If I wanted to purchase say a nice shotgun that was in the next state, in this case Nevada, and have a friend that was going to Nevada any way. Could he purchase the shotgun (with my money) and transport it back to my home town in the next state, in this case California, and give it to me with the bill of sale and the transfer be legal or would I have to do anything to prove that I am now the legal owner instead of the friend that purchased the shotgun for me?
No gun registration yet, right? No, I am not a felon …
IIRC Any out of state purchase of a firearm that’s going to California must be done via a licensed firearms dealer inside California, thus it would go through a registration and background check. In addition pistols must comply with local California standards and can be refused.
Only way around this is moving to California from out of state and all firearms must be your own and registered accordingly.
You are describing a straw purchase. Federally it is illegal if the end user is prohibited from possession a gun for some reason. If the end user is not prohibited then it depends on your state. Starw purchases are not legal in my state of New Jersey.
I buy guns from out of state. If you are not there in person, here’s how it’s done legally.
Locate a dealer in your state who will do transfers. On line gun sites often have lists organized by state.
Contact the selling dealer and arrange to pay for the gun and arrange for transfer to the receiving dealer. The shipping dealer may want a copy of the receiving dealers FFL. He’ll only ship to the address listed on the FFL.
When the receiving dealer has the firearm in hand go in and fill out the 4473 form and pay for the transfer. In my area transfers cost between $25 and $40.
Also, gun stores in one state often have a very small store in an adjacent state, just for the purpose of transferring something from the main store to someone who lives in the other state.
I’m not a lawyer or a police officer, but any gun purchase scheme that uses the phrase “…have a friend ___________ for me” is going to be difficult, at best, to explain to law enforcement and NOT sound like a straw purchase. Personally, I’d avoid any such scenario at all costs.
