This is my understanding as well.twomillenium wrote:Unless things have changed in the last 10 years. If you are buying a firearm to gift to someone who can legally own and possess a firearm, then the answer to the question on the 4473 form, "are you buying the firearm for yourself" is yes, because you plan to use it as a gift from you. IANAL
I bought my wife a gun for Christmas a few years ago.
I believe (my opinion) that a straw purchase would be if someone gives you the money and you buy the gun for them (which would require you to make a false statement on the 4473).
I recall a story from a year or two ago where a LEO got in trouble for buying a Glock for a friend using his LE discount because the friend wrote him a check before the gun was purchased. That's a no-no. Any arrangement where the gun is purchased with the intention of "selling" it on to another person immediately after the purchase is a no-no, regardless of when the second - sale money changes hands.
IANAL. Just my opinion.