Importing Firearms

harmoniums

hi , just joined your forum here and have a couple of questions.
Im thinking of moving back home (to ireland) from america and have a-massed
a nice collection of long guns over here, mostly military surplus stuff.
I'd hate to have to sell them, cos I've been so picky looking for nice examples.
So whats the deal with both bolt action and semi auto center-fires back home?
I'm a fully bonded FFL (federal firearms license) holder (its a dealer license).
if that helps!.

Umiq88

Your not going to get grant for alot of firearms especially military spec ones

Over here you need a good reason two are accepted hunting a target shooting.

you will need to apply for a licence for each one and that could take a while in itself and you'd be lucky to get 3 of them in the one go i'd say.

importing ill also cause alot of problems america has strict laws and you'll need import certs and a dealer willing to do it.

If it was me id sell up and buy fewer top quaility stuff over here

Traumadoc

I brought a rifle back from Australia - I would have been better selling in OZ and buying here - being practical about it.

Clare gunner

Once you get an Irish liscense per gun,you dont need any further import paperwork to Ireland from the US.The Irish lic serves as your import document.You just need a FFL dealer who can handle out of CONUS transfers.
Alot of these wont handle once offs.Due to the fact it is a hassle with BATFE,and the State Dept.

Best thing would be ,try getting one in and see how it goes,then see if it is worth the hassle and time to you to get a collection in.

Whaddya got BTW?:)

harmoniums

I've got a beautiful 1955 Fazakerly No4.Mk2 Enfield that was never shot, came new in wrap and as a bit of history to it (its an "irish contract").. haven't shot it and don't think i ever will.
heres the baby
http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=24811&highlight=

Ive got an M1 garand from 1942, also unfired thats just gorgeous .. no pix yet.. looks brand new

next one is a Schmitt Rubin K31, probably the most accurate rifle i've ever shot, sub moa, and she ain't even bedded yet, that one was made in the 30s from what i can see.

Also a WW2 MAS-36 that .. . you guessed it ... was never fired ... (well it is a WW2 french gun... )

and a really cool mauser (k98)with both nazi waffen stamps AND isreali IDF stamps on it .. cool huh?

after that a bunch of commie semi-autos of no collectable value (sks's ak's, mas49 and a hakim) and a sig sauer 40SW
semi auto pistol

Id love to get the m1, enfield, mauser, and swiss-31 back... reckon the supers would cut me some slack as they're collectable pieces?

babybundy

do wat the ra did strip and post them

civdef

Babybundy, would you like a ban? Keep that posting style up and you'll have one.

Clare gunner

harmoniums wrote:

I've got a beautiful 1955 Fazakerly No4.Mk2 Enfield that was never shot, came new in wrap and as a bit of history to it (its an "irish contract")..

Yup that is a cool rifle.But not to rain on your parade.. The thing with Irish contract rifles is they are damn hard to prove as such.Due to the fact the Irish Army never ASFIK proof stamps or acceptance stamps their weapons.It is apprently a tradition that goes back to the war of independance.Have you any history as to where or when it was exported out of Ireland.Imightt be able to get it checked,to see if it was in army storage.PM me with details if intrested.

Ive got an M1 garand from 1942, also unfired thats just gorgeous .. no pix yet.. looks brand new

Made by?In 42 there were rakes of companies in the US turning out Garands.But lucky you if it is one fresh out of the grease.:)

next one is a Schmitt Rubin K31, probably the most accurate rifle i've ever shot, sub moa, and she ain't even bedded yet, that one was made in the 30s from what i can see.

Also a WW2 MAS-36 that .. . you guessed it ... was never fired ... (well it is a WW2 french gun... )

Pretty common in Europe,there was an article about them in our one and only Irish gun rag in Jan.Good robust piece.Possible to pick one up here soon.But proably well fired.

and a really cool mauser (k98)with both nazi waffen stamps AND isreali IDF stamps on it .. cool huh?

That is a talking piece .:eek:

after that a bunch of commie semi-autos of no collectable value (sks's ak's, mas49 and a hakim) and a sig sauer 40SW
semi auto pistol

Meeh.. dont knock the SHK or AK..Iwould like an aK myself and am debating wether to try bringing in my MAK 90 Kalifornia model in.Trouble is I reckon the Supers will freak when they hear AK type weapon.


Id love to get the m1, enfield, mauser, and swiss-31 back... reckon the supers would cut me some slack as they're collectable pieces?

Ok,I would give you odds on either the enfield,the mauser,the swiss,the Sig 40SW.The M1 50/50.
Again this will depend where you intend to move to and what kind of Super s fiefdom you are entering.Lot of these guys,the most they know about guns is;pull the trigger,bullets come out the front bit,and they are dangerous and civvies should not have them,and havent had them since 1972.And by golly thats the way it will stay,if they have anything to do with it.
Lest I be accused of total sweeping anti statements against our Superintendants.There are some who will have no bother liscensing all your stuff in one go inc the semi auto stuff.But how do you know who they are and will they do it for you is another thing alltogether.
A historic collection means diddley to them,and unfortuneatly we have no collectors liscense category either.

