Like most hobbies, there are certain subsets within the hobby of firearms. There are thousands of people whose favorite thing in the world is to go hunting. I’ve got friends that do nothing other than eat, sleep, and breathe hunting. And although I consider myself an avid hunter and enthusiast, I’m an avid firearms enthusiast first and foremost.

There are also those whose sole goal is to collect the most unique and interesting firearms that they can find. These people are also avid firearms enthusiasts; they just have a different area that they focus on. Then there are those who get their greatest joy in life from repairing firearms. And then there are those that earn their living by dealing in firearms.

So as you can see, each of the specific subsets of firearms is a separate niche. And unfortunately each of these separate subsets of firearms has its own set of regulations and laws that govern it. So why is this important? It’s important because if you’re going to be a firearms enthusiast it’s your duty to know the laws and regulations that govern your hobby. And even though you may not be interested in every one of the specific areas that are a part of the firearms hobby, it should be your responsibility to learn as much as you can about them. And the way the do this is by obtaining your federal firearms license.

With a federal firearms license, depending on the type of license that you get, you’ll be able to buy, sell, repair, manufacture, and collect a wide variety of regulated and antique firearms. And if that’s not motivation enough to get you to start the process, then the ever present threat of even more firearms regulation should be enough to get you started.



It really can’t be stressed enough just how important it is to pay attention to politics and any upcoming bills that pertain to firearms regulation. If you’d really like to see how little respect our current Congress has for the second amendment checkout Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009. So as you can see, the time to get your Federal Firearms License is now.

Tags: blair holt licensing and record of sale act of 2009, collector, dealer, hr45, hunting

There was a time when you didn’t need to have a federal gun license to buy firearms. It’s true, there was in fact a time when you didn’t need a federal gun license to purchase any type of firearms. Up until 1934, almost anyone in the United States was allowed to purchase any type of firearm, including machine guns, short barrel rifles (SBR), short barreled shotguns (SBS), noise suppressors, and destructive devices (DD). And then right around the time that Prohibition ended, the national firearms act was enacted. What this did was to collect a mandatory excise tax on the transfer of all title to weapons. It also required that these same weapons be registered.



The fact that this all occurred around the time of Prohibition indicates that these laws were enacted in order to combat organized crime. After all Prohibition didn’t actually stop the flow of alcohol, it just put the legitimate, legal alcohol distributors out of business and transferred the business to organized crime.



The National Firearms Act requires that any transfer of firearms across state lines gets reported to the Department of Justice. Not only do you have to report the transportation of weapons, you’re charged a transfer tax to do so. Some may argue, and rightfully so, that like a lot of laws that are designed to regulate, this one falls short of it’s original goal of hampering organized crime, and adds undue restrictions, costs, and difficulties to lawful American citizens.



Fast-forward to the gun control act of 1968. This new omnibus act attempts to regulate firearms owners and any interstate commerce involving firearms. It does this by restricting the transfer of firearms to licensed manufacturer’s dealers and importers. Up until 1968, there was no federal gun license required per se. But this changed with the introduction of the federal firearms license or FFL in the Gun Control Act of 1968. Now there is a clear and defined set of rules and requirements that must be followed in order for a law abiding citizen to do deal in firearms or to purchase certain firearms that have been included on a list of weapons categorized by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives.

Tags: BATFE, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, dd, dealer, destructive devices, federal firearms license, ffl, gun control act of 1968, importer, machine guns, national firearms act, NFA, sbr, sbs, short barrel rifles, short barrel shotguns