Has anyone tried to derail a buy-back?

[Clipper]

This Friday, April 27th, there's a gun buy-back at the Western Rd. fire station in Flint, MI. It's being funded by Patsy-Lou Williamson (Who, BTW is a state senate canidate and wife of the mayor of Flint, not to mention the supposedly largest G.M. dealer in the world), and run by FPD, most likely at the orders of her husband...

My question is this: Has anyone tried setting up next door or across the street and offered to buy those guns for more than the buy-back types? Have you been harrassed by the police for doing so?

 

[ny32182]

The thing about a "buyback" (I don't like that term, since they can't "buy back" what they never owned in the first place) is that they are offering like, what, $50 (or some other negligible amount) per gun "no questions asked", or whatnot. No legitimate owner with the slightest clue about their gun is going to let it go for $50. I would strongly suspect the only thing you are going to see at the "buyback" is complete junk that is not worth $50.

 

[floridaboy]

I HAVE asked our town police about this. I was told that they knew of no legal reason why I couldn't do it. But the nearest ones I've heard of have been in Orlando, their PD told me they would arrest me if I tried it.

 

[The Amigo]

Be careful if u end up buying a weapon that's been in a crime you re asking for trouble. Stick with the pawn shops ext..

 

[bogie]

I'd suggest that you see what you need to do about any local business permits first, including something to operate a "streetside" dealie.

Get a sign made that says "Federally Licensed Dealer - We Pay $100 for some guns"

Keep several other things in mind.

You _may_ find some interesting WWII sourvenirs, etc., but some may be illegal.

Some of them may be stolen - if you buy a nice Glock for $100, and then it turns out to be stolen, you just ate that $100.

 

[tmajors]

I would strongly suspect the only thing you are going to see at the "buyback" is complete junk that is not worth $50.

I'm waiting for a buyback in my area to unload two Jennings pistols that I got before I actually knew anything about pistols. Till then they collect dust cause I can't bring myself to actually destroy a working firearm no matter how crappy they are.

 

[bogie]

Idea:

Place an ad... "Gun Buy Back" in your local urban paper. Use the normal weasel words, and offer between $25 and $100 ("Up to $100!") and so on... Be prepared to have everything checked with the cops, and require an id of every piece.

You may get lucky, or you may lose money.

 

[Guns R Tools]

You don't have to actually buy from people on the spot.

Just tell them how much it would be worth down the street at the pawnshop or other FFL retailers.

I don't think they can arrest you for free appraisal.

 

[AntiqueCollector]

That's an idea, offer free "appraisals" for guns, may convince many not to sell it to the gun grabbers.

 

[allmons]

In Tennessee, my friends and I have "worked the line"

when municipalities began buy back programs. Believe it or not, there were Lever guns, old WWII .45's and lots of junk. We quietly worked the rear and sides of the line, offering people $50 so they wouldn't "have to wait in line".

We figured every gun we bought would be one less melted piece of history and the owners were going to give them away for nothing anyway.

Don't underestimate the number of widows who will bring ( or send a family member with ) her late husband's pistol/rifle/shotgun to the buy back site.

The police did not bother us, BUT - your municipality may be COMPLETELY different. You should note that most of us were off duty police / fire / ER Nurses / EMT's and paramedics WHO knew the policemen and women on duty.

One of the firemen bought a Luger with SS markings, I picked up a Winchester .30-.30 and many .380 and .32 autos were purchased. As you have probably guessed, most of the weapons were JUNK, with even illegal sawed off shotguns and zip guns being turned in for money. Lots of single shot shotguns and bolt .22's will be turned in, as well as Hi Point and older Iver Johnson .22 pistols.

 

[WoofersInc]

Had an old Mosin-Nagant that I had paid $69.00 for once. Gun was broken after a few years of use. Local PD here had a buyback program where they were offering $100.00 So I made money for using the gun for 4 years. It was mostly old rusting pieces of junk that I saw. Took the money and bought another surplus Nagant.

 

[Avenger29]

Had an old Mosin-Nagant that I had paid $69.00 for once. Gun was broken after a few years of use

How on earth did you break a Mosin?

I just can't turn in even the worst Jennings to get some cash. It just supports the anti's beliefs that their buybacks work.

