Retrieving gun from out of state Gunsmith

[bushmaster1313]

If you physically bring a gun to an out of state gunsmith for overnight repair, how can you get it back?

Retrieve in person. (but you are from out of state)
Receive back in the mail (but you did not mail it to the FFL)
Receive back via in-state FFL (This I know is possible)

Does it matter if handgun or long gun?

 

[SSN Vet]

Just go get it.... Though he has to log it into his book, it's still yor gun and he doesn't have to "transfer" it back to you, like a dealer transfers a gun to you when you buy it.

 

[Frank Ettin]

Some years ago, I was in Arizona and left a gun off with a gunsmith there for some work. He returned it to me by UPS, just as if I had sent it to him in the first place.

 

[NavyLCDR]

There is no entry in the FFLs bound book for HOW they received the gun - only WHO they received it from. So how they received the gun from the owner is irrelevant to how they return the gun back to the owner.

 

[deadin]

The Commander is right. If it's a long gun you should be able to pick it up as long as both States allow it. However if it's a handgun the FFL will need to ship/mail it to a FFL in your home State for you to pick it up.
I had a friend that was in Montana (He's from WA) and decided to go up into Canada. Knowing that he wouldn't get through customs with his pistol, he checked it into a local gunshop for "cleaning". When he came back the next week, they wouldn't give it to him and had to ship it back to a WA FFL.

 

[zxcvbob]

The Commander is right. If it's a long gun you should be able to pick it up as long as both States allow it. However if it's a handgun the FFL will need to ship/mail it to a FFL in your home State for you to pick it up.
I had a friend that was in Montana (He's from WA) and decided to go up into Canada. Knowing that he wouldn't get through customs with his pistol, he checked it into a local gunshop for "cleaning". When he came back the next week, they wouldn't give it to him and had to ship it back to a WA FFL.

That's true of a pawn shop, but not a gunsmith. The MO shop screwed up, although not horribly so.

 

[rule303]

You can pick it up, or the smith can ship it directly to you. The gunsmith will have logged the gun into his A&D book as acquiring it from you, and will log it out to you with a note that it was a repair, so no 4473 was required. It is of no consequence whether he ships it, or you pick it up. No different than if you were to ship a defective gun to the manufacturer, and they returned it directly to you. (This is OK federally, but since you are from NJ, there may be state laws prohibiting it that I am not familiar with)

 

[NavyLCDR]

The Commander is right.

Yes, I am correct, thank you....

If it's a long gun you should be able to pick it up as long as both States allow it. However if it's a handgun the FFL will need to ship/mail it to a FFL in your home State for you to pick it up.
I had a friend that was in Montana (He's from WA) and decided to go up into Canada. Knowing that he wouldn't get through customs with his pistol, he checked it into a local gunshop for "cleaning". When he came back the next week, they wouldn't give it to him and had to ship it back to a WA FFL.

State of residence has no bearing on returning a gun or a replacement firearm to the original owner that was delivered to an FFL for customization or repair. For example, my ex-wife, a Wyoming resident, took a Taurus handgun to Wholesale Sports in Washington, who sent it back to Taurus for repair. Taurus returned the handgun to Wholesale Sports in Washington, who then returned the gun to my ex-wife, over the counter in person, even though my ex-wife was a Wyoming resident.

18 USC 922 (a)(2)(A) is the Federal law that says state of residence is irrelevant:

(a) It shall be unlawful—
(2) for any importer, manufacturer, dealer, or collector licensed under the provisions of this chapter to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm to any person other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, except that—
(A) this paragraph and subsection (b)(3) shall not be held to preclude a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector from returning a firearm or replacement firearm of the same kind and type to a person from whom it was received; and this paragraph shall not be held to preclude an individual from mailing a firearm owned in compliance with Federal, State, and local law to a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector;

Subsection (b)(3) is the state of residence requirements for the transfer of firearms by FFLs to private parties.

 

[ghitch75]

this.....

You can pick it up, or the smith can ship it directly to you. The gunsmith will have logged the gun into his A&D book as acquiring it from you, and will log it out to you with a note that it was a repair, so no 4473 was required. It is of no consequence whether he ships it, or you pick it up. No different than if you were to ship a defective gun to the manufacturer, and they returned it directly to you. (This is OK federally, but since you are from NJ, there may be state laws prohibiting it that I am not familiar with)

 

[bushmaster1313]

from returning a firearm or replacement firearm of the same kind and type to a person from whom it was received;

This appears to be the key provision.
Federal law allows the return to the person from whom it was received, and does not specify how or where it is to be returned.

 

[deadin]

So I guess the crux of the story is to make sure the FFL you are turning your gun over to understands the law as stated here. We all know many don't and are super cautious when it comes to protecting their license,so check beforehand or you might find yourself in a bind.....

 

[NavyLCDR]

So I guess the crux of the story is to make sure the FFL you are turning your gun over to understands the law as stated here. We all know many don't and are super cautious when it comes to protecting their license,so check beforehand or you might find yourself in a bind.....

Absolutely correct. Before we handed my ex-wife's gun over we asked, "Will there be a problem getting this back because she is not a resident of Washington State."