'Tis the Season: Gifting a gun for Christmas

[Goliathan]

I've searched through here and come up with threads which present wildly different opinions at different times on the subject of buying guns as gifts, and whether or not they count as straw purchases.

We'd like to buy a .22LR rifle for a family member who has his LTC and is not PP and all of that stuff. Totally above board. For purposes of presentation and convenience, a gift card is not ideal; we'd very much like to present an actual rifle.

The instructions for the 4473 seem to me to make it clear that a legitimate gift is not a straw purchase, as there is no money changing hands and the recipient is not a PP. The FA-10 doesn't seem to care one way or another, near as I can tell.

Am I inviting disaster? Seems cut and dried to me; the wording on the 4473 instructions itself seem to say that a gift is A-OK and this is what we'd like to do.

I could perhaps make a temporary loan of the rifle and wait some discrete period of time before doing the eFA-10 to ward off suspicion, or maybe that doesn't matter. I'm not worried about burning one of my transfers for the year over this. I don't have enough of a collection to sell any of them!

Thanks

 

[jkelly1229]

Doesn't matter you have 7 days to fa 10 it is all

 

[browncoat]

Gifts are not straw purchases. People are very confused about this, but the 4473 form itself is pretty clear. A straw purchase occurs when one person buys a gun for another person, having either already been paid or expecting to be paid. The instructions say:

Actual Transferee/Buyer: For purposes of this form, you are the actual transferee/buyer if you are purchasing the firearm for yourself or otherwise acquiring the firearm for yourself (e.g., redeeming the firearm from pawn/retrieving it from consignment, firearm raffle winner). You are also the actual transferee/buyer if you are legitimately purchasing the firearm as a gift for a third party.

 

[mac1911]

Go buy the gun for yourself. After shooting it and you decide you don't like it transfer/sell it to who ever you like who is not a PP and properly licensed.
No matter what you end up doing a FA10 on your part if bought in MA anyway.

 

[Len-2A Training]

What you describe is a legitimate gift and not a legal problem. No reason to play games (as another suggests), just do it and eFA-10 it to the recipient when you gift it.

 

[Obie1]

I still struggle with "gift" as a verb. What I've done is reserve the firearm at a dealer, give a picture, go to the store and have the recipient fill out the 4473 and use my credit card or my cash.

 

[Len-2A Training]

I still struggle with "gift" as a verb. What I've done is reserve the firearm at a dealer, give a picture, go to the store and have the recipient fill out the 4473 and use my credit card or my cash.

Based on recent Federal prosecutions/convictions, I would NOT recommend doing it this way.

 

[Picton]

For once, a government document is brutally clear: the 4473 answers the question precisely. Buy the rifle, then go ahead and give it to whatever LTC holder you desire. Efa-10 to follow as if you're the seller.

Still, I can't blame the OP entirely; I don't trust gov't forms either.

 

[Wrench75]

Perfectly legal. I have sold at least 100 in the past few weeks that were bought as gifts. Have at it.

https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/docs/atf-p-5300-4pdf/download Page 166

Where a person purchases a firearm
with the intent of making a gift of the
firearm to another person, the person
making the purchase is indeed the true
purchaser. There is no straw purchaser
in these instances. In the above exam-
ple, if Mr. Jones had bought a firearm
with his own money to give to Mr. Smith
as a birthday present, Mr. Jones could
lawfully have completed Form 4473.
The use of gift certificates would also
not fall within the category of straw pur-
chases. The person redeeming the gift
certificate would be the actual purchaser
of the firearm and would be properly
reflected as such in the dealer's records.

 

[Goliathan]

This is reassuring. Thanks, guys.

All the same, I'll make a hardcopy of the rules and the FAQs just to be sure the .gov doesn't make any sudden stealth edits to them behind my back haha

 

[browncoat]

Based on recent Federal prosecutions/convictions, I would NOT recommend doing it this way.

Odd, right? It's like the poor guy who was depositing 9,999 every month or so because he was only insured for 10k and got busted. The feds seem to like making things screwy.