This is always the best way to "buy" a gun for somebody as a gift. Get them a "gift certificate" (should just be like a fancy statement like, "This entitles the person to $500 of credit at XXXXX Store") or do what you did above. Buying a gun for somebody and hauling it across state lines can raise a LOT of issues regarding the "delivery" of a firearm (not so much the purchase). There's more flexibility with long arms though, but my advice is to never give the ATF a reason to suspect anything. You get the wrong agent and you're going to spend a LOT of time answering questions, if not worse.knotquiteawake wrote:I coordinated my Father's 50th birthday gift. All of us kids pooled the money together to buy him a Henry Golden Boy .22LR. I live in Texas and he lives in California. Here is how I did it:
I called around until I found a shop near him that had the rifle in stock.
I called them told them what I wanted to do.
The owner said I can just send him a check for the gun, and once he gets the check to have my dad come by and fill out the paperwork and wait the mandatory waiting period and then just go pickup the gun.
So then I mailed the guy a check.
Once he had the check I sent my dad a card with a picture of the gun, and directions to the gun shop.
He filled out the paperwork, waited, and now its his gun.
It was really easy. Its going to be a lot easier if you are willing to not actually put the gun in the gift box to be unwrapped.
Even within the same state, there's the issue of getting a gun as a bona fide gift that somebody doesn't want. Unless you have a written guarantee, many retailers won't take back a gun once it has left the store. This happens often during Christmas time, especially with family members getting something for their mom or older relative ("What? But why don't you like that Beretta 92? That's what they use in the military!"). When it comes to guns, the true gift is helping them with their own gun purchasing experience, not forcing a gun decision on them.