so if a guy buys a gun ftf...

[andyrping]

You could take it to a gun dealer, sell it to him for 10% or so of what it's worth. Then buy it back from him for 10% over retail value. Then it would be "in your name."

Oddly enough, I had to do this... Well, sort of. I put a rifle on consignment and it never sold after quite awhile and dropping the price to next to nothing. So, I won't mention the shop, but they required I do the NICS check to have my gun back. I almost had to pay for it too, but due to some unforseen circumstances for the shop, they didn't charge me. Had I known that ahead of time, I would have never put it on "consignment." I don't know if this is typical practice, but would have been nice to know ahead of time.

 

[Joe Williams]

not trying to thread jack... but heres a similar question.. when doing a ftf gun sale.. is a bill of sale legally required?

It's not legally required.

Some people won't buy or sell without one, some people won't buy or sell from a private party with one.

There is some debate about whether or not they provide any legal cover. Heck, you could have had your next door neighbor fill in the info and sign it for all anyone knows. Others say they provide some protection. I don't really know either way.

Generally, I won't do a bill of sale. I'd just as soon have some guns without a paper trail leading to me. If I'm going to have a paper trail, I'd just as soon have the advantages and convenience of a dealer backing up the gun. If I'm buying, signing a bill of sale has no advantages to me, and all for the buyer. If there's going to be a paper trail, may as well go to a dealer who will stand behind the gun if there turns out to be a problem with it. I have done a few. I've also decided against some transactions because of the requirement.

Matter of personal preference.

 

[Doug]

I would say be sure to get a bill of sale showing who you bought it from... or just say your late uncle gave it to you and you don't know where he got it.

I got a call several years ago from a LEO in Arkansas asking about a S&W pistol I had bought new about 8 years previously. I had traded the gun at a local gun shop within 2 years of buying it. It had been involved in a crime. I think they traced it to me through the warranty registration card I sent to Smith & Wesson. I told the LEO I had traded it and the name of the shop (which had closed) and that was the end of that. The Good Lord only knows how the gun got from here to Arkansas.

Doug

 

[andyrping]

I would say be sure to get a bill of sale showing who you bought it from... or just say your late uncle gave it to you and you don't know where he got it.

I got a call several years ago from a LEO in Arkansas asking about a S&W pistol I had bought new about 8 years previously. I had traded the gun at a local gun shop within 2 years of buying it. It had been involved in a crime. I think they traced it to me through the warranty registration card I sent to Smith & Wesson. I told the LEO I had traded it and the name of the shop (which had closed) and that was the end of that. The Good Lord only knows how the gun got from here to Arkansas.

Doug

My brother lives in Pittsburgh and a few years ago his apartment got broken into and his Bersa handgun along with a bunch of other stuff was taken. He reported it to the police and about 6-8 months later he got a call from a LE agency in Arizona saying it turned up in a crime scene. They said he could have it back after it was done being used as evidence, but he told them just to keep it. Didn't want a "dirty" gun. Weird how they travel though!

 

[trophy hunter]

My bad, I misunderstood......Anyway, if I understand right, you want to get a background check to make sure that you are lawful to own a gun?

Or are you concerned with the origin of the gun?

i already have a lifetime ccp..
i don`t carry but i`m going to start.just want to cover my butt on owning the gun thats all...

 

[IndyMonkey]

i already have a lifetime ccp..
i don`t carry but i`m going to start.just want to cover my butt on owning the gun thats all...

The best thing you can do then is take it to the police station and have them see if it is stolen.

 

[Bill B]

The best thing you can do then is take it to the police station and have them see if it is stolen.

Make sure to call ahead; don't just walk in, otherwise excellent advice.

 

[IndyMonkey]

Make sure to call ahead; don't just walk in, otherwise excellent advice.

Bill you need to live a little. Go in with it tucked Mexican in your pants, saying real loud that you have a gun.

