How do I import a gun?

How difficult is it to import a gun and what paperwork needs to be filed to do so?

By import, I mean purchasing a gun (pistol or rifle, nothing fancy) while travelling overseas and shipping it back to the US.

Is this even worth the hassle (I’ve seen some great deals while travelling that would make it worth some red tape).

Well, if you were intending to import a firearm or firearms to sell, you’d have to have FFL and you’d have to stamp the weapon with your importer mark. However, it looks to be legal to import a firearm as a buyer. You’d need to fill out the ATF Form 6, Part 1 (found here and prepare for a pretty good wait. Their FAQs say it can take a few months for approval.

ATF’s website is a little difficult to navigate, so I hope I didn’t miss anything.

A friend had wanted to go hunting on an African safari. After spending the appropriate time saving his money for the trip he packed up his 30 06 and finally was off to South Africa.
Hunting was excellent.
He has an impressive list of critters that he shot and generally had a good time.
While he was still in SA 911 happened.
To make a long story short he still doesn’t know where his 30 06 is. Says at the time he didn’t care where it went.He just wanted to get home.

Yeah, I can see how 9/11 would complicate matters. Usually though, if you can prove that you took your gun with you out of the United States, you don’t need any special forms or procedures to get it back in. You simply have to let the customs agent know you bought it here (sales receipt, etc.)