out of state gun sale question

[Animal66]

A friend of mine that I work with lives in PA.
I am interested in buying a handgun from him.
Does anyone have an advice on how we would go about doing the transfer?
Do we need to bring it to a dealer in Delaware (which I live)?

Any advice would be appreciated

[muleman88]

Im not 100% sure but I think you can take it to a delaware ffl dealer and they can do the paperwork ( small charge). I dont think you have to do that by law but it may be a good ideal.  Im sure others on here will be able to tell you a definate answer.

[czer]

I would go through a Delaware dealer in the case of a handgun purchase. IMO, it acts as a safeguard for both you and your friend. Since the dealer is the official recorder of the transfer, should something happen to the gun, like it being stolen and used in a criminal act, the fact that its sale was recorded by an objective agent, like the dealer, would help determine that the seller was not responsible in any way for that handgun after sale. And having it go through a dealer would safeguard you, the buyer, should it later be discovered that the gun belonged to someone else. This applies even though your friend may not even have been aware it as an "illegal" gun. That would come up in the dealer transfer. That's my logic.

[Animal66]

Thank you for your help guys!

[Hawkeye]

I managed to find this if it will help. 

A person not licensed under the GCA(Gun control Act) and not prohibited from acquiring firearms may purchase a firearm from an out-of-State source and obtain the firearm if an arrangement is made with a licensed dealer in the purchaser's State of residence for the purchaser to obtain the firearm from the dealer.
[18 U.S.C 922(a)(3) and (5), 922(b)(3), 27 CFR 178.29]

[tz9x21]

I'm not sure of the exact law, but I'm 99% certain that handguns must be transferred thru an FFL dealer if the seller and purchaser are from different states. Long guns are OK.

[kimmie]

Having just gone thru this (well still waiting the 7 days)  I had a coworker interested in my Beretta 9 mil - I live in DE, he lives in MD.  We were told that MSP should be the ones to handle this - wrong.  We went to 2 MSP barracks and both turned us away.  We went thru a MD FFL and did the paperwork and the Pikesville MSP (HQ) called my coworker.  Apparently, I was supposed to take my gun to a DE FFL and have them ship it to a MD FFL where my coworker could then go do the paperwork and get it! 

It's still at the MD FFL waiting to find out if that is the case or not.

[Animal66]

I purchased the gun from my coworker which lives in PA
but we brought it to a DE FFL. We did the paperwork and although
the dealer had a hard time getting thru to the state, federal was no problem.
He had to keep the gun overnight, and the next morning he got thru the state
and all was well. I picked the gun up that afternoon.
It was a smooth painless process.

[tz9x21]

This is actually a long story but I'll condense it as best I can. I borrowed a Glock 35 from a friend. While in my possesion and use, the gun broke. Being a nice guy, I called Glock who asked me to send the gun back and they would replace the frame for free. I was given the option of a frame with the original serial number, or any frame that was in inventory. My friend wanted the original but the catch was that because it was a replacement, Glock would add a number 1- (dash) in front of the original. Since this frame had to be manufactured in Austria, the wait would be longer.
Meanwhile, my friend, the owner of the Glock, moved from DE to MD.
Now we have a problem.
While waiting for the new frame to arrive, I started thinking about any trouble my friend or I would incur once the gun came back to me (Glock would only send the gun back to the person that mailed it to them).
Since I was worried about this, I called my gunsmith in MD and asked him what the best course of action was. Thank goodness I did.
He contacted the North East MDSP barracks and was told that even with the original serial number with the "1" prefix, MD considered this a new gun. And since it is illegal to transfer a handgun between private individuals living in different states, we would both in violation of Federal law.
Since my friend was now a MD resident, we now had to transfer the gun through a FFL dealer.
When the gun arrived, we both drove to my gunsmith, (who has an FFL) and transferred the gun there.

[Sigarms12]

How long did it take to get the gun back from Glock? And why didn't your friend just send it back?

