Checking Firearm History

[ToXIc]

sorry for the newb question but couldnt find it when i searched..

 

so the story goes; guy buys a used handgun at said gunshow and gets it with no backgrond check; recept; registration...

 

how do said guy check the history of the firearm? is this ok? what should he do differently next-time?

[LI0NSFAN]

i have always wanted to know this answer as well.

[RED333]

Take the serial number a FFL, better if you know one, and ask them to check it out.

[Krull]

Go through an FFL

Basically your taking a chance every time you buy a gun from a stranger. Deal with reputable people but there is always still a chance. You don't know how many times that firearm has changed hands.

There is no car fax for guns if that is what you mean. Even a FFL can only tell you of the gun was REPORTED stolen. Doesn't mean it won't be 4 months from now.

At least it's not you in hot water if the gun was already reported stolen or is reported stolen down the road. You will more than likely be out the money though if you buy it and its reported stolen later. Mr po po will be paying you a visit. Edited April 25, 2013 by Krull

[ToXIc]

yeah just wanting to know if there was anything reported against the serial number..

 

i would suck if it had a robbery/shooting/murder tied to it barrel's fingerprint.

[10-Ring]

This is why I don't buy guns from shifty people.  I buy most of my guns from people that I know.  I haven't purchased any guns on this forum but I would do so without hesitation from a good deal of the members here.  It's buyer beware for sure.  You just have to make a good judgement call, if your gut tells you no then walk.

[Will]

Any local PD will do it for free,have to have it with You in a case and notify front desk when You walk in.  All  FFL'S can do it for free also and most will if they

are not busy only takes a few minutes. Ask for copy of returned report for Your records. If it is stolen database will notify Police and dispatch to pick up.

It is better to find out now so You do not get charged for something later if You use it and it is run then and shows stolen and used in a homicide. Also

a good Idea to run again a couple years later in case the person did not miss it for some time and turn it in then. You now have proof where it was not stolen

when You received it if You kept report copy.  If stolen You may have a Civil Claim if You know the person You Bought it from. 

[gregintenn]

How do you know that chainsaw or four wheeler you bought on craigslist isn't stolen? :shrug: If you have no reason to believe it is, don't sweat it.

[Oh Shoot]

How do you know that chainsaw or four wheeler you bought on craigslist isn't stolen? :shrug: If you have no reason to believe it is, don't sweat it.

 

Yeah, folks worry too much.

 

The odds of a gun you buy having been used in a crime is small, the odds that it would ever be taken from you and checked even smaller, and the odds of your being charged for the original crime or possession of stolen goods at zero.

 

The only altruistic thing about running it through an FFL for purchase is that there's a small chance that a stolen firearm would find its way back to rightful owner. Of course, should you do it after the fact through LEA, you're out the price of the gun. If you do it during a sale at FFL,  you're only out the 10 bucks, though they want to charge you for the transfer process anyway.

 

- OS

Edited April 25, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[Dolomite_supafly]

If you are worried about it I would have it transferred through a FFL. If you go through an FFL you will only be out $10 if the guns comes abck stolen.

 

Also, if you ask someone to do a transfer on your dime and they refuse I would reconsider the purchase. Even if you don't do the transfer the question along would give you a good indication of whether the seller is on the up and up.

[Steelharp]

Ok, here's what happened to a drummer buddy of mine. Not changing names, just not using last ones. Terry bought a S&W revolver years ago from Jack (played with George Jones back in the day). No idea how long Jack had owned it. One day, Terry decided he wanted to trade it for something else. He went to ASP in Joelton (he lives in that area). He found something he wanted, so they started the process. In a few minutes, a couple LEO come in the door, take the smith, and start asking Terry questions about where and when he got it. Not rude, just getting the necessary info. They left with the smith, and Terry had nuttin'.

 

Terry and Jack are both good guys. Evidently, Jack got a "deal" at one point...

[Jonnin]

As far as I know, all you can get are

1) original buyer --- which may be on record for really old guns (S&W for example can tell you who they mailed a specific gun to in 1903 or something).  This is also recorded in some states (gun registration).  It is also recorded at the FFL who sold it which may or may not be something you could locate and examine (its usually a paper book unless in the aforementioned police states).

 

2) You can find out if it has been reported stolen. 

 

3) you can trace its owners in registration states to some extent.

 

4) you may be able to find out if it was ever used in a crime, unclear.

 

5) you may be able to find out if it has been whitewashed (police buy-back & resell, for example).

 

That is about it.  If it changed hands 35 times in TN from face to face sales, you won't know it.

