Need help with how to surprise my daughter with her first rifle

[danthealarmguy]

Shes going to be 16, and enjoys shooting more than boys still, which is fine by me, and we are having a 10/22 custom parkarized for her, in a wonder woman theme, which she loves. The gun that she enjoys shooting the most, between mine and my uncles collection.
The question I have is, how should we surprise her with it, my plans are to go to my local range and gun shop, prior and ask them to put it on the rack with the other rifles and tell her I'll get her any one that she wants, and let her find it.
Or maybe surprise her on the range

Being a firearm, not really wanting to give it to her in front of random friends and family, of which not all enjoy target shooting as much as my family does, or who have never shot a gun before.

[DaleA]

ask them to put it on the rack with the other rifles and tell her I'll get her any one that she wants, and let her find it.

Well...it would be kind of awkward for all concerned if she chooses a different gun.

If you have your guns in cases when you go to the range I'd put the new gun in the old case and let her 'discover' it when she goes to take out the old plain jane rifle and finds the brand new custom gun.

Any way you slice it, it's going to be fun.

[danthealarmguy]

Thats a thought, about the case

Lol, yep if she picked out a diferent one, me and the wife would be a little upset. Thankfully, by prior discussions with her, she would pick the ruger over any other gun, and the store/range we go to usually has 3 or less of them in stock.

[SHE3PDOG]

we are having a 10/22 custom parkarized for her, in a wonder woman theme, which she loves.

Firstly, that is awesome, but I'm not sure that I'd be okay with putting it on a gun store rack. There could be other people that ask to see it, and that could be an awkward situation for the salesman to deal with.

I'd just put it in an old case, bring her to the range, let her shoot some of the "old" guns, then maybe tell her to go grab whatever gun is normally in the old case. I'm sure she'll get a kick out of it.

Also, I'd really like to see a pic of that rifle. It sounds cool.

[Snyper]

I wouldn't involve a gun shop
Technically, they aren't supposed to have any guns in their shops that aren't logged in the books

[danthealarmguy]

Well, this place is an indoor range and a shop. Im a regular customer, asking the owner shortly. Birthday is mid April.
The parkerazation that we had ordered from a custom shop is as follows: blue stock, red uppers (all the metal parts, not sure what you call that on a rifle), a ww (wonder woman symbol) on both sides of the stock, and a couple white stars on the stock as well.
I'll be sure to post copious amounts of pictures when we get it back.
The wife and I are pretty excited for the outcome

[Theohazard]

Originally Posted by danthealarmguy

Well, this place is an indoor range and a shop. Im a regular customer, asking the owner shortly. Birthday is mid April.

They're still an FFL dealer and they would still have to book it in, otherwise they would be breaking federal law. I suppose the simplest way would be to book it in for gunsmithing, but then legally you would be the only person allowed to pick it up. If you want to leave it there for her to pick up, technically they would have to transfer the gun to her like she was buying it from them.

Of course, the owner might be happy to ignore all that, but he would technically be breaking federal law and risking his business in the process.

[Snyper]

They're still an FFL dealer and they would still have to book it in, otherwise they would be breaking federal law.

It does put them in an awkward position
I'd just give her the rifle at home

[danthealarmguy]

Thanks for the input, ive got a little time to decide
I'll post pictures when we get the rifle back from the shop, in a new thread

[Snyper]

I like the idea about putting it in a case and letting her think it's just one of your ususal guns

[RodTheWrench]

Theohazard, I think you worry too much. Having his wife and daughter meet him at the shop 10 minutes after he gets there to have the gun placed on the rack is not going to bring BATF agents swooping in with their black helicopters.

I personally like the idea of "letting" her pick out the gun, but I'd make darn sure there's no other better looking guns nearby!

[Jimboh247]

Just put the gun in your "ugliest" case and have her find it. It's simple and effective!

[Theohazard]

Originally Posted by RodTheWrench

Theohazard, I think you worry too much. Having his wife and daughter meet him at the shop 10 minutes after he gets there to have the gun placed on the rack is not going to bring BATF agents swooping in with their black helicopters.

Probably not, but it's still technically illegal and a pretty stupid thing for the shop owner to do. FFLs are under pretty intense scrutiny by the BATFE; the easiest way to avoid getting your shop shut down (or worse) is to ALWAYS do everything by the book. But, like I said, the shop owner might agree with you and decide to go ahead and break the law anyway.

[RodTheWrench]

Here's what the law says:

Time Requirements for Recording
Acquisition Information
The required acquisition information must be recorded
in your A&D record no later than the close of the next
business day following the date of acquisition. However,
if you maintain a commercial record of the acquisition,
and the commercial record meets the requirements of
27 CFR §478.125(g), you may delay the recording of the
acquisition information in your bound book for 7 days
following the date of acquisition. Note: If the acquisition
information is not entered in the A&D record prior to the
sale or other disposition of the firearm, you must enter
the acquisition information at the time of the sale or
disposition.

The LGS is not acquiring the gun, so no record-keeping is needed. IF the gun was going to be there more than 24 hours, then MAYBE, just MAYBE someone with a burr under their saddle MIGHT have a problem with it.

