BATF pulling my leg ?

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pollpegj

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I have a Yugo SKS for sale on a local forum. I have man interested by the name "Al" and I think the BATF might be trying to get me to do some illegal activities.

First message-
Al-Does your SKS have a 30rd magazine? Can you send me a picture?

My Reply- No, You can buy them online though. I attached a picture for you.

Second Message-
Al-Ill buy it whats your address so I can send a check to you?

My reply, a little suspicious at the time- I cannot ship you the firearm. I do not have a FFL. I will only sell face to face, cash only. You must be 18 years of age to purchase. Plus I believe 30rd magazines are illegal. You wouldn't happen to be the BATF would you?

Thats all so far, so am I being a little over protective or is somebody playing games with me.
 
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Why run?

I havent done anything illegal. I live in Iowa and I believe the 30rd magazines are illegal.
 
No point in calling them out so to speak. Just follow all the laws as all of us should do. No muss no fuss. Either he is a legitimate buyer who doesn't know the law, a legitimate buyer who knows the laws and is trying to circumvent them or the BATFE/LEO

You follow and explain the law and one of a few things happens.

1-You teach somebody the law and education is a good thing.
2-You run off a potential felon/illegal purchaser, keeping the gun out of the wrong hands.
3-You show the BATFE that we are law abiding citizens.

All win win IMHO.

Follow the law to the letter and you are good to go.
 
In most states anybody can ship the firearm following the shippers regulations. For example most shippers require firearms to be shipped 2 day air or other expedited method. The receiver when crossing state lines MUST be a FFL. If the gun is a curio and or relic it can be sold to a Curio and relic license holder in most states.

In all cases it is best to get an ink signed copy of the receivers FFL, although I believe the BATFE has indicated that a legible fax is OK proof.

State laws can be and are in some case more strict so YMMV.

Chris
 
A little nervous

I know I havent done anything wrong and wont. But its just like a cop being behind you with his lights on when driving, you keep thinking to yourself, what did I do wrong? Then he pulls around you.
 
Be advised, there have been cases of Nigerian-type scammers trying to buy guns illegally from people who list guns for sale on auction sites and classifieds. The possibility is there that it is a BATFE/LEO trying to bait you, but I'd agree with others, in that they'd have to be pretty bored to randomly try to bait someone who hadn't ever been on their radar. Much more likely to be someone who is either A. Completely ignorant of gun buying laws B. Trying to make an illegal purchase on purpose or C. Someone trying to make an illegal purchase on purpose, through some sort of scam.

be wary, just as you already are. State the laws, don't call them out, and see where it goes. If it seems like an individual tryintg to scam you/otherwise make an illegal purchase, maybe think about forwarding their information to the proper authorities, as they may be worth having a look at.

Good luck sellin' that SKS, by the way. :D
 
I'm not saying it doesn't happen but in my exp. with ATF agents they really don't care a whole hell of a lot about guns in general. Bombs yes, gun running yes, illegal importation etc. yes, but single incident things like this not so much.

Years ago I had the unpleasant exp. of speaking with some agents regarding some potential nastyness at my workplace at the time. I was not involved, nor did anything happen or would have but questions needed to be asked, and should have been. At any rate I mentioned I have several totally legal firearms but don't even reload for feel of blowing my fingers off. They laughed and said we don't give a sh$@ about guns. Bombs on the other hand are serious business.

In another incident I was inquiring about some magazines I had during the ban that I was unsure of legality. The agents laughed and asked if I was planning or knocking over a Mapco or killing somebody? I laughed and said of course not. They said then you have nothing to worry about. Its not worth our time and paperwork but we will tack it on if you really do something wrong.
 
Also - to my paranoid mind, "What's your address I'll send a check to you" sounds a heck of a lot like "What's your address I'll send myself out to rob you blind."

Careful with ol' Al. he may be a goblin in disguise. :scrutiny:
 
Any black helicopter flying lately around your house?? :neener:
The guy does not know the law or is banned form buying a gun and is fishing for someone to sell a gun this way. The ATF is busy with other things and I don't know if something like this would not fall under entrapment!

For your protection, only make a private sales to someone you know.
Otherwise use a FFL.
If you don't know the buyer, how do you know that this guy is not planning something like those six terrorists in NJ.
If your rifle is part of something like this, you can be sure the ATF will visit you!
 
I had an odd experience with a P22 I was trying to sell. A woman from Ohio contacted me about it (i had it listed on a forum i visit) and offered me $200. I said deal, let me have your FFL's info and we'll get the ball rolling. We talked back and forth through email for awhile, but when she still hadn't sent the FFL I finally pushed her for it, explaining I couldn't sell it to her any other way - Silence. Never heard from her again. She said she worked for a newspaper in Ohio, so the closest I can figure is maybe she was trying to get info for some "OMGWTFBBQ" type story about how "gun traffickers" are getting firearms from illegal interstate sources.

There are a ton of shady people out there these days..
 
Sorry, it was sarcasm. Most likely you have nothing to worry about.

I made some videos of my guns and posted them on youtube for the benefit of buyers being able to see the action on them.

I have had 12 messages with idiots going "Thats full auto right? But $300 is too much!". i just ignore.
 
Also - to my paranoid mind, "What's your address I'll send a check to you" sounds a heck of a lot like "What's your address I'll send myself out to rob you blind."
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Well without the address just where is the buyer suppose to send the funds?
 
Adress

Im not giving out my address. Id meet him in my apartment parking lot maybe. Plus why would he just send me some money without seeing or even talking about shipping or coming to pick it up.
 
In some states it is legal to ship a long arm to another resident without a FFL.
 
kingpin008 said:
Be advised, there have been cases of Nigerian-type scammers trying to buy guns illegally from people who list guns for sale on auction sites and classifieds.
Click to expand...

*nods* I had one of those types when I listed a gun on GunBroker. Started out with an IP address in New Jersey, then somehow switched to Nigeria (either using a partner in the US, a proxy, or perhaps was travelling?). Totally ignorant of the law, and said he'd send a shipping company with the FFL to my location (which I never revealed).

For legitimate transfers, I recommend having a PO box at your local post office to receive checks and whatnot. Very useful to separate your mailing address from your physical address.

As far as I know, 30 round magazines for SKSs are not illegal in most states, though they tend to be unreliable.
 
Don't know the laws in Iowa, but here in Texas nothing he asked was illegal or suspicious (except trying to pay without a shipped price). Just ask for a postal money order instead of a personal check and that'd be it.

Am I missing something?
 
The receiver when crossing state lines MUST be a FFL.
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Not true. I bought my dada a rifle and sent it to him. Same with my buddy. You cannot make a SALE across state lines without a FFL.
 
If you've got alarms going off in your head, listen to them. You may be totally wrong, and you may never know. But if you are totally right, you'll have a good looooooong time to sit in your cell and cuss yourself for not listening to the alarms.

Tell whoever "Al" is that you have another buyer interested, and you're just going to sell it to that person.
 
None of those questions seem out of place. It sounds more like you put up an ad that was devoid of useful information like a picture and good description of the gun.

Asking for an address to send the money is a logical next step when you decide you'd like to buy a gun from someone.

Anyway, unless IA has some silly laws I'm not aware of...........

-You don't need an outgoing FFL. You ship to the receiving FFL in the other state. If the gun crosses state lines, it must be sent to an FFL.

-If the buyer is in the same state, you don't need an FFL on either end.

-There is no silly limit on magazine capacity in IA.
 
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