Hello Pete,
Hereunder is the information I extracted from the BATF website:
Do antique firearms come within the purview of the GCA (Gun Control Act)?
No. "Antique firearms" are defined in the following:
TITLE 18 U.S.C. CHAPTER 44 SECTION 921(a) (16)
(16) The term "antique firearm" means-
(A) any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; or
(B) any replica of any firearm described in subparagraph (A) if such replica- -
(i) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or
(ii) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade; or
(C) any muzzle loading rifle muzzle loading shotgun, or muzzle loading pistol, which is designed to use black powder, or a black powder substitute, and which cannot use fixed ammunition. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 'antique firearm" shall not include any weapon which incorporates a firearm frame or receiver, any firearm which is converted into a muzzle loading weapon, or any muzzle loading weapon which can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by replacing the barrel, bolt, breech-block, or any combination thereof.
27 CFR 178.11
Antique firearm. (a) Any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; and (b) any replica of any firearm described in paragraph (a) of this definition if such replica (1) is not designated or redesignated for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or (2) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.
By reason of the fact that your revolver is made pre-1898, it should be considered an antique in the US and should not require an ATF Form 6. In addition, it is exempt from the 10% import tax (by US Customs) because it is more that 100 years old. Before making any decision to have the item shipped from Switzerland, I would advise you to check out your state laws regarding firearm ownership, and in addition, the revolver should be correctly described as 'one 1880 antique Swiss revolver'
For your information, you are the first person to speak with an ATF agent who cannot give you a clear answer! I recommend that you contact Mr. Thomas Stewart (Director of the Imports Department at the BATF) to obtain his advise on this matter
Good luck,
Albert
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