Do you ever get nervous buying used guns?
- Thread starter jasmith85
- Start date
I have only had one unfortunate situation which resulted in a minor windfall. I bought a used rifle off GunBroker from a nearby firearms dealer who handles predominately law enforcement sales and police trade-ins.
The purchase went well, I picked the used rifle up locally and a FFL was processed. Just short of a year after the purchase the seller contacted me stating they need the rifle back. Actually the law enforcement agency trading it in needed it back. I never found out the reason.
The seller was very gracious and apologetic. They in return presented me with a new in the box upgraded version of the same rifle. It was somewhat of a hassle for me but not close to the extra couple of hundred in upgraded value I received. I understand mistakes can be made and happy to support any law enforcement activity.
The answer the "thread question" - No, I am not shy of purchasing used and do so when I can score a fair deal on what I will enjoy owning.
The purchase went well, I picked the used rifle up locally and a FFL was processed. Just short of a year after the purchase the seller contacted me stating they need the rifle back. Actually the law enforcement agency trading it in needed it back. I never found out the reason.
The seller was very gracious and apologetic. They in return presented me with a new in the box upgraded version of the same rifle. It was somewhat of a hassle for me but not close to the extra couple of hundred in upgraded value I received. I understand mistakes can be made and happy to support any law enforcement activity.
The answer the "thread question" - No, I am not shy of purchasing used and do so when I can score a fair deal on what I will enjoy owning.
Sure Shot Mc Gee
New member
No disappointments. No buyer's remorse. No shipping back and forth either. I buy new or up front in person when it concerns used weaponry. That's just the way (I) operate.
I get that. But the issue remains that if the pawn shop did not own the gun, they did not have the right to sell it. If they did not have the right to sell it, the transaction was not legal and therefore the buyer is entitled to a refund.
In like manner, the pawn shop is entitled to a refund from the person who pawned/sold the gun since that person also had no right to sell it.
In one sense it may seem unfair to the pawn shop, but if any other approach is taken, it creates a situation where there's no reason for a pawn shop (or anyone else) to avoid purchasing stolen merchandise. As long as they can sell it quickly enough (before it is discovered to be stolen) they can profit from the situation and not be penalized.
They still aren't responsible, since they both bought it and sold it "in good faith", not knowing it was stolen
They send all the information to the police just to make sure the items aren't stolen
If it had been reported at that time, the pawn shop would have been out the amount they paid, and the gun would have been seized and returned to the true owner
The buyer(s), including the pawn shop, can only seek restitution from the perp at sentencing.
They aren't penalized because they haven't broken any laws
If the item is "pawned" as opposed to bought straight out, they have to keep it a minimum of 30 days
A pawn shop transaction requires a photo ID and any serial numbered item is reported to the local LEO's to check against stolen property reports.
I don't worry about it much. It does happen, but so do lightning strikes.
If it does happen to you, its probably best to shrug, eat the loss of money, and be glad you aren't being charged with something. Odds are high you would spend more money trying to get your money back than you would get back, assuming you got anything.
A few years ago, I got a counterfeit $50, from my BANK! Never realized it. Couple days later, I paid a friend for some work with it. Day or three later, when she went to spend it, the store caught it. Guess who was out the 50 bucks?
She was, because she still had to pay the store. I was morally obligated to pay her back since she got it from me. I might not have been legally obligated, I don't know, never bothered to find out, and even if I wasn't $50 wasn't worth screwing with out friendship.
And you know, silly me, I didn't write down the ser# of the 6 $50 bills I got from the bank that day, nor did I have the teller countersign the list, so, no proof I got the bad bill from the bank, of course. The bank did say they will check them all closely, from now on....
Bottom line, unless you (or they) spot a phoney bill right at the moment they hand it to you, you have a tough time proving where you got it. If you buy a gun that is legal (cold), and later turns out to be hot, expect to be out whatever you paid, and, of course, the gun too.
If it does happen to you, its probably best to shrug, eat the loss of money, and be glad you aren't being charged with something. Odds are high you would spend more money trying to get your money back than you would get back, assuming you got anything.
A few years ago, I got a counterfeit $50, from my BANK! Never realized it. Couple days later, I paid a friend for some work with it. Day or three later, when she went to spend it, the store caught it. Guess who was out the 50 bucks?
She was, because she still had to pay the store. I was morally obligated to pay her back since she got it from me. I might not have been legally obligated, I don't know, never bothered to find out, and even if I wasn't $50 wasn't worth screwing with out friendship.
And you know, silly me, I didn't write down the ser# of the 6 $50 bills I got from the bank that day, nor did I have the teller countersign the list, so, no proof I got the bad bill from the bank, of course. The bank did say they will check them all closely, from now on....
Bottom line, unless you (or they) spot a phoney bill right at the moment they hand it to you, you have a tough time proving where you got it. If you buy a gun that is legal (cold), and later turns out to be hot, expect to be out whatever you paid, and, of course, the gun too.
