I am in the process of buying a contender from a guy in Wy and I am in Pa. Is he required by federal law to ship it from an FFL in Wy to my local FFL dealer in Pa or can he ship it himself to my FFL? All of the FFL dealers I have called - both in Pa and Md say that he must ship the contender via his FFL dealer to my FFL dealer. The guy I am buying the contender off of says otherwise, that he can ship it himself if he gives the ups driver a copy of my local FFL dealer's info. I have always dealt through FFL dealers both ways. I am assuming that the FFL dealers are correct, but I am looking for some first hand experience to back them up or at least a place on the internet with info - I couldnt find anything specifically about this on the ATF site. Thanks for the help.
As already pointed out, if the deal was made via GBO (either through ads or even just PM's), please follow board policy and transfer FFL to FFL. That said...
This has been hashed over a thousand times on the Internet. And it's pretty scary what some of these arm chair lawyers come up with. Bottom line is what it states on the BATF site, and I strongly suggest anyone considering long distance buying/selling of "modern" firearms read and understand those regs fully. It won't be me or my opinion the man with the star will come after, it'll be you.
Here's the guidelines I follow for long distance transfers (and trust me, a semi auto pistol to Moscow before the end of the Cold War was long distance and with lots of "red" tape). For a transfer across state lines, if there are not any local (city, county, state) laws to the contrary, either where the seller or buyer lives, then the seller could ship a "long" gun direct to the buyers FFL. By "long" I mean rifle or shotgun. Pistols going across state lines must be shipped FFL to FFL - no exceptions. And since most TC frames were originally sold as pistols, that includes them. Few TC frame sellers, unless the original owner, know how the frame they are selling was first listed. So to be absolutely sure, I do all TC frames FFL to FFL as if pistols and also register them as such (one of those "local" requirements). Keep in mind also that some localities don't allow certain types of firearms, period (handguns, Class III, etc). And when transferring within your own state of residence, by shipping or even face to face to another resident, make certain of what your state/local laws are. There may be local requirements.
To me it's well worth paying a dealer's fee to do all my transfers in or out, even with long guns and even within state if they have to be shipped. Takes all the legal burden off my shoulders, and that's cheap peace of mind. (Shop around to keep it "cheap" though. Some FFL's are real proud of their hand writting I guess as they charge ridiculous transfer fees.)
It's been my experience that few FFL dealers will send a copy of their license to anyone except another FFL dealer now days. Didn't use to be that way and kind of a joke really as it is public knowledge. But it is a simple matter to check on any FFL dealer to make sure he is legit. So there is really no need for a copy of his license for your own personal records. Demand a receipt when shipping, a bill of sale when buying, keep detailed records on the transaction and you'll be fine.
The carriers each have their own set of regs on shipping, but they haven't bothered to teach them to their own agents very well. Rather than trying to write all the ins and outs of all of the carriers, I suggest you peruse their web sites yourself so you know what they will and will not do and exactly what they require. Not all of them will ship all types of firearms. At least you'll be prepared to teach what you've learned to the agent, or more likely their supervisor/manager when you go in to ship.
No arm chair lawyer here. Just a guy who has transferred a lot of firearms over the years, made every effort to do so legally and still has his freedom.
But don't get lazy and just trust opinions. It's your personal freedom and finances at stake. Every day firearms/ammo are shipped illegally in this country, and all too often by sellers who know they are breaking the law. They'd get what they deserve, but I'm not sure in a court of law that receiving an illegal firearm transfer, even though I didn't know it was shipped illegal, will still guaranty my freedom. It's just not worth taking the chance, making the easy answer going FFL to FFL.
L.