Serial Numbers: What's the big secret?

[Absalom]

Mass must not have gotten the memo on the requirement to do all private transfers through an FFL.....

What requirement? Federal law (the "Brady bill") only requires it for purchases from licensed dealers or across state lines. It does not pertain to private sales in a state. All more extensive background check requirements, like the one for private sales just passed in Oregon, are a matter of state law.

 

[ATF]

There are scams related to serial numbers whether guns, watches, guitars or whatever. If you are chasing serial numbers then I would advise you to get another hobby because after you've croaked it's all going to be sold regardless of serial numbers. I would not pay a dime on winning a bid if the seller wouldn't give me the serial number whatever item it was so I could check if it was stolen. That being said any seller with good feedback should be trustworthy and the buyer should be able to supply credentials also. I would be wary of a seller with low feedback and sales who wouldn't give me a serial number if I provided ID, he could even give it over the phone.

 

[CajunBass]

This thing with S/N goes back way before the internet. I remember magazines back in the 60's, 70's and so on used to X out the last few digits of a S/N. Probably before then too.

If I post the picture of a gun you might be able to read the S/N if you want to. I never do, but then I find such things boring.

If I'm going to type it, I always X out the last few digits, if for no other reason to eliminate the dozen or so messages I'd get telling me I shouldn't post the whole S/N.

 

[5Wire]

...I always X out the last few digits, if for no other reason to eliminate the dozen or so messages I'd get telling me I shouldn't post the whole S/N.

Makes the most sense so far...

 

[chief38]

IN GENERAL.................

The LESS personal info you make public the better off you are -PERIOD! Like it was posted above there is NO REASON the last digit or two is needed for dating and therefore is just NOT necessary. Remember the NSA?? Remember HACKERS??

Unfortunately, NOTHING is sacred these days and the less info people who want to do harm to you have, the better off you are. Believe me, the anti-gun communities and organizations do NOT want to help you keep your firearms - NO NEED TO HELP THEM HURT YOU!

 

[pinduck]

Do we have a" Beating a dead horse icon." ?

 

[venomballistics]

Hmmm .. with make, model, SN and description ... lets report it STOLEN and see what happens.
I'll let that ferment a while and see what other evil little hardships we can conjure up.

 

[hittman77]

People worry too much; I love all the conspiracy theories. OMG.

No shortage of tin foil hats on this thread.

 

[CajunBass]

Do we have a" Beating a dead horse icon." ?

Will this one do?

 

[pinduck]

Excellent, thank you Sir.
Glen

 

[Johnmuratore]

5wire
Here's the link

https://mircs.chs.state.ma.us/fa10/action/home?app_context=home&app_action=presentHome

 

[Johnmuratore]

absalom
I was responding to post #3 in this thread (sort of). ;-)

 

[Cyrano]

Seems to me that there are enough people after our guns that we shouldn't make it easy for them by telling them exactly what we have.

 

[Absalom]

absalom
I was responding to post #3 in this thread (sort of). ;-)

Aha. Sorry, misunderstood. Your wording made it seem you thought there was a general requirement.

 

[O2Guy]

There have been, unconfirmed, reports of people claiming a firearm was stolen from them when they found one for sale online, with a full serial number posted. Either gun grabbers or thief's at work

I don't see how they could pull this off as they somehow would need to get their hands on a back-dated police report, with the make model and serial number of the firearm in question.

I've sold one revolver on this forum, in my ad I listed the full serial number with the exception of the last digit.

All I have ever seen were also unconfirmed reports, never a confirmed report.

 

[k22fan]

You are free to post all your serial numbers all over the web. We are not doing a thing to interfere with you.

 

[JSR III]

As a collector/buyer of guns for around 45 years, I can give you a few examples.

1. I collect .22/32 HFT's commonly known as the Bekeart model. Gun 138226 the first serial number used in the first 1,000 or so guns produced did NOT ship to Bekeart. 138227 did. There were 6 shipments to Bekeart out of that first 1,000 or so gun run so having the complete serial number is the only way to know which guns shipped to Bekeart and in which dated shipment.

138XXX tells me nothing and neither does 13822X.

2. I own Texas Ranger Commerative TR555. Since acquiring that gun, I have tried to find TR5555. When I see one for sale without the serial number shown, I have to ask the seller for the complete serial number. Sometimes they respond and sometimes they don't.

3. I own the .22 Outdoorsman pictured in my Avatar above. The gun, according to Roy Jinks was part of a two gun shipment. I have the other serial number. When I see an early Outdoorsman for sale without serial number listed or shown, I have to ask the Seller for it to see if it is the second gun in that shipment.

4. Roy Jinks has given out specific serial numbers that have come up during his research that have some significance or shipped to someone or some agency deemed special or neat. When searching for guns online, without the full serial number, there is no way to know if the gun for sale fits one of those unique situations.

So there you have a few reasons why full serial numbers are of value to a collector. If you are a shooter looking for a model 19-3 then you probably don't care what the serial number is.