Guy wants to run serial number?

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

fatcat4620

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
1,263
Location
TN
Have you ever had anyone way to run the serial number on a gun before they meet you to but it? I have a mauser for sale (purchased by private sale) and the prospective buyer wants to run its serial number before the meet me to buy it. I don't want to be on possession of a stolen gun our anything but it seems strange to me. What are your guys thoughts on this. He says a buddy owns a gun shop and can look it up (thought this might be illegal)
 
Last edited:
It does not add up to me. LE can run the number, but ffl holders can't. That said, if I was looking for a gun that was stolen from me, I might take a look at the auction sites and request a number from people that had a similar gun for sale...
 
It depends on what state you are in.....

There is no national or Federal database of stolen firearms that any dealer can use to see if a particular gun has been reported stolen.

The FBI NCIC expressly prohibits the use of the NCIC database except by LE on official business. Any officer using NCIC "unofficially" risks losing his access to NCIC (and some have been terminated).

A few states have the ability to run a firearm serial number through their state database "on request".
 
No, but it isn't unheard of. The biggest problem is that only the police can do a serial number search like that in the NCIC database, and there are official procedures involved. Most will not do it if they don't have the gun in their hands, and most won't do it simply on request. (Some will. You'd just have to ask.) Of course, if that gun comes back as matching a stolen firearm, they're going to be taking it into custody and asking some questions of whomever was in possession of it.

Generally speaking, this isn't something that is done, and isn't something the average person (or even a gun dealer) CAN have done.
 
I don't see where it matters much but no, I never had it happen to me. If the guy buys the gun he is well within his rights to demand a receipt from you noting the model and serial number signed by you as the seller. As to a buddy owning a gun shop and can look up the serial number I call BS. While it has been 10 plus years if law enforcement wanted a look up on a gun serial number they went to ATF with a gun trace which may or may not yield results. Unless law enforcement now has access to a national stolen gun data base I can't even see law enforcement looking up a serial number. Let alone a FFL holder.

Anyway, I would likely tell the guy to go pound salt. He buys the gun he gets the gun and a bill of sale. That is as good as it gets. Additionally, we are talking about a Mauser here, not a high, high end collectable.

<EDIT> I saw Sam's post, so now there is a data base available to Law Enforcement? Cool and thanks. </EDIT>

Just My Take
Ron
 
A guy (club officer) at our local shooting range had a handgun he'd bought on Gunbroker confiscated after the fact, as stolen. Apparently SOMEONE in law enforcement (or the original owner) was paying sufficient attention to look at pictures of that make & model of guns on auction sites, wherever the serial #'s were visible, and got a hit.

He surrendered the gun (no compensation) to law enforcement. Never did hear what happened to the seller (probably never will). I'd speculate that the original owner got the piece back; my buddy was out a few hundred bucks.

I'm always REAL nervous of buying guns with blacked out serial #'s online.
 
I suspect the buyer has a LEO friend who can "run the serial number". Many sellers are very hesitant to provide a serial number prior to the actual sale on face to face sales. I know I don't like it much.

I have had guns "run" in the past by LEO friends.
 
Sam1911 said:
The national stolen gun database is run by the FBI, not ATF. It is only a registry of those firearms (and other property) specifically entered into that resource as having been stolen.

http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fbi/is/ncic.htm
Click to expand...
Thanks Sam as much has changed over the past years.

My reference to "Gun Trace" was when ATF would show up and want to review the transfer (see the 4473) for a specific gun we transferred (sold). Generally when the gun was used in a crime. Thank God we had very few guin traces run. :)

Thanks Again
Ron
 
Reloadron
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam1911
The national stolen gun database is run by the FBI, not ATF. It is only a registry of those firearms (and other property) specifically entered into that resource as having been stolen.
Click to expand...
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fbi/is/ncic.htm

Thanks Sam as much has changed over the past years.

My reference to "Gun Trace" was when ATF would show up and want to review the transfer (see the 4473) for a specific gun we transferred (sold). Generally when the gun was used in a crime. Thank God we had very few guin traces run
Click to expand...

ATF does run the "gun trace" when a firearm is recovered at a crime scene. They contact Glockchesterwesson and ask who did you ship this gun to?....Glockchesterwesson then tells them the distributor, who in turn tells ATF the dealer it was shipped to. The dealer will then pull the 4473 and give ATF the info on the buyer. ATF will then contact the buyer in an effort to find out how it arrived at the crime scene. ATF "traces" typically end at the first "private" sale of that firearm because Federal law does not require the seller to keep a record of the transaction.

