Private Gun sales-- Warning!

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First time I sold a gun, I wrote up a bill of sale naming the weapon model, and the serial number, along with a disclaimer saying no accessories, ammunition, or warranty.

I printed out two copies, I printed and signed both, as did the buyer. Afterwards, we parted ways.
 
NOT a big deal - let's stop feeding the antis and trying to make it something more complicated than buying a lawnmower at a garage sale.....:rolleyes:
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I would not fill out a form for a private gun sale. Period. I don't care what you have or how cheap it is. No way. I have a drivers license and a handgun permit that you can look at if you want. If that's not enough for you, stuff it.
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As for me, if I'm buying from a private party, I don't mind showing them my CHCL, but I'm not real interested in strangers making written records of my home address, thankyouverymuch.
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Exactly, precisely, and undoubtedly.

Last thing I'm ever likely to do is give my name and home address to some random person in a FIREARM transaction. It's almost like a treasure map to more firearms.

Meet the law to the best of your ability, honestly and with full intention of doing exactly that. And that's the end of it.

All you folks who must have your happy little form and/or bill of sale have every right to do that if you so choose, but please be good enough to make that obnoxious nugget known up front before we agree to a deal, so I don't waste my time and fuel for it. :rolleyes:

Not that this is really the subject of the thread...
I merely wanted to pass the word that maybe some manner of law enforcement is looking to find a lazy, ignorant or out-and-out law breaker willing to sell to someone prohibited.

The guys in my local forum aren't those kinds of folks. That's the main focus of that community... learning the laws and how to live within them and keep yourself from making some kind of ignorant mistake.
 
On the other hand, if you sell a gun, or buy a gun, in a legal private transaction, it can be a good idea to properly document the transaction. For example, if the gun you sold winds up somehow being used in a crime and then traced back to you, you'll have some record that you sold the gun on X date to Y person. Or if the gun you bought had been reported stolen, you'll have some record that you bought the gun on X date from Y person.

It's up to you to decide on what terms you will sell (or buy) a gun. Documenting the deal could be a deal breaker for some folks. Not documenting the deal would be a deal breaker for others. You need to decide how you want to handle it and what risks you're willing, or unwilling, to take.
 
If you meet the letter of the law...
What more can they ask?

Obviously, if you have a crazy prosecutor you could be charged with anything or threatened with anything. But if you are talking about a firearm that you never bought from an FFL in the first place, it's not even attached to you by any paper trail in many/most of the "free" states in this country.

Try this-- if it's legal to do so in your state, carry a personal voice recorder. That's proof that you did your due diligence. (as long as you do your due diligence)
 
You must be fairly young - it wasn't that long ago you sold guns at garage sales and through ads in the papers with cash in hand
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Here in Missouri, I can sometimes still find guns at garage sales. I bought a single shot 20 gauge this past summer.

The guy asked me if I was able to legally own a gun, I said yes, and he sold it to me. I would have to dig through my paper work to find his address, but I do not even know his name. (I record where I get all my guns, what I paid for them, the serial number and anything I can think of to help me get the gun back if it is ever stolen.)
 
I think it is likely that the Bloomberg crowd would be targeting people who put adds online for some sort of expose. They'd really like to end ftf transfers and require all firearm transfers to go through an ffl.
 
See, that's precisely what I'd like to see. Some complete IDIOT, working for B'berg from New York State try to buy a handgun in a private sale from an Ohio resident -- and then get bent over and stuffed by any Ohio LEO and referred to the Feds for attempting to skirt Federal law and purchase a handgun out of state.
 
In a face-to-face gun purchase, I prefer no paper trail. However, if I want the a particular gun bad enough, I'll sign just about whatever you put in front of me.
 
I get all the info I can. Because if i sell it to you, your house gets robbed and the firearm gets stolen. and some how ends up in the polices hand because of a robbery or worse. If it comes back to me with the police asking questions. I don't want anything to chance. Who here has over 20,000 cash for a attourney. Or who here had 15 cents for a black and white copy. Yeah chances are it won't happen, But for 15 cents a copy and the security, to me its worth it. and if you right a bill of sale with drivers license number or chl number. They allready have all your personal information. and again show me where its illegal your not completing a transfer your just getting the info they use, and its volunteered to you by them filling it out. If they dont want to fill it out they can go on to the next person! They are volunteering their information.
 
To aquire a firearm, private citizen transfer in Illinois:
  • Seller and buyer must posess a valid FOID (Firearm Owner ID)
  • Buyer must abide by the waiting period; 72 hours for handgun, 24 hours for long gun.
  • Seller must keep record of transfer for 10 years from date of transfer
  • Record must contain date, description, serial number, or other info if no serial number is available.

