Importing a firearm from Europe to the United States

[sss]

Folks,

I posted this on Defensive Carry a few minutes ago but thought I'd re-post it here to see if anyone local can help me answer some questions...

I'm traveling to Eastern Europe in a few days to visit my ill grandfather, who worked as a police officer in the area for many years. When he retired, the government allowed him to keep his service revolver as a memento of his years of service. Grandpa and I haven't kept up as much as we should have, so he just recently found out that I'm interested in shooting...

With that in mind, I've been doing some research on the steps involved in importing a firearm into the United States. US Firearm Importation Rules gave me a decent overview of the paperwork involved in doing this, but I still have a few questions that the site doesn't address.

According to ATF, there is no need for an FFL to do what I want to do, which should hopefully make the process pretty straightforward:

ATF Information:

A nonlicensee may obtain a permit to import sporting ammunition for
personal use (excluding armor piercing handgun ammunition, tracer, incendiary,
or large capacity ammunition feeding devices), and firearm parts (other than
frames, receivers, or actions) without engaging the services of a Federal
firearms licensee. Silencer parts and certain machine gun parts are subject
to the NFA and may not be imported. If the nonlicensee chooses to have a
licensee handle the importation, the licensee should complete and send to ATF
an ATF Form 6, Part I, in accordance with the instructions on the form. The
nonlicensee's name, address, and telephone number should appear in Item 9,
"Specific purpose of importation."

What I'm confused about is how to actually get the firearm into the United States:

1. Will a firearm be accepted as part of my luggage abroad? My destination is not accessible via a direct flight, and requires that I have layovers in "gun loving" European countries including Germany and Austria. Lufthansa seems to allow firearms in checked luggage, but I'm very concerned about being interrogated or otherwise harassed in a foreign country.

2. How about shipping the pistol to my house here in Texas? I understand that the ATF permit takes a month or two to be approved, so I'll be back at home again well before the permit is issued. If at all possible, I think I'd much rather have the pistol shipped here instead of flying out there again. I've found plenty of resources on shipping a firearm domestically, but nothing for sending them via UPS/FedEx/DHL from Europe. Can this be done?

Any tips from someone who's done this before would be greatly appreciated. :)

[AEA]

ATF Information:

A nonlicensee may obtain a permit to import sporting ammunition for
personal use (excluding armor piercing handgun ammunition, tracer, incendiary,
or large capacity ammunition feeding devices), and firearm parts (other than
frames, receivers, or actions) without engaging the services of a Federal
firearms licensee.

I think you mis-read this and should look at it again. You cannot import a complete gun without the help of a FFL.

[CompVest]

PM me I know a FFL in the Houston area that may be able to help.

[joe817]

I'd highly suggest that you call U.S. Customs Service, and ask them that question. They can answer all your questions, and what you need. I think they have forms you have to fill out before you actually import it back here.

The only experience I have in overseas shipments of firearms was long before 9/11 and it involved exporting a WWII rifle collection to New Zealand. I was an export agent for an international cargo handling agent.

U.S. Customs will definitely tell you everything you need to know. Good luck!

[sss]

I think you mis-read this and should look at it again. You cannot import a complete gun without the help of a FFL.

I think you're right. :) I should've gotten some sleep before posting this...

I'm going to go ahead and get in touch with an FFL. Thanks for the advice, guys.

[pdubyoo]

I'd highly suggest that you call U.S. Customs Service, and ask them that question. They can answer all your questions, and what you need. I think they have forms you have to fill out before you actually import it back here.

The only experience I have in overseas shipments of firearms was long before 9/11 and it involved exporting a WWII rifle collection to New Zealand. I was an export agent for an international cargo handling agent.

U.S. Customs will definitely tell you everything you need to know. Good luck!

Ditto

U.S. Customs should be able to point you in the right direction. You will also need to explore "export laws & regulations" of the Eastern European country that you are shipping from.

[joe817]

Excellent point pdubyoo! I shoulda thought of that.

Won't do much good to find out info importing into the U.S. if you can't export from the country of origin.

[chabouk]

Probably the most knowledgeable importers of individual guns and small batches is Empire Arms. They're located in Florida, but once they get your gun in-country they can send it to a Texas dealer.

Because they handle C&R and military suprlus guns, they've dealt extensively with eastern European laws.

http://www.empirearms.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sss]

I contacted Empire and explained my situation. The owner replied back and said that "it is impossible to import a firearm (especially a handgun) privately". This is strange since a user on Defensive Carry replied to my thread saying that he was able to import a pistol from Ireland with no problems whatsoever.

I think I'll give CompVest's FFL a try instead.