Ted, unless Mr. Moore happens to hold a US FFL no document whether it is a receipt for ownership or a foreign country registration or what ever is going to be sufficient for him to import his own gun. He'll have to use an importer with an FFL.
That part of your post is also incorrect, George. You don't need to be an importer to import a gun. Anyone with an FFL can import on an "occasional" basis. I believe--working through an FFL in this country--Mr. Moore should be able to import the gun himself. He needs to get an approved import permit in his name, with the FFL signing the form as the applicant. I did this using a friend with an FFL (not an importer). The approved permit came directly to me. In my case, the gun was shipped from England to the States. I went to my local post office where the postmaster collected the import duty and customs processing fee. Walked out the door with my gun, completed paperwork with the FFL.
Larry you are a pretty smart guy and I have no doubt that you succeeded in figuring out how to import your own gun. I'll bet that required a pretty steep learning curve though.
However if I were in Mr. Moore's position and had the choice of negotiating both the French and American bureaucracy to import my Darne or auditing a couple of medical school classes and performing my own operation with local anesthetics, I would choose the surgery. I'll bet he ends up using an importer.
The only 'helpful' point I've tried to make in this thread has been to clear up the idea that the customs form 4457 is the ONLY method of proving you owned your shotgun before you carried it out of the USA. I think we are all in agreement on that now.
Your mention of having paid your customs tax/duty to the local Postmaster is interesting. It is my understanding that the postmaster is also an ex-officio customs officer. That's why he was authorized to accept your payment.
That being the case I wonder if the Postmaster can sign and stamp your form 4457? I live in a rural area which is not near any Customs Office. I never seem to have time in transit at the Atlanta airport to get my gun out of baggage and have the customs guys there check the serial number and sign the form.
My local postmaster once told me he thought he was authorized to sign the form. I've been using a 4457 signed by him with his local postmaster's stamp. Its never been questioned by any customs officer, even the gentleman in Minneapolis. Are you aware of any regulation authorizing a postmaster to sign off on a form 4457?...Geo
