ATF Agents at the Gun Show Today

Status
Not open for further replies.
Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Hampton.

Have seen them all. local, state, and feds, Polo shirts at tables, goofy undercovers that dont fit in.

Beware the lone, bearded, rough looking guy with a blackberry. He talks to no one, touches nothing, just wanders, listens, looks, and texts.
 
Ive never noticed them at the few shows here in Texas, but that does not mean that they are not there. Almost every show here has been so crowded it would be hard to tell. But it does give me a new game, Spot the Fed.
 
Heck, if I notice them at the next gun show I attend I'll go over and introduce myself. Back when I had my FFL and had questions it was purely a long-distance relationship. Ever contact a federal agency via telephone and reach anyone promptly?

Being able to meet them in person and clear up any ambiguities would have been nice. I would think the FFL holders setting up at the show would appreciate their presence.

Regards,

TB
 
No they are usually in plainclothes in the parking lot asking you if you want to buy a 25$ Drop in auto Sear.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that be entrapment? Coaxing someone to break the law?
Click to expand...

Yes, but only if they coax someone to do something that the person wouldn't ordinarily have done. For example, using lone, unattended bait cars is a legal tactic; taking 45 minutes to talk someone into stealing the car is entrapment. That's the way it was described to me, anyway.

Note: I am no lawyer so if I was incorrect, please pipe up.
 
Beware the lone, bearded, rough looking guy with a blackberry. He talks to no one, touches nothing, just wanders, listens, looks, and texts.
Click to expand...

You just described me, except I have an iPhone. Now I'm paranoid that the BATFE is after me, since I seem to be their idea of 'the profile.' Thanks.
 
I wanted to ask them where the "gun show loophole" was so I could take a picture of it but then my sense of self-preservation kicked in.
Click to expand...

I would have asked that one! What are they going to do, arrest you?
Click to expand...

Let's see, two ATF guys bothering no one, minding their own business, handing out informational literature as a service and you folks consider behaving like "tools". Top notch behavior.
 
off-topic, but I'm too curious:

chuckusaret - what does ATF do on a boat in FL? Is he going after gun-runners to South America?
Click to expand...

Evidently, many people routinely carry their entire firearms collection with them whenever they are in a boat. ATF agents also have come to this conclusion based on how many times they have been told "I lost all my guns in a tragic boating accident."
So it would seem natural to look for guns on boats.
 
No they are usually in plainclothes in the parking lot asking you if you want to buy a 25$ Drop in auto Sear.
Click to expand...

No officer, I file my own sears. That is what I would say while walking away.
 
Evidently, many people routinely carry their entire firearms collection with them whenever they are in a boat. ATF agents also have come to this conclusion based on how many times they have been told "I lost all my guns in a tragic boating accident."
So it would seem natural to look for guns on boats.
Click to expand...

Ahahah, excellent !
 
Hey swk314, How about you ask him if he has naked pictures of his wife for sale instead, and if not would he like to buy some! Then run, don't walk............
 
I haven't been to a gunshow for a while. I've never seen any overt BATFE (I ABSOLUTELY refuse to call them "ATF") presence at a gunshow. I assume they're usually present, for purposes fair or foul.

I don't do unlawful things at gunshows. I don't want to see or have any contact with the BATFE, for ANY reason. Their past problems with telling the truth while under oath make them no one with whom I'd want to interact.
 
Kind of Blued: I wonder two things:
Do they have to pay for their tables?
Click to expand...
No, their tables are free. So are the tables for beef jerky, ninja swords, eyeglass cleaner and shamwow rags. Gun show promotors give away tables to anyone who wants them.

Kind of Blued:Do they use my tax dollars to pay for the table?
Click to expand...

