I've read the few laws I've found on buying and selling but don't really understand them. I've only bought from stores but want to know what the rules are on buying from friends/family. Rifles, Shotguns and Handguns. Any help and direction would be greatly appreciated!
FTF transfers can be completed as long as you know of nothing that would prevent the person from getting a firearm from a FFL dealer. Otherwise it is considered a straw purchase. My first firearm was purchased that way from my father-in-law, we just had the transaction information on papers that we had notarized for our own records.
I am not a lawyer Verify the person's age and residency in state. If you know of nothing that would disqualify them from buying from an FFL, sell it to them. Someone may be considered a whacko by the Fayetteville Podunk Mental eval detachment, but if you honestly don't know, and have no reason to suspect this is the case, it's not your problem. So, if you want to buy a rifle from your dad and sell a shotgun to your sister, both in state, the only legally required bits would be that you check their ID and not have any knowledge of a disqualifying incident. Some people create bills of sale and get them notarized, some get copies of drivers licenses, and others here just check for a seemingly valid GFL, which is indicative that the state thinks you're OK. All of those are more ass covering moves than they are the basic legal requirements (para 1).
Functionally, my statement taken as a whole in the second paragraph wasn't different than the explanation in the first paragraph.
out of state buyer? can you legally sell FTF to someone from out of state? handguns I don't think so. Long guns probably but I'm not sure. Anyone got the real answers?
Re: out of state buyer? You can not sell a handgun to someone who lives out of state, even i fyou are a FFL dealer. If you do it becomes interstate commerce which requires a FFL to recieve the weapon.
Check I.D. ? Why would I check my dad's ID? Or my sister's? If I don't know who those people are already, I should be declared incompetent and put on the "prohibited person" list myself ! Seriously, for occasional in-state transfers of common firearms (not NFA-regulated weapons like machineguns, etc.) I think all you "HAVE TO" do is sell it to anybody who wants to buy it who doesn't appear to be disqualified from possessing it. Only if you see or hear or otherwise know something that would reasonably give you concern that the person might not be qualified would you then have a duty to ask specific questions, check ID, get them to sign documents, etc. But I've always done a lot more than the criminal law would require, when selling one of my firearms to a stranger. I keep in mind the prospect of civil liability, too. Bottom line: Don't be negligent. Behave reasonably and responsibly. To me, that means talking to the person a little bit to find out who he is, where he resides, what he wants my gun for, what kind of training or experience he has with firearms, and whether he is ineligible to buy a gun for any one of several reasons.