Brotherbadger
New member
I'll be honest, I've never given it a second thought.
I had almost the same thing happen to me but a year after the purchase date. I bought the gun from a pawn broker. One day out of the blue the sheriff of the county I bought it in and the pawn broker started calling me.
Both told me to relinquish the gun to the sheriff's dept. I was about to do that until a friend who is a ffl dealer told me to take it to the shop asap for a refund.
I was as working 70 hours a week at the time so I told the sheriff I would try to come down on a weekend.
I ended up taking it back to the pawnbroker. He didn't look to happy to see me. Ended up trading it even for a much more expensive gun.
When I left the shop I called The sheriff and let him know the gun was at the pawn shop and he could see them for it. He kind of laughed knowing the pawn broker had to repay me for the gun. If I would have turned the gun into the sheriff I probably would have never seen my money again.
All in all it was a big PIA.
Apparently the broker bought a bunch of guns from one guy who had STOLEN them from his elderly father. When his older sisters put him into a nursing home they started consolidating their fathers belongings to help pay for his care . It wasn't until a year later they found out they were all gone. The dad had ser#s written down in the safe so they tracked them with those. Whole thing sucked.
Both told me to relinquish the gun to the sheriff's dept. I was about to do that until a friend who is a ffl dealer told me to take it to the shop asap for a refund.
I was as working 70 hours a week at the time so I told the sheriff I would try to come down on a weekend.
I ended up taking it back to the pawnbroker. He didn't look to happy to see me. Ended up trading it even for a much more expensive gun.
When I left the shop I called The sheriff and let him know the gun was at the pawn shop and he could see them for it. He kind of laughed knowing the pawn broker had to repay me for the gun. If I would have turned the gun into the sheriff I probably would have never seen my money again.
All in all it was a big PIA.
Apparently the broker bought a bunch of guns from one guy who had STOLEN them from his elderly father. When his older sisters put him into a nursing home they started consolidating their fathers belongings to help pay for his care . It wasn't until a year later they found out they were all gone. The dad had ser#s written down in the safe so they tracked them with those. Whole thing sucked.
Armorer-at-Law
New member
Is this a Tennessee thing? Because when a NICS check is run, the FBI is NOT told the serial number, only "handgun, long gun, or other firearm."
Not sure if it is specific to Tennessee, but yes it does ask for a serial number when a background check is ran on both handguns and long guns here. Aside from customer information it asks for make, model, and serial number of the firearm. This is at least the way it does through the small terminals some stores have when a background check is ran. I am not sure what is asked for when the background check is ran on a PC though. I have plenty of experience with the terminals because when I was in my early twenties I worked in the sporting goods department at my local Walmart.
22-rimfire
New member
There may be some sort of pawn shop law about firearm transfers. Assuming this is true, it must be a pawn shop law to identify stolen merchandise when it comes to the store.
This information was provided to me when I was looking at a transfer of a used gun from out of state. The pawn shop was the least expensive transfer that I was aware of. But they said I could not have the gun for a number of days (7 I think?) after it arrived to allow for checks to be made. Didn't matter to me as I was in no hurry and I eventually had that transfer done at another shop.
This information was provided to me when I was looking at a transfer of a used gun from out of state. The pawn shop was the least expensive transfer that I was aware of. But they said I could not have the gun for a number of days (7 I think?) after it arrived to allow for checks to be made. Didn't matter to me as I was in no hurry and I eventually had that transfer done at another shop.
Well I'm pretty sure MOST of the ones I have never been stolen , cause I bought Most of my used ones Many years ago before they even did any paper work , or ran check's on um 
So I'm not too worried about that part of it anyhow cause what I do have , I'll have till I die , then my son can do with them what he want's after that . But I never did buy a used gun without first looking at that bore , and Especially that chamber area , to seen how eroded the throat area was . If those area are pretty good , You got a pretty good shooter to work with right there .
If there pretty bad , all you have there is a part's gun , and they call for Real Cheap money . I've bought a few of those through the years , Very Cheap "
Most" of my pistols and rifles have Never been registered , thank the Lord , and that's the way it's goanna stay as long as I'm alive .
So I'm not too worried about that part of it anyhow cause what I do have , I'll have till I die , then my son can do with them what he want's after that . But I never did buy a used gun without first looking at that bore , and Especially that chamber area , to seen how eroded the throat area was . If those area are pretty good , You got a pretty good shooter to work with right there .
If there pretty bad , all you have there is a part's gun , and they call for Real Cheap money . I've bought a few of those through the years , Very Cheap "
Most" of my pistols and rifles have Never been registered , thank the Lord , and that's the way it's goanna stay as long as I'm alive .As far as I know, it's always illegal to buy & sell items you don't own. If they acted in good faith they probably won't be prosecuted for it, but that doesn't make the transaction legal. And since the transaction was not legal, the money that they obtained from it isn't legally theirs.
I get that too. The good faith part means they probably won't be prosecuted for buying/selling stolen property.
