Nervous to sell to this guy..but feel obligated. What would you do ?

I'd take this opportunity to teach him safe handling procedures for the rifle. She can give the rifle to him, but until you teach him how to use it, you will keep the firing pin assembly, rendering the firearm inoperable. I'm sure that with enough training in safe handling, even he can learn to use it.

I mean, he does have a driver's license, doesn't he? A car is arguably much more deadly than a rifle, at least in terms of accidental discharges are concerned.

do not sell it to him....but say you will go to a gun shop and help him pick out one off the shelf.
this way he gets a proper gun for him,(with proper back ground check) and you are safe..
then when he gets said gun, go to a range and teach him the right way to shoot.

The OP's made his decision, but here's what I'd recommend:

B.D. Turner said:

"I decided not to sell it" plain and simple. I have turned down sales before. Make no excuse. Don't tell them it is broken because they still want it when you get it fixed or they will take it as is and not care. No lie no excuse.

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Don't lie, simply don't sell. You get that little feeling in your gut for a reason. Look appropriately apologetic when you say you it. After all, you didn't promise to sell it to him.

In the future, refrain from making similar statements under pressure.

Maybe I'm wrong OP, but I think you're reading way to much into this.

Here's 3 answers I would feel 100% comfortable giving:

"I am backing off selling it right now, I may keep it, but I am not sure. Tell him I'm sorry."

"I changed my mind about selling it to someone I personally know, would rather a stranger take it to avoid possible bad feelings if it broke or wasn't what they thought."

"Changed my mind. Sorry if that offends, but it is what it is."


I don't understand your trepidation. You're worried about pissing off the boyfriend of friend, who is your girlfriends only friend right now?

Not to offend, but if the above statement is true, you need to reevaluate your commitment to honesty and maturity.

You lost 'em all in a tragic boating accident.

Yet another "pro-gun" person with the attitude that he's good enough for guns, but another isn't.

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Well count me in that crowd too............. if another is a dip, unsafe, criminal, in other words just plain dumb then yeah I have a problem with it.


To the op.........
you are doing just fine with your plan

Tell him that you are a little concerned about the safety of the couple, noting that the SKS is a KILLING machine, and you will feel much safer if he is safety trained and able to demonstrate that he is responsible with the gun.
You said: "Yeah, maybe some day" You didn't say; "Sure, bring me the $ and it's yours."
BTW.
If you DO need to sell it quick, let me know the price and I'll ask a friend of mind who is looking to get one. Don't worry about him either. He's a highly conservative (as are most who lived in Communist regimes) Red Army vet from the Afghan war and carried an AK for 2 years.

I would only agree if he agreed to let you teach him about gun safety before he gets it.

BradM said:

1) its a gift so no, its not a straw purchase
2) hexidismal is not a Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer, so again its not a straw purchase.

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Unfortunately, I'm in California where there is no legal way to transfer a gun (other than a C&R) without going through an FFL. I assumed that New York was just as bad - maybe that was wishful thinking on my part - misery loves company.

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Whether or not it's a straw purchase has nothing to do with whether or not the state requires the sale to go through an FFL. A straw purchase is when a person who IS eligible buys a gun on behalf of someone who is NOT eligible. People do straw purchases through FFLs, too -- that's what Bloomberg's stooges from NYC did in those gun shops in Virginia.

Assuming this guy isn't ineligible, his fiancee can legally buy it for him as a gift. But ... if she buys it, then it's hers. When she gives it to him, that's a second transfer of ownership. If the jurisdiction requires any sort of paperwork for the transfer, that means it gets done twice.

Hi Kex,

Since I don't know the people involved I can't really say. But reading your post I couldn't help but think of my Dad's advice to me a long time ago. "If you get the feeling something is wrong, don't get in the car."

Dad's advice might very well work for gun sales as well.

Selena

IMHO the essence of the problem is being missed by most of th posters so let me jump in and try to avoid putting any feet in my mouth.

Let's first identify the actual problem.

In the opinion of the op the young man doesn't seem to have the intellectual heft/maturity to be a safe gunowner but he wants to own a gun.

Not selling him a gun won't solve that problem. Selling him a gun thru a FFL will not solve that problem. Sending him to a FFL will not solve that problem.

The solution to the problem is to work with him to raise him up to the level, if at all possible, so that the problem disappears or is minimized.

Here's how I would go about it.

Fred, you're going to be almost-family pretty soon and I take my responsiblities to my family very seriously. Very seriously. Especially when it comes to things such as guns and other dangerous items.

Now... you and I both know that your experience with guns is almost non-existant so I'll make you a deal. This is the same as I would do with my younger brother or nephew, and the same exact thing I'm planning on doing with any children we have when they are old enough.

You spend the next year, MINIMUM, with me learning about guns and gun safety, and at the end of that year I'll evaluate where you are at in regards to being able to handle firearms. If I think you're ready I'll help you buy something that is suitable for you. By that time you should be able to pretty well judge that on yourself. But at the end of the year if you've been screwing up... or not taking it seriously... then I just cannot walk with you any further on this issue.

It really has little to do with the issue of trust... but much more with my sense of responsibility to you as family. I simply cannot allow myself to do something that may cause you harm in the future.

Deal?

If Fred holds up his end of the bargain the "problem" is truely solved. If not... then at least an honest attempt to solve it was made and that should be honored all the way around.

