who to call for gun check

[railbug]

sorry if this is coved somewere else but if I buy a gun from a non dealer how can I make sure its legal. I would hate to get stopped and have a stolen gun and not know it.

 

[Joe Williams]

If you are really that worried about it, you and the seller can go to a dealer and have the gun transferred to you just like if you were buying a gun from them. They don't do this for free, usually.

Still won't tell you if the gun is stolen or not, but at least if there is a problem down the road, you'll be able to show where it came from.

I personally think it's unnecessary, but that is your choice to make.

 

[4PWW9]

Only a law enforcement entity has access to the National Crime Information Computer system where any reported stolen firearms would be listed.

 

[Kick]

sorry if this is coved somewere else but if I buy a gun from a non dealer how can I make sure its legal. I would hate to get stopped and have a stolen gun and not know it.

I personally would not be that worried about it but, if I was, I would try to call your local police department. Depending on their policy, they may be able to run it for you.

However, if it is stolen, they will keep it and it may end up being a lot more trouble than it is worth.

I personally would not purchase the gun if something about it gave me a feeling that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. That is just my

 

[1 old 0311]

I HATE gun laws BUT this is one area where the civilian should have access to the info. If they did there would be less of a market for stolen weapons/less firearms taken.

 

[lovemywoods]

Buy guns from FFLs and from reputable INGO members. Do this and you're likely to never have a problem.

Buy from Craigslist, friend of a friend, and shady characters in an alley and you're asking for trouble!

 

[VERT]

Even good, honest people could come into possession of a stolen gun. Unlikely yes, but it does happen. I have had a LEO buddy of mine run serial numbers for me in the past. Never had a problem. Don't know what he would be obligated to do if the gun turned up as stolen. I suppose I would turn it over to him.

 

[jbombelli]

If for some reason I wanted to call and check on a serial number, I suppose I would call the police general business number (i.e. not 911) and tell them I bought a gun and would like to have the serial number checked to make sure it's not stolen; could they send somebody out, or could I come down there? Then I would go from there.

I don't know if they would do that or not, but I don't see why they wouldn't.

 

[littletommy]

Do you have a friend or relative in law enforcement? That would be the easiest way. Even a friend of a friend of a friend who is a LEO.

 

[Prometheus]

I HATE gun laws BUT this is one area where the civilian should have access to the info. If they did there would be less of a market for stolen weapons/less firearms taken.

Cops are civilians too. Only active duty military are "non civilians".

Anyway, I was very paranoid the first time I bought a gun from someone. It's normal.

Eventually you realize we live in a free society and come to love the ability for two people to trade products (even a gun for cash) without the heavy hand of the government getting involved.

If you aren't comfortable buying a gun with a smile and handshake, you need to be buying from a dealer. Period.

All the stupidity over bills of sale or other such nonsense do nothing to protect either party. It's feel good insanity at it's best and has no basis in the laws of the State of Indiana or Federal laws.

BTW, if you buy a used gun from a dealer and it's stolen, you are in the same boat as if you bought it from a "private" person. There is no added protection, or lack there of, in either case.

 

[radar8756]

Lets just say if a guy in a bar offers to sell you a Ruger .44 with a Scope for $50 ... Just Say NO

(note sig below)

 

[littletommy]

Lets just say if a guy in a bar offers to sell you a Ruger .44 with a Scope for $50 ... Just Say NO

(note sig below)

I bought a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 mag from a guy for $100 one time. I was working at the guys house, and we started talking about guns, and he say's he has a revolver he's looking to sell. He showed it to me, and when he told me what he wanted for it, I immediately called my then father in law, who was a cop, to run the serial numbers on it. It came back clean, and I nearly killed my self driving to the nearest ATM to get the dude his money. So, if somebody said they have a Ruger .44 with a scope, for $50, I'll at least do a little leg work.

 

[Hoosier45]

Buy guns from FFLs and from reputable INGO members. Do this and you're likely to never have a problem.

Buy from Craigslist, friend of a friend, and shady characters in an alley and you're asking for trouble!

Who are the reputable INGO members? I thought we were all shady characters that met in alleys? Except for ATF Consumer and Indy Monkey. They meet right downtown.

 

[beararms1776]

Run the serial # efore you buy it.

 

[sloughfoot]

Actually, just running the serial number is good for just a local system check. For NCIS, you need Make, Model, and Serial number. And Make and Model have to strictly conform to the NCIS standard. If it is not right, the record will come back as "not stolen".

If an Officer just runs the serial number, he/she is just doing a local records check.

Whenever I ran a gun, In my previous life, I always worked real close with the gals in records. They were always up to date with their training on this subject.

And having said all that, I wouldn't worry about it too much OP. Stolen guns just don't surface onto the legitimate market. They stay below the radar more often than not.

 

[g+16]

I thought their was a web, maybe on atf, that had a stolen or missing listing for firearms with a spot for placing a search on some database?

 

[railbug]

A little more on my question, my best friend bought a gun from a friend of his (an upstanding member of society) but he did not buy it new so no way to tell how many hands it has been in. I would like to take the gun out of the house but would hate more than anything to find out it was stolen and possibly loss my permit. I thank everyone for there input.

 

[Joe Williams]

A little more on my question, my best friend bought a gun from a friend of his (an upstanding member of society) but he did not buy it new so no way to tell how many hands it has been in. I would like to take the gun out of the house but would hate more than anything to find out it was stolen and possibly loss my permit. I thank everyone for there input.

There are tons of handguns that change hands via private transactions in this state. Unless you have some reason to believe the gun was stolen, it's really not worth worrying about. IF it turned out to be stolen, the cops will want to know who you bought it from, then they'll ask him, etc., and follow the trail as far as they can. It's really not worth wasting much time worrying about, IMHO. BUT, you appear to be really worried about it, and that's your call. My advice is that if it bugs you so much that you don't even want to take it out of the house, take the gun to a dealer, and trade it for a new or used gun from them, and make your future purchases through dealers. That way, if you somehow end up with a stolen gun you'll at least have a paper trail to cover yourself.

 

[Dsgnr_81]

Even good, honest people could come into possession of a stolen gun. Unlikely yes, but it does happen. I have had a LEO buddy of mine run serial numbers for me in the past. Never had a problem. Don't know what he would be obligated to do if the gun turned up as stolen. I suppose I would turn it over to him.

^^This.