If you had your doubts, that's probably a good call on your part.
Always remember...when in doubt - do without!
If you had your doubts, that's probably a good call on your part.
Always remember...when in doubt - do without!
you know... i personally think a firearm transferred through an FFL could STILL be stolen. I'm not 100% positive that that serial number is run through NCIC etc.
let me explain...
say.... you buy a gun at a pawn shop... that took the gun in on a pawn and was never re-claimed... but the gun pawned wasn't theirs to pawn (but hey, all they have to do is lie on the pawn slip and say it was theirs).... instead, maybe it was a borrowed gun.
Then a few days, weeks, or months later, the original owner finds out the gun was pawned by the person who borrowed it, files a police report, and now the new owner of the firearm that purchased it legally from the pawn shop is now the proud owner of a STOLEN firearm, and has to give it up to the popo.
Interesting thought huh?
could happen through any FFL or anyone anywhere. Gun sold to someone, sold again, through an FFL, etc etc etc. Original owner realizes his buddy has effed him over and files a stolen gun report. You now own a stolen firearm that you purchased on a 4473. Hummmmmm
let me explain...
say.... you buy a gun at a pawn shop... that took the gun in on a pawn and was never re-claimed... but the gun pawned wasn't theirs to pawn (but hey, all they have to do is lie on the pawn slip and say it was theirs).... instead, maybe it was a borrowed gun.
Then a few days, weeks, or months later, the original owner finds out the gun was pawned by the person who borrowed it, files a police report, and now the new owner of the firearm that purchased it legally from the pawn shop is now the proud owner of a STOLEN firearm, and has to give it up to the popo.
Interesting thought huh?
could happen through any FFL or anyone anywhere. Gun sold to someone, sold again, through an FFL, etc etc etc. Original owner realizes his buddy has effed him over and files a stolen gun report. You now own a stolen firearm that you purchased on a 4473. Hummmmmm
Don't EVEN get me started on this subject - it's probably my biggest gun-related pet peeve - there absolutely should be a way for anyone to check, anytime, on a simple website, before a prospective purchases. 
In a perfect world, that won't happen because all pawn tickets are SUPPOSSED to be hand delivered to the local PD at least once a week. The gun that was pawned is suppossed to stay in pawn and not released for public sale for at least 30 days.
If the PD does it's job and runs an NCIC check on each and every pawned firearm, if one is REPORTED stolen, then it will show up.
thats all fine and good, but if your gun is on loan to someone you trust, then you have no reason to report it stolen... till that person fails to return it when asked for it.... Then you do your homework, and if its been too long... the gun is long gone, and you have to report it stolen days or months after any 30 day period, etc etc etc.
If you get lucky, you catch your friend on a hunch and go pay to get your gun back out of pawn yourself after he signs the back of the pawn slip.
If you get lucky, you catch your friend on a hunch and go pay to get your gun back out of pawn yourself after he signs the back of the pawn slip.
Never buy if you get a bad vibe, use some common sense and you should be fine
About three years ago my Brother-in-law traded a .357 for a .45 at a pawn shop. Two weeks later cops came by to get the .45 because it came up stolen. They took it and he went back to pawn shop to get his .357 back but they had sold it. He was out everything, never did get anything back.
I'm seconding a motion for a website to check for such things.
I bought a revolver from a co-worker once. Didn't know him well, he worked in another department. After the transaction and the more I thought about it the more concerned I became. So, I called the county sheriffs' department and ask the deputy if he would mind "running" the serial number for me. He did so gladly, it didn't show up on the records he checked, and , before we hung-up the phones, he thanked me for being a concerned citizen! Now, that was in a small, rural county. They may not feel they have time for such things in the bigger, urban counties.
A FFL has no way of knowing if a firearm is stolen or not. The serial number is not given during the NICS back ground check (it is a back ground check on the BUYER not the seller), but it is recorded in the space provided on the 4473. When a FFL buys from an individual he/she records the sellers name, address, and number on the I.D. , some want to keep a photo copy of the I.D. in their files for documentation just like they keep the certified copy of a FFL who they have purchased from. Without documentation on the "Acquisition" side of "the bound book" there can be no "Disposition"(sale).
A FFL has no way of knowing if a firearm is stolen or not. The serial number is not given during the NICS back ground check (it is a back ground check on the BUYER not the seller), but it is recorded in the space provided on the 4473. When a FFL buys from an individual he/she records the sellers name, address, and number on the I.D. , some want to keep a photo copy of the I.D. in their files for documentation just like they keep the certified copy of a FFL who they have purchased from. Without documentation on the "Acquisition" side of "the bound book" there can be no "Disposition"(sale).
