doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com ATF Question

Is a signature required on an antique firearm? thanks!

Signature on what? If you mean the 4473, you don't need one on pre-1898. But try to explain that to an FFL your gun's been shipped to..Geo

Some states may require proof of age for a pre-1899 Antique Firearm, but they are not required to be transferred by an FFL under current Federal law. As Geo is saying, there are quite a few FFL holders who don't seem to wish to know the law when it comes to handling Antiques. Since guns built prior to 1899 are not even considered firearms in the legal sense of the word, they are not even supposed to be entered into the FFL's bound ledger book.

https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/laws-alcohol-tobacco-firearms-and-explosives

Why would a pre 1898 gun be shipped to an FFL? It is not required by law and adds quite a bit to the cost of the purchase.

Because the government has frightened people so that uninformed sellers think they have to. I had a gun shipped to a particularly ornery gunshop here last week because the seller refused to ship direct.

The gun was a Wilkes-Barre which went out of business in 1895. Once the gunshop had it in hand they refused to let me have it without filling out a 4473 and paying them a transfer fee. Aggravating!...Geo

Question for any dealers here: If you are on the receiving end of a pre-1898 gun, are you required to log it in, then log it out as a transfer and require a 4473 from the buyer?

No. They aren't supposed to be on anyone's books as a firearm. But... Depends on who gets involved. I bought a pre 98 gun from Bass Pro in Denver, even with my FFL and explaining the law to them they about had a cow. If it hadn't been a nice gun at a good price I would have told them to stick it.

If they are logged in, they are logged in as an �antique� under type of firearm. And logged out to the individual that is over 18 and a copy of photo ID is retained.

I think the main issue with many FFLs that dont acknowledge antiques is their unwillingness to verify that they are in fact antiques. Or they dont want to have the �burden� of needing to prove something was an antique after the fact.

For any matter regarding transfers a simple phone call to your local BATF office will provide you with any information you might need. I've found the office in Sacramento to be very easy to deal with and ready to help, quite contrary to what I had expected.

just a thot

I once had a pre -1898 damascus I. Hollis shipped directly to me from Australia. Gunshop owner there said it was fine. It came to my local post office, where I picked it up. It was in an unmarked cardboard box.

Was that legal?

SRH