Keep your receipts!

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goldpelican

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It is worth tracking down and finding receipts, emailed order confirmations or any other "proof of purchase" for items that are at risk of being caught up in new regulations or legislation. A thread on Colorado's large capacity magazine prohibitions reminded me that items can be grandfathered in under legislation - it's worth tracking down proof of purchase NOW to establish provenance for any items (like 30+ round AR15 magazines) that may be impacted in the future.

Thanks to online shopping, much of this probably exists for many members in your email archives or in order histories of various online stores.

Worth considering. Print it and file it, and you have evidence of provenance.
 
goldpelican wrote:
It is worth tracking down and finding receipts, emailed order confirmations or any other "proof of purchase" for items...

You sound like a public service announcement for the IRS.;)

It never hurts to have a copy of the receipt for a gun or gun accessory, not just for regulatory compliance, but just to be able to establish the item is yours and that you are the lawful owner.

When I go to the family farm, I put copies of the receipts for the firearms I am transporting in my range bag. Developed that habit back in college. I was heading home one night. Passing through a little speed-trap town, I was pulled over because I was going slower than the speed limit. The officer searched the passenger compartment and found neither alcohol nor drugs. He asked if I had any guns. I did. I opened the trunk and there was my newly-purchased Charter Arms AR-7, disassembled and stowed in its stock. The officer then said I needed to prove it wasn't stolen. When I presented him with the receipt, he swore and told me to be on my way.
 
The officer then said I needed to prove it wasn't stolen. When I presented him with the receipt, he swore and told me to be on my way.

"If you have reasonable cause to believe it is, it's up to you to substantiate that. A simple check with NCIC and (insert local database here) will clear that up."

Anyway, that opens a whole new (and off-topic) discussion. I would have been pretty perturbed myself, but, yeah, if I had a receipt with me, I'd have shown it and been on my way.
 
It never hurts to have a copy of the receipt for a gun or gun accessory, not just for regulatory compliance, but just to be able to establish the item is yours and that you are the lawful owner.

When I go to the family farm, I put copies of the receipts for the firearms I am transporting in my range bag. Developed that habit back in college. I was heading home one night. Passing through a little speed-trap town, I was pulled over because I was going slower than the speed limit. The officer searched the passenger compartment and found neither alcohol nor drugs. He asked if I had any guns. I did. I opened the trunk and there was my newly-purchased Charter Arms AR-7, disassembled and stowed in its stock. The officer then said I needed to prove it wasn't stolen. When I presented him with the receipt, he swore and told me to be on my way.

Do you carry around a receipt for everything else you have on you and in your car to prove it's not stolen?
 
As a matter of establishing a record, would it not be simpler to snap a dated photo of items and email them to yourself? I would think that the burden of proof would be on the state anyways, but a dated photo should be golden.
 
As a matter of establishing a record, would it not be simpler to snap a dated photo of items and email them to yourself? I would think that the burden of proof would be on the state anyways, but a dated photo should be golden.
Worthwhile for anything you don't have a receipt for, but third party sourced documentation like a receipt or invoice would be better - anyone can fudge a date on an email.

I guess my point was if you possess items that you're worried may be subject to future restrictions, get provenance now so that should a grandfather clause come in, you have evidence of eligibility to continue possession once a restriction is in effect. Easier to show physical evidence than make a verbal argument "oh I've had these for years".
 
There are all kinds of reasons to keep receipts or to otherwise be able satisfactorily document your ownership of anything of value: making an insurance claim; recovering the item if lost or stolen; etc.
 
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