[rusirius]

This is actually a long story but I'll condense it as best I can. I borrowed a Glock 35 from a friend. While in my possesion and use, the gun broke. Being a nice guy, I called Glock who asked me to send the gun back and they would replace the frame for free. I was given the option of a frame with the original serial number, or any frame that was in inventory. My friend wanted the original but the catch was that because it was a replacement, Glock would add a number 1- (dash) in front of the original. Since this frame had to be manufactured in Austria, the wait would be longer.
Meanwhile, my friend, the owner of the Glock, moved from DE to MD.
Now we have a problem.
While waiting for the new frame to arrive, I started thinking about any trouble my friend or I would incur once the gun came back to me (Glock would only send the gun back to the person that mailed it to them).
Since I was worried about this, I called my gunsmith in MD and asked him what the best course of action was. Thank goodness I did.
He contacted the North East MDSP barracks and was told that even with the original serial number with the "1" prefix, MD considered this a new gun. And since it is illegal to transfer a handgun between private individuals living in different states, we would both in violation of Federal law.
Since my friend was now a MD resident, we now had to transfer the gun through a FFL dealer.
When the gun arrived, we both drove to my gunsmith, (who has an FFL) and transferred the gun there.

Don't get me wrong when I say this... I'm not doubting your story in any way... Rather I'm doubting what the MSP told your smith... We all know cops aren't always the best source surprisingly for knowing the gun laws...  I mean, here's what I'm getting at...  Had your friend (or any other Maryland resident) sent this in, but what the MSP told your smith, they (Glock) would then need to send it to an FFL dealer in order to get the gun back to you.  If you are PURCHASING a gun, I can see that... But in this case... you weren't purchasing, you were simply getting it repaired...  I'm thinking there is PROBABLY some sort of paperwork that could have been filled out and turned in to document the serial number change.  I'm thinking the paperwork from Glock documenting that the frame was changed could be filed along with whatever paperwork and that would have done it.  I mean, sure Glock may have destroyed the old frame, but what if they didn't?  What if they refurbished it or something?  At this point as far as the MSP is concerned there is a glock floating around out there somewhere with YOUR name on it that you no longer own...  For that matter, think of it this way... What if someone was murdered with a similar caliber weapon and the lans and grooves came out to match a Glock and for whatever reason they suspect you (well, when I say you I guess I'm talking about your friend).  Now they want you to produce the weapon that YOU have registered to you and you can't do it... You tell them that Glock "fixed" it, but all they have in their records is you "purchasing" a new weapon...  You can imagine how that would look in a court of law!!!

[tz9x21]

To answer a few questions.......

Since I am a long time gun owner and competition shooter and have experience in returning guns to manufacturers and gunsmiths, I returned the gun for him as he is fairly new to the firearms world. I was just trying to do him a favor. In retrospect, had I known that the gun would not be returned before he moved to MD, I would have had him send it back. However, once he moved to MD, that would have been an ugly can of worms in itself.
The other points brought up by "rusirius" are valid. However, when I asked the folks at Glock about returning the gun to the owner who now lived in MD, I was told that even if the gun is sent to them from the legal owner, if that person lives in MD, they will not send the repaired firearm directly to the owner. They would only send it to a FFL dealer.
When the gun was returned to me, there was a document in the box that stated that the serial number on the frame was a replacement for the original. Both serial numbers were indicated as to the original and the replacement. Additionally, it was stated that the broken frame was destroyed. (Incidentally, the broken frame was part of a recall by Glock. they had a bad batch of frames where the rear guide rails were breaking off which is what happened in this case)
Also, as far as Glock was concerned, since I sent the gun to them, they considered me to be the owner. Totally legal in the sense that I could have made a private purchase of the gun from my friend. Upon receiving the repaired gun back, I give it back to him. Again, a legal private transfer in Delaware.
Whether or not what the MDSP told us is correct, I don't know. But but by going through a FFL holder so that neither of us winds up in jail was the best course in my judgement.

[tz9x21]

To answer "SIGARMS 12", I sent the gun to Glock in November. We waited till mid December and then called Glock to find out what was up. The rep said since my friend wanted the original serial number, the replacement frame was being built in Austria and that the wait was longer. (Duh I shoulda figured that out myself)

About mid January was when I started thinking about the transfer from me to my friend when the gun came back after he moved to MD. Since most of these thoughts were scary, that's when I called my gunsmith to get advice, hence the story above.

My friend then said, ........"if MD considers it a "new" gun, the heck with the "exact" serial number replacement, I just want my gun back."

I called Glock and said give me whatever ya got, and 2 days later, the FEDEX guy was knocking on the door.