Second thoughts about second hand guns.

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In our state, the shop has to hold any newly purchased (or defaulted pawn) firearms for a 2 week "police hold" before they may resell them. This is only to give LE time to come searching for the firearm if it was recently reported stolen locally. If the cops dont come looking for it in that time span, they may sell it. The serial numbers are not normally searched through any database.

On the one occasion I know of where a local shop sold a gun and the cops came searching for it some time later, the gun was returned to the rightful owner and the buyer was reimbursed by the gun shop- who promptly sued the person who had sold it to them.
 
jmr40 said:
If a gun is pawned, traded in or sold to a gun shop or pawnshop all of the info from the person bringing in the gun is recorded
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I have actually found that's not always the case, I recall specifically selling a gun to a LGS and it was a no paperwork deal. Is it because at the time there was no BGC requirement in VT at the time perhaps?

I have one gun that makes me a lil nervous. I purchased a gun from a friend of mine many years ago and a short time after we made the deal, he passed away. His family was all up in arms about locating anything of his that had any value, fighting over his things, grabbing his mowers, parts rigs, etc... ugly scene. They had a suspicion that I had the gun because we were close and they knew if it had gone anywhere, it had probably gone to me. Well they apparently thought that since he passed away anything he had ever owned or sold belonged to them.:confused:

It's a complicated family dynamic, type of people I stay away from, he (my deceased firend) was the only one I actually cared to hang around. Well the uncle approached me at the funeral said that I had better give it over or he would be "reporting it stolen". I told him I didn't want an argument and it wasn't the appropriate discussion at a funeral but that the gun was not stolen and reporting it so would be false. I never did cross paths with them again but always wondered if he did report it stolen.

I've always been on the fence about how to follow up with that, it was a private sale from nearly 10 years ago. It still bugs me though.
 
DustyGmt said:
I have actually found that's not always the case, I recall specifically selling a gun to a LGS and it was a no paperwork deal. Is it because at the time there was no BGC requirement in VT at the time perhaps?

I have one gun that makes me a lil nervous. I purchased a gun from a friend of mine many years ago and a short time after we made the deal, he passed away. His family was all up in arms about locating anything of his that had any value, fighting over his things, grabbing his mowers, parts rigs, etc... ugly scene. They had a suspicion that I had the gun because we were close and they knew if it had gone anywhere, it had probably gone to me. Well they apparently thought that since he passed away anything he had ever owned or sold belonged to them.:confused:

It's a complicated family dynamic, type of people I stay away from, he (my deceased firend) was the only one I actually cared to hang around. Well the uncle approached me at the funeral said that I had better give it over or he would be "reporting it stolen". I told him I didn't want an argument and it wasn't the appropriate discussion at a funeral but that the gun was not stolen and reporting it so would be false. I never did cross paths with them again but always wondered if he did report it stolen.

I've always been on the fence about how to follow up with that, it was a private sale from nearly 10 years ago. It still bugs me though.
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Always best to get a bill of sale and a copy of the sellers DL, even if its a buddy.:(
 
I lost one that had been checked by a pawn shop and sold on gunbroker. Was a unique pistol, police in Ogden Utah stole it from me. You won’t convince me it was actually stolen. I bought it off gunbroker and there was a picture with the serial number visible. The whole deal stunk of fraud.

I had spent tons of money and time developing a load for it (460 Rowland 1911). Done work to the gun and everything. I owned it for 6 months or so, pawn shop I bought from said it sat on their shelf for 3-4 months before they listed it. Police knocked on my door and said give it to them or they would confiscate my safe. I really regret not calling a lawyer. I pestered the pawn shop for about a year before I got what I paid for the gun back. Maybe it wasn’t that long. It’s been a long time ago.

don’t buy anything offline that has a serial number visible in the advertisement.
 
I can't speak for all states, but in AR, pawn shops are required to enter items (including firearms) into a thing called LeadsOnline. When a gun is reported stolen, officers: (a) enter it into that Arkansas Crime Information Center as stolen; and (b) check LeadsOnline to see if it's been pawned. I think they can also set up an automated watch on the item on LOL (ha!) which will then alert them if someone pawns the item.

There is a process (again, in AR) by which the true owner can recover an item from a pawn shop. I believe they have to give the pawn shop an affidavit of ownership, pay the pawn whatever it was out and then have the option of suing the thief.
 
DustyGmt said:
............ I never did cross paths with them again but always wondered if he did report it stolen.

