FFL required for Huntsmans?

[tx77057]

Good morning all,

Just a few questions regarding the legal aspect of buying a Hunstman.

I have read through the forums and noticed that they all say the Hunstman needs FFL because it is considered a firearm and the sidekick does not because of the different size reciever. (Which doesnt makes sense to me)
Because if someone bought a huntsman, and later added a shotgun barrel, they would be "manufacturing" an illegal fiream?, HMMM, It would be the same exact thing with buying a colt or remington repro, "cash and carry" and then buying a conversion cylinder from the same store.

But anyway,  I have noticed ALOT of used Hunstmans for sale on gunbroker and auction arms which sate that "NO FFL needed", "Ship right to your door", etc.

I even emailed these dealers, (some are FFL and some are private party) to make sure, and yes, they reconfirm that NO FFL needed.

So if this transaction did happen, and a Huntsman did get shipped from FFL dealer to private party, what, if anything would happen?, who would actually get in trouble? the sender? the receiver? or both?

Thanks in advance

[Busta]

First, you need to understand that there are 2 different Huntsmans. First you have the "muzzleloader only" H&R Huntsmans that were manufactured back in the 1970's. They came in .45 cal, .58 cal, and 12 ga. These are not considered as "firearms".

Second, you have the NEF Huntsmans that were manufactured from 2001 to about 2005 or 2006. These Huntsmans were all .50 calibers, and the barrels were sold in the barrel program up to about 2008 or 2009. These .50 cal Huntsmans are on a SB1 frame, or SB2 frame if they were on the .50/.243 Combo. These newer Huntsmans have to go through a FFL and 4473 paperwork completed.

The .50 cal Sidekick is a shorter framed version almost identical to the Huntsman, and is not considered a "firearm" because other H&R/NEF barrels will not fit it by design. When the Sidekick was introduced in 2004, it was designated as a NEF, sometime after Remington bought H&R/NEF there were at least one run at the end that was badged with the H&R name.

There are several confusing configurations of H&R/NEF rifles/shotguns/muzzleloaders, the FAQ's have information to help you sort most of it out.

So in a nutshell, the 70's era (.45 cal , .58 cal, 12 ga) H&R Huntsman DOES NOT need a FFL, the 2001 and later (.50 cal) NEF Huntsman DOES need a FFL, and the 2004 and later (.50 cal) H&R or NEF Sidekick DOES NOT need a FFL.

Hope that explains that? If not, ask more questions.

NEF Huntsman on top, and NEF Sidekick on bottom in each pic. More info in the FAQ's.







I also have a H&R badged Sidekick, not to be confused with the old H&R Huntsman.

[tx77057]

Thanks, that explains it perfectly.


All of these are the older 70s models in 45,58 ans 12g.

Thanks again