Relic Firearm collectors

[The Irish Brigade]

Hello Gents, its been a while since I have posted on the forum. Hope its alright I can ask a question.
As an enthusiast to the ACW I like to handle an Item that I know had a good chance of being used during the Civil war. Thats why I like relics.

I have yet to own a Relic Firearm as I am unsure of the Irish law with guns but I know its extreemly strict. (The police dont even carry them!). I know muskets are allowed in Ireland, but I doubt I could find a ground dug musket for sale like colts and handguns.

What is the law to shipping a relic firearm from America to anouther country? Do you have to show a permit that the relic is allowed or....?

Best Regards, Patrick

 

[gary]

Black powder guns and reproductions thereof are not considered "firearms" by federal definition. It should be OK to put one in the mail. So, if you found one on GunBroker and bought it, the seller should be able to send it to you.

 

[rob63]

It would also be a good idea to check with the individual seller before bidding on anything. I have run into sellers that insist upon using gun-dealers to process a sale on an antique even though there is no legal requirement to do so. You could easily run into someone that would refuse to ship out of the country regardless of the legalities involved.

 

[johan_steele]

http://relicman.com/ Might be a good place to start on shipping to Ireland... if he can sell it to you I think he will. Last time I checked he also had a couple M1842... a favored arm of the Irish Brigade.

Lodgewood also had a couple though I have no idea of their International shipping policies.

 

[Jobe Holiday]

Interestingly, I believe our new friend wants something other than an example of a Civil War musket, for he actually said "... I doubt I could find a ground dug musket for sale...". That is truly a relic as excavated from a Civil War battlefield, camp site, etc. Now, those items are difficult to acquire in today's market place. His questions about the legality of shipping are not misplaced, especially with the relic laws the United Kingdom has in place.

So, does anyone have a dug musket they can sell our friend in Ireland?

J.

 

[Bob Owen]

I would check with the law in Ireland on the legality of relic firearms.

 

[gary]

BTW, in England (as opposed to Ireland) one may not send a gun there. The person receiving it must have a license and the gun must be proofed in England before the receiver may take possession of it. We had an Englishman who built a flintlock here in America over the course of a few years. He had a lot of red tape getting it home.

 

[tomh]

The Irish Brigade,

I don't know about European law but in the US any pre 1898 firearm does not need a Federal Firearms License for sale. That is for working arms only and dug pre 1898 firearms are considered non-working relics with no restrictions at all. I will keep an eye out for any interesting dug weapons and keep you informed.

BTW, one of my few regrets in collecting is that about 10 years ago I had a chance to purchase a fine++ P53 Enfield with 28th MA provenance (barrel stamp "28MA"). It was during a trip to Gettysburg and I was really looking for a contractor produced Model 61 so I drove back home to MA while I thought it over. When I got home I immediately called the dealer to tell him to ship it to me and found out that it sold an hour after I left the store! ARRRGGGGHHHHH!

TomH

 

[The Irish Brigade]

Sorry for the late reply gents. I didint get any notifications in my email about replies, so I assumed no one answered. I am 15 in february and I collect second world war militaria (not firearms). I am originally from California (my entire family is Irish though) and my interest in american history and that of the Irish role in the civil war is very high. As you could imagine.

I havent had much luck finding out if Relic firearms are legal in Ireland, but I would imagine relic muskets to be allowed. But I will go into the local garda station to make sure.

You guys must consider your selves lucky to be able to own historical firearms, in any condition.

I will keep you guys posted, if anyone finds an interesting relic musket for sale I would be very interested to know in the meantime.

Many Thanks, Patrick

 

[The Irish Brigade]

Also one thing to note, is that there is no problem shipping relic ww1 firearms to Ireland from europe (depending on the condition). This, for example would be alright to ship from the UK to Ireland by slow-boat. But I dont know how it works in the US to Ireland.



As I said, I must go ask the Gardaí.

Many Thanks, Pat

 

[Southron]

Back in the mid-1970's when I worked for Euroarms of America I received a request from the Boss in Brescia, Italy to purchase and send a custom made muzzle loading rifle to him.

Legally shipping that muzzle loader to Italy turned out to be a bit of paperwork. For one thing I had to go over to Washington, D.C. to (if I recall correctly) the State Department and specifically the "Office of Munitions Control" to get a permit to ship that muzzle loader to Italy!

However, I did get the permit and shipped the rifle via air freight.

I recall visiting one relic shop not too far from Appomattox, Virginia decades ago. The owner had for sale, hanging on the wall, a "dug" Richmond Rifle-Musket. All the wood of the stock had rotted away years ago so he mounted all of the rusty metal parts with wire on a weathered gray "Barn Board" in the location they were in when on the musket's stock. It was a very appealing display.

Presumably, it was one of the rifle-muskets dropped by one of Lee's men on the retreat from Richmond in 1865 as the owner informed me that it had been found nearby.

So, a "relic musket" like that Richmond wouldn't even constitute a "firearm" just a collection of rusty old iron parts that could be (hopefully) legally shipped to Ireland (just check the laws first if you find one for sale.) Oh! One other point-that Richmond Rifle-Musket barrel, when dug up, was still loaded with a charge and bullet in the breech!