I've got a good friend here from Bulawayo for several of the shows.. Right now he is staying up in the Tacoma area. The gent he is staying with bought him a benelli shotgun.. The gun was bought under the buyer's name and is registered as such now..

Will he (the buyer) be able to gift the gun to the Zimbo and will the Zimbo be able to legally take the gun back home with him? If so, what steps are needed to be taken?

He called me with this question and I told him I would field the question here because I have not a clue as to the in's and out's of this senario..

Thank you for the help in advance.

I would contact Griffin & Howe. They're exporting 2 big bore rifles for me to Austria now, and know the regs. You may find, however, that the costs may be more than the gun is worth. Shotguns are easier to export than rifles, which require a State Department permit. PM me and I can give you the details and contact information.

PS: The Zim side of this may also present its own set of issues, for sure!

Brief answe -no. US government will not issue an export permit for a firearm to a zimbabwean even when there is no danger of it being used by the 'regime', To get handguns in for the national squad we had to go via cannada even 8 years ago and things have got considerably tighter.

Of course, you can 'get away' with it due to a law enforcement loophole- speak to me at sci...but if the zimbo gets caught it is a lifetime ban from ever entering the USA...chances of getting caught are very low....but the state dept are not fools and they probably know and choose to let most things slide until you upset them and then it all comes out.....

Your friend has broken two laws and is about to break two more
1. He has made a "straw man" purchase ... buying a gun in his name that is meant for another buyer
2. Aiding a non-resident to procure a firearm. You have to be a resident to buy a firearm these days.
3. Exporting a firearm without an export licence
4. Exporting a firearm to Zimbabwe in contravention of the embargo

Thanks for the info.. I'll certainly pass this along to the both of them in the morning.

Ganyana, I'll find you in Reno and we'll talk.

Thanks again.

I recently tried to get feed back from the State department on purchasing an action for my 6ppc. Despite several emails I have not even had a response from them. Given that the firearm is for sport purposes , is not a military calibre and I had a leter of support from the world Federation, I thought it might be worth a try. Should have known better I guess.

So I bought a batt action(made in the US) from a Frenchman, living in Namibia, who was moving to Germany..............a Plan can always be made