I've always been on the fence about how to follow up with that, it was a private sale from nearly 10 years ago. It still bugs me though.
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Rest assured, if the guy thought reporting it stolen would have gained him anything, he'd have done so and likely also provided your name, and the local constabulary would have been on your doorstep something like 9 1/2 years ago. Based on how you described the family, they were all looking for the easy pickin's.
 
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jmr40 said:
Pawnshops don't have the ability to run numbers through the stolen database. That has to be done by LE. I would assume that every county in each state probably does something similar, but likely somewhat different than how it is done here.

If a gun is pawned, traded in or sold to a gun shop or pawnshop all of the info from the person bringing in the gun is recorded. They even do a photo locally. The gun must be put in the back and not sold for at least 2 weeks. Every few days a LE officer comes into local gun and pawnshops with a list of any guns or other property reported stolen locally. This gives them 2 weeks to catch anyone pawning or selling a stolen gun if it is done locally. But neither LE or the local stores run the numbers through the national database.

I've called LE friends of mine and had them run numbers on used guns I've purchased in the past just for piece of mind. But it isn't something done on a regular basis. If a gun was stolen from another area, or more than 2 weeks prior it might slip through the cracks.
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Pretty much the same procedure here in Alabama.
 
As others have said and I'll repeat, pawnshops/gunshops etc. DO NOT have access to the national database (NCIC) and therefore cannot "run a gun" to see if it's stolen. In my career the majority of stolen guns were not entered because the owner had no record of the serial number. Another issue is that, astounding as it may seem, aside from obvious burglaries or vehicle break ins, many people may not realize that they have a gun stolen until weeks or months after it was taken. In that case it could easily have be sold to an unsuspecting buyer well before being entered into the system. (how many have read threads by people on gun forums who have been looking for a missing gun for months in their homes).
 
Part of the problem in running checks on serial numbers is the convoluted ways some guns are labeled. Some Glenfield-branded guns are also labeled as being from Marlin. Running it as a Glenfield when the original owner reported it as a stolen Marlin might not turn up a hit. The same goes for imported guns, which are frequently identified by their importer's name rather than the maker's (i.e. Interarms vs FEG, or CAI vs. Zastava.)
 
AlexanderA writes:

When I saw the title of this thread, I was expecting a discussion of the pros and cons of carrying a backup gun -- a "second" handgun. Imagine my surprise when it was a discussion of stolen guns -- "second-hand" guns. The presence or absence of the hyphen changes the meaning completely.
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This was me completely. I was actually looking forward to another backup-gun thread.
 
dcloco said:
Don't forget, MANY times, items with serial numbers are NOT reported as lost/stolen, because the owners do not record the serial number.
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Not to mention.

Saturday he was stopped in his work truck. When they ran the numbers on the rifle it came up stolen in Georgia.
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I have never been pulled over and had them check serial numbers on any firearms, even NFA ones.
 
It probably won't do much good for folks in other states, but in Ohio, the Attorney General's office has added a link to their official webpage to allow folks to search the OHIO stolen files for face-to-face purchases. I've gone back and pulled a few of my last purchases and checked them just in case - whew, they have all cleared.

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/stolengun
 
Gun shops and pawn shops don't access the NCIC here. They call the fireram id info to the police who have NCIC access to check stolen guns.
We are six miles from the Virginia border and it was common for guns stolen in Tennessee to be pawned in Virginia and vice versa.
 
a few months ago I tried to purchase a TC contender from my local pawnshop. About a week into the waiting period they called me and told me the police had seized it after running the numbers through NCIC. Turns out it had been reported stolen back in the 1970's. The shop gave me a full refund with apologies
 
Way more of my guns are pre-owned than were purchased new. I have had only one lemon out of dozens but I parted it out and came out ahead. If you've been in the gun game as long as I have you should know how to evaluate a candidate before buying. That said, I won't buy online without a right of return, and even then I'm wary
 
I 've been stopped numourous times here in TX. Just show them my DL and LTC and they just want to know where my guns are. I get a warning and then I' m on my way.
 
To the best of my knowledge I've never owned a stolen gun.

Last summer I sent off a eForm 1 to SBR one of my 10/22's that I'd bought used. I was thinking it sure would suck to try and SBR a hot gun with the ATF. All was good thou.
 
denton said:
Title never passes on stolen property. If it was stolen, the pawn shop did not hold title, could not convey title, and owes the buyer his money back.
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This is what I'm thinking. I'd be going after the pawn shop for my refund, threatening to sue...
and tell the judge about this being the 17th stolen gun out of the same shop.
 
Good grief !! Reading these posts makes me so thankful that the only two guns I have bought used (1 at a pawn shop & 1 on GB) have not given me any problems.
 
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