Oh, I agree and I wasn't suggesting *temporarily* disabling the gun. What I was thinking was that if it's a wall hanger anyhow and will never be shot, the firing pin (or another part) could be discarded, and the gun then transferred without a background check.

Well, it needs a transfer or to be permanently ruined so economical options are probably pretty limited.

1. Transfer is $15-30 and doesn't require ruining it.
2. Apply for C&R, which is $30 for 3 years. Will take a couple months to get it, and then you have it and it can be transferred without ruining it or an FFL cost, so the cost is a wash
3. Spend time/energy ruining the gun. Maybe pour cement down the barrel, flash weld it shut or weld in other spots, cut off the trigger, plug it with molten metal, etc. Seems this both ruins the history of the gun, and costs more time/energy than the other options.

If the seller is patient with waiting, I'd get the C&R as the most cost effective way of beating the system! And then I'd buy up a pile of C&Rs as a "FU" to the system.