Russian Gatling Gun Restoration.

[BWE Firearms]

I was contacted by a gentlemen in Bulgaria. He has one of the original Gatlings bought by the Russian Empire in the 1870's. He wants me to restore it which I would love to do. Does anyone know who I should start with to try to get permission to import it to the US for restoration and then Export it back to Bulgaria? At this point it seams legit so I would like to pursue it to see how I can get it here to my shop.

[wlake75]

BWE,
To the best of my knowledge you have to be a licensed importer to bring it in, and it has to be marked by the importer. Anyone can export it as long as you comply with ITAR and get the State Department's permission. You would have to deal with an importer on the Bulgarian end for export. I am not an expert on such matters, but in previous research, this is how I understand it. I do believe there are some particular regulations to temporary import, but I am not familiar with them as we were looking at permanent importation. The process seems extremely convoluted, so I would be interested in an "expert" opinion on this one as well.

[BWE Firearms]

I know you can import the occasional firearm without an import license, that is in the ATF Q&A section but they don't tell you who to talk to about it.

[wlake75]

Being that it is from the 1870's would it be considered a firearm at all, over 100 years old and all? May not need anything.

[ExecDirector]

My apologies for missing this... Will ask..