Hello, new board member here.

I'm going to be attending a gun show in Houston Texas this month and want to purchase a handgun. I'm wondering if there are any restrictions on a person from out of state buying a handgun at a gun show?

I found this on a website about "Rules of a Gunshow"

site link-http://usgovinfo.about.com/blgunshow.htm

NON-LICENSED RESIDENTS FROM ANOTHER STATE:

MAY dispose of firearms to any FFL.
MAY acquire longguns only from FFLs licensed in this state, provided the laws of both states are complied with.
CANNOT acquire handguns.
CANNOT dispose of firearms to non-licensed individuals

What does it mean by Non Licensed Residents from another state "Cannot acquire handguns"? What type of license are we talking here? If I won't be able to buy a handgun being that I am an out-of-state resident I won't waste my time driving all the way to Texas to attend this show.

Thanks for any info you give me,

Dave

You have to be a resident in the state where you want to purchase the handgun. Most states will let an out of state person buy a long gun(rifle. shotgun, etc.) provided your paper work goes though. You might be able to have a handgun shipped to your local FFL holder and he would probably charge you a fee for the tranfer of ownership. Someone else will chime in I am sure.

Texas does not require purchases between individuals (non-FFL holders) to go through a dealer, and that includes gun shows. I've bought several guns at shows from people walking around, who had something they wanted to sell.

If you want to buy from a dealer then I'm sure it will need to be shipped home to another dealer. If you have a friendly local dealer, get a few signed copies of their FFL, or at least a business card, before you leave and that will make things easier.

Check federal laws before crossing a state line and purchasing a handgun, even from an individual. I'm sure it happens, either way.

Thank you both for the replies. I noticed a few people here in the trading forum selling handguns and shipping them to the local person's FFL. I'll head out and try and find a licensed dealer here locally who I can ship the gun to. As long as the fee isn't too high I'll probably go ahead and do it that way.

Thanks again for the info,

Dave

Dave777:

GunsAmerica.com has a search engine that allows you to search for dealers by telephone area code:

http://www.gunsamerica.com/transfer.cgi

Hope it helps.

RSY