Thanks again for the replies. I just went to the link Dave K provided and found the ATF Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide (2005), and spent about an hour skimming over that. Under General Questions, pg.175 Question A3: Do antique firearms come within the purview of the GCA? The answer is simply "No". I do plan to study this area in more detail, but it sure looks as though dealers who enter Antique guns in their bound books are doing something they are not legally required to do. I can't even find anthing that requires a simple notation in the bound book of the fact that an acquisition is an "Antique". I think I'll call the ATF Field Office for my state to make sure I'm reading things correctly.
How we can politely inform, and educate, and otherwise convince dealers that this is unnecessary is another story. I guess it wouldn't hurt a thing to make a simple notion in the book as Jim mentioned, but going through the whole rigamarole of NICS check and 4473 form is just additional expense and hassle. I have considered going the C&R route, but as noted here in the past, too many 01's won't deal with them in the manner prescribed by law.
