gun trading private sales

[pharris]

Wondering how one determines if a gun that was not purchased from a dealer has been stolen. I have bought or traded for several guns over the years and have never had one checked, I have a few that I carry from time to time and don't want any problems to arise. Is there any option other than taking them to the local police Dept. to have them checked? Has anyone here ever traded into a hot gun? I haven't had any problems just don't want to have any.
thanks

 

[jackvs1]

I wonder the same thing. In VA we can do FTF without criminal records check but when shipped in from out of state a criminal records check is run. That is when they should run through NCIC but your question is solid.

 

[old and infirm]

Local police will run a NCIC check to determine if its stolen

 

[DWalt]

Local police will run a NCIC check to determine if its stolen

Some may, some may not. If it comes back as stolen, you can expect it will be confiscated.

 

[MrSurly]

If I own a gun that has been reported stolen (I can't be 100% that I don't) there are only three options
1.) ignorance (buy/trade take your chances, COULD lead to #3)
2.) have it checked, lose the gun (money)
3.) have it discovered by a third party, go to jail.

Option 2.) actually sounds appealing


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JP@AK]

Local police will run a NCIC check to determine if its stolen

Just my opinion, but in most cases, you are better off dealing with the County Sheriff's office, at least in most states.

 

[cndrdk]

Do local gun shops run a stolen gun check on each used weapon they get in? I don't think so, or most I have been acquainted with do not. However, I believe most pawn shop weapons are checked for stolen.

 

[Road Rat]

Okay, so what you want to be able to check to see if any of the guns you have bought over the years were stolen??

And, you want to check any future guns to be sure they are not stolen before you buy them?

Hmm, sounds like what you need is a National Firearms Database with all firearms ownership records in it. And, it would be updated with every transfer of every gun....

Be very careful what you wish for!

 

[moralem]

There comes a point in any purchase from a privateer that you have to go with your own assessment of the seller, the situation and the gun. I buy most of my guns on the used market and we have no restrictions in Texas regarding the swap or sell from private hands. I have felt good about all of my deals. You ask some basic questions and you make or break the deal.

 

[hardknocks]

Hi all
In florida go to fdle website an you can enter serial number to search a reported gun.
Don't know if it only covers florida but it's better than nothing.
Haven't checked if other states offer this.
You could always have the serial number checked before you buy from private person at the local law enforcement.
I'm pretty sure all FFL dealers have to run a check before they sell a used firearm.

 

[italiansport]

Quote:
"Hmm, sounds like what you need is a National Firearms Database with all firearms ownership records in it. And, it would be updated with every transfer of every gun"

I don't think that's what most members here want to see. My understanding is that when guns are reported stolen they go into a database that's accessible by the police. I for one would like to see this made into a public databae so we could check any weapons in our possession.
Jim

 

[DWalt]

If the theft of a gun (or anything else) is reported, and if the party whose gun (or whatever) is reported stolen knows the SN, it goes into the national database. Therefore, there are probably many stolen guns which are not on any stolen property database. And of course, anything stolen before the computer age, say pre-1980s, would probably not be there either.

I believe access to the stolen property database is restricted to law enforcement agencies, but I think I have seen references about private individuals being able to run a SN to see if something was on the stolen list for a fee. I don't know how that works.

 

[zzzippper]

It strikes me as a question you don't want answered.

Aren't NCICs checks only run on the buyer? They want to know if he is a criminal, not if the gun is.

 

[pharris]

I recently found a Ruger sp101, I had a Leo friend run the numbers for me and it came back stolen. He was a little upset because he was supposed to have the gun in hand to check it and it took me a few days to get it to him.
And as far as being aware of who you are buying from if you are buying a 50 yr old s&w and your best friend has only had it for 2 yrs there are still 48 yrs to account for.
Thanks for the responses
ph

 

[kenv1950]

Any gun I've had checked by Sheriff I strip it to the bare frame and just take the frame in, that way if it comes back dirty I can recoup my money by selling the parts, so far I've never had a dirty gun

 

[Muss Muggins]

Any gun I've had checked by Sheriff I strip it to the bare frame and just take the frame in, that way if it comes back dirty I can recoup my money by selling the parts, so far I've never had a dirty gun

You would sell property you know to be stolen?

 

[Beemerguy53]

Here in the Peoples' Republic of Maryland, all legal handgun transfers, private or from a dealer, are subject to a seven-day waiting period and a background check by the Maryland State Police. The background check is not just for the purchaser; the firearm information -- make, serial number, model number, caliber, barrel length, and finish -- must also be submitted, so a stolen gun, in theory, would be identified during that process.

Of course, the drug dealers in Baltimore City and Prince George's County, who commit almost 75% of the murders in our entire state, still transfer guns the old fashioned way...

 

[Beemerguy53]

Any gun I've had checked by Sheriff I strip it to the bare frame and just take the frame in, that way if it comes back dirty I can recoup my money by selling the parts, so far I've never had a dirty gun

Frankly, friend, I'm amazed that you posted this.

Any gun that is stolen still legally belongs to the rightful owner who had possession of it before it was stolen. Not just the bare frame, but the entire gun.

If you buy a gun that turns out to have been stolen, it doesn't belong to you, it never belonged to you, no part of it belongs to you, and it is you, not the rightful owner, who has to take the loss.

 

[Absalom]

It strikes me as a question you don't want answered.
Aren't NCICs checks only run on the buyer? They want to know if he is a criminal, not if the gun is.

You're confusing two things; actually, lots of people do. The criminal background check required on a buyer by many states is quite different from running a firearm through the stolen property database of the NCIC, although in many states, like here in Oregon, the gun is automatically also run when a dealer calls in a transaction.
But you can run guns without a name. Here in Oregon, there is an 800-number where private citizen can call the State Police Firearms Unit and request a stolen gun check free of charge. I don't know what your obligations as a citizen would be if a gun came back as stolen, other than not buying it.

 

[Absalom]

Another thing you all might want to consider when buying a used gun without finding a way to run it is this:
Are you sure you love that gun so much you'll never sell or trade it again? Otherwise, you may be buying yourself a problem down the road. I've never known a dealer who doesn't run a gun before buying it, and the older the gun you acquire, the greater the chance that there's something in its past that might come back to bite you, no matter how much you trust the last person that owned it before you.
I've had occasion to recount the story in this forum before, but a gun purchase of mine got hung up about a year ago on a theft report from 1967; that's 46 years ago! Turned out that in the decades before the gun had been traded within the same state among a network of good old boys who all knew each other and no one bothered to run the gun; the last owner put it on GB, resulting in an out-of-state sale and an NCIC check, and bingo.