Out of State Firearms Transfers

The answer is Yes and No! Confusing answer to say the least.

An FFL in your State can transfer a firearm, Handgun or Long gun, to you as long as you meet the Federal requirements and if your State has State requirements, you must also meet those. Everyone should know that by now. But what if you want to purchase a firearm from a State that you are just visiting?

An FFL in a state other than your state of residency cannot transfer a handgun to you directly. It must be shipped to a receiving FFL of your choice in your home state.

Long Guns, meaning rifles and/or Shotguns can legally be purchased at a gun store in a state other than your state of residency, PROVIDED, the transaction complies with the laws of both the dealer's state and the buyer's state. The FFL cannot ship the long gun directly to you; you must purchase and pick it up at the store or if you want it shipped, it must be shipped to a receiving FFL in your state of residency.

An example would be:

You live in Florida. You come to us to by a firearm. If the gun you want is a long gun, we can sell it to you if it meets all the requirements for our State of Texas and for the State of Florida. Since Florida has a three (3) day waiting period, we will NOT be able to sell you a long gun from our store unless you want it shipped to an FFL in Florida at which time you would have to have their background check done and wait the three (3) day waiting period.

Although this seems redundant to say, we would not be able to sell you a handgun without shipping it to an FFL in your state of residency.

I'm sure this is now as clear as mud.

Suffice it to say, the best way to buy a firearm is through a gun store in your home state or via a reputable online gun store, of which there are many, that will ship to the FFL or your choice in your state of residency.