Hi Cap mags in Hawaii
 

There must be an exemption for high capacity magazines in Hawaii. Films like Pearl Harbor, 6 Days 7 Nights, The Rundown, Tears of the Suns, and most recently Tropic Thunder used them.

This coming from someone who actually have stood in the office of the Honolulu police department, arguing with reps from the Chief of Police why the movie industry NEEDS an exemption. There is NO official exemption.
(edit: or at least there wasn't one in 2005 the last time I fought with the HPD)

I mentioned EARLIER that I don't know how John Woo and some of the others did it. Michael Bay may have enough clout to make them just look the other way, but smaller films don't have that power.

(I'm leaving for Hawaii Sunday night to work on one RIGHT NOW, which means I'll be gone from IMFDB for about 10 days), I have worked on films where we have to weld all our 30 round magazines to hold only 10. In most films, that's really all you need. The editor nowadays always cuts away quickly and we never see a full 30 rounds dumped in a single shot (it takes too long and the style of movie editing nowadays is fast dynamic cutting). In over 25 years, I've rarely ever seen a full magazine dump ever make it on to the screen. Only super fast firing guns, like MAC-10s (without rate reducers) or Mini Uzis or MG42s, but that's not common any more.

I suspect that they did the same thing (i.e. use 10 round limited guns. That's what I'm doing. In California there IS an exemption, however, California gun stores sell the 30/10 magazines to the regular owners ... (i.e. they look just like 30 rounders but are welded to hold only 10).

But Hawaii has no official exemption (that is unless they've changed the law in the last 2 years, I haven't checked anything on the magazine law and it doesn't matter for THIS shoot anyway.). Still, we're taking no chances and the only magazines we are taking into that state are 10 rounders that look like hi cap mags.

If someone's a gun owner anywhere in this country, we've all seen the difference between what makes sense, and what's in a gun control law.

More on hi-cap mags in Hawaii
 

Actually there is and has been an exemption for hi-cap magazines for theatrical use; they are just not mentioned specifically. They are covered under 134-2.5 of the HRS and are viewed as "part of the gun or system"
All that is needed is a letter from production justifying the need for firearms and stating who will be responsible for them, storage facilities, security, etc. and of course a film permit.
The applicant, you, MUST first have an FFL and fill out the state permits for possession--basically the same as California. When the firearms/magazines arrive they must go directly to the police dept. for inspection. The gun unit prefers to have a list/manifest with descriptions and serial numbers in advance. It will make the permit approval and check-in process much smoother.
I've shipped/transported hi-caps/firearms to Hawaii since the early days of Magnum PI without any problems ever. Email me if you need contacts there.
Hope this helps

4570guy