Writer has handgun serial number question.

[cavman]

My Rock River Arms 1911 .45s have the serial number on a few parts, but only actually stamped on the frame.

I have so many non-gunnies and/or libs that already believe that the gov't has a massive supercomputer gun data base, that jpod's "fictional" account would be taken as "known fact" with no problem.

 

[SDC]

Back when hand-fitted parts were more common in firearms manufacture, makers like S&W would routinely s/n fitted parts to the frame that they were originally matched to, and these numbers are commonly used to verify recovered s/ns when the primary s/n is defaced. If you'd care to check the back of the extractor star on an older S&W, or the inside of the sideplate, you might be surprised at what you'll find. Because modern manufacturers also realize that s/ns are commonly defaced, many of them have made it a step in the production process to stamp multiple copies of the s/n on the metal parts embedded in the frame, so if the primary IS removed, they can still recover it (by cutting away part of the synthetic frame).

 

[jpod]

Thanks to all of you for your replies. You've given me some great information. As far as the storyline, the gun is registered and the owner commits a crime. The gun is then confiscated by the police, but turns up again when someone tries to use it to kill the PI. When the PI checks the serial number under the grip, he discovers that the original owner of the gun is in now prison. Therefore, the source of the weapon that was used to attempt to kill him is actually the police.
JPOD

 

[jpod]

Thanks for the pictures. What is the exact description of this S & W?
JPOD

 

[Jim K]

The serial number is required only to be on one specific location as determined by the manufacturer, usually (but not always) on the frame. On .22 Ruger automatics, for example, the serial number is on the receiver (the part the barrel screws into), not on the grip frame.

There is no requirement for multiple serial numbers, but many manufacturers have placed the number in hidden places, like on a revolver cylinder or the barrel. That reduces the chance that obliterating the most obvious serial number will make the gun unidentifiable.

So, your gun can be an older S&W, and the "hidden" serial can be on the cylinder.

AFAIK, there is no national registry of stolen guns to which NICS or anyone else has access, and in fact NICS does not have the serial number of the gun being transferred, only whether it is a rifle, shotgun or handgun. State and local authorities sometimes keep records of stolen guns, though.

Some anti-gun groups tout gun registration as being the key to "a total elimination of violent crime" (to quote one such group), but outside the world of fantasy, obliterating the serial number is pointless except in the rare cases where the gun can be traced directly to a criminal. If the gun is stolen, a trace will show only the last legal owner, not the name of the thief or anyone else down the line. Of course, the legal owner is the one the anti-gunners want to imprison - for the crime of owning a gun; they don't care about murderers or robbers.

Jim

P.S. Before I get sniped at, yes, I know there are other locations, but I see no reason to help anyone with an evil mind to locate them. What I wrote is OK for a work of fiction.

JK

P.P.S. The Chiappa chip is used for product tracing and inventory BEFORE sale. Like the famous mattress tag, it can easily and legally be removed by the end customer.

JK

 

[Chuck Dye]

Post #19 put the kibosh on my tangential thoughts, so I guess I'll have to be brief(er ).

As others have suggested, the willing suspension of disbelief brought to fictional works covers a multitude of sins. Any PI has access to acids. If I were feeling playful, I might add some slightly unusual light source and photography, UV or cross polarized or both.

Before I got too playful, I would scour the website of the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners and other such resources.

Acquiring the serial number, whether through desktop lab work or uncovering a missed number is the least of the problem. Getting believably from that serial number to the knowledge that police were the source of the intended murder is going to be tough, but, perhaps, that is why I am a consumer of fiction not a writer of fiction.

 

[Trebor]

When the PI checks the serial number under the grip, he discovers that the original owner of the gun is in now prison

This assumes that the State in which the story takes place has a state level handgun registration system and that the PI has official or unoffical access to that system.

Check the real life laws for the state in which you have set the story. If they do not have a state level handgun registration system many readers will go, "How could he check that? We don't have handgun registration in (state name)."

I discussed the impossibility of the PI being able to do a national level ATF trace of the serial number earlier.

I still like the idea of the PI finding the original owner's Soc Sec number inscribed under the grips. He would then run the number through some database, get a name, and after doing some research find out that person is in prison.

(But, that's just personal preference. Your way will work if there is a state level registration system for the PI to access or get info from a police friend).

 

[Jim K]

Hi, jpod,

Since TV PI's routinely have their pet "computer geek" tap a couple of keys and get the name, address, age, sexual preference and beer choice of the killer, I see no reason to worry about authenticity. Just from curiosity, how many real PI's do you know? I suggest you talk to one (free if possible) and see how quite unexciting the life usually is. Also read the laws and regulations governing PI behavior in the appropriate state.

As for a PI getting into a criminal investigation, he better not; if he does, it's goodbye license. And hacking into official data bases will buy lots of trouble. The cops don't like people treading on their toes.

Jim

 

[Leanwolf]

On the Colt series 1908 pistols, the serial number is on the frame, and on the underside of the slide, before the firing pin area.

L.W.