n5wmk wrote:Since he's eligible and legally able to purchase the firearm, and he knows you're giving it to him as a gift, why don't you take him to your FFL, you pay for it and the FFL uses his info on the paperwork? I did that with my daughter last year - I bought her a Springfield XDs 9 for Christmas. We met at Frisco Gun Club - I paid for it and some ammo, and they guy at FGC completed all the paperwork using her info. Easy peasy....
Edit to add, if the private party is leery about the sale, see if he would be willing to work through an FFL for that private sale as well. He should be comfortable with that, I would think, and a transfer fee would only add $20-$30 to the transaction.
That is how I gave my granddaughter an XD-S in .40 cal. I paid for it and she did everything else.