State laws regarding serial numbers and registration

[daisygordoninc]

I passed on that Winchester 32 SP model 55 without a serial number. I didn't know until after
I had won the bid, which was probably too low, $610.00. I was nervous about it because it
wasn't getting bid on the way it should have. My gun shop said no they would not process it
without a serial number in Oregon. The owner in Idaho wasn't happy of course, but I don't
think his adds were completely honest because he did not point out that it had no serial number.
Have you had any experience with this serial number missing thing? What say you?

[jnyork]

I don't blame your dealer a bit. Not a matter of state laws, it's Federal law.

[Pete44ru]

.

As I posted in your other thread on that rifle, the experiences I've had with questionable/altered/missing SN's, on rifles that should have been made with a SN, are cause to pass on one, no matter how "good" a buy it might be.

If the seller wants to move that rifle, the only way it's possible would be to submit the firearm to BATF, for inspection, investigation, and (if it clears) a BATF-applied BATF serial number.

(Of course, if BATF can raise a missing SN, and it turns out to be stolen, the seller would lose the firearm, at a minimum.)

If the seller won't do that, consider that you've avoided getting your fingers burned............(not to mention your butt )


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[Blaine]

I know for a fact that Winchester Model 72 bolt action .22s were never numbered....I wonder what they would do about that?

[Pete44ru]

I know for a fact that Winchester Model 72 bolt action .22s were never numbered....I wonder what they would do about that?

A firearm originally made w/o a SN is a whole other breed of cat than a firearm originally made with a SN - if the SN is altered, missing, etc.

A firearm that was originally made w/o a SN (mostly lower-end shotguns & RF rifles), aka firearms made prior to the 1968 GCA, is simply noted, in the section of the paperwork where a SN is usually entered, "NSN" (No Serial Number).


.

[jdad]

I know for a fact that Winchester Model 72 bolt action .22s were never numbered....I wonder what they would do about that?

If the firearm was manufactured with a serial number you are not allowed to alter it in any manner, shape, or form. The ATF, like the IRS, does not have any sense of humor.

[Hawkeye2]

"The ATF, like the IRS, does not have any sense of humor."

The IRS is Comedy Central compared to the BATF.