Gun registration question?

[Lonnie]

I should already know the answer to these questions but I haven't kept up on all the laws and rules like I should.


I have a few questions about registrations.


What happens to the paper work you fill out when buying a new gun from let’s say Dicks sporting goods?

If there is no National gun registry, how then is it said that when a fire arm has been used illegally in a crime, how do they track a gun back to the manufacture and then to the person who bought the gun?
I have seen this said to have happened several times on news shows etc.




Is it true that gun manufacturers keep a "finger print" of all guns before they are sold?


Thanks
Lonnie

 

[rimfire_crazed]

The transaction is recorded in the FFL's bound book and kept by the FFL until the FFL surrenders his license. Then the records are sent to the ATF.

There is no national registry but the ATF is really good and tracking firearms to their point of initial retail sale.

 

[SSGSAD]

I believe, that the forms are kept on file, but not sure where.
All Firearms, are "Factory Fired," wheather for function check, or whatever. Most firearms, still have the powder residue, in the barrel, unless someone is cleaning the firearms...

 

[The Keymaster]

The dealer keeps the forms unless they cease to do business. If that happens, the records are forwarded to BATF in Virginia for permanent storage.

 

[MrsGungho]

Dealers keep all 4473's on file in the shop. We keep all firearms, sold or unsold, in a bound book.
If a trace is needed on a firearm the BATF starts with the manufacturer. They give name of shop sold to, then we get the call and we pull information on who bought the firearm and pass it along.
This is why it is very important if you make a FTF sale that you obtain as much information as possible and hang on to it.
We hang onto the paperwork until we go out of business and then it is given to BATF.

 

[Lonnie]

I was told there was a Federal law requiring all that information to be destroyed in 48 hours. It sounds like this is not the case.
Seems strange to me that we have no Federal gun registry but we have "records" of sales kept on file for a unlimited time? hmmm sounds a little like a hidden way to keep a registry


Thanks everyone for your response

 

[MrsGungho]

I was told there was a Federal law requiring all that information to be destroyed in 48 hours. It sounds like this is not the case.
Seems strange to me that we have no Federal gun registry but we have "records" of sales kept on file for a unlimited time? hmmm sounds a little like a hidden way to keep a registry


Thanks everyone for your response

no such animal for us. We are required by law to keep all 4473's until we go out of business.
It is a backdoor registration in my opinion, I have to do what the law says though to keep my license.

 

[rimfire_crazed]

NICS discards/destroys the background check after 48 hours.

 

[tenring]

NICS discards/destroys the background check after 48 hours.

But do they? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[CountryBoy19]

While the 4473 records can be used as a "backdoor registry" they can't really be sure. All that is saying is that the firearm was sold to you at one point in time. You may or may not still possess it. A registry OTOH keeps up to date records on who does own a gun, and can be used to directly trace it to the last registered owner. Typically places that have a registry also have laws that say you can't sell a firearm without the new owner properly registering it etc and typically these sales go through a dealer to ensure that the gun is registered to the new owner. If you transfer the gun illegally, then you're in trouble. In places like IN where there is no registry and we can sell FTF with no information exchanged etc, the trace may come to you as the last owner, but it means nothing. You don't have to tell them who you sold it to, but doing so may take you off the list of possible supsects if they suspect you.

In a state with a registry, if they trace it to you then you're the last known owner so you have no "out" except to say that it was stolen, or to admit to illegally transfering a firearm.

So yes, while the 4473 system is a sort of back-door registry in that it tells them that you owned the gun at one time but not necessarily any longer, it isn't a full-blown registry.

 

[Que]

But do they? Inquiring minds want to know!

Simple reply, but you said a lot here!