Someone mentioned that it cannot be a sting because they know too much about gun laws, or that it would not make the news. I disagree. This is precisely the tactic an "anti-gun" advocate would use as proof of either loopholes, or the ease with which a "criminal" could get a gun. Two or three purchases where the seller should not have sold, or didn't know enough about the laws of his state, would be enough for a "Special Report" on your local, if not nationwide news about illegal gun sales.

It's very important that gun owners understand the laws regarding the transfer of guns in their state.
 
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Every states laws for buying/selling guns varies greatly. It is pretty easy to buy long guns in NJ, just need a NJ Drivers License and a FID card, both addresses must match. After that, seller and buyer fills-out a COE and the deal is done, no waiting period. On the COE there are questions about being a prohibited person, etc... There is no way the seller can verify the answers are correct. If the buyer still has a valid FID card we have to assume the buyer has done nothing to become a prohibited person.

Handguns are a completely different story! The purchaser must have a valid Pistol Purchase Permit and a NJ DL. That is it. The PPP is issued by the buyers local polic dept so the backgorund check is already completed.
 
Then there are places like OR, WA and ID. You hand over the money, the guy can hand over the firearm. (except FA, SBR, SBS) That is all that is REQUIRED. I think most people ask if the person can legally possess a firearm, but it is not required for a FTF.

I don't know for sure as the last time I sold/traded a firearm was in 1967 and there were no FFL's yet. I just buy what I see that I like when i am at my LGS. I have never sold any since GCA68 (other than that one Ruger Bearcat back in 1967...wish I hadn't sold that one either....

I am more concerned with the history of the weapon than anything else. I really would not want to put good money out for a stolen item. Especially since most of my collection is C&R
 
I personally prefer to get a B.O.S. when I buy/trade a gun and don't mind giving one if I sold/trade one. I mean that's with limited information on it, full name & phone # and we each take a look at each other's drivers license. The reason I feel that way is because of something like this and it's one to ponder on and please tell how you would have handled it if you don't care to; I live near the state line between two states where a large flea market has gun & knife sales and trades all spring thru fall. A guy I know traded for a rifle in the other state and didn't get a B.O.S. or anything and brought it home to this state. This guy was using the rifle legally during our hunting season and was approached by a game warden. The warden asked for his hunting license, the guy had honestly left them at home and told the warden so. The warden took the man's rifle and told him to bring his hunting license in to him and get his gun. When the gun owner took his hunting license in to the warden and showed them to the warden, the warden told the man he couldn't return the rifle to him because the rifle was not registered to him and he could not prove ownership of the rifle. The warden said the rifle would be kept in the evidence locker until the guy could produce proof of ownership of the rifle. It took the gun owner almost a year to finally catch the guy he had gotten the rifle from at the flea market and got him to write him a B.O.S. The gun owner then returned to the warden with the B.O.S. and showed it to the warden and asked for his rifle, the warden said....what rifle? :confused: Is that a crock or what? :mad: The gun owner had no proof that the warden had ever even stopped him and asked for his license, let alone taken his rifle.

I make sure I carry my license both drivers and hunting (along with my CCW permit) when I walk out the door to just go to the post office. I'm all for law & order but if a game warden or LEO takes possession of anything that belongs to me, I want a receipt from them for it WITH ALL THEIR INFORMATION included. It's a shame the world has gotten like this. If the drug heads don't break in and steal your guns, it's the other side taking them. There's pro's & con's to paper work on a private gun sale but you have to weigh in what COULD happen. I'm sure the gun owner never though in a thousand years that he would run into something like he did with the warden. It seems like us good, law abiding gun owner/users get it from every side don't we?
 
Here in FL - cash and a hand shake will do the deal

WAY too many folks suddenly concerned about some form of liability that never has existed..........:rolleyes:

Would you write up a BOS for selling sharp knives at a garage sale? or a lawnmower? How about a baseball bat or tire iron? All can be deadly weapons, yet no one thinks twice about those items
 
Probably part of the justice department's gunrunning scheme in mexico.

Personally, i don't want to buy any gun that doesn't go through a gun dealer and background check. I don't want to unknowingly buy a stolen gun or something worse.
 
Personally, i don't want to buy any gun that doesn't go through a gun dealer and background check
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And THAT thought process plays directly into the anti's hands of having every gun sale go through a FFL and then through even more restrictions

Do you go through the same checks for kitchen knives or baseball bats?
 
...and the rest of us who know better have LESS folks buying up the terrific used items in our market, leaving more deals for us. ;)
 
have you considered, it's an ATF agent ???

or

Brady Bunch seeing if someone will sell them one, or Bloomberg's group ?

or

Just the same idiot moron who doesn't need to own a gun.

We've seen gang banger dressed guys trying to buy guns without paper @ a gun show from dealers.. who finally had them tossed out. They showed up at the next gun show, and were promptly hauled out of there as well.

If you have any doubts, don't sell it to them. If I were buying one, I would have the SN run to make sure it's not a stolen gun.
 
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