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Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 694 Location: MN

If anyone on this list has experience with the import of longarms, could they PM me. I am wondering whether the import of older guns from family in Germany is worth it.

Thanks

Jon, I have a friend who is German and shall go nameless for obvious reasons. He inherited a small collection of shotguns from his father's estate. he had them shipped over as pipe organ parts. It worked without a hitch. Laughing

I guess the red tape at either end is insane when it comes to guns. That is why so many harmless types like double guns are just smuggled in under the guise of something else. However, this is based on here say from my perspective. Perhaps someone with some real knowledge can weigh in here.

Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 694 Location: MN

Are you saying you'll come visit on weekends!!!! I think I'll opt for the legal method-after all I'm not spending much for these guns.

It was a relatively painlesss paperwork exercise when i came back to the US after living in Germany for a while. Fill out forms, declare when you return. Went through Atlanta, no problems, they were professional and polite. No handguns were involved.

But that was before 9-11.

rayb

Member Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Posts: 989 Location: Las Vegas

JonP: I was looking at buying a gun from a seller in Australia. Below is a link to a portion of their web page outlining the process to have the gun imported. Doesn't look too complicated and I imagine the process is the same whether it's coming in from Australia or Germany.

Good luck!

Matt

http://www.mcdonaldsgunshop.com/importinfo.htm

Jon, Ican't promise Ill come visit, but i'll try and send some flowers once in a while. Laughing

This friend is a German national who is not a citizen. He intends to return to Germany to retire, but has a lucritive position in a International Corp and lives here. I guess its more difficult if you are not a citizen. Believe me, my anecdote was for amusement only and is by no means a suggestion. I just thought the pipe organ cover story was hysterical.

Joined: 01 Jul 2006 Posts: 26 Location: Finland

Exporting and importing guns, gun parts and ammo between Europe and the USA has become somewhat complicated since 9/11. Not only do you have to deal with the red tape on both sides, but also many airlines and shippers have become very cautious. I recently heard of a guy who had problems shipping a gun stock from Sweden to the USA, the postal service refused to send it. And it was only a piece of wood.

But it can absolutely be done. The best advice would maybe be asking a gun dealer who has some experience in the matter.

Member Joined: 26 Apr 2005 Posts: 743

Basically, it works this way: Anyone with an FFL can engage in the OCCASIONAL import of firearms. (If you do it as a business, you have to have an import license.) If you have good relations with an individual FFL holder or gunshop, all you do is get the forms from ATF, fill them out, have the FFL holder fill out his portion. You have the option of having the gun come directly to you. (I did this with a gun from England, picked it up directly from my local post office. Paid the postmistress the import duty, took the gun to my FFL guy to fill out the yellow sheet, end of story.) How complicated it is on the other end--Germany in this case--depends on German laws. In England, they need a letter from you saying that the gun will be used for sporting purposes--that's about it. Import duty on a used gun only runs something like 4-5%, so that's no big deal.

If you live near a large city with a customs facility, you'll probably have to deal direct with US Customs, but the procedure is the same.