 

 

As to buying the gun and what to DO:

do not "do" anything.   Its yours now, and unless you commit a crime, no LEO is going to run the number on it.  You may have unwittingly bought stolen goods, but that can happen at any yardsale or flea market or pawn shop or..... well anywhere used goods can be had.   Its not your job to try to check out every item you buy.   So you do the best you can to try to buy from honest people but THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW.   The most honest looking guy there could be a con artist/ petty crook.  You can't tell by looking at people who is honest and who is not.   So.... you can't "DO" anything apart from buy it, shell out $500, then take it to a LEO and have them check, and if its stolen, you are out $500 and the cops give you a pat on the back.

Edited April 25, 2013 by Jonnin

[TMF]

i would suck if it had a robbery/shooting/murder tied to it barrel's fingerprint.

How would that even happen? I someone used a pistol in a murder, then was dumb enough NOT to ditch it and instead sold it to another person, how would anyone ever know that the weapon you hold was used in a crime? There isn't some great database with every barrel striation tagged to a serial number. Of all the things that could keep a person up at night this should not be one of them. Worst case scenario, if somehow the firearm was stolen and sold to you then you will be out the money you paid for it if it ever gets tracked to you.

[Jonnin]

well, no, the worst case scenario is you get blamed for the murder/crime in some far-fetched and unlikely event.  

 

For that to happen --- you would have to attract the attention of the law, the gun would somehow flag their attention so they fire it and get a ballistic sample, it matches their crime database, and you are in hot water. 

 

Odds of that happening: virtually zero, and absolutely zero if we can assume you are not the sort of person who attracts the attention of the law to the point that they would even find and check out your weapons.

[1gewehr]

Contrary to NCIS and other Hollywood fantasies, it is very difficult to absolutely pin a specific firearm to a specific crime.  With a fired bullet in good condition, they can determine the caliber, number of rifling grooves, rifling twist, and width of the grooves.  That might narrow it down to one manufacturer, or a hundred.  Polygon rifling usually means a Glock.

 

Unless there are some unusual marks in the barrel, firing another hundred rounds or so makes it much more difficult to match a bullet to a specific firearm.  The more it gets fired, the less likely a match is.

 

The same is true of a fired case.  Fired cases can help determine the make, and sometimes model of firearm.  Thorough cleaning and more firing will reduce the ability to determine a specific firearm was used.

 

Naturally, the more information the examiner has, the more likely it is that they can match a specific gun to a specific crime.

 

Worrying about buying a used gun is pretty much a waste of time.  If it was stolen, that's a different story.  As stated above, dont' buy guns from folks that look like they are fencing stolen property, and your risks diminish greatly.

[10-Ring]

Its yours now, and unless you commit a crime, no LEO is going to run the number on it.

 

Be very careful not to commit any crimes at all if you are carrying a questionable gun.  I've had my gun's numbers run at a traffic stop for rolling a stop sign out between the boondocks and nowhere'sville.  I had nothing to worry about but it sounds like some people here may.

[DaveTN]

Guns don’t have titles….yet. It’s a risk we all take when buying guns in private sales. If you run it though a database and it’s stolen; you will lose it. It has an owner somewhere and it is his property that needs to be returned to him.

 

So if you are going to run it though a database do as suggested and have it transferred through an FFL.

 

Don’t buy a gun from anyone that won’t show you ID. You shouldn’t own a gun that you don’t know the name of the person that sold it to you.

 

 

 

[DaveTN]

Be very careful not to commit any crimes at all if you are carrying a questionable gun.  I've had my gun's numbers run at a traffic stop for rolling a stop sign out between the boondocks and nowhere'sville.  I had nothing to worry about but it sounds like some people here may.

Since one guy was charged with driving on a revoked license; I’m guessing this stolen gun incident that landed three guys in jail started as a simple traffic stop.

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/crime/possession-of-a-stolen-firearm-1.120015

[hardknox00001]

The quick way to cover yourself is use the TGO Bill of Sale.  That exchanges info for the both of you as well as specifically lists the gun itself on the form.  If they aren't willing to do that, you might think twice about buying it.  If you do buy it and something comes up later on, you have the bill of sale to show who you got it from and they go see the person you got it from, etc, etc.

[Patton]

Most police officer will run a check if you have the firearm in front of them. If it is hot they must take it. The only other way is through a FFL.

I was working one time when the ATF wanted to question someone about who they may have sold/given a firearm to. The ATF was really nice to them and didn't treat the person like a suspect. They were really happy to get email records from the correspondence with the person. They wouldn't tell what it was about.