To use an Irish saying;shure thats just the way it is.:(

harmoniums

WRT the AK, maybe you could import a Saiga or WASR-10
All the AK functionality (in semi-auto of course) with a different name
.. do you actually have to show the Super the rifle?
Cos if most of them are uneducated and you tell them its a saiga 223 or 308
will they even notice?

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=68656086

they have a nice sporter/monte carlo stock, and are easily converted back to AK config... not sure about Irish laws and Hi-cap mags, but the are very easily converted to accept standard AK ones.

FLAG

harmoniums wrote:

I've got a beautiful 1955 Fazakerly No4.Mk2 Enfield that was never shot, came new in wrap and as a bit of history to it (its an "irish contract").. haven't shot it and don't think i ever will.
heres the baby
http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=24811&highlight=

Ive got an M1 garand from 1942, also unfired thats just gorgeous .. no pix yet.. looks brand new

next one is a Schmitt Rubin K31, probably the most accurate rifle i've ever shot, sub moa, and she ain't even bedded yet, that one was made in the 30s from what i can see.

Also a WW2 MAS-36 that .. . you guessed it ... was never fired ... (well it is a WW2 french gun... )

and a really cool mauser (k98)with both nazi waffen stamps AND isreali IDF stamps on it .. cool huh?

after that a bunch of commie semi-autos of no collectable value (sks's ak's, mas49 and a hakim) and a sig sauer 40SW
semi auto pistol

Id love to get the m1, enfield, mauser, and swiss-31 back... reckon the supers would cut me some slack as they're collectable pieces?

I have not reviewed your listings in detail however most if not all of the firearms you have listed can be lisenced here in Ireland, what you most want to get back will not be an issue.

It is option that one needs to be in a club or hunt to posess firearms however there are a number of militaria collectors not members of clubs with guns similar to your.

Indeed I myself have a 1955 Mo 4 Mk 11 built at Fazalkerly, I believe however they were built for a Garda contract that was never taken up!

In any case if you are tranferring residence you apply to the Department of Justice to transfer the firearms, at this point you do not need a Garda Firearms certificate, the imporation certificate issued by DOJ will suffice for the duration of its validity, you may transfer your firearms on the strength of the imporation document.

There used to be a form issued by justice for the transfer of firearms for an individual transferring residence to Ireland, I cannot put my hand on it, in any case your best bet is to contact Firearms and Explosives in DOJ to start the "merry go round"

Good luck

Declan
FLAG

Stand corrected reviewed your URL the serial number reflects clearly that they were manufactured for the Irish Army

Clare gunner

[

QUOTE=harmoniums]WRT the AK, maybe you could import a Saiga or WASR-10
All the AK functionality (in semi-auto of course) with a different name
.. do you actually have to show the Super the rifle?

No,not really,they ask for technical litature or a brochure on the gun if unfammilar with it.In these days of the internet!!!:rolleyes:
Mine is the Cali sporter wiithout any nasty features like muzzle break,bayonet holder or cleaning rod.Thumbhole stock and slant cut in hole drilled in the reciver.But it looks like an AK,and can fall under the unique Irish law of "idonlikedelookodat".This is a "law ":rolleyes: :rolleyes: that allows the DOJ or your Super to not liscense your gun because they dont like the look of it.
Sort of an extension of the Brady crime control bill,that banned multi shot mags,flash hiders etc in the US for a decade.

Cos if most of them are uneducated and you tell them its a saiga 223 or 308
will they even notice?

They will notice the calibres all right,we might be afflicted soon with a "military calibre" ban under the new firearms law.Touch wood it wont be reality.

they have a nice sporter/monte carlo stock, and are easily converted back to AK config... not sure about Irish laws and Hi-cap mags, but the are very easily converted to accept standard AK ones.

[/QUOTE]
We dont have a hicap mag restriction.....yet.And the plan on somthing like that,will fall due to above mentioned reasons,possibly.somone is going to have to try it.

babybundy

civdef wrote:

Babybundy, would you like a ban? Keep that posting style up and you'll have one.

:eek: it was a joke , my bad

kowloon

As a partially relevant question to add to this, will the definition of antique and collectors pieces be changed from pre 1845 muzzleloaders?
I quite fancy a Fianna Fail marked SMLE.
I would like to see a day when i can walk into an antiques shop and see a snider or a chassepot for sale, its not an issue in any other countries that i know of, over the border you can buy obsolete calibre weapons without issue and without butchering them to get a deact cert.

Clare gunner

Havent heard and doubt it as well.As we might all rise up one night and march on Dublin with a motley collection of Snyders,Lee Metfords,Winchesters,Pikes,and Sharps rifles,to overthrow the Dail!!:rolleyes: :rolleyes: Or so goes the thinking with some of the denizens of aforementioned establishment.:rolleyes:

Yeah,you can have obsolete cal pistols in the UK all right and shoot them only on one range ,Bisley.ASFIK you have to store them there as well???
Not too sure on France,Belgium,but the rest of the Continent is pretty strict on BP as well.Especially anything that has a BP cartridge system.You can buy no problem single barrel BP guns real or antique ,with no liscense over the counter.But BP revolvers ,multi barrels are classified as firearms and liscensed as such with our European neighbours.

