trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Welcome to the Leverguns.Com Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here ... politely.

Moderators: AmBraCol, Hobie

Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Post Reply
rossim92
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1416
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:42 am
Location: mechanicsville, md.

trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by rossim92 »

My friend swapped a pistol for a shotgun about 30 years ago. Then it got sold off , now he wants it back , but it had been sold again ., is there any free way to check on location of pistol, I think he still has the original box with serial numbers. He wants to find the current owner and make an offer if possible. Thanks.
Rossi 92 .357 lever , and a cz pcr 9mm
Henry .22 lever, Remington speedmaster 552 .22 lr
Marlin Glenfield .22 boltaction
gforce 12ga semi
Taylor's Tactical 1911 A1 FS in .45acp
winchester 1873 44.40
Marlin 336W .30.30
beeman sportsman rs2 dual caliber pellet rifle
henry .22 magnum pumpaction/octagon barrel
stag 5.56 m4 with reddot
User avatar
Ray
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 2824
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:45 am

Re: trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by Ray »

Deleted.
Last edited by Ray on Fri Apr 08, 2022 4:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
m.A.g.a. !
Pete44ru
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 11242
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2007 7:26 am

Re: trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by Pete44ru »

.

AFAIK, only the FBI can track a firearm's path through various sales, starting at the manufacturer (like the FBI got to me, once upon a time), but the buck stops where the record meets the road - private transfers (thankfully) remain un-recorded in most (but not all) jurisdictions.

.
Last edited by Pete44ru on Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
marlinman93
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 6432
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:40 pm
Location: Oregon

Re: trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by marlinman93 »

Geez! I sure hope it's not possible!!!!
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
rossim92
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1416
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:42 am
Location: mechanicsville, md.

Re: trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by rossim92 »

Thanks for the replies guys. I didnt think so, but wasn't 100 % sure.
Rossi 92 .357 lever , and a cz pcr 9mm
Henry .22 lever, Remington speedmaster 552 .22 lr
Marlin Glenfield .22 boltaction
gforce 12ga semi
Taylor's Tactical 1911 A1 FS in .45acp
winchester 1873 44.40
Marlin 336W .30.30
beeman sportsman rs2 dual caliber pellet rifle
henry .22 magnum pumpaction/octagon barrel
stag 5.56 m4 with reddot
User avatar
Sixgun
Posting leader...
Posts: 18564
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: S.E. Pa. Where The Finest Winchesters & Colts Reside

Re: trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by Sixgun »

I know for a 100% fact that IF a gun was sold and then resold through a FFL and the FFL dealer did everything correct .....and by correct I mean he has kept his records as long as he was in business and then turned those records in to the ATF after going out of business...then YES....it can be traced.

It's very tedious process and one that only L.E. can legally enforce and get access to these records. Unless a serious crime has been committed, it rarely is done.

Guns are manufactured ...then sent to distributors.....then to gunshops.......then to the buyer........then to another buyer....on and on....and as long as a FFL dealer did the selling, records are kept and these records, by law, can never be "thrown out".

Once a gun...usually a long gun, is sold through private parties, it gets "lost", unless each previous owner remembers who they sold it to. That's why some states demand that each handgun gets sold through the proper paperwork, no matter how many times it is sold. Some states even demand that long guns go through the same process, like communist states like N. J.-----6
Model A Uzi’s
Image
User avatar
mikld
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 2336
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:46 pm
Location: So. Orygun!

Re: trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by mikld »

Abbie Sciuto can find any gun ever made, who owns it and the late owner's brother in law who stole it 17 years ago... :roll:
Mike
Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit...
I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...
User avatar
Malamute
Member Emeritus
Posts: 3766
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:56 am
Location: Rocky Mts

Re: trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by Malamute »

I havent been able to find the specific info on the bound books, but 4473 forms only have to be retained for 20 years, at which point they can be destroyed.

Edit: actually, I was looking right at the "A&D record book info and it didnt register. Importers and manufacturers have to keep permanent records of acquisitions and things manufactured, but can dispose of disposition records after 20 years also, as FFL dealers also can dispose of A&D record books after 20 years.

Page 78 had the info

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/atf-n ... 2/download
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt-

Isnt it amazing how many people post without reading the thread?
Nate Kiowa Jones
Site Sponsor
Posts: 2507
Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:05 pm
Location: Lampasas, Texas
Contact:

Re: trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by Nate Kiowa Jones »

Malamute wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:27 pm I havent been able to find the specific info on the bound books, but 4473 forms only have to be retained for 20 years, at which point they can be destroyed.

Edit: actually, I was looking right at the "A&D record book info and it didnt register. Importers and manufacturers have to keep permanent records of acquisitions and things manufactured, but can dispose of disposition records after 20 years also, as FFL dealers also can dispose of A&D record books after 20 years.

Page 78 had the info

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/atf-n ... 2/download
When I originally got an FFL ( over 25 years ago now) you only had to retain the 4473's for 7 years, just like Income Tax info. But somewhere around the Clinton years it changed to 20 years. :(
What many folks don't realize is the 4473's stay with the FFL. As mentioned above to track they must contact the makers then follow the chain to the FFL that retailed it.
As for retiring FFL's turning in their 4473's, it is my understanding those go to an ATF central warehouse. But, the laws (thanks to the NRA) so far have prevented them from recording the info to a data base. They file them to the FFL's info. If a trace is required they have to open those paper files and search them by hand. :lol:
Steve Young aka Nate Kiowa Jones Sass# 6765

Steve's Guns aka "Rossi 92 Specialists"
205 Antler lane
Lampasas, Texas 76550


http://www.stevesgunz.com

Email; steve@stevesgunz.com

Tel: 512-564-1015

Image
User avatar
Ysabel Kid
Moderator
Posts: 27790
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:10 pm
Location: South Carolina, USA
Contact:

Re: trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by Ysabel Kid »

Nate Kiowa Jones wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 2:48 pm
Malamute wrote: Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:27 pm I havent been able to find the specific info on the bound books, but 4473 forms only have to be retained for 20 years, at which point they can be destroyed.

Edit: actually, I was looking right at the "A&D record book info and it didnt register. Importers and manufacturers have to keep permanent records of acquisitions and things manufactured, but can dispose of disposition records after 20 years also, as FFL dealers also can dispose of A&D record books after 20 years.

Page 78 had the info

https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/atf-n ... 2/download
When I originally got an FFL ( over 25 years ago now) you only had to retain the 4473's for 7 years, just like Income Tax info. But somewhere around the Clinton years it changed to 20 years. :(
What many folks don't realize is the 4473's stay with the FFL. As mentioned above to track they must contact the makers then follow the chain to the FFL that retailed it.
As for retiring FFL's turning in their 4473's, it is my understanding those go to an ATF central warehouse. But, the laws (thanks to the NRA) so far have prevented them from recording the info to a data base. They file them to the FFL's info. If a trace is required they have to open those paper files and search them by hand. :lol:
At least that is what they have told us for years. Do any of us really trust that Big Brother is not keeping a list?
Image
JerryB
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 5493
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:23 pm
Location: Batesville,Arkansas

Re: trace a guns ownership by serial numbers

Post by JerryB »

A big 10-4 on what marlinman 93 said, Vall I agree 200% on that!!!!!!!!!
JerryB II Corinthians 3:17, Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

JOSHUA 24:15
Post Reply