This is my first post here, but I have been an on and off visitor to the site for a couple of months now. Basically, I have been looking to buy a handgun, and I have ultimately decided on the Steyr M357A1. Since I have never purchased a handgun before, I am in hopes that some of you on here can help me out. Currently, I am a college student in Wisconsin, but my state of residence is Texas. From what people up here tell me, I would have to make any purchase through Texas and have an FFL dealer in Texas ship it to an FFL dealer in Wisconsin. I spend little time in Texas, however, and I have found little time to seriously sort this all out. With Christmas approaching though, I am going to be in the Houston area visiting family and see this as a good opportunity to finally buy a handgun. Instead of buying a gun in person in Texas, I have been throwing around the idea of purchasing a gun on the internet. From what I understand, the dealer/seller would ship the gun to an FFL dealer in your area. I am assuming my Texas residence would require me to have it shipped to a Texas FFL dealer. Now I have a few questions about how this works and how I should go about this. First off, I have been wondering whether I would phyiscally need to interact with the Texas FFL holder. My intuition tells me I would have to go through some background check or do something to verify my identity. As I have never done this before, I am still quite unfamiliar with all the protocol, so please forgive any dumb/obvious questions or concerns I may have. But for Texas, if I am not mistaken, there is no waiting period to buy a handgun. I do not know, however, if special laws or rules apply to immediate state transfers or what not. For the most part, all the different state statues and laws have left me pretty clueless, and I was thinking many of you would probably be familiar with all of this. Assuming that I would need to fill out something or do whatever I need to do in Texas, I plan on accomplishing all this around the holidays as I think I mentioned earlier. I noticed that many of you live in the Houston area, and if necessary, if it would be possible to get a recommendation on an FFL dealer in the area. Also, I would appreciate any advice you could give me about where I should go or avoid when purchasing a gun online, or even if that is a good idea altogether. I am also wondering if there are any other accessories that do not come with the gun (I am looking to buy a brand new one) that I should also buy besides ammunition. Oh, I apologize if I should be addressing this in the buying/selling forum or somewhere else, but I was not too sure where to post this. Thanks for the help. Brandon
The below is my opinion, and I'm a dope. Duely warned. Your main concern needs to be about the location where you will physically keep the firearm. Packing.org is a great resource. Check here: http://www.packing.org/state/wisconsin/ If you do return home with your firearm, then you will need to be concerned with TX laws. From what I can see, WI is kind like the old west :lol: They allow open-carry and do not require a license. I'm not certain if they would require proof of residency or if the regulations would pertain to you simply by the fact that you are WI.
I'm in Houston I am an FFL dealer I can get the M357A1 There is no waiting period in Texas. All that is requied is the standard federal requirements o filling out the ATF form 4473, then a phone call to the FBI NICS background check and if if/when you pass you go home with the gun. You must be 21 years of age and have a Texas ID or drivers license. I'll cut you a decent deal on the gun.
If you are a student in WI, there are probably rules/laws against having firearms on the campus. They may apply to any kind of University approved/associated housing even if not on the campus proper. Just one more thing you may have to look into. Matches
madecov, I'd definitely be interested if you could get me a NIB M357A1. I'm over 21 and have a Texas drivers license so that shouldn't be a problem. For the form and background check, I assume that would be something I'd do through you? I was reading the ATF FAQ earlier, and I'm guessing I'd need to purchase the gun through you in person since I will require a background check. Let me know if I've got that wrong. My biggest concern is getting the gun back to Wisconsin. I don't really see anything that would make that a problem; I just don't know how to do it. I thought that I'd have to have it transferred from a Texas FFL to a Wisconsin FFL, but after reading more of the FAQ, I'm not so sure. There's a provision in there about being able to mail a handgun interstate through a carrier as long as it's addressed to yourself. I don't know if I understand that completely though. Anyway, I'm sure you know more about this than I do. I just figure to cut out any additional parties if possible. Before I ramble on about anything else though, I'll let you get back to me on this.
Mark, That site was interesting, but unfortunately most of the info is listed as unknown. I saw that Wisconsin allowed open-carry also, but looking deeper in that, I also read that anyone carrying an unconcealed firearm is likely to still be arrested for disorderly conduct. I'm really looking to see where all the ongoing gun legislation is headed, but it's rough when the Governor isn't exactly firearm friendly. Matches, As it stands right now, I live a good twenty minutes from campus. I'm looking to move back next year, so I'm glad you mentioned it. I really wasn't taking that into consideration.
All paperwork needed would be handled by me at time of purchase. Since the handgun is yours there are several ways to move your property back with you. You can mail it to yourself you can transport it yourself, either on an airplane or in a vehicle It's your property as long as it's legal to have in your possesion at the other end there really is no problem. I can guide you through the whole process.
Yeah go see Madecove. He's in Houston and very knowledgeable. As far as transporting as crazy as it sounds its probably easier to fly. Driving you will have to abide by each states rules for transport you pass thru. Unloaded in a secured case in a trunk is probably sufficient, but you probably want to check for each state you would be driving thru.
Yeah, Madecov is probably the best way to go for that new pistol as far as being able to get a good deal and some help with all your questions. Smart man that Madecov.
