doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Importing a shotgun from the U.K. - procedure?

How does a U.S. resident get a shotgun from a dealer in the U.K.? Must you use a FFL dealer that is also an importer, or can a regular FFL dealer do it with some special paperwork? Thank you.

Nitro if it's an antique you can have it imported directly to you. If not, you will need a CCL or FFL only.

batf form 6 is required, any ffl can do it for you.
Steve

Use to be they could send it via Royal Post from England, now it has to go by airlines and a broker might have to be involved. You can clear the guns for yourself, but many times its not worth it, depending on the customs at where you live.. Our customs in Houston is now requires a copy of an export license from the original shipping dealer. Yes, any dealer can do it, but most will not as they have not done it and do not know whats involved. So they pass on it. I have done several in the past that a dealer started on it and then quit. Had one dealer mess it up so bad the gun got confiscated and I was hired to undo the mess.

Best,


John Boyd
Quality Arms

Most dealers in this area can't or won't take a half a day off work to go to Dulles Airport to retrieve the gun from customs. There has to be a simpler way to do it. How do the U.K. dealers sell guns at the Vintagers and places like that? You would think that the U.K. auction houses would want to make it simple for us, but they don't seem to be interested.

Most of the guns available at the VC are 1898 guns or earlier for just this reason from the UK people. Even that can present a problem as Toby Barclay can attest.

The attitude of the mail service has been like the proverbial last straw for getting guns for reproof or other work back to the US from the UK.

I don't have a good answer unless I find a dealer willing to go through because he already does for his inventory.

The last gun I bought simply came in the mail...

I'm an importer and I have a shipment building in England now. I try to ship when I have between 6 and 12 guns. It costs the same for air freight for 1 gun or 12. Here's what I have to pay. $525 for air freight to Anchorage. (It's the only way the ship them out of Britian that I know of.) $180 for my broker to get them released. 11% customs fee if the shipment value is above $2000, (not hard). Gas for a 300 mile round trip. Shipping to where ever the guns that aren't mine are going. It's not cheap.

Nitro: From my experience "IT AIN'T EASY". If you buy from an auction house, some offer shipping and some don't. Holt's does. It takes an export license from the U.K. and an import license from the U.S. BATF Form 6. Your dealer over there gets a copy of your import license and together with his export license sends the gun to British Customs. After the gun is released by them the airline brings it to a port of entry: Atlanta,NewYork,Jacksonville, etc. (whatever you do don't let them send it to Charlotte, NC). It will be then be placed in bonded storage until released by customs. It may then be sent to you by common carrier.

Best Regards, George