serial number scratched off

Not so good. Mere possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number is a felony in most jurisdictions. Lawyer up now! Your attorney will know better how to proceed.

+10 on the iawyer!

This has "bad news" written all over it. If you are lucky, only the stepson goes to jail.

If it was only you I would suggest chucking the gun in the river or something. At this point it is lawyer time like the others said, hope your stepson didn't hold up a gas station or something with it. Don't destroy the gun, it might be evidence in something the kid did and you would be in all kinds of trouble if you destroyed it.

so sorry to hear that your precious gift was defaced. as others have said, the law frowns upon firarms with ground off serial numbers. lawyer up, but I am afraid that you more than likely will lose the derringer

Just wondering here, but would drilling it through in a critical area and fastening it with lag bolts to a plaque to make a wall hanger keep one out of hot water? Especially seeing that the drilling rendered it non-fireable?

At lest the memory would be preserved.

if you cant get a lawyer or do not want to risk liability, then I would say get rid of it. Throw it into the ocean or a river or whatever like magsnub said. I would then say that you never let your grandson into your house ever again, and lock up any other guns in case he were to decide that you'd be a good person to steal guns from.

edit: mounting it wont do anything if the gun was scratched and possibly used in the crime. A dirty gun is still a dirty gun. He'd probably never get in trouble unless the cops searched his house for something else and happened to find it, but to be 100% safe, apologize to your friend in spirit then throw it out.

Is the Stepson still free? Sorry but if it was me I'd have the little so and so arrested before he destroys you completely.

Turn it in at a buyback and get a gift card. If you want the boy to pay for his crime lawyer up and notify police. If you feel obligated to defend family get rid of it. Advise his parents of what he did, and tell them he is no longer welcome in your house.

Use a pay phone to call the BATFE and ask if they can restore a serial number on a firearm for you. Explain that it was stolen, defaced while stolen, and subsequently recovered from the thief, and you want to keep it due to sentimental reasons. You may offer to pay for having the serial number restored.

They have the ability to do this, and do so for criminal cases. I believe it involves acid etching the area where the serial number was ground off. The compressed metal under the original serial number does not etch away as quickly as the surrounding metal, so it is possible to read the original number after etching. Once the number can be read, they can then re-stamp the serial number in a different location on the gun.

You didn't mention how old the stepson is, and that could make a difference. I also take it that he hasn't been too open in explaining where the gun has been, how long he (or someone else) has had it, and who ground off the serial number. If he expects any help from you he should also be made to understand that he owes you a full and truthful explanation. This of course doesn’t mean you’ll get it.

Be aware that an attorney is also an officer of the court, and as such might be obligated to turn the gun over to the authorities, or to report its theft. Legal ethics would prohibit him or her from concealing a crime. If the stepson is not forthcoming you may have no choice but to report that the gun was stolen and the circumstances of its recovery. In deciding what too do you should be guided by the advise of your attorney, and your own judgment in the matter.

Also if you have any other firearms be sure they are safely secured or removed to another place for safe storage.

Call the police pronto!! If you tell them the pistol was stolen, defaced, and subsequently recovered you will have a defense in case the gun is ever brought into a criminal case or if someone finds out the pistol has no serial numbers. Then the authorities will know that it wasn't you and the report will be on file. They will also know not to charge you with a felony due to the ground off numbers. However, if you don't report this, none of this will go on file with anyone that will have any sway with the courts and if the day of reckoning comes, you'll simply look like guilty criminal scum making up a classicly overused excuse to get himself out of trouble. If you report it, the police will get this knee jerk urge to charge your stepson. You can tell the police you simply want to report it and don't want to press any charges but the D.A. has the authority to over rule you and file charges on behalf of the state against your wishes.

Also, take this as a sign that you need to spend some time with your stepson and gain a best friend before you loose a son. This is a classic sign that he's starting to "fall in with the wrong crowd". I just hope it's not too late.

The best thing you can do for both yourself and your stepson is report the entire incident to the police. Turn him, and the gun, in. He might never appreciate the gift (in fact he'll probably resent the hell out of you for it), but it's a great gift nonetheless.

Second chances are seldom seen for what they really are... another opportunity to make the same mistake. I don't know about anyone else, but I've never learned anything from being given a break. Everything (really important) I've learned in my adult life, I learned from pain. It is truly life's greatest teacher.

Hope everything turns out well.

Internet legal advise is worth EXACTLY what you paid for it. I would contact my local NRA / Gun Club and get the name of a good pro 2A lawyer & follow his instructions to the letter. I would also (W/ the afforementioned lawyers consent) report the gun stolen & press charges against the stepson. If he faces some pretty stiff consequences now he may think twice about everdoing something this stupid again

Internet legal advise is worth EXACTLY what you paid for it. I would contact my local NRA / Gun Club and get the name of a good pro 2A lawyer & follow his instructions to the letter.

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+ 1,000,000. Without knowing exactly what the laws are in your jurisdiction, no one on the internet can give you good advice. Are there statutes regarding "safe storage"? Is your stepson of legal age to possess a handgun, etc., etc. If you call the police, the first thing you will need to do is get a lawyer anyway. Do it now and let the lawyer do your talking for you. That way you won't inadvertently say something that gets you charged with being an accessory to the crime. Much silliness and expense can be avoided by knowing what to say and what not to say. An attorney is a must.

Discussing your situation with a friend...he said you may be able to retrive the numbers with a cotton swab and lemon juice (contains citric acid) and a heat lamp will darken the number unreadable now . worth a try ???up to you i cant see where lemon juice can hurt it any ,you can always wash it off .

Why did he, they , them removed the number in the 1st place ??

I guess this is the only time I've ever felt that pistol registration could be useful in any way. If only you could remember the serial number, it seems like you could just re-etch the number and say you were doing a "melt down" on the pistol to remove sharp edges.

Wow... I am definately worried here. I would strongly suggest the lawyer approach. You also need to inform the police that the weapon is stolen depending in what state you live. Here in NY its required by law that within 24 hours of finding the weapon missing it needs to be reported as stolen, even if you get it back.

Taking the gun is one thing--showing off,impressing his friends.
But removing the serial number?? Why? I'm sure that will be the first question the authorities would ask.
This gun may have a history now. I would be at a lawyers office, first thing, Monday morning.

Best to you
Bill-------------------------->

The serial number is not completely gone. I can still make out the numbers....barely.

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you may be able to retrive the numbers with a cotton swab and lemon juice (contains citric acid) and a heat lamp will darken the number unreadable now . worth a try ?

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I am not a lawyer but it seems that if the serial # is still legible or can be rendered legible then it really is no a problem.