Has anyone done a Form 6?

[Mike Elzinga]

I have very little experience with NFA items, so Im hoping someone here has advice....

I have a friend in a European country that has a wonderful rifle that he wishes to sell and I wish to buy. How can I go about legally importing this rifle? Is a Form 6 the only way to do this? what should I expect to pay and how long should I expect this to take? Any other advice ?

 

[AmmoManAaron]

In for answers.

 

[praff]

I would call ATF and get some guidance. Or maybe even better, do some correspondence via email so you have answers in writing. I'm sure how much and if you even can is going to be determined by the rifle type and where it was manufactured and where it is coming from.

What type of rifle??

 

[Bfish]

Doesn't look like anyone has come a long with any answers, but I'm in to follow even if it's just updates.

 

[STFU]

I have done a Form 6 to bring a weapon back from Germany.
It was easy and when I called the ATF, the woman walked me through the form, field by field to ensure it was correct.
I was using ATF E-Form Part 6 (5330.3A). Mailed it and had an approved response in under 2 weeks. I received the hard-copy about a week after that.

Keep in mind, I was on a USAF contract and covered by the US SOFA.
Since I was a "US Government Civilian" repatriating back to CONUS, I did not need to get an importer involved. I am fairly certain that if you are visiting as a tourist, the process is much more involved and you must get an importer involved.
Shoot me a PM and I will get you a redacted copy of the approved pdf if you want it.

Also be aware that there are many overseas weapons that the ATF will not let you bring back to the US. You need to start with ATF Form 4590 (5330.5) to ensure that what you are trying to bring back qualifies!

 

[HHollow]

If the gun is over 50 years old and not of military origin then a C&R FFL can be used to get an approved form 6.

I tried this and was initially denied because the atf employee did not know the C&R rules. Later, the form6 was granted on a provisional basis, requiring that the gun be sent directly to the atf technical lab to verify it was kosher. The atf would not reveal their approval criteria and said that the gun would be destroyed if found to be not kosher. I decided not to risk the rare gun by attempting to import.

 

[Notropis]

So send it to us so we can verify it's (something something) and we'll destroy your valuables if not (something something). We won't tell you what will determine if we want to destroy your valuables. I have about as much faith in an equitable government as I do with impoverished senators trying to help ordinary folk, but this sounds unusually illegal. I'm not a fan of restrictive rules regarding importation but rules are written for all to see. This sounds like a rather nasty way of keeping people from trying to import.