Sounds to me like it wouldn't be so bad if the "idiot" didn't like you and didn't come around. Make up something and DON"T sell to anyone you have bad "gut" feelings about. So what if you hurt his feelings? It's not your fault he is and idiot.

I wouldnt make the sale.......Id have to fib about the "other guy" who wanted it first..

As a private citizen, your choice to whom you will sell a firearm.
Maybe different for a dealer, I do not know.

Either make up a story or tell the truth, your call.

You are not enfringing on his rights, you just do not want to sell him one of your guns, which is exercising one of yours.

Not trusting him with one of your former guns does not make you a hypocrite, it makes you selective.

That is one of the reasons I do not sell guns to folks I do not know and trust.
Oh and the fact I always end up regretting it and feeling like I lost a child.

If you choose to teach him how to shoot safely after he bought a firearm from someone else, good on you.

If it was me, I would say I discovered corrosion, and cannot sell it.

You can insist not selling it, because you live by the seller's code of honor...you know....where you cannot let it become public knowledge than an imperfect gun was traded out by you for cash...

Or.......one might say that a personal friend has tendered an offer also, and you are obligated.....

Honest question: Why all the stories about why he can't sell?

I really don't see how "I changed my mind" or "I'm not willing to sell it anymore" is worse than a story or a fib to try and skirt the topic.

nice sign on name



sarah

Originally posted by scrat
nice sign on name

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I agree, Sarah...

Welcome...



Forrest

If you get bad vibes from the guy then don't sell.
I've havn't had problems selling a gun but I've bought a couple of guns off "dolts" who I felt really were better off without them.
I got a AR15 off a cop who got fired and was really not in the best state of mind at the time. I paid a bit more than it was worth but I figured the guy was one stress point away from a killing spree. I figured It would be safer if I had the rifle and he didn't.
I got a Bersa .380 off a Corrections Officer who I knew. He had been fired the day before and I told him that when he needed the cash I'd by the gun. I got the Bersa the next day. Within a year he was in the newspaper. Seems he had forced a woman into his car, drove her to a field, beat her and attempted to rape her before she got free and ran to a highway to flag down a passing car. He's back in prison but as an inmate now and I have a great carry gun.
I'm waiting for a guy I know with a nice S&W Model 19 to get fired. I really want that gun.

I can't put it any better than JackBurtonJr.

Going through an FFL resolves the whole issue , unless the rifle isn't registered to you. ( IE: You didn't have to go through an FFL to get it )

Honesty is the best policy. It's called "Keeping it Real"

Tell the guy the truth. Let him know where he really stands with you & how you feel about him being " GHETTO ". Tell him it's for sale to anyone with the money but him , or any one "LIKE" ( "GHETTO" ) him. Tell him he is better off dealing with a total stranger , (FFL ?) than with you his "Soon to be like family." {Besides , he'll probably like the AK better for the price }

Tell him how you don't feel he is good to enough to buy your gun that you are selling to whomever else who has the money & isn't "GHETTO" , only good enough for you to take advantage of under the guise of helping him as a true friend.

(IE: "Heck, I figured I might even finagle it so that he buys ammo enough for both of us.. maybe.. just a thought.. you know.. uh.. times are tough" )

If you were gonna do your part & teach him proper safety , then teach him. No strings attached. No scams. No hustles.

This dude would be way better off going through a stranger / ffl than dealing with you. At least they would be honest.

No 1 year training with "conditions" , no paying for ammo that he isn't keeping , no fake lies or fake friendship.

Man up enough to tell him to his face , that in a nutshell , you feel you are better than him!

Chances are he won't even want the "TACTICAL SKS" anymore , or even want to come by your house again.

All the advice about lying & selling it to him / her but taking the bolt , etc , can backfire on you. Just like bragging via showing off your collection like " Look what I have & you don't & can't get if I can help it! "

If your girl won't let you be a man , get a different one.

IMO , if you do the right thing , for the wrong reason , it's still wrong. You shouldn't have to lie about the right thing. Take that as a hint.

Are the people you dealing with so powerful & mighty , that you have to bend , hide , twist & contort your words , to say what you don't mean & to not mean what you say?

IMO it's not hard to tell who's the better man. :banghead:

i agree, follow your gut instinct. at very least, tell him that you will sell him the gun, AFTER he completes a training course on how to use it! that would be a win-win situation. that way, he would get professional training, and you can save face. take a deposit to hold the gun, set him up with a training program, and tell him when he comes to you with a completion certificate, you will complete the sale.

Is one reason I don't sell firearms anymore. I've sold two in my life, and both were to friends who still have them, so I guess I'm lucky.

I just make darn sure it's something I want before purchasing. YMMV.

Man up enough to tell him to his face , that in a nutshell , you feel you are better than him!

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I still don't agree that because you choose to sell to some and not others means you feel "better" than them, or that you are being selective about who has the rights, and who doesn't.

This kid has the right to buy a gun in any legal fashion. He can't go to a store? No one is infringing on his right or acting superior to him.

The OP has the right to legally sell or NOT sell a gun to whoever he chooses, for any reason.

The OP made the mistake of getting caught in a web of lies. He just needs to short-circuit the whole process and say he changed his mind and that he's gonna try and sell it to a stranger.