Mike, I think what folks are saying is that the gun does have a serial number on the butt. How many folks off this forum would know that that is not the real serial number.
I have purchased guns from FFL dealers that listed the yoke assembly number as the serial number and I had to correct them. These folks do this for a living.
My point was that in 66 years on this ball of mud I have transported, shot and hunted for about 2/3 of that time frame and have NEVER been stopped and had the serial number of my gun checked by a law enforcement officer at any level and have never even seen a game warden while hunting or fishing or asked to see any of my many licenses.
Yes, I believe in being cautious, but sometimes it sounds like chicken little screaming that the sky is falling.