When is it time to get a Curio and Relic license?
 

At what point does it start to make sense?

Depends on how much you are into the Crusty and Rusty guns... Or if you order a lot from Midway, Brownells, Numrich (they all give discounts to FFL and C&R folks).

Granted, they aren't only for old milsurps, etc. but the requirements for what makes something C&R are clear, and then the hard parts become determining if what you want is actually C&R eligible, and if the owner will sell or ship directly to you (many FFLs won't).

Also, in some states, a C&R isn't really fully valid - California's definition of C&R differs from federal, and handguns STILL have to go thru a "real" FFL, DROS, etc. Same with New York.

I got one a few years ago and last year I traded 3 Ortgies pistols from the 1920's to a guy on GunBroker for a Colt 1903 Hammerless. We shipped each other our C&R paperwork and no FFL transfer fee was involved. 1st purchase makes the $30 fee pay for itself.

And that is just it. I recently aquired a couple of things which would qualify for C&R. The transfer fees = $30!

The paperwork is easy to fill out, it doesn't take too long to get the approved cert back. You take a signed copy to your local PD (I know, I know...) and you're all set. I keep a log in case the authorities want to see my records, but it's no big deal and I like the ability to buy old WWII stuff without involving an FFL and their associated fees. There are no special requirements for C&R like there are with a regular FFL. The C&R FFL only allows you to "collect", not buy and sell... as a gun dealer would. If you buy and sell dozens of guns a year, that would be interpreted as "dealing", the authorities expect collectors to buy and sell a little, but really be "buy and hold" type of collectors...