Stolen? Tampered with, and Resold

[mesinge2]

I recently bought a Kimber SIS 5" and went shooting with my friend (he is that not familar with guns, he is still getting into it). Anyway, he had never fired a 1911 before, he loved it, I could hardly shoot it. He stopped by today and supprised me with a 1911 that he bought after trying mine.

I looked at it and I noticed the frame said stoeger with one serial number and the slide said Colt 1991 with a different SN; and this SN looked odd, like it was carved in. He bought it used at a gun store.

My first thought was: Was it stolen, used in a crime, and sold to the store?

My question is should I tell him to call a lawyer or the police. I'm not sure, I have never had this happen to me.

 

[CypherNinja]

There's nothing there that suggests that to me. The SN on the FRAME is the only one that counts, legally. If that is not tampered with it's fine.

HOWEVER. 1911 parts generally have to be fitted to each other. It sounds like your friend may have a "frankengun" that somebody assembled out of spare parts. You should be sure to ask your friend whether or not he's SURE that the gun has been put together properly. Things like incorrect headspace, uneven engagement between the barrel and slide, and incompatible safety parts in the frame and slide (dunno if this applies here), may lead to dangerous situations.

If he doesn't know how the gun came to be like that, he may want to have a gunsmith give it a once over.

 

[Mags]

Serial numbers on slides dont really matter, I had a Kimber where someone hand engraved the frame s/n on the inside of the slide. Your friend's 1911 is probably just a frankengun. Frame s/n are what actually matter.

 

[Oro]

Isn't this the same post you just put in "General?" Posts usually go in one forum, not multiple. You might want to delete one of them.

 

[mesinge2]

I moved this to General, I could not figure out how to delete a post.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=468451

 

[DCR]

Frankengun? LOL - never heard that one!

He may want to have a smithy take a quick look at it, but it's probably okay. I own two 1911's that I prefer to call "hybrids" - one is a Colt slide on an Essex frame, and another is a Rem-Rand slide on an Essex frame. Both work fine, but I trust the smith who built them for me - he's my Dad.

Jeez...Frankengun??? I don't want to think of mine that way

 

[Jim K]

If he bought the gun legally, he need have no concern about its past. Even if it should turn out to have been stolen, he has done nothing wrong and the worst that would happen is that he might lose the gun.

There is also no problem with mismatched parts as far as a shooter goes. The gun was not sold or purchased as a collectible, so the things that matter are accuracy and reliability, not cosmetics.

Jim

 

[mesinge2]

I feel better about it now but I'll also tell him to check it out with a gun smith. Thanks, everyone.

 

[scotthsi]

edit

 

[Eightball]

The SN on the FRAME is the only one that counts, legally. If that is not tampered with it's fine.

This. It matters little what is stamped elsewhere, as long as the S/N follows federal stipulations.