 

[N3HCP]

I've seen several buy backs in my area...I even unloaded an old, virtually worthless .22 revolver a few years ago. I really have no problem with them. Mostly they get old, rusty shotguns and the like. They may actually get a few unwanted handguns out of inner city homes where they aren't wanted, aren't properly stored, and are apt to be stolen and end up on in the hands of the bad guys.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm as in favor of keeping and bearing arms as the next guy, but if there is a gun in a home where it's no longer wanted, I'd sooner see it going to a buy back then to the local gang bangers.

All things considered, buy-backs have no negative impact on me or other legal gun owners and may actually help keep a few guns off the street.

 

[cmidkiff]

My neighbor asked me yesterday what he should do with the Lorcin 9mm his son had lost a spring from. If we had 'buyback' programs around here, that would have been my recommendation.

I told him to render it permanently inoperable... with a hammer... and ask the local PD how he should dispose of it.

 

[SomeKid]

I sometimes wish for a buy-back around here, as I would definitely show up to see what I could buy for myself.

If the cops don't like an honest citizen walking around looking, and buying stuff, TFB, it is still a somewhat free country.

 

[tanksoldier]

Huh. I wonder what the charge would have been?


<<I HAVE asked our town police about this. I was told that they knew of no legal reason why I couldn't do it. But the nearest ones I've heard of have been in Orlando, their PD told me they would arrest me if I tried it.>>

 

[skud_dusty]

I think it really depends on how you approach the situation. If you tell them you're a collector/hobbyist and tell them what you're looking for, I can see them being quite a bit nicer to you then if you simply said "hey, I don't like what you're doing. Is it illegal for me to try and screw up your buyback?"

 

[bowfin]

I just can't turn in even the worst Jennings to get some cash. It just supports the anti's beliefs that their buybacks work.

Well, let them think that. if you put that cash towards a nice firearm, then the gun dealers win, the gun manufacturers win, you win.... and the antis feel like they are winning, even though they have $50-$100 less to bankroll candidates and buy ad time, because they gave it to you who gave it to a gun dealer who gave it to Smith & Wesson or Remington.

 

[6_gunner]

Man, this almost makes me with there were enough rabid antis in my area to hold a "buy-back." I wouldn't mind gettin' me one of those $50 Lugers

 

[Wordsmith]

I know a few people who have turned in crappy guns from their early shooting days. In most cases, they had learned the hard way that Jennings and Lorcin didn't make good guns.

Most of the people I know who took their guns to the buyback put the money they earned toward a new Glock or S&W or something else of quality.

I don't have much of an opinion on buybacks, but one of the people I know who went to one said that the police were overpaying for most of the guns turned in.

 

[CypherNinja]

I've been waiting for a buy-back in my area so I can show up with a pile of $5 zip-guns.

 

[Sean85746]

I love buy backs!

I went to one in Tucson that was giving $100.00 CASH for every gun you turned in.

Now, I had 8 POS non working junk guns in my safe....single shot rifle, an old K Mart 410 that I had paid $35.00 for, that kind of thing.

I took them, sold them, and bought a new Glock.

 

[WeThePeople]

I like the idea but really doubt that you'd end up with too much of any value! I do recall a recent "buy-back" sponsored by the Rev. Louis Coleman in Louisville about which the news showed mostly junk guns, but a couple looked like antiques that were probably worth much more than the 50 bucks or so that they were sold for. Interestingly, despite his claims that he has helped save lives with his "buy-backs," the murder rate just seems to keep climbing.

 

[kellyj00]

just walk around in the parking lot and offer to folks who have something that looks interesting. Don't even try to convince women that what you're doing is legal, just let them give it up...but be sure to tell them that it's worth about $400 at ANY pawn shop before they do so. If nothing else, it'll make them think before they give it up for some football tickets.

If you see any fellas going into a buy back with a gun, it's usually garbage as I've found out. I knew a guy who gave up a Lorinco .22 that fired in full-auto after the firing pin got 'bent' (his words, not mine) he said the gun cost him about $40 at the pawn shop so he was getting $10 ahead on the deal.

good work guys! Get those .22 shorts off the streets! You're saving possibly dozens of dollars in wasted steel.

 

[Hoppy590]

i think Free apraisal is a good option.

say little old granma brings in her late husbands GI .45 or captured luger.

you tell her, ma'am this is worth 500$. i can give you the phone number of a dealer who may be interested. or i can give you 250 right now.

chances are grandma doesnt wanna go to a gun shop to sell the gun. you give her a decent price compared to 50$. get a nice gun, and keep the numbers low on buy backs!