10 minutes being on a rack is not breaking the law.

[Theohazard]

Interesting. Thanks for citing that law. Apparently it's not so cut-and-dried as I thought.

What I can tell you is this: From my experience working in an LGS, different BATFE agents tend to interpret the laws in different ways. I've seen one agent tell us one thing, then seen another agent come by and interpret the law in a different way. What the OP is describing might not be technically illegal, but it could still be seen as borderline, and most smart LGS owners try to avoid stuff like that.

Also, how could someone prove the rifle had been on the wall for only a little while? All someone sees is a young lady coming into the shop, picking a rifle off the wall, and the clerk hands it to her and she walks out with no 4473 or anything? That seems like a TERRIBLE idea for all involved. So it might be technically legal, but it looks like the shop just sold her a rifle off the wall with no 4473 or background check. Suppose another customer sees that and calls the BATFE? BATFE audits are a pain in the you-know-what.

All I can tell you is that at our shop, every single firearm we had was either booked in or was an employee firearm, in which case it was labeled as such. Why invite problems by doing something as shady-looking as what the OP described?

[SDC]

"If you have your guns in cases when you go to the range I'd put the new gun in the old case and let her 'discover' it when she goes to take out the old plain jane rifle and finds the brand new custom gun."

This :-)

[Hal]

Or maybe surprise her on the range

That.....

[bigger hammer]

When I wanted to surprise my daughter with a new rifle, here's what I did. I was at the LGS buying a new handgun, and I added a 10−22 to the DROS. I worked out a scenario with the sales guy.

I had her go with me to pick up my new handgun (waiting period here) and introduced her to the sales guy. When he heard her name, he repeated it a few times with a quizzical look on his face and asked her last name. When she told him, he said, "Yaknow I've got a box in the back of the store with your name on it." She thought he was referring to a gun company that had her name as its company's name. He said, "No, it's written on the box. Let me show you."

He then brought out the box, with her name written on it in felt pen, and handed it to her. Her squeals of delight had the entire store stopping, watching, and then applauding and cheering.

[Snyper]

The LGS is not acquiring the gun, so no record-keeping is needed

If it's in the shop without the owner, they have "aquired" it.
The law says it can be delayed IF there is a "commercial record", meaning a bill of sale, or a repair order.

10 minutes being on a rack is not breaking the law.

The law says the gun has to be logged.
You're ignoring that portion by focusing on just the "when"

The required acquisition information must be recorded

All I can tell you is that at our shop, every single firearm we had was either booked in or was an employee firearm, in which case it was labeled as such. Why invite problems buy doing something as shady-looking as what the OP described?

That's how it was where I worked too.

I had a special set of tags that went on any of my guns I brought in other than the one I was carrying, which was never visible

You don't take chances with the BATF.
The customer has nothing to lose and the shop owner can lose everything

[hunttheevil]

I'm seeing this evil scenario where someone you know, whom your daughter does not know shows up at the range the same time you do. Either a female or their daughter uncases said Wonder Woman weapon at the table next to you.

You ease your daughter into conversation with said people, cause you know she's going to spot the rifle. She says how much she likes the rifle and said people say well you should. It was made for you!

Evil I tell you...just plain evil!

[lcpiper]

It's just a wild thought, but Linda Carter lives in Phoenix, AZ. You remember the original Wonder Women TV series? And it's possible the newest Wonder Woman appearance might be played by Gal Gadot, she's Israeli, lives in Tel Aviv, but she must travel to the US alot particularly if she is going to actually work in this upcoming film.

It would be two real long shots, but who knows, sometimes these actors and actresses come through for the little people. You would have to do some digging to find an email address that might reach them, and they may be active of twitter or facebook. Imagine if one of these ladies would show for the birthday?

I remember to this day when Donny Anderson came for Thanksgiving dinner. He was a running back and receiver for Green Bay back then, before he moved to play for the Saint Louis Cardinals. Oh, and definitely before the Cardinals moved to Arizona.

Linda Carters official website.
http://www.lyndacarter.com/

Gal Gadot on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/GalGadot


Ohh, but the idea above is truly inspiring.


Ohhh, on second thought, add them together and you get Linda Carter at the range "it should, it was made for you"

[SHE3PDOG]

Icpiper, that is probably the coolest idea ever. I wonder if they would do something like that.

[357 Python]

I wouldn't involve the gunshop either. It is not because they have to enter it in their books but if your luck is anything like mine they might sell it before your daughter sees it. Give it to her at the range. Put it in your car secretly and tell her while on the range you have to go back to the car to get something you accidentally left.

[lcpiper]

Icpiper, that is probably the coolest idea ever. I wonder if they would do something like that.

They can't say "No" unless they are asked

I would say that if they were already going to be in the area and if they are inclined to do such things then it's possible. But it's a long shot. Still, he wouldn't ever know unless he tries.

The funny thing about some women, sometimes they love to help do sweet things for other people, this one might qualify.

EDIT: Oh, and new starlets like the one who has a possible upcoming film debut, sometimes they love cheap publicity.

[groverdill]

Put it in a gift wrapped guitar case (packed well inside). Trickery and deceit are always funny when the payoff is as awesome as her real gift is going to be.