Four Tips for Shopping for a Firearms Enthusiast

If you have a hunter, shooter or other avid firearms fan in your life, you might want to buy him or her a gun for their next birthday or other gift-giving occasion. The only problem with your generous plan is that you are basically clueless about guns, so you are not sure how to go about shopping for one as a gift.

In addition, you realize that there are a number of regulations in regards to firearms as well as who can and cannot own certain types of guns in particular parts of the country. To be sure you are making a smart and safe purchase for your firearms fan, please check out the following tips:

Shopping Online — Know the Restrictions

You can purchase guns online by following a number of rules and restrictions. If you would rather stay in your comfy home to browse for your firearms fan, you might want to check out the website of an outdoors retailer with a wide selection of guns including handguns, rifles, shotguns and more from name brands like Ruger and Smith & Wesson. Once you find the gun you want to buy, select “Order Online” and then provide your zip code; this way you can see if you are permitted to buy this type of gun in your state. If you buy through Cabela’s, you can select the location where you want to pick up the firearm; again, this might depend on whether or not the one you chose is able to be sold by your local store.

Make Sure Your Recipient Can Legally Own a Gun

There are more than 20,000 gun laws on the books. Prior to shopping, visit the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) website to read up on local laws. There is no federal law the prohibits a gift of a firearm to a relative or friend who lives in your own state, but certain states do require you to transfer the gun at a local firearms retailer so an instant background check can be performed on your friend or loved one. This transfer of guns law can also apply to firearms that have been part of your family for some time; if you inherited your dear Uncle Joe’s rifle and want to gift it to your deer hunting nephew, you may still need to go through a licensed retailer.

Consider a Gift Card

The ATF also suggests that if you want to purchase a new gun and some ammo for your firearms fan, that giving him or her a gift card is the way to do it. This way, he or she can shop for and choose the perfect gun for their hobbies, and there will not be any question about how is the actual buyer of the firearm. To be part of the shopping process, you could always meet your loved one at the store where you purchased the gift card and watch as he or she browses through the selection of guns and ammo and makes the final selections.

Be Careful with Out-of-state Recipients

If you want to gift a firearm to someone who lives out of state, things can get much trickier. Basically, you are required to go through a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder; they are the only ones who can legally handle gun sales across state lines. This means that you must buy the gun from someone who has an FFL and then it must be shipped to an FFL holder in the recipient’s state. Because this can be a complicated process, if your firearm fan lives in a different state, you might want to revisit that gift card idea.

Even if you are pretty unknowledgeable about guns, shopping for one as a gift will teach you a lot. Do your homework and your research and make sure you follow all regulations, and your firearms fan will surely be delighted with his or her gift.