Adventures in Gun Buyback today

[DWalt]

One of ths San Antonio City Councilmen sponsored a gun buyback today, which I was unaware of until this morning. It was being held in the parking lot of the Alamodome. They were offering $100 for long guns and $150 for handguns, in the form of credit cards. I had one junky Jennings .380, and not even in working condition, so I headed downtown for my $150. That part went OK and I got three $50 cards. It really was not very crowded with people giving up their guns. The surprising things were (1) the number of cops there was at least 20, maybe more. Most were just standing around or sitting in their squad cars, and not out catching the bad guys. and (2) the number of people standing around outside the parking lot holding big signs with messages to the effect that they would pay a lot more for guns than $100 or $150. And many people in cars were selling guns to them. More of those itinerant buyers than cops. I have no idea who they were but most of them looked as if they could have been gang-bangers. Overall a ridiculous situation. I’d suspect there are now many more guns on the street in the wrong hands than if the buyback had not been held. I wish I had taken pictures of the event, but I forgot to bring my cell phone. Attention Required! | Cloudflare

 

[WCCPHD]

How does one buy BACK something that they never owned in the first place? More leftist doublespeak.

 

[alwslate]

Too bad you couldn't find a way to catch those who might be selling good guns for the few bucks and buy them first

 

[DWalt]

Too bad you couldn't find a way to catch those who might be selling good guns for the few bucks and buy them first

Anyone could have done that, and in fact many were doing it. Apparently it was OK with the cops. They were doing nothing to stop it.

 

[22hipower]

Anyone could have done that, and in fact many were doing it. Apparently it was OK with the cops. They were doing nothing to stop it.

Don't think they could stop it, completely legal in Texas; sales between residents require nothing other than verifying residency.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[pasound]

Early in the year there was a buy back in my town, and I had a Turkish shotgun which did not work well that I needed rid of, and joined the line. I watched a guy arrive in his Honda CRV and start walking the line. Not a banger - middle aged guy with longer hair. He asked me what I was selling, and I showed him the shotgun, and he pulled out cash and offered me $100 more than the buy back. I sold it and drove off.

One policeman standing there in the entire buy back, and no one questioned it.

 

[Hawg Rider]

It is a pretty interesting phenomenon. Years ago I did participate in a "Kicks for Guns" buy-back...where you could get either a new pair of tennis shoes or a Walmart gift card if you surrendered a firearm. I had an old Marlin 1895 rifle that had been in a house fire, and I used as a gunsmithing practice piece. It looked nice but I definitely would never shoot it- but I wasn't sure how to dispose of it. I went for the Walmart gift card! Unfortunately, lots of very nice vintage guns were surrendered at the show by uninformed widows and other family members...piles and piles of handguns and rifles. All were to be crushed. What a pity! I suggested to the Sheriff that they work out a purchase deal with a local gun shop (like they do with police trade-ins or evidence guns) to buy those valuable collected firearms that the shop could resell. No deal...the guns had to be destroyed! I might have to get in line next time they hold a buy-back and see if I can strike gold!

 

[Smoke]

I remember reading a post many many years ago on THR. The poster owned a gun shop and apparently he had a bunch of Lorcin handguns that were priced around $75.

The gun buyback offering a hundred dollars per gun So he took his whole inventory of lorcins down to the gun show and sold them.

No I don't know the guy, I don't even remember his name and I have no way of even knowing he was telling the truth but I think it was funny

 

[DWalt]

Could be true, but I doubt it. At yesterday’s San Antonio event, the max number of guns accepted from anyone was 10. Although if you had 20, you could probably have gone through twice.

 

[wbraswell]

Sounds like SAPD understood the folly of such events. I wonder if any of them got any good buys?

 

[tx_oil]

I remember a news story from a buyback in SA a year ago where two police were charged with larceny and theft for taking guns from the 'buyback' for their own personal collections. Apparently non-gun people, unaware of a historical or valuable firearm will turn it in at these events.

 

[K Frame Keith]

Never seen one of these events around here. Our Sheriff is doing a brisk enough business issuing carry permits!

 

[stansdds]

How does one buy BACK something that they never owned in the first place? More leftist doublespeak.

That has been my question too and, yes, your answer is correct. It's leftist doublespeak.

 

[Telecaster]

I’d have made the city pass a background check before handing it over.

 

[6string]

Here's something to think about...

In the USA, these gun buy-back events are voluntary.

In many other countries, though, they are/were mandatory!

The ones in the UK and in Australia were pretty sad events. There were guys with beautiful rare collector items, stuff they cherished and cared for all their lives. And, then, one day, they were forced to stand in line, under threat of punishment, and turn them in for a fraction of their true worth.
All were slated for destruction.

I was sickened to see, near the Canada War Museum, an outdoor sculpture made up of confiscated guns welded up into a giant block. I recall what was probably once a nice Colt Python.

Tax dollars at work....

 

[Smoke]

Could be true, but I doubt it. At yesterday’s San Antonio event, the max number of guns accepted from anyone was 10. Although if you had 20, you could probably have gone through twice.

This story was at least 15 years ago. And I'm fairly certain it wasn't in San Antonio. It seems like it was in the Pacific Northwest

 

[Smoke]

Apparently non-gun people, unaware of a historical or valuable firearm will turn it in at these events.

Just like a scene out of "Antiques Roadshow," a woman in Hartford, Conn., turned in an old rifle to her local police station's gun buy-back, only to discover the gun was worth anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, inherited the gun from her father who had brought it home with him from Europe as a memento from World War II.

Woman Turns in Valuable WWII Gun at Police Station Weapon Buy-Back - ABC News

If I remember correctly the chief of police arranged for the weapon to be sold to a museum and for the woman to receive the money for the sale.

 

[alanfir]

In November of 1993 the Salt Lake City police had a $25 per gun buy-back event. A drug addict turned in five antique pistols for $125. Two were dueling pistols once owned by Brigham Young, two were .36 caliber percussion revolvers with roll marked naval scenes and another percussion revolver. They all had been stolen from a local museum.

 

[Golddollar]

If I remember correctly the chief of police arranged for the weapon to be sold to a museum and for the woman to receive the money for the sale.

I have a High Standard .22 target pistol that was saved from the crusher thanks to a police department intervention. The widow of a deceased former competitive shooter came to a police station asking the police to destroy the guns she had been sitting on for a number of years. Luckily the police recognized the value in the guns and told her to take the guns to a gun shop and get the money for them. The High Standard ended up in a shop in Reading, PA. Somehow I got wind of it, called the shop to see if the gun was still there, drove up to the shop and the gun came home with me.

 

[jeffrefrig]

They used to hold these in Pittsburgh once in a while. I think at least once they ran out of gift cards for the local grocery store chain. I think if I wanted to be rid of a gun that I couldn't sell, if I were a hood, it would just become property of the Ohio River. Where they held these events were in the hood where I don't care to go in the daytime. The gift cards could be sold for 1/2 face value and a junkie will be okay for a couple days.