Winter 2002 - National Rifle Association

Once upon a time an enthusiastic British shooter could book a cheap flight to the USA, be patient through UKcheck-in procedures, and that was enough for a shooting holiday on the other side of the pond. On arrival,customs would invariably wave you through with good wishes for the shooting. Sadly, those days have gone.Now, a visitor who wishes to take a firearm into the USA must have a valid Form 6. This must be accompaniedby a valid hunting licence or invitation to an event.The information supplied with the Form 6 seems clear enough. When I applied, the instructions said the formmust be posted in triplicate, but now a single faxed copy is required, which makes much more sense. The forminformation says you should apply 60 days before needing the permit.These are the main points I discovered earlier this year, but I do not claim that this list is comprehensive.• Do not expect the Bureau of ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) to contact you if there are any problemswith your application. I had to make several telephone calls. On each occasion they told me somethingnew, which was not covered by the information with the form.• Make sure the invitation is issued on headed paper from a “national, state or local firearms tradeorganisation”. Printed email messages are not sufficient, nor letters from the organising club of an NRAregistered event. Robbie Roberts (nrawc@raton.com) from the Whittington Center was very helpful inmy case.• Make sure you specify a model, even if there is no particular name. Use a generic description like singleshot, bolt action, target rifle. If you put “none”, they will delete it on the grounds that it might be anassault rifle.• If you can, supply a fax number as well as a telephone number (include the country code). Your Form 6may have to be faxed to get it to you in time.The Bureau of ATF web site is http://www.atf.treas.gov. You can download a PDF version of the Form 6with its instructions. There is also a list of frequently asked questions, and another document about ammunition.The history of my application is:9 March Posted application with copy of UK FAC, printout of email invitation and covering letterrequesting an email confirmation of receipt.6 May Telephoned Bureau of ATF to check progress. They said the email invitation was notacceptable, but a letter could be sent direct to them.6 May Emailed event organisers to request letter.7 May Organisers sent letter.14 May Telephoned Bureau of ATF to check progress. Left message for the person dealing with myapplication.21 May Telephoned Bureau of ATF to check progress. Left message for the person dealing with myapplication.29 May Telephoned Bureau of ATF to check progress. Spoke to the person dealing with myapplication! The letter from the event organisers was not acceptable but they would accepta fax from the NRA. They would also fax my form to me.29 May Emailed organisers to request help.30 May NRA faxed information about event to Bureau of ATF.30 May Telephone message late at night from the Bureau of ATF requesting my fax number.31 May Faxed Bureau of ATF with a friend’s number because I would not be home to switch on mycomputer.3 June Telephoned Bureau of ATF to say that fax had not arrived over the weekend. They had beenbusy. Gave my number; they assured me that the form would be faxed within half an hour.Eventually arrived after nearly four hours. The second rifle had been deleted.4 June Telephoned Bureau of ATF to ask why rifle had been deleted, and why the invitation theyhad finally deemed acceptable was not attached. The rifle was considered unacceptablebecause I had not specified a model number. The invitation was not to hand.4 June Emailed organisers to request invitation on NRA paper.5 June Invitation letter arrived by fax.EpilogueOn arrival at Denver, I presented my documentation to the Customs Officer, who said: “What’s this?”.706 STHEFORM6 SAGAby Carol Painting