The gun you bought legally may be a stolen gun, new law needed to protect gun buyers.

11/30/2006 | Trteamer

[William Tell]

ExSoldier said: "Many of the guns stolen each year are not reported to police for a variety of reasons. "

I had five rifles stolen from me once. The detective on the case recommended that I report the numbers to the BATFE. I told him there was no way I was going to deal with those ... Well, nevermind.

Fortunately, the detective recovered all five for me.

[Publius Valerius]

I would agree with this statement, and while I can't speak specifically to guns, I am aware that middlemen often "cold call" retailers with offers to sell goods at cut-rate prices. Many times, middlemen will simply need to unload a lot of merchandise in a short period of time and will offer very low prices in order to get it out of the warehouse.

I agree that the retailer should be potentially wary that these might be stolen goods, but I think that's exactly why we placed the burden of loss on the merchant and not the consumer if the goods turn out to be stolen.

[spunkets]

" The Ralph Nader, Sara Brady, and Jesse Jackson types have really messed up our country."

Yes they have!

[spunkets]

"People who want to sue dealers for their poor decisions don't usually post on FR in my experience. ... Receiving stolen property is receiving stolen property. Let the buyer beware.

The reciever of stolen property was the gun dealer. I suspect this dealer is attempting to launder stolen guns. I suspect that was completely negligent, or was willingly a partner in a lucrative fence op.

Since the dealer is engaged in commerce and advertises that he is legit he should verify the stock he puchases is legit. He has a lawful duty to reasonably do that in business law, if not by statute. The duty in this case is the one engaged in operating the business, not the customer. This isn't a case of private sales, where the seller presents no advertising of legitimacy to the general consuming public. The database does exist and I suspect at this point the local PD had the info that the gun was stolen and the gun dealer was at least negligent and likely a willing fence.

[Cold Heart]

I had some guns stolen from my home.
My insurance company paid a claim minus the deductible.
Sheriffs dept. later found my guns and returned them to me.

I went to my local insurance agent with check book in hand.
Local insurance agent put me on the phone with the insurance company.

Insurance company was happy to get an honest customer and asked me if the guns were damaged or rusty as they would then require only a partial refund. I told them they were fine except for some rusting which I would handle. I sent them a check and they altered my insurance claim to "no claim filed."

While I'm at it, I would like to get my .303 British with a Herters stock that was stolen from me in Vallejo, California about 39 years ago. Ser# 75L8057

[kerryusama04]

The dealer ain't the guy who showed up at the Canadian border with a stolen gun.

[eastforker]

They only tell the FBI your name address and whether it is a hangun or a long gun, period and the FBI does not keep those records.

[blackie]

I purchase all new guns from dealers.

[Cobra64]

They only tell the FBI your name address and whether it is a hangun or a long gun, period and the FBI does not keep those records

Thanks, I didn't know that. I figured that since the dealer gave all the gun ID details, that the gun was being logged.

[eastforker]

In the state of Texas if you have your concealed carry permit they don't even call the FBI.

[Trteamer]

Ok FReepers! I hear you. I am not going to do anything at all. It was a good idea at the time of my original post, but after all the comments I have seen here, it is not a good idea to introduce a new gun law. It would just be seized upon by the gun grabbers.

I'll just rack it up to the school of hard knocks and a lesson learned. I did nothing wrong at all. I went and purchased a used gun. Not my fault it was stolen, but I never even thought that it might be. That will not ever happen again. I will however bring it up with the sporting goods store owner and see what he his is willing to do for me.

The good thing about my post is that all of you will hopefully get your gun checked out before finishing a purchase, and thus avoid the hassle that I went through.

God Bless the internet, I learned more about this subject here in one day than the two months since this all started.

All the Best!

[jdege]

There seems to be this belief, among the general population and among law enforcement, that manufacturer and serial number uniquely identify a gun.

That's not the case.

There have been many instances, over the years, of manufacturers using overlapping serial numbers for indistinguishable product lines.

Serial numbers aren't VINs - and treating them as if they were puts innocent people in jail.

[night reader]

We know who bought the gun originally, we know who stole it, and since the statute of limitations ran out, the thief got away with it.

Even if the thief cannot be prosecuted, I hope his name is on a list of known criminals somewhere, so he can be hassled by the cops every time something turns up missing!

[ninenot]

Correction. YOU are 'cleared,' not the gun.

[supercat]

There seems to be this belief, among the general population and among law enforcement, that manufacturer and serial number uniquely identify a gun.

I think newly manufactured firearms are required to have unique serial numbers, but before 1968 firearms weren't required to have any serial numbers. Higher-priced units did, just as many higher-priced consumer products do, but many cheaper products did not (by analogy, a serial number may be found on PlayStation Portable® but not on an electronic game in a McDonald's® Happy Meal®).

Military firearms often had serial numbers sufficiently long to allow the soldiers in a unit to distinguish their weapons from each other, but they were hardly unique. German Luger's for example, were marked with a four-digit serial number followed sometimes by a letter; since there were millions of Lugers made, some serial numbers must have represented hundreds of guns.

[archy]

German Luger's for example, were marked with a four-digit serial number followed sometimes by a letter; since there were millions of Lugers made, some serial numbers must have represented hundreds of guns.

Not always. And the 3-letter codes signifying the manufacturer were changed as the war progressed, further confusing things.

Wartime Serializing of Weapons

Each separate wartime manufacturer of Luger pistols used its own system of serializing the weapons, thus generating duplication of numbers. Therefore, the make, serial number, type of caliber do not sufficiently describe a Luger for entry in NCIC. Accordingly, it is essential to include:
,br> 1. any letter prefix or suffix which appears with the serial number (without the letter, if present, the serial number is incomplete),



2. the year of manufacture engraved over the chamber, and

3. identifying trademark of the manufacturer. With reference to the trademark, you should place in the MIS Field the manufacturer’s initials or name found on the center toggle link on top of the gun. For example, BYF appears on Lugers manufactured by Mauser. The following is a chart of script letters that may appear prefixed or suffixed to Luger serial numbers.

In the event more than one number appears on the firearm, the frame or receiver number should be entered in the SER Field and the other number(s) should be entered in the MIS Field of the record.

The true (manufacturer’s) serial number of the gun, not a national match number, model number, or stock control number, must be entered. If the number applied by the manufacturer of a gun is determined not to be a unique serial number--but rather a model or stock number, etc.--the gun should not be entered. If already in file, the record should be cancelled.