Buying a Gun as a Gift?

I didn't really know where to post this so thought I'd put it here. Feel free to move it Mods if it should be somewhere else.

I live in Houston. I have a friend who lives in Colorado. For a while now he has had his eye on a Beretta 92 pistol. He can't afford it, so I'd like to get it for him for Christmas. I won't be seeing him over the holidays so need to figure out the best way to purchase the gun and get it to him. Can I mail it to him or set it up through Gun Genie where it's delivered near his house so he can go pick it up, do the background check, etc. Or, what other options are there?

With all the crazy regulations getting passed these days I don't want to end up on the wrong side of some law I didn't even know about. Is it even possible to buy a gun for someone else in another State these days? Is it really as simple as me just buying the gun and then mailing it to him as a present?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Ship it to an ffl where he'll go and do the background check and pick it up.

Not sure about this but I think if your name is on the receipt as the buyer, you'd have to be the one to pick it up from the ffl. Call a gun shop mear him in Colorado and see what they can do. I recently purchased a gun through a mfg and they will not let anyone but me pick it up at the ffl since my name is on the receipt. At least that's what the ffl told me.

Be careful. Can you buy a gun as a gift?

On the matter of purchasing a firearm as a gift, ATF recommends firearms retailers use a gift certificate. This way the person receiving the gift can redeem the gift certificate with the retailer and get exactly what he or she wants, and there is no question about who is the “actual buyer of the firearm” and whether the person can lawfully possess a firearm.

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You buy it for yourself without saying it's a gift, take it home, then go ship it to an ffl in his state, and he goes and does the background and picks it up. As far as anyone is concerned he's buying it from you.

I would try to find one that is being sold by an individual, that cuts out the bull of the 4473 with you being purchaser and the bull about the "straw purchase". Since it will be crossing stateliness you will have to ship it through a FFL, he will have to fill out the 4473 to pick up.

Have him pick it up and do the paperwork locally. Also be sure it's legal there, especially mag capacity.

Thanks for all the comments. Based on this information from the 4473 Form, it looks like giving it strictly and solely as a gift isn't a problem. I would be the buyer and answer as such in Question 11. My friend's not an Ex Con and can pass the background check and he wouldn't be paying any money. It would purely be a straight up gift.

Thoughts?

Question 11.a. 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. ACTUAL TRANSFEREE/BUYER EXAMPLES: Mr. Smith asks Mr. Jones to purchase a firearm for Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith gives Mr. Jones the money for the firearm. Mr. Jones is NOT THE ACTUAL TRANS- FEREE/BUYER of the firearm and must answer “NO” to question 11.a. The licensee may not transfer the firearm to Mr. Jones. However, if Mr. Brown goes to buy a firearm with his own money to give to Mr. Black as a present, Mr. Brown is the actual transferee/buyer of the firearm and should answer “YES” to question 11.a. However, you may not transfer a firearm to any person you know or have reasonable cause to believe is prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), (n), or (x). Please note: EXCEPTION: If you are picking up a repaired firearm(s) for another person, you are not required to answer 11.a. and may proceed to question 11.b.

^^ I think that's the straw purchase flag.

Maybe best to see if you can just pay the FFL near him. That way he's the only one filling out paperwork.

If you do buy the gun here, don't send the magazines to Colorado.

I'm no lawyer and know very little about the case that went to the Supreme Court, but based on my very limited knowledge it seems like the transfer of money was the key deciding factor. The ex-policeman bought the gun for his uncle and the uncle paid him back, thereby not making it a gift. But if it's purely a gift, there's no issue.

Maybe?

I'd send him a $750 BassPro gift card and let him go pick out the pistol he wants. MUCH less of a headache and no FFL fee's or shipping involved.

so little time sooooo many smart arse responses to make...

Bowhunt. I'll PM my address, send me the gift card and I'll test this theory fer ya

Send him a Gift Card and a pic of a 92.

Do you need any more friends? I can't afford the Sig P320.

All BS aside, you are really a cool friend.

By all rights according to the "law degrees" on my outhouse wall there should be no problems. But that advice is worthless as used toilet paper.

ATF should have an office in Houston, go ask them, and get their answer in writing.

^

This.

Since it will be crossing state lines, he will have to do the 4473, so it doesn't matter, really.

Do it the way sig226fan says above. That is the correct way to do it. You can buy a firearm have the dealer you buy it from ship it to an ffl. If it goes straight from the dealer to another dealer the end user fills out the paper work.

This. You will be legally transferring ownership to him when he fills out the 4473 at the FFL in his state. Whether it was a gift or paid for by him doesn't matter.

Just send a gift card.

Send a money order or cashiers check or one of your personal checks rather than a gift card. That way he can get the cash, and buy where he wants. You will always have the copy of the check as a reminder of your generosity.

Buy it online and bill to you ship to him. No need to complicate things with the straw purchase thing as it is not a straw purchase.

Go to buds, Pick FFL near him and put his name on it. Get to billing then fill out your information. I have given weapons as gifts for several years now and its not that complicated. When local I pay for them and have whoever pick them up I am giving them to. I.E. this year I am giving 5 of my workers guns. Paid FFL to bring them in and put their names on each one. They will go in and fill out 4473 when they get here and its christmas time.

On the other end of that we did some work for a firearms mfg here in TX. My company gave me a rifle and the mfg shipped it to my FFL and I picked it up. Same thing different scenario.

Thanks for the info Poke81. I'm still working out the details but it looks like I'll do something like what you describe.

I'm suddenly wondering if Poke is hiring.

Poke, got any IT job openings?

Bowhunt, I started to call you BO, but you might think I'm calling you a president, and you have guns, so...

What might happen if you bought the gun, kept it for a while, then sold it FTF to a stranger? No record of that sale (yet), and there's no way to tell who that stranger might be, maybe some guy just visiting Texas?

I'm an IT guy, so my opinion is not worth the price.