Looking to buy a revolver - Transfer of Residence

[samjeyanth]

Hi All,

I have been in the US for the past 1.5 years and came to know through this forum that I can bring a gun to India when I'm coming there for good. Thanks for all the information.

I'm new to guns apart from the IHP air rifle that I own in Chennai, India. I don't have a fire arm license in India.

I understand that cusoms will confiscate my gun when I come there and they will hold it till I get a fire arm license.

Please let me know whether I will be able to get the license in India and how long it normally takes.

I'm in a dilemma whether it is worth taking all the risks by bringing the revolver from US to India or I can come to India and after getting a licence, I can buy ofb .32 revolver.

I have narrowed down to Ruger GP100 .327 and S&W 632 .327 Fed Magnum. Please let me know whether my choice is good, so that I will go ahead and buy it and keep it in US one year. That makes me eligible to bring it to India. Thanks again for all the information.

[goodboy_mentor]

One should be able to get a license if he chases the matter wisely and does not loose patience. There is no fixed duration as to how long it may take to get a license. It depends on various factors. It can be from six months to two years or more. If things are not moving as expected, one should be mentally prepared to approach High Court to get a writ issued. There have been plenty of favorable decisions by judiciary in this matter, you may read them here http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15638

You have to decide whether you want to bring revolver from USA or buy from IOF.

.327 federal magnum seems to be a good choice since it can also fire .32 cartridges. If you decide to bring .327 federal magnum then to ensure that both the bores get endorsed on your license, do make sure that either it is written on the revolver that it can fire both .327 federal magnum and .32 cartridges or some paper documentation from company that says so. If only .327 federal magnum bore is endorsed on your license then no arms dealer will be normally willing to sell you .32 cartridges and .327 federal magnum is not available in India.

[samjeyanth]

Thanks a lot for the valuable information
I want to bring it from US only, since we can get lot of models and cheaper too. Since we don't know how long the license process will take and how long customs will keep the revolver with them, I'm thinking of buying iof .32 revolver.

Please me know whether it is possible to initiate the license process from US 3 or 4 months before I come to India.

[goodboy_mentor]

As per Rule 5(1)(e) of Arms Rules 1962, Head of Indian Mission, or Political Officer is the Licensing Authority. Accordingly if you desire can make an application and chase it. For details and difficulties faced may refer this http://indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15663

[samjeyanth]

Thanks again for the valuable information

Looks like I can initiate the license process from here. I'll go ahead and buy a gun.

[Sakobav]

Sam

I would also look at pistols either in .32 or .380 ACP. I was at the range and after discussion with some security folks they mentioned an issue with their SW revolvers timing off etc. Point being pistols are easy to fix change parts and thing works revolvers god forbid can be a pain -- another factor is availability of ammo in India. Also if you are married tried to get a gun on better halves lic. More importantly follow local gun laws to the T - no short cuts seek advise from locals remember the gun has to be in your name atleast for one year prior to move. Rest conduct a search here for more info

Cheers

[winnie_the_pooh]

To add to what ngrewal has said,ammo is available for .32 ACP,.25ACP,.22lr,7.62 Tok and 7.63 Mauser as far as pistol ammo goes.In case of revolvers,only .32S&W Long ammo. is available easily.. .380 ACP ammo is now hard to come by and very expensive when you do find it.

So you have a wider choice in terms of pistol calibers in India.Also,you will be able to bring in only 50 cartridges.If both you and your wife are coming back on TR,you can bring in only one firearm.

[samjeyanth]

Thanks a lot ngrewal and winnnie_the_pooh.

I have read in this forum that revolver has fewer parts than pistol , so it is more reliable and maintainable. That is why I started my search in revolvers. I started with Ruger sp101 and ended up in Ruger GP 100. Both are .327.

I will definitely follow your advice. So far I have not considered pistols . Please suggest me a good pistol for which I can get ammo easily in India. I will also go through this forum for a good pistol suggestion.

@ ngrewal... I'm planning to stay in the US one more year just to make myself eligible to bring it to India on TR. I'll follow the rules to the T .

@ winnie_the_poo... I'm planning to bring one firearm only. So it is not a problem.