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Importing Handguns?

leeblackman
So I'm still looking for my CZ 75 Pre B, which is kinda rare and demands a premium in the US here. But I'm finding them all over elsewhere for cheap. In germany and the UK (yes there are still a few gun dealers in the Uk) I can get one for about 300 euro's. South Africa, no kidding, 900 rand... thats about 120 US.

So is it possible to import? Is it expensive? Is it a real hassle, or just filling out some forms? Does the gun have to be stamped or engraved or modified in any way?
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Comments

4 comments

Date Votes
  • nmyers
    http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=410729&SearchTerms=import
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  • mark christian
    Lee, it is really too much of a hassle to privately import a single firearm, unless it is worth big money. As a non licensee it is not really possible to file a Form 6 and have any any reasonable expectation that teh BATFE will approve it so you'll need to sue a licensed importer, most of whom want $200 per gun before adding on the shipping and additional fees. The pistol will still have to be import marked and must already be importable under current regulations.

    300 Euros is currently about $450. Add in $200 for the importer, plus the shipping fees and insurance (probably $100), the time spent in US Customs and the fee for having the pistol properly marked and you are pushing the price pretty darned high.
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  • leeblackman
    Ouch! They really don't want anyone importing guns into the country. I'd literally have to import 4 CZ 75's to make it worth while. Thats a big chunk of wallet. I'd be better off just waiting till I see one pop up on GB again and pay that $500 for it. It would be cheaper, and probably wouldn't take as long.
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  • beantownshootah
    Hey, remember I told you they were scarce in the USA, but common in Europe and Africa? In Israel they call these the "Checkie pistol" (Like Czech-y), and they used to be popular in the 80s before that Israeli Jericho clone came out.

    I've heard that these used to be sold by WEIGHT in crates in Germany in the early 80s (which gives you some idea of how cheap they were back when Czechoslovakia was the typically economically depressed Commie sinkhole).

    Again, globally speaking, these guns are quite common. In fact, I'd bet that in most of the world, older used "Pre-B" guns are LESS desirable, and cost LESS than the newer ones. Its only in the USA that the converse is true because of Cold war-era importation restrictions.

    In terms of your question, I can't really add anything to the above.

    As you suggest, your best bet is probably just to hold out until you find a nice one on the auction site, then buy it. I bought mine that way right here on the auction site (though I won't make you cry by telling you how much I paid for it).

    If you're stuck on "crazy", I bet you wouldn't have a hard time finding buyers to go in with you if you WERE to import a dozen of these (or even a crate of them).

    I have no idea what the legality of this is, or what hurdles might be involved. What I will say is that if crates of them were still readily available, some enterprising American surplus importer would probably already tried to have imported them. If you are lucky enough to find a good quantity, perhaps you could convince one of the bigger commercial milsurp importers to do the legwork for you in exchange for just letting you buy one (or three) cheap.

    Considering that these guns were originally made in 1975 (hence the name CZ-75), you've only got 15 more years before they are automatically eligible for C&R status! Maybe sooner if you can get a ruling from the BATFE on them.

    Its not entirely impossible that this could happen, if you consider the recent influx of large quantities of surplus Sig p225 pistols from Germany, CZ-82s, etc.

    And here is that image again, because no gun thread is ever complete without a good picture!

    46e3dce2.jpg?t=1258069553


    Edit: By the way, IMO, yes, these LOOK cooler than the "B" models. Are they really that much better? Realistically. . .probably not. The trigger pull on mine is pretty nice and better than the stock 75Bs I've tried, but I'm not entirely sure to what extent this is true of ALL of these guns, or just mine. Again, these can fairly be compared to series 70 Colt 1911s, with the "B" series being compared to series 80 Colt 1911s with the trigger block safeties.

    But if all you are after is the nice trigger, maybe the thing to do is just to get a nice trigger job for your regular CZ-75B or buy one of the "sport" versions.

    Changing the frame to get a rounded triggerguard would be a PITA (though doable), but you could probably drop in a spur hammer to an ordinary CZ-75B if you wanted more of the original look.
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