Rew

Whats the story with going the other way, visiting (hunting trip etc) the US with a rifle/pistol.

I know they have guns coming out their ears but would be interested to know anyway.

Clare gunner

We had a post on that awhile back???
Basically,if going hiunting or target shooting you need a written invite or confirmation in the State from a hunting guide you are going hunting with.
Info on the guns you are bringing in and all other revelant info should be given to the guide company or target range you will be shooting at,and they will take care of the paperwork for your import.Thats it in a simplified version.

SpitfireIV

Yup that is a cool rifle.But not to rain on your parade.. The thing with Irish contract rifles is they are damn hard to prove as such.Due to the fact the Irish Army never ASFIK proof stamps or acceptance stamps their weapons.It is apprently a tradition that goes back to the war of independance.Have you any history as to where or when it was exported out of Ireland.

The 'Irish contract' No4's were producted at the Fazakerly plant of the ROF under contract for the Irish Goverment, approx. 50,000 were ordered, but due to the political climate of that time (I'm not quite sure what happened) the order never went through, the rifles were produced, test fired and put directly into storage/war reserve then sold off to the US in the 80's/90's. So they never got here, the serial numbers have a PF prefix and range from 309XXX to 359XXX.


As for the Irish army stamping there weapons, that was a practice that died out pre WW2, up to the period the Free State army was issued firstly No1 MkI**'s and then MkIII*'s, those issued before the mid thirties will have an 'FF' inside a small circle on the knox form or there abouts. The Irish army did not stamp or mark its No1's after WW2 or No4's in any form that would make them distinguisable as 'Irish army' LE's.


How I cringe in envy when I see some guy across the pond asking 'what is this strange FF mark that I have on my $100 Lee Enfield??' :mad: :rolleyes:

Clare gunner

I'll join you on the cringe factor of $100 LEs:D

kowloon

Pretty sure you can keep a section 7 pistol at home in the UK if its an obsolete calibre.

I found a Fianna Fail marked smle in california for pocket change (cant remember how much now, but it was less than the price of a night out in town), was in excellent condition, a pristine condition garand was being passed over to another customer at the time.......
I payed for my selection of cleaning products and left broken.......:(

SpitfireIV

Clare gunner wrote:

I'll join you on the cringe factor of $100 LEs:D

I seen one guy on a Lee Enfield forum that picked up an extremely rare, 1922 trails No1 MkV in perfect original condition for..............$75!!! :eek: :eek:, that was just a couple of weeks back.

Where is the justice?

Kowloon I'm constantly amazed at the price of Enfields over in the States, I'd give my left arm (not literally ) to be able to have the opportunity to be able to pick up a LE.....or two........maybe three......without much hassle.

Any of ye see the 'Italian' Lee Enfields that have recently come up for sale in Europe (The Americans aint getting them!! haha)? Bloody hell! Some amount of years, manufacturers and desirable features, volley sights, mag cutoffs etc...........*drools*

babybundy

could you licence a le 303 of any model just to keep it as an ornament with the odd firing of it

Clare gunner

Kowloon I'm constantly amazed at the price of Enfields over in the States, I'd give my left arm (not literally ) to be able to have the opportunity to be able to pick up a LE.....or two........maybe three......without much hassle.

Wonder would there be any intrest with Irish shooters,that we "buy back" a few of them from the US.Unfortuneatly it will be a "Father Ted" purchase.
But they wouldnt be as hard to get back from the USA as possibly from the EU in paperwork,and wouldnt be too hard to track down in the US via the gun boards..Plus,we can claim that we are restoring some historically important "artifacts" to Ireland.Proably have to donate one or two to a museum. Discuss

[As in for those not in the know,reading this not in Ireland.Father Ted,an Irish comedy was originally proposed to be produced by RTE,the national broadcaster.RTE turned it down for various reasons.The show was then financed and produced by Channel 4 in the UK.It became such a hit that RTE bought it back at almost twice the cost,and now plays it to death on Irish TV. So when you dismiss somthing here and it is sold or discarded or ignored and when it is seen to be sucessful outside Ireland,we buy it back at double the price and laud it as our own,it becomes a Father Ted purchase.Dont worry..It's an Irish thing. :rolleyes: ]

Any of ye see the 'Italian' Lee Enfields that have recently come up for sale in Europe (The Americans aint getting them!! haha)? Bloody hell! Some amount of years, manufacturers and desirable features, volley sights, mag cutoffs etc...........*drools*

[/QUOTE]

Yours Truly posted about that 4 weeks ago;) Yup,very nice,never fired ,only dropped once.:D Pricey enough tho .

Baby,
You can liscense any type of LE,but it has to be liscensed if it is a shooter,or you need permission from the local super to keep it as a deact.Its an either/or situation.

kowloon

If someone was importing into Ireland i would be more than happy to support them.
If the historical aspect could be argued with the powers i dont see how they could come up with an argument against it bar not being arsed, for the older obsolete calibre guns in particular.
If the national museum are displaying them why are they not recognised as antique collectables?