Gentlemen: If the gun / rifle to be imported is statutorily defined and thereby classified as either a "firearm" or "curio and relic firearm," then ATF Form 6, it would seem to me, is the appropriate form. Such firearms would require a lengthy process of pre-approval before they could be imported, to include their associated / extra barrels. As well, barrels independently imported, which are associated with either a "firearm" or "curio and relic firearm," would each require the filing of a separate ATF Form 6. However, if the gun / rifle being imported is classed as an "antique firearm" (i.e. manufactured in or before 1898), it is wholly unrestricted and unregulated, as are its barrels or extra barrels no matter when built, and is the case whether the transaction is domestic or international, when the same involves the importation of an "antique firearm." Barrels are neither build date-restricted nor separately classified under federal statutes (Please recall my earlier posts wherein the reader is informed that rules and regulations promulgated by any agency of government, which of course cannot make law, are but explications of controlling law.). That being said, throughout the federal statute pertaining to the importation of barrels, the legal term "firearm barrel" is used ubiquitously. The use of this particular legal term provides the answer to all questions concerning barrel importation into the United States. Moreover, the legal term "firearm" can be and is used in applicable federal statutes as a noun or an adjective, and is here employed as an adjective. Logically, we must then look to the adjective employed in order to determine whether the barrel is importable without restriction and regulation, or conversely, must be pre-approved as a restricted and regulated "firearm barrel." The statutory definition for the legal term "firearm," as provided in the section pertaining to barrels, expressly excludes the legal term "antique firearm." (This exclusionary language, by the way, is present in all federal firearm-related statutes.). It does, however, include the "curio and relic firearm" within its definition. The inclusion of the legal term "curio and relic firearm" within the legal definition for "firearm," with respect to the statute addressing barrels, allows the holder of a "curio and relic firearm" license to lawfully import the "firearm barrel," just as it does when the barrel for use on a "firearm" is imported by a standard federal firearms license holder. If the gun / rifle intended for import is an "antique firearm," as that legal term is defined in federal law, its original barrels as well as its associated barrels or extra barrels, no matter when made, can be imported without restriction and without concern for any regulatory involvement of the ATF. The ATF have no lawful regulatory authority with respect to the "antique firearm" classification, whether domestically speaking or before and during the process of the importation of an "antique firearm." The duty-free 'antique' anything, to include the imported "antique firearm" (unless one intends to sell the antique once imported, which then requires a duty be paid), along with its original and / or associated and / or extra barrels, is handled exclusively by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, period.
Regards,
Edwardian
