Curio & Relics are basically firearms older than 50 years old, or newer firearms that the BATFE considers to be obsolete or of such design that it is a curiosity. Hence, curios and relics.

When the Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed into law, it made illegal the sale of firearms through the mail. Oswald purchased the rifle that shot Kennedy through the mail. Congress decided to put a kibosh on that whole mail-order rifle thing. Except that a lot of collectors of rare firearms didn't want to drive or fly across country to buy a rifle. So, Congress put in a loophole. If a firearm is considered very old or really unique, it could be considered a C&R firearm and if the collector was licensed by the BATF to purchase these firearms, they could indeed receive guns through the mail. At first there weren't that many C&R eligible rifles, but over time the list has grown considerably. Frankly, a lot of firearms were made in the early half of the 20th century and they are becoming relics.

As the C&R list has grown, so has the interest in these old guns. I was first exposed to them just a couple of years ago when a city alderman in Winston-Salem and I were talking about political outreach at gun shows. He had been to one recently and he told me about these neat old Mosin-Nagant rifles for sale there for $80, just like the ones used in the film, Enemy at the Gates. Now, I was under the impression that these old collectible rifles were very pricey. Not so. Quite affordable with a lot of history and their own strange appeal. They are so ugly they are beautiful.

After buying my first Mosin, a Russian M44, I fell in love. Well, if you don't want to go to gunshows and buy the inflated prices on limited selection, you need to buy them over the internet and have them shipped to you. In order for a gun to be shipped it has to be received by a federal licensee. The local gun shop would qualify, so you can send the rifle there. Except they typically charge you $25 for each gun to cover their hassle of having to do the paperwork.

On the other hand, you could apply for a C&R license, pay a $30 fee, which is good for 3 years, and YOU are a federal licensee. The C&R is a Type 3 federal firearms license so that a person can collect old, rare, and nifty firearms. Once you have it, you send it to whomever you are purchasing the gun from (a dealer, wholesaler, or other C&R collector) so they can record the transaction on their end. They ship the gun to you, you receive it and log it into your paperwork. I've saved about $400 in dealer transfer fees by getting this neat little license.

Here's a link to the page for C&R's at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives: C&R License

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Copyright, Jeffrey D. Bentley, 2008