doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Buying Online- Ins and Outs

I dont believe you really read my post correctly. I cant see how you are getting that I misunderstand the statute.

I believe we have the same interpetation. All I was trying to point out is that a pre 1899 gun is an antique-no matter what it shoots. The statute he was referring to was referring to replicas. If you are selling a replica Colt SAA Calvary in .45 Colt (all were made prior to 1898) it is a modern gun, for instance. Maybe I was unclear in my post.

If you possess a 12 double barrel sawed off Shotgun(Barrel less than 18") that was made prior to 1899 how do you perceive this would be viewed by the BATFE?
Jim

I think that is spelled out too (in the gun control act of 1968). If it is a sawed off shotgun or a machine gun, modern rules apply. I.e. it is considered same as a modern gun in that case.

I do want to point out that I AM NOT a lawyer( which is obvious to the fine legal mind of Rookhawk) and if you are contemplating buying anything questionable, get a NRA or otherwise gun savy lawyer to tell you what is legal and what is not.

Have an urge to buy a used British game gun but have few to choose from locally and so I am contemplating an online purchase.

1.How do these transactions work? I have spoken with my local gun shop and they will handle the paperwork- do I simply supply his address and Fed. permit number to the seller along with my payment- and then pick up the gun at the gun shop when it is delivered?

As already stated. You must supply a valid, signed FFL. You can mail it, fax it or email it.

2.When a seller says that he will entertain offers, what is a reasonable amount for me to suggest? -10%? -20%? More?

Depends on what you think the gun is worth and what is being asked. There are some that I would not even offer 50% of their ask price. For some, I have no problem paying exactly what they want.

3. How about returns if the gun isn't acceptable to me? I should decide that before we complete the firearms paper work, correct? So all that I will be out is a round trip ticket for the package, correct? Well, I guess that I will owe the gun shop something for their time too.

You have to work it out in advance with the seller. Yes, you pay the shipping both ways. What you owe the local FFL depends on your relationship. I have returned guns and my FFL has not charged me. But we have been doing business for years.

Pete

Sounds easy enough....wait till you buy one.

My suggestion is to let someone like Diggory Hadoke of Vintage Guns UK or John Farugia of Cheshire Gun Room handle the deal for you. They can walk you through the paperwork and they can also eyeball the gun for you prior to shipment so you don't get stuck with a "white elephant" If you buy from one of the well known auction houses: Holt's, Bonham's, Gavin Gardiner's, etc., it is still a good idea to have a knowledgeable expert on that side of the pond look at the gun for you, but certainly do so if you buy from one of the lesser known auctions, shops or individual. JMHO

Best Regards, George

I've had enough trouble buying vintage guns across country there is no way in hell I'd chance buying one sight unseen across the ocean from anyone.

Homeless, Got any horror stories to share?

If you are in this business long enough, your going to get burned from time to time. My rule is real good pictures and good communication (on the phone) before you send the check and FFL. Lacking either of those, you must I repeat must be granted a 3 day inspection period and they must say you can return it for any reason at all at your (not their) expense. The times' I've been burned were because the guns were badly represented and both dealers said they would honor the 3 day inspection period and then both backed out of that promise. Both times I was stuck. Both times I moved the guns onward with full disclosure of the warts and took my lumps.

However, trying do be too picky can often result in missing out on some good guns. Some folks don't know what they have. They don't know the basics, such as ringing the barrels, bore diameter, barrel wall thickness etc. They are either uninformed, or they just don't have the equipment to provide the information. You can often ask lots of questions and walk them through the process to your satisfaction.

Also, some won't honor the 3 day inspection period because they were burned by tire kickers. I've also heard of folks who shipped guns in one condition, the buyer didn't like them and upon inspection on the return the seller determined they had been messed with.

In summary, you just have to be careful and trust your instincts. BTW, the two guns I was burned on were both Foxes. One had been redone (and badly) and was represented as not being refinished (this was years ago) and the other was a pawn shop dealer in Florida who was simply a liar and crook.

If you decide to use one of the US auction sites to bid and buy guns you need to be extra careful. I had two problems with GB. Both times the GB site was a total waste of time in all efforts to either get my money refunded or stop the seller from ripping off other buyers. They neither enforce or even tried to get the seller to follow their "clearly written terms". End result was a loss of money for me and total resolve to never give GB another dime of my money. A few bad sellers can ruin a auction site and when the site fails to police their sellers the buyers are just going to get screwed in the end.