I've not yet tried to buy a gun in Europe and get it home. I will be looking on my next trip to St Chamond - Saint-Etienne area. But I have shipped well more than a dozen guns home from Afghanistan...or rather mailed them. The drill up to about 2011 was simple. If you bought a gun manufactured before 1898, you mailed it home from the APO... Actually if you flew commercial you could check it in your baggage and no questions asked (as I did with an old hammer wall-gun double shotgun with Persian inscriptions on the brass bands around the barrels). The pre-1898 reg was liberally interpreted. Because the Enfield was designed in 1892, a lot of SMLE Enfields made in the 1930's found their way back. That's US law.
I brought back a long Lee - stamped 1901 but allowed in by the provost marshal Lieutenant who had to chop off.
About 2011 some brigadier up in Bagram decided he had to screw with the troops so he required any center fire gun no matter the age to be authorized by ATF. This included Martini-Henry's and Snider-Enfields. I shipped a bunch of both and some 1853 percussion cap Enfields (no ATF approval needed) back the the USA (Latter are loved by the Civil War - War Between the States -War of Northern Agression reenactors). ATF informed me that reproductions are not allowed into the USA but said the Afghan Pashtun copies are so good they can't tell the difference. But they tightened up on the manufacture date - not "designed before" but "made before." (in fact there was a fellow here wondering if he could prove an EM Reilly was made before 1898 - I commented and figure the above was the reason): See SXS 40 post on 6th page of the EN Reilly line:
http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=482372&page=6So I'm wondering if you bought say a 1897 Boss, theoretically if the Brits would allow it, you could just check it in your luggage and Customs wouldn't say a word. I might explore this when I go to France this fall. The kicker comes when you have to a have a "license" or "permit" to buy in the first place in UK or France..
Pushtun gun factory north of the Kohat Pass...with a fake Holland and Holland:
