SKS Bring Back Transfer Question

[BRIGUY]

Hi , I know a Vietnam Vet that has a SKS that he brought back , my question is he is looking to sell it but doesnt have paperwork for it and I do not believe he has any form of current gun license . Can he legally sell it to someone , if so how does he go about doing this , and could the buyer just fill out a FA 10 form as a new register since it has never been filed in the U.S ? Bill of Sale? Or is this something that he shouldnt even have posession of , I believe he also has some other rifles from sometime ago when I think you didnt technically have to register guns , you could just go into sears and buy them , what can he do with those? Any input would be helpful , Thanks

 

[jdubois]

Without a license here in MA, he'd have to sell any guns through an FFL. If the SKS was brought back after '68 and wasn't brought in on a Form 6, I wouldn't touch it.

 

[terraformer]

If he wants to keep them, get a FID/LTC. The SKS is likely OK in MA, although I think he has broken a few import laws on this one, I doubt anyone will find out . If he just wants to sell them, he needs to go to an FFL to do the transfer. BTW, is he serious about selling the SKS? If so PM me.

 

[jdubois]

BTW, is he serious about selling the SKS? If so PM me.

You sure you wanna go down that road? 18 USC 44 § 922(l): "it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been imported or brought into the United States or any possession thereof in violation of the provisions of this chapter." Punishable by up to five years in a federal prison.

 

[BRIGUY]

What about any other firearms he may have , that he may have gotten before the gun laws and registering of them became so stricked?

 

[terraformer]

You sure you wanna go down that road? 18 USC 44 § 922(l): "it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been imported or brought into the United States or any possession thereof in violation of the provisions of this chapter." Punishable by up to five years in a federal prison.

That all depends on when he brought it back, right? Viet Nam was 1963 - 1975. GCA is 1968. I was also willing to investigate what it would take top get it properly imported if post 1968. It is an SKS, not an AK, and the way the import ban is worded, SKS' are not in any way restricted.

 

[jdubois]

That all depends on when he brought it back, right? Viet Nam was 1963 - 1975. GCA is 1968.

Yes, if it's pre GCA, no problem.

It is an SKS, not an AK, and the way the import ban is worded, SKS' are not in any way restricted.

How do you figure that? The import ban has nothing to do with AKs. It has to do with all foreign guns. No Form 6, no import. Period.

"Except as provided in section 925(d) of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to import or bring into the United States or any possession thereof any firearm"

The exceptions under 925(d) are for military and government use, the CMP, for any firearms the AG has determined are sporting guns, and for war souvenirs which have been properly imported. There is certainly the possibility that this SKS was properly imported as a war souvenir, but it better have a form 603 with it.

It's just a lot of questions for a non-import marked gun that is post-GCA. I wouldn't want one in my safe without some decent documentation to back it up.

 

[drgrant]

There is certainly the possibility that this SKS was properly imported as a war souvenir, but it better have a form 603 with it.

There is no legal requirement/obligation to "maintain" this form with a legally imported title I firearm. If there is, then many milsurp collectors (and folks in the military) are effectively breaking this "law".

-Mike

 

[terraformer]

How do you figure that? The import ban has nothing to do with AKs. It has to do with all foreign guns. No Form 6, no import. Period.

I didn't mean the GCA import requirements, I meant the 1986 exec order which prohibits certain types of arms from being imported. Lets say that there is no form 603 or form 6. An SKS is still importable today. An AK or anything with a pistol grip has to go through the stupid machinations of Regans' exec order (ie; number of US made parts), but the SKS can come through without modification. Hence why I said I was willing to research what it would take to make that happen if the guy said he brought it in after the GCA. I would call and see how to best handle it. Could I have it shipped to an importer to start the process anew, are there forms one could fill out now to handle it, etc. I wasn't saying just drop it off and I will give the guy some cash. If he says he brought it back in or before 67, I would require him to write an affidavit as such and have him get a copy of his rotation orders (they are available, my dad almost had to get his for some reason recently, and was told they are available) from the period to show that he rotated into and out of Viet Nam during the period in question. I am sure a lawyer would find something else I would need but again, that was part of the investigation I would look at doing.

 

[terraformer]

What about any other firearms he may have , that he may have gotten before the gun laws and registering of them became so stricked?

Oh yeah, why we are actually on this thread. Same as above. FFL to transfer unless he gets the appropriate license.

Sorry, this import issue is actually really interesting topic, well, to us at least.

 

[jdubois]

There is no legal requirement/obligation to maintain this form with a legally imported title I firearm.

No, you are correct, there is no legal obligation to keep the form. There is no legal obligation to keep my FA-10 forms, or my receipts from FFLs, etc, either. But I personally would not want an undocumented/un-marked post-GCA imported military gun. That's not anywhere near my comfort level. It's the same reason I wouldn't want an undocumented "pre-ban" assault weapon (though serial number is good enough documentation for me).

An SKS is still importable today.

I don't believe ATF would approve a personal import on an SKS today. Licensed importers can import them for you, but those will have import marks added to them by the importer.

Hence why I said I was willing to research what it would take to make that happen if the guy said he brought it in after the GCA.

If you draw attention to the gun, I'm going to guess ATF will say it must be destroyed (again, assuming it's post-GCA. If it's pre-GCA, no worres).

 

[jdubois]

Sorry, this import issue is actually really interesting topic, well, to us at least.

Yeah, I hope we answered the OP's other question sufficiently before we got pulled down this rabbit hole

 

[drumenigma]

I'm no SKS expert but might there be some sort of date markings on it that could perhaps help determine at least date of manufacture? If it's manufactured after the GCA and it has no import markings then it might be more likely that it is an illegal bring back. Perhaps M4M could chime in.

 

[BRIGUY]

I'm no SKS expert but might there be some sort of date markings on it that could perhaps help determine at least date of manufacture? If it's manufactured after the GCA and it has no import markings then it might be more likely that it is an illegal bring back. Perhaps M4M could chime in.

I have actually check the #s and it appears to fall in the 1966 manufacture range , so I guess there is still a chance of a bring back before 68 .

 

[jdubois]

I have actually check the #s and it appears to fall in the 1966 manufacture range , so I guess there is still a chance of a bring back before 68 .

With no documentation to the contrary, and as long as the person your getting it from was actively deployed before '68, I'd say that date of manufacture is reasonable enough evidence that it was likely legally imported. It also wouldn't hurt to get a note from the seller stating that he imported it legally.

 

[twortley]

continued Import question

Related to importing, I have a Walther .22LR KKM target rifle sitting in the UK - looking at USC ... 925d not clear if a .22LR bolt action rifle would count or not. Would rather bring here as model no longer manufactured.

Any idea best way of importing - is this a form 6 application/declaration. I own it, just didn't get imported with me when I arrived from UK

 

[jdubois]

Yep, you should be able to bring that in on a form 6.

http://www.atf.gov/forms/pdfs/f53303a.pdf

You may want to enlist the aid of an FFL who is familiar with importing firearms, though this is not required.