shoots matches on a regular basis. He tells me that Varget seems to be the powder of choice.

Regards

Ox

 

[Hawk]

["I will stop here or Hawk is likely to send me to the Reload section... Anyway, I hope I answered your questions."]

Tom, I don't have a reload section as yet, but if we find out we need one I will be sure to add it. Hawk

 

[dighawaii]

Varget in Hawaii

Ox:

I have been to most of the local dealers and none so far carry Varget. I don't know why. I have seen many threads and reports that Varget in .308 is awesome stuff but I haven't been able to get any here in Hawaii.

I will keep Varget in mind and maybe if I beg long enough, one of the dealers will bring some in with their other shipments.

If you know where I can get some in Hawaii, sing out and let me know. I will beat a hasty path to try some.

Aloha and Thanks Again!...

Tom O.