Well lookit that – that cute little sheet of paper (or, really, half a sheet of paper) indicates that Yours Truly is now authorized to have certain firearms shipped straight to his door, without having to work through an FFL or other dealer, and without having to have a background check for each set of purchases. Granted, the BATFE did a rather thorough background check on me (one of far too many I have had done in my relatively short life, all for employment or firearm-related reasons – it would be great if folks inside the Beltway bothered to share information once in a while), but that list of “curio and relic” firearms includes anything manufactured at least 50 years before the current date (but not reproductions, and only in their original configurations), including, coincidentally, handguns capable of defeating modern kevlar with plain-jane copper-and-lead ball ammunition. Huh. “Relics” they may be, but some of them can decidedly hold their own with modern firearms, and a fair number take commonly-available, if not outright “normal”, ammunition.
Of course, given the presupposition of innocence that our legal system supposedly works under, this is the way it should be with all firearms, regardless of date of manufacture, ammunition caliber, or other details.
At any rate, the big draw for me getting the permit, especially now that my spending habits have been somewhat curtailed of late, is that I am now a holder of a Federal Firearms License (Type 03, to be exact), and am thus regarded by some online retailers as a “firearm dealer”, resulting in potential discounts at the checkout. Granted, the license does not actually allow me to act as a firearm dealer (it is expressly and only for “transactions in curio or relic firearms”), but if it saves me money at places like Brownells, that is enough for me. $30 for a three year permit that can easily save me that much money in a single transaction seems like a hell of a deal to me.
If you want your own shiny half-a-piece-of-paper, there are guides galore on the internet, and turnaround time was about two months for me – kind of middle-of-the-road, based on other people’s stories. After that, it just becomes a question of which firearm to have delivered to your door first – the aforementioned ray gun, a preposterously cheap (and equally loud) military rifle, potentially match-quality target rigs, your (grand)father’s Great War rifle, documented spoils of war, or even Indiana Jones’ trusty sidearm. Just color inside the lines (to wit, maintain your “bound book” appropriately), follow the appropriate laws, and you too can enjoy the rich history of firearms… and a discount at most major suppliers, too.
(Oh, and speaking of laws, that two-inch packet of paper my license is sitting upon? That is the generic, one-size-fits-all “welcome aboard” package the BATFE sends out to all new FFLs, but, in reality, most of the information is only applicable to Type 1 FFLs (“real” dealers). Even better, almost half the documents were missing due to being “on backorder”. Backorder? Really? Shipping was over $7, plus the cost of the paper and printing. Out of a $30 fee. Government efficiency, at its finest.)
Congratulations! I’ve been seriously considering getting a C&R license myself, but haven’t done so yet – bit iffy about that kind of govt scrutiny, I suppose, although I’m sure my citizenship application received plenty…
Spaceba. If you are worried about before-the-fact scrutiny, you are probably right – your citizenship application probably resulted in more digging into your past than the C&R will (though I, of course, do not know for certain either direction). If you are worried about after-the-fact, just remember that the BATFE can only audit firearms entered into your bound book (or that should have been entered). Anything you buy “normally” (even if it is a C&R-eligible firearm) does not have to be notated, and cannot be audited by them. And once your license expires or you give up collecting, you do not have to retain those records.
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So, yeah, it is a bit of a gamble, but if you are just getting it for the discount, any added scrutiny becomes just a waste of the BATFE’s time
Congrats! Keep your logs up to date
- and keep an extra log of those other things you have. Label it ‘personal’ and keep it private. It may be handy for an insurance claim, or as evidence that all transactions were recorded.
What I wanted to know is why they bothered sending me paper copies of everything AND a CD with all of that and more. Plus, all the information they give you is freely available on the internet. Now if the license was a plastic ID type card with a hologramed image of say, an M1Garand, then I would say we have an efficient government!
I’ve considered a C&R for some time, but I may be moving in the next few months. Would I be better off waiting, or go ahead & do it?
Don’t forget to send a copy to MidwayUSA, Numrich, and to Brownells. They will consider you a Dealer and give you their Dealer Discount. Brownells is the code right before the price and Midway is about 10% on most items, Numrich is about 6% on some stock. Still any little bit helps.
USCitizen: No worries on that count – I definitely plan on keeping my nose clean. The good news is that nothing I own currently could even be vaguely considered a curio or relic.
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Reputo: Agreed. Either the CD or the two inches of documentation was redundant, and the CD alone would have cost a hell of a lot less to mail…
Tennessee Budd: If you are moving in the next two months, I would say go ahead and wait – it will probably take you that long to get the paperwork. If it is looking to be a little longer, go ahead and file – from what I understand, changing your address is just a matter of mailing the ATF a form (ATF Form 5300.38)providing your new address. But, then, that is just me talking – so long as the paperwork gets to you in some fashion or another, and so long as you update your address based on your new one, you should be fine.
xmaddad123: No worries, I already have a stack of letters standing by, ready to go out. Just need to sign them and my FFL copies, and we will be good to go
Thanks, Linoge. I read the surplusrifle article once I got home (the gorram filters at work blocked it). I’ll wait, as it may be soon–awaiting word on a job.
Congrats dude! FYI have a plan for when you find that your bank account has hung itself in the closet.
They are GREAT savings tho, Just my sparse orders from MidwayUSA and Brownells pay for the fee in the first year, and that’s not counting the GUNS GUNS GUNS!!!11!
Btw if you want some sound advice, get yerself a CZ-82 before they become as hard to find as the 52s are now!
Unlike the 52 which is a boat anchor with some neat engineering, the 82 is a REALLY slick shooter, and one of the best C&R deals out there right now.
Oh and a local shop had one on sale, and i’ll say that if you buy one from Southern Ohio Guns, or J&G sales, you’ll pay for your C&R in one fell swoop!
Tennessee Budd: As Weer’d mentions, the permit more than pays for itself if you do even a moderate amount of firearm-related shopping, so definitely look into it when you get the chance.
Weer’d: Investing in finely-crafted woods, metals, and polymers actually seems to be one of the more solid (no pun intended) methods these days…
I was noticing that the CZ-52s seem to be few and far between recently… but, my gun-buying abilities have been somewhat hamstrung of late, given my other relatively-significant aquisition that WizardPC finally figured out…
However, in a year or two, I will have some oddly-heavy boxes showing up at my doorstep, believe you me!