I have held a C&R for many years. You can buy, trade, and sell as long as you are enhancing your collection, changing direction in collecting, etc. You can not be in the business of buying and selling.
An example of a DO Not DO would be: Buying 5 identical C&R rifles at once, with the intention of keeping the best one, and selling the other 4 to pay for the one you kept.
There is nothing wrong with upgrading, i.e. selling one when you get a better one, but INTENT is the issue.
You must keep a Bound Book of C&R Acquisitions and Dispositions, but do not have to do the NICS checks when Disposing of a C&R. Also even if you did not use your C&R license to buy (Acquire) a C&R eligible firearm, i.e. you owned it prior to being licensed, you must log it into and out of your Bound Book if you Sell (Dispose) it while being licensed.
Yes you are subject to BATFE inspection, but not without notice. BATFE can walk into a FFL Dealer location at anytime for an inspection but must make an appointment to inspect you. The inspection can be on site or elsewhere, your choice.
Early Colt AR-15 SP1's & M16's; Rem 870's and 700's are now C&R eligible.
You can receive C&R eligible Title II (Full Auto, Short barrels etc) directly without using a Title II (erroneously called Class 3) which saves time and money. You must do the Federal paperwork and pay the transfer tax, but don't need an in state dealer to process the paperwork, receive the gun and then do another set of transfer fees if out of state. To be clear, you can buy a Thompson Sub Machinegun directly from a dealer in your state or across state lines and have the gun shipped directly to you once the tax stamp is received from the BATFE.
It is a handy item but does regulate transfers and is not a problem if you play by the rules. You can make a profit selling a C&R gun but you can not be in the business of making money from Buying C&R guns. Intent is the key. Appearance is also a key. You would be fine setting up at a gun show and displaying your C&R guns; trading up or down individual pieces. Just setting up to sell would be very wrong. It would be wrong to buy a pre 64 Win 70 @ $300 with the full intent of making $200 and not in collecting the gun and upgrading it later. It would be fine to buy the gun @ $300 to add to your collection and then selling it for $500 to buy a cleaner example that you found.
There is a lot of room for cheating on your part and the BATFE for interpreting on their part. The areas really aren't grey if you play by the rules. Pushing the limits can bring scrutiny and justifiably in my opinion.
ETA: There are huge trade discounts at many online suppliers of guns and equipment for C&R holders as well.
Last edited by sbrmike; 11/06/14.
