Why did my pistol come with a test fired cartridge?

Not just S&W, but other manufacturers do the same.

When I bought my GP-100 5 years ago it came with a fired cartridge. Apparently, some states and/or municipalities require handgun owners to register their gun and submit a fired case in case it's used in a crime.

Fortunately, Vermont (where I purchased the gun) did not require such ridiculousness.

Can't speak for all the states, but I know Maryland requires fired shell casings, they go to the state police.

Can't speak for all the states, but I know Maryland requires fired shell casings, they go to the state police.

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That's the reason.

Yup, NY is another state that requires the fired casing be sent to the state to be held on file. To date in NY, no crimes have been solved by having the casings.

To date in NY, no crimes have been solved by having the casings.

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Don't worry. If this useless wasteful law comes up for repeal, one or more TV screenwriters will concoct a plot where it was useful, and a legislator will cite the episode on the floor of the legislature.

Maryland State Police want the Maryland ballistic registry ended, and the funds spent on equipment and training for additional state policemen.

Too many gun control laws are built on fantasies and divert taxpayer dollars from useful programs.

NavyLT said:

That's the reason.

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How do they know the casing you give them actually came out of your pistol?

Can't speak for all the states, but I know Maryland requires fired shell casings, they go to the police state.

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Fixed it for you!

How do they know the casing you give them actually came out of your pistol?

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If the spent casing is required by the state, it's the FFL, not the purchaser, in that state who sells the gun who will send the casing to the state.

"Too many gun control laws are built on fantasies and divert taxpayer dollars from useful programs."

I guess all and too many can be the same thing....

Some manufacturers, or distributors, will supply the empty casing, and I believe it's up to the FFL to forward it to the MSP. One of my very best friends is a dealer there, and he occasionally has to create his own fired case.... His vendors all provide them, but sometimes he'll get a pistol in for an out-of-state transfer, and he needs to fire a cartridge and send in the spent brass.

Bubbles said:

If the spent casing is required by the state, it's the FFL, not the purchaser, in that state who sells the gun who will send the casing to the state.

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Ah, OK.

I live in a free state, so I have no information on this.

That's a lot of wasted ammunition.

The fired case that came with my Ruger Blackhawk, was painted red ,I assumed it was a PROOF (over pressure) round

NYS calls this genius program COBIS. Like already stated, no crime has ever been solved. Its only needed on new firearms and not on anything used. The state is also more than willing to have a State Trooper test fire the gun for a $50.00 fee.

If my memory serves me correctly, Maryland discontinued the fired case bit several years ago. Seems that the State of Maryland was spending upwards of 10-20 million diollars a year cataloging fired cases and the program had not solved one crime.

I was wondering about that myself. My PK380 came with one, and the envelope only had a signature of what looked like Helmut. I actually thought it was a quality control measure and to show someone tested it, having never heard of the registry.

If my memory serves me correctly, Maryland discontinued the fired case bit several years ago. Seems that the State of Maryland was spending upwards of 10-20 million diollars a year cataloging fired cases and the program had not solved one crime.

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MD still requires a fired shell casing,

Yeah, I always just thought they were included as evidence of successful test firing/nothing funky going on with the chamber. Learn something new every day...

one or more TV screenwriters will concoct a plot where it was useful,

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pretty much every episode of CSI and the like.

I'm curious about the physical storage space necessary to support to such laws. Are they archived, or are they scanned into a computer and tossed? If it's the former, is there a LEO tasked with comparing every casing in the same caliber to a casing found at the scene of a crime?

Sorry, double post.

SOME states/cities require that fired cartridge.

Usefullness of that empty case is crime-solving? Less than zero.