TexasCHLforum.com

hankintexas wrote:I think a found the solution on the NRA site,"The ATF recommends that if you want to gift someone a firearm, you should purchase a gift card at the store instead. This way, they’ll get the exact gun they want, there will be no legal issues stemming from your purchase, and it can still be a surprise. However, unwrapping a gift card is far less climatic than a real firearm."

That's an option, but if he is still a Texas resident (Texas DL and address) then you can buy it and hand it to him with no problem.

hankintexas wrote:My son is on his 9th tour of duty in Iraq. When he returns from this deployment, I plan to buy him a 1911 Sig - Texas Edition. He is stationed in Fort Campbell KY.
My question is, Can I gift the firearm and pre-pay a local dealer and have him pick it up there or, can I buy it here and ship it to him without it being considered a straw purchase?

If you know of another way, please let me know.

It will depend on his home of record vs state of residence. Does he still use a Texas address as his legal residence? If so, then no issue with you gifting him the gun directly. If he has changed his legal residence to KY, then you will need to go through an FFL in KY. Here is a good primer on this https://www.army.mil/article/160640

If he has changed to KY, then I know there are FFL's in Ft Campbell that will do transfers for military personnel at cheap rates or maybe even no-cost.