Short answer- No, you can't.

The 1968 Gun Control Act says that you may not acquire a handgun in any state other than the state in which you reside. Some folks DO have more than one state of residence, but establishing residency is more than simply visiting. You MAY acquire a rifle or shotgun in a state other than your state of residence IF the laws of your home state will permit, and it must come thru a Dealer FFL..

 

I know this is a old question in the Alaska Forum, but it is one I see a lot in many places so I will post the same answer here as I have in other places.

Private sales are not regulated in Alaska. Period. It is something that is a physical impossibility in many off road system villages so we have structured our laws to reflect this and not turn everyone into criminals. In most villages you can not get a drivers license or register a vehicle, there is no government in them to speak of. So doing paperwork on transferring firearms is just not possible. Add to this that most in the villages only send one family member into town to do supply runs, so if any firearms are purchased it is just the one person and they are then distributed when they get back to the scrap of nowhere that they actually live. For people living outside of villages it gets even worse because of the cost of chartering a plane, so neighbors (in the Alaskan sense where the closest person may be 50 miles away) will often pick up new firearms or trade off old ones for those that can not get to town. This is normal here, regardless of straw purchase laws, because of our geography. This is why even our few democrat representatives are against universal background checks, because they would turn to many here into criminals solely because of where they live.

That said, someone not from here may have a hard time finding someone to buy a firearm off of, but it is legal if they can.

 

That said, someone not from here may have a hard time finding someone to buy a firearm off of, but it is legal if they can.

It is not.

 

When it is a violation of FEDERAL law, which that would certainly be, the state rules are null and void, unless they are more strict.

 

Alaska has some interesting things to say about residency that are left over from the "vote" for statehood where armed foreign troops and colonists voted in the government that sent them here. Basically, legally, you are a resident after 72 hours because the law was never changed. Regardless of where your drivers license was issued. Add to this the fact that "used" firearms sales are not regulated other than to ask if the person is over 21 for handguns or 18 for long guns. You legally need to ask them their age to preform your due diligence, but you do not need to see a ID because in many places you can not get one. You are not even legally required to ask them if they live here. Call up the Alaska Troopers and ask them if paperwork needs to be done or someone needs to show a ID to buy a firearm in a private sale if you do not believe me. What you two are saying is true of "new" firearms purchased in stores, but not of all firearms transfers. Alaska is also one of the few places where it is extremely easy to get your firearms rights back (other than handguns) if you are a felon, because they are needed to feed and defend yourself in remote locations. I have bought and sold used firearms many times, and never done paperwork or showed a ID card. I even took a few in on trade when I ran a auto shop (called troopers to run numbers) because people couldn't pay their bill and I never had any issues.

You can believe what you want, I live here and know what the troopers say when I ask them. I've never seen an ATF agent, so I have never asked one. I'll leave it at that.

 

With any luck, you never will see the ATF. New or used gun, the Federal law is the same. That does not mean that I agree with it! More power to you and the fine folks in AK!