Again no. It is a violation of Federal law for ATF to use tax dollars to staff a table for educational purposes at a gun show. Federal law "1D.10T" provides that the person with the first negligent discharge pays for the ATF table. Agents who fail to kick in enough doors, who failed to shoot the dog when making a tactical entry are required to spend their weekend handing out useless pamphlets, brochures and forms that are of no interest to anyone. Agents who shoot themselves because they are the only ones experienced enough to handle a gun get to do both Saturday & Sunday.


Seriously, some of these responses are stupider than mine. Who the heck asks "...do they use my tax dollars..." They sure as heck aren't using their own money!

I'm DELIGHTED when ATF has a table at a show here in DFW- I can get all the Form 4473's, counter mats, brochures, etc I can carry without waiting for them to be shipped. The ATF IOI guys have always been helpful to me.
 
i would probably have to make a citizens arrest of auto shear selling dufus.:what:

really officer i thought you were a crinimal since what you offered was illegal and just did my american duty to arrest you. since the law says i cant carry here i had to use the (kick in the boys) arrest method. your doing a good job tho, carry on.:evil:

sorry for the hijack might be a good thread. would you get in trouble for citizen arrest of agent offering illegal items?
 
Let's see, two ATF guys bothering no one, minding their own business, handing out informational literature as a service and you folks consider behaving like "tools". Top notch behavior.
Click to expand...

I'm sure many members of the SS were lovely folks too. Still a wee bit tainted by their association tho, nicht wahr?
 
At the dozens of shows I've attended in and around Houston, other than at the table up front placing zip-ties to guns, all of the cops I see are shopping, just like me...:eek:
That does not mean that there are no plain-clothed agents around, just that I don't notice them.
The only people I "see" are the ones I recognise and the hot chicks.
p
 
Been approached by one at the Richmond Va. show, He asked why I was buying an assault rifle....... I looked him in the eye and said........"because I can" That was the year that they went around calling your neighbors and telling/asking them if they knew you were purchasing guns. They got called on it by the NRA if you remember hearing about it or reading about it. Oh well life is good as they say!
 
"I wanted to ask them where the "gun show loophole" was so I could take a picture of it :evil: but then my sense of self-preservation kicked in."

I LOL'd :D

And I 've only been to one gun show and I didn't notice any ATF agents just a few LEOs but that doesn't mean that they wern't there.
 
A lot of sarcasm here, but in fact ATF turns up at most of the large shows in this area (MD, VA) and I have never seen or heard of them trying to entrap anyone or do anything out of the ordinary. I am sure they would not (and could not legally) overlook some blatant violation, but I have seen them do nothing but hand out literature and patiently answer questions. I have also seen them take heat from people blaming them for everything from the national debt to the Kennedy assassination, and they were always polite and courteous (though I am sure they would have loved to kick the living crud out of some of the idiots, and I might have joined in).

Jim
 
A lot of sarcasm here, but in fact ATF turns up at most of the large shows in this area (MD, VA) and I have never seen or heard of them trying to entrap anyone or do anything out of the ordinary.
Click to expand...
They've got a history of bogus prosecutions in Ohio. One of the ANTI-GUN weeklies did an in depth story on several people wrongfully arrested by them.

It's a lot easier to arrest a state trooper for calling them to ask what to do when his AR15 doubles or to arrest some guy for being a "dealer" without a license without actually defining "dealer" than to go after violent criminals. It's safer too.

All of this stuff was described in detail in the Congressional hearings of the '90s, along with their official training video on how to lie under oath.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Twiki357
  • Locked
ATF at local gun show
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
dogtown tom
dogtown tom
M
  • Locked
ATF Sting?
2
Replies
46
Views
3K
M2 Carbine
M
Craig_AR
  • Locked
ATF Raid on Airport Exec in Ark, 2 Wounded, 3/19/24
Replies
7
Views
1K
rust collector
R
P
  • Locked
government plant at gun show
Replies
14
Views
1K
Al Thompson
A
I
  • Locked
Are ATF often 'plainclothes' at gun shows?
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
139
Views
8K
Robert
Robert
Back
Top