But that's a separate issue from whether or not they legally owned the gun. The fact remains that because it was stolen property when they bought it, it was never legally theirs in the first place.
Good faith or not, you can't legally sell something you don't own/never owned. If you do sell something you don't own/never owned, the person you sold it to is entitled to a refund since they gave you money for something you couldn't legally sell to them. Admittedly you probably don't have to pay them until they take you to court and get a judgement against you, but that's another issue.
What you're basically saying is that regardless of the fact that an item is stolen and therefore is not/can not be legally owned by anyone other than the owner, it is perfectly fine for a chain of people to profit by buying and selling the item with only the thief and the final person in the chain actually bearing any penalty. Criminal charges for the thief and confiscation for the last person in the chain.
Of course, I'm expecting the law to make sense here which may not be a good assumption--do you have references/links that support the idea that it's legal to profit from selling stolen property?
I remember buying a nice Ithaca 37 8 shot LAPD special at a garage sale from a woman for $100.Probably a divorce sale.
Still,it seemed to good to be true,so I called the SN in to the Sheriff.It came back clear,good to go.I could then relax.
Since the new laws,ftf sales in Colorado require an ffl transfer.
But,in the past,I have written an informal "bill of sale" for each party,including a time/date,and DL #.
Not legally binding on anyone,but if LEO's knock on my door about a crime commited with a gun I bought or sold,I have something more to offer than "I bought/sold with some nameless guy"
I can say "Sold it to this guy on this day"
With that lead,the LEO has something to work with.
Still,it seemed to good to be true,so I called the SN in to the Sheriff.It came back clear,good to go.I could then relax.
Since the new laws,ftf sales in Colorado require an ffl transfer.
But,in the past,I have written an informal "bill of sale" for each party,including a time/date,and DL #.
Not legally binding on anyone,but if LEO's knock on my door about a crime commited with a gun I bought or sold,I have something more to offer than "I bought/sold with some nameless guy"
I can say "Sold it to this guy on this day"
With that lead,the LEO has something to work with.
Machineguntony
New member
I buy NFA machine guns. Those are always used. Even NIB guns are 30+ years old. I won't buy a MG unless it is backed by a reputable dealer or unless I see the gun in person. Too many scams in the NFA realm.
Blindstitch
New member
I worry more about buying new guns and making a mistake filling out the paperwork. The last one I forgot to abbreviate BLUE for eye color and the guy at the counter just short of flipped out because I didn't write BLU.
It's almost like taking a test you didn't study for. And there's no reason for it because i'm doing everything right.
It's almost like taking a test you didn't study for. And there's no reason for it because i'm doing everything right.
22-rimfire
New member
Never had a problem with 4473's and I suspect I have written Blue vs Blu a few times as it is only one letter more. Maybe it's important. Maybe not. The dealer can correct me if I make a mistake.
When I was younger and didn't really know much about guns at all other than shooting them, I was always hesitant to buy used guns. Then a bit later in life I started attending gun shows and it opened my eyes up to reality. People buy and sell guns all the time. Sometimes it's like buying a CD, don't like it, sell it. So, the fact that something is used is not a barrier to buying a gun especially since I tend to be more interested in older guns that are out of production than the newer stuff. You just need to pay attention.
Years ago, I bought a Colt Woodsman (I was young) and it looked "brand new". I didn't look at it closely as it had been re-blued. I was embarrassed that I would make this mistake especially since it was so obvious with this gun. I sold it at a loss (like $100) within a month just to get it out of my sight and "remove" the memory every time I looked at it.
Now, I would not think twice about that choice unless it was to collect. If a gun is priced right and I intend to just shoot it and keep it for years, I have no problem with a re-blued gun as long as I know it when I purchased it.
When I was younger and didn't really know much about guns at all other than shooting them, I was always hesitant to buy used guns. Then a bit later in life I started attending gun shows and it opened my eyes up to reality. People buy and sell guns all the time. Sometimes it's like buying a CD, don't like it, sell it. So, the fact that something is used is not a barrier to buying a gun especially since I tend to be more interested in older guns that are out of production than the newer stuff. You just need to pay attention.
Years ago, I bought a Colt Woodsman (I was young) and it looked "brand new". I didn't look at it closely as it had been re-blued. I was embarrassed that I would make this mistake especially since it was so obvious with this gun. I sold it at a loss (like $100) within a month just to get it out of my sight and "remove" the memory every time I looked at it.
Now, I would not think twice about that choice unless it was to collect. If a gun is priced right and I intend to just shoot it and keep it for years, I have no problem with a re-blued gun as long as I know it when I purchased it.
If you go to Walmart to buy a gun it would be the complete opposite. Not sure if this is corporate policy or just the store I worked at, but we were told that the 4473 could not have any abbreviations. Even the year could not be abbreviated. If someone did abbreviate something we had to have them mark one line through it and initial beside it before fully writing it out. The only thing worse than this stupid rule was the fact that when we gave people the paper we told the customer not to abbreviate anything, yet we still had to correct just about everyone.