 

[samot]

Because you have evidence that you bought it and did not steal it. As long as you cooperate with the authorities, unknowingly buying or possesing stolen property is not a crime. Now if you knew the item was stolen, then that is a different story.....

you sure about that ?? i would think it would be recieving stolen property no matter what you told the authoritys

 

[clfergus]

if you really want to be safe, you can go to a FFL and pay the ffl fee and have it transferred over to you. I have actually been asked a few times to do this. They just process it like a sale on their end. You pay the 25.00 and they ask the buyer to fill out the form.

To double check that they actually document the serial number on the gun, i called back and asked what they had written he down for my records and it matched what I had.

They won't give you a copy of the form but in case of an issue you can point them to the shop.

 

[rhart]

Not required but not a bad idea to have a trail. If they can match the bullet from the factory, they just start knocking on doors of who bought it first from the FFLD.

 

[boogieman]

You can always take it to any sheriff office and they will check the serial number and see if it is legal or stolen or been in a crime. It can be worth the trip to cover you a.

 

[PatMcGroyne]

"They" (LEO & pawn-shops, etc.) call in guns to see if. . . .

. . . ."IF" they were ever listed as stolen guns, etc. The registration of a gun (non NFA) doesn't begin until it is reported for some reason. FBI NCODIS data-base. Your friendly FFL dealer does NOT call in "the gun". He/She calls in YOU! So be a good boy/girl! Pat.

 

[MoparEric]

Bill you need to live a little. Go in with it tucked Mexican in your pants, saying real loud that you have a gun.

Now thats funny! LOL

 

[PatMcGroyne]

P.S Personal CYOA.

Every side-arm & barrel that I own has a test-bullet (fired into ballistic newsprint), along with the cartridge and serial number of the gun, in my safe. Shotties have a spent hull for firing-pin and extractor registration. When I sell any gun, I get Driver's license, and I pass along the ballistic "evidence" I've made. No license / no sale. BTW, JSP Desert Eagle .50AE & .44mag will go through 28" of wet newsprint (expanding to >3/4 "), and AK/SKS will beat 24" with ball, and no deformation. Be Safe. Pat.

 

[bigworm]

i dont know about innocent till proven guilty if that was true i dont think you would have to bond out of jail

 

[JohnP82]

Not trying to start anything, but how do you know then that the person you are selling to is legal to carry a handgun? Just because he shows you a LTCH does not necessarily mean it is still valid. My biggest concern with FTF sales is that I do not know the background of the buyer. I would prefer to meet at an FFL dealer and pay the $10.00 to do an in person transfer (which is what mine charges). I know many will think this is stupid and unnecessary, but that is the way I prefer.

What could happen if you meet someone, they show you a LTCH and you sell them a handgun. Two days later they commit a felony with that handgun, is there anything that can happen to the seller?

I guess I just don't understand how this is any better than a straw sale. I know it is not the same, but to me if I buy a gun and 2 weeks later I decide to personally sell it to somebody else it just feels to me pretty close to the same thing. Just my

BTW I am not against personal sales of firearms, and I have done some in the past a few different times. I am just very picky about who I do business with.

 

[billyboyr6]

i learned something new today, thanks for posting this topic.

 

[Kmann]

thanks for the good info. was wondering since I sold a nice para p14 45 to a buddy years ago and never did any paperwork on it as far as a transfer of ownership.

 

[k12lts]

There is no registration of guns in Indiana. Your dealer does NOT "transfer" the gun to you, the 4473 is a federal form for the NICS background check on YOU. The serial number of the gun you are buying is written on the form but it is not part of the background check and the form never leaves the dealers shop unless the BATFE asks for it.

I can't believe the number of gun owners that are totally ignorant of gun laws and so paranoid of buying or selling guns. Anyone with the reading and comprehension skills of a fifth grader can do a google search of Indiana Firearms Law and get the straight information instead of relying on internet commandos for mis-information.

If you think you are responsible enough to own a gun you should be responsible enough to learn the law. I'm not complaining about the OP asking the question to learn, I hate the mis-information that some people post as fact.

Rant off.