FTF private sale out-of-state?

[ScottRiqui]

From time to time, I see private ads for FTF (face-to-face) handgun sales in the D/FW area of Texas. I live in Virginia and am a Virginia resident. My parents live in D/FW and are Texas residents. I go back to visit them twice a year.

Legally, could I have my dad buy the gun and hold onto it for me until I come to visit? On the face of it, it sounds like a "straw man" purchase to me, but I don't know if the same rules apply to private sales.

I'm not interested in playing in the grey area, or what I can "get away with" - if it's not legal, I won't do it and will just wait until I go back to visit and check the local ads then. Which brings me to my next question - even if I'm there in person, can a private seller in Texas do a FTF handgun sale with a non-Texas resident?

 

[Head-Space]

Interstate transfer of any firearm must be accomplished through an FFL. Your father cannot legally give you a firearm because you're residents of two different states. Lawfully, your father may LOAN you the firearm for any unspecified period of time, like almost forever. But it's a whole lot easier to take dad and the gun into an FFL and fill out the forms.

 

[Hoss Fly]

can a private seller in Texas do a FTF handgun sale with a non-Texas resident

NO -

 

[ScottRiqui]

Ouch - I hadn't even considered that transfers between my father and me would have to go through an FFL. I guess he has a Glock 19 on semi-permanent loan until my next visit when we can go to an FFL. When we go, do I need to bring anything along to prove that the gun I'm transferring to him is really mine?

This will all be so much easier when I retire to Texas in 2014.

 

[gwnorth]

even if I'm there in person, can a private seller in Texas do a FTF handgun sale with a non-Texas resident?

No! You can have the seller ship it to an FFL in VA and take possession there. But as stated, any and all handgun sales crossing state borders must go through an FFL in the buyers home/resident state.

Your father could go, check it out for you if you cannot make the trip in person. If you decided to purchase, you could then arrange with the seller to ship it to an VA FFL where you would go to take possession and complete a background check.

FTF sales are only legal, in states that allow them in the first place, between residents of the state in question.

 

[James K]

I believe Texas law allows individual direct sales, and I assume your dad has no FFL. If that is correct, it would be entirely legal for your dad to buy a handgun from another unlicensed individual in Texas.

But it would be a federal felony for him to give, ship or otherwise transfer it to you. So definitely keep your dad out of jail.

If the item you want is for sale by an individual, your dad can buy it. But then you have to contact a VA dealer and have him send a copy of his FFL to your dad, who then can ship the gun to the VA dealer, using UPS or FedEx (only dealers can mail handguns). If the gun you want is for sale by a Texas dealer, the process is even simpler and cheaper. Your dad pays for the gun and the shipping; the Texas dealer ships it to the VA dealer you have contacted and who has sent his FFL.

(Only a licensee can RECEIVE a handgun across state lines, but anyone can SEND a gun to a licensee.)

Jim

 

[ScottRiqui]

Thanks, all. Leaving my dad out of it for now, could I buy from a private seller in Texas if we go to an FFL to complete the transaction? I know that I can't walk into a gun store in Texas and buy a pistol while I'm home visiting, but from what you guys are saying, it sounds like I could still buy from a private seller as long as we go to the FFL and do the paperwork.

EDIT - nope, sounds like this won't work either, if the FFL used for the transfer has to be in the *buyer's* home state (mine). Oh well, thanks for all the information and help, guys.

Since any out-of-state purchase I make is going to have to be shipped to an FFL in Virginia anyway, there's nothing more attractive about a Texas seller than a seller from any other state, except that if I find something when I'm back visiting I can at least take a look at it in person before having it shipped back.

 

[gwnorth]

If it gives you the opportunity to personally inspect something you want, it's a good way to go. Check it out while visiting in TX, and have it shipped to your FFL in VA to be picked up by you when you get back. You could even line up the FFL through your favorite local dealer in VA before going down. It's a viable option if there is something down home that is of particular interest to you (if it's something of current production, I agree, you may as well just order it from a dealer in VA).

Personally, I will not buy used sight unseen. But, I have bought from a private seller in WV once. Met up with him to examine the gun in WV, and then he shipped it to an FFL near me where I went for my background check and picked it up.

And just to be sure you are aware of it, here in VA, FTF sales between state residents (of legal age and otherwise not legally barred from owning the weapon) are perfectly legal and done all the time, no FFL exchange required under those circumstances. A nice resource is http://www.vaguntrader.com/ a site I have bought and sold a few guns through myself.

 

[ScottRiqui]

Thanks so much for the VAguntrader link! I've just been picking up copies of the "Tidewater Trading Post" (kind of a "Thrifty Nickel"-type classified ad newspaper.) I've felt silly buying it each week just to go through the tiny gun portion.