The FBI maintains several databases, the NCIC is the one that includes stolen firearms. They can try and run the serial number against the database, but it is not uncommon for typographical errors to occur when the stolen firearm is entered or when a gun is recovered:
example:
Stolen gun: "Ruger 10/22 rifle caliber .22 long rifle serial #555-12345"
Firearm being checked: "Sturm, Ruger 1022 rifle caliber .22 serial # 55512345"

Although the information is nearly the same, the missing special characters in the model name and serial number may be enough to mess up the search. ATF mentioned this last year in the FFL Newsletter.
 
Since vit sounds like it will be a face to face meeting I would tell him you will not provide the number before the meeting but he is more than welcome to inspect the gun and make the phone call to his friend when you meet
 
here in FL any LE can run a quick check on a serial number. They do it for me over the phone. If the number comes back a hit, a deputy drives out and politely takes it. You get a receipt stating LE confiscated stolen property.
On a used gun from a stranger how would you know if the gun is stolen?
 
Sounds wierd, honestly, I wouldnt deal with some one like that. There is no reason he would need it. Even if the gun was stolen at some point and time as long as neither party has knowledge of the crime you are not responisble.
 
fatcat..there is one other possibility...while I am generally a very trusting person.. I was told some years ago, don't ever give out a serial number..some unscrupulas people have been know to take the number and then report the weapon as stolen, from them...
 
I'm not sure why everyone is so protective of serial numbers, honestly. I could see why a person might want to try to figure out if a second hand gun is on the up and up before buying it. We have people come into our police station with guns from time-to-time, wanting to check the serial number (as someone posted above, if the gun is stolen it's being confiscated).

There's really no need to protect the sanctity of a serial number, insofar as I can tell. A lot of people sell other property online and intentionally provide serial numbers for products that have them. Why are so many gun owners concerned about such things? I've heard the argument that was posted above, about someone else acquiring the serial number and then trying to report the gun as stolen. Frankly, I've never heard of this actually happening, and most petty criminals won't want to risk picking up a false reporting charge for doing so. I think that argument is more paranoia than a legitimate concern, honestly. Even if someone tried to report one of my guns as their own, I can easily prove ownership.

My guess is that this buyer was probably going to contact a police department to see if they'd check the serial number on the weapon. Whether the department would provide him with a clearance is another matter. Typically, I only provide a clearance on property that I have in hand. Same goes for people who call in and ask "do I have a warrant?" ... "I don't know, but if you come down here we can find out".
 
hermannr fatcat..there is one other possibility...while I am generally a very trusting person.. I was told some years ago, don't ever give out a serial number..some unscrupulas people have been know to take the number and then report the weapon as stolen, from them...
Click to expand...
Thats an old internet myth...........I would love to see actual proof that this ever happened.:scrutiny:

Filing a false police report is a crime itself. I can also imagine the resulting civil suit would be quite expensive for anyone being stupid enough to do that.
 
Maybe the buyer is just using this to filter bad sellers.

I would think that a seller would not provide if they felt it was stolen. If the numbers are provided the buyer feels more comfortable but does nothing with them. It might just be a bluff.
 
FL has a website you can google it. It tells you if the gun is stolen, or repoted stolen. I have run a few through it.
 
OK, dumb question...but is it possible he just wanted to know the serial number so he can somehow look up information about it. Like year and place of manufacture or something. I know I like to have the serial number so I can get the age on those items that have serial numbers databases online. Don't know anything about Mausers, but if he is looking for something in particular, that may help.
 
FFL's in Tennessee use TICS instead of NICS when doing background checks. Unlike NICS, which accepts minimal data about the firearm being transfered, FFL's enter a good bit of data about the gun into TICS, including its serial number. In addition to running the check on the purchaser, TICS looks for a hit on the gun being stolen.

So, if the buyer is in TN as well as the OP, they can do a transfer through an FFL. If TICS approves the transfer then the buyer can be reasonably certain that the gun hasn't been reported stolen.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Redlg155
  • Locked
Stolen Gun Serial Number Check Site...(FL)
Replies
3
Views
2K
Billmanweh
B
T
  • Locked
Do You Give Out Your Serial Number?
Replies
22
Views
962
Eyesac
E
C
  • Locked
Gun Pictures and Serial Numbers
Replies
14
Views
1K
Kodiak AK
K
H
  • Locked
Serial numbers in videos?
Replies
17
Views
1K
leadcounsel
L
G
  • Locked
Obliterating firearm serial number
Replies
11
Views
1K
Frank Ettin
Frank Ettin
Back
Top