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Checking serial numbers

TalokaTaloka Member Posts: 13 ✭✭
edited April 2004 in Ask the Experts
I bought a S&W model 36 from a friend who had bought
it from some guy in a bar. How can I check the serial
number on this gun and learn the history of it.
I wouldn't want to be carrying a gun that might
be stolen or something.
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Comments

  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You can send $30 and the particulars on the pistol to the S&W historian and get some information on when it was built and who first bought it, but you will not get the full history. There is probably no way to do that. You can also give the make, model and serial number to the local law enforcement folks and they can run a check to see if the serial number is listed as being stolen. Those are pretty much the choices you have.

    He Dog
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  • fundaddyfundaddy Member Posts: 151 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Maybe I'm wrong, but if it shows stolen, you must turn in the handgun to the police and are obviously out the $$.
    I know you don't want to have a stolen gun, but I'd be apprehensive about turning the numbers over to the police.
    Also, if it isn't stolen, now "they" have your name and gun serial number in a file somewhere which kind of makes me leery too.
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  • bambihunterbambihunter Member Posts: 10,778 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If you have a friend in law enforcement, he should be able to run it through. But, like others have stated, be ready to turn it in if stolen. Personally, if there was ANY doubt I had something stolen, I wouldn't want it anywhere near me!
    Fanatic collector of the 10mm auto.
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  • BallisticBallistic Member Posts: 160 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Let me get this straight; you bought a handgun from a friend who bought it from guy while at a bar??

    Do yourself and your "friend" a favor, mutiliate / destroy and dispose of it.
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  • mauser_centralmauser_central Member Posts: 733 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:mutiliate / destroy and dispose of it.

    WRONG ANSWER

    dont destroy it, it may be legit, you never know. wait till you find out for sure if it is stolen well the law will take care of it .

    I've always followed my father's advice: he told me, first to always keep my word and, second, to never insult anybody unintentionally. If I insult you, you can be damn sure I intend to. And, third, he told me not to go around looking for trouble.
    John Wayne
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  • boltthrowerboltthrower Member Posts: 212 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Friend + friend + bar = hot.
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  • gotstolefromgotstolefrom Member Posts: 1,479 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    S T O L E N - - - THAT IS THE LEAST OF YOUR WORRY.

    Used in a crime, let's say homicide, and bullet or brass is on file.

    You HAVE to find a friendly 'in' the PD.

    I appreciate an 'unlisted' piece just as much as the next guy, but find a friendly way to find out. Shoot, if you have a friend of a friend who will buy a handgun in a bar.....surely you know someone who can check it out.

    If we do not hang together,
    We will most certainly hang separately.
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  • azgunnut2@yahoo.comazgunnut2@yahoo.com Member Posts: 305 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    In some states any-one can walk into a "p.d." and check s.n.#'s on almost anything . or if you have a local friend (or some dealer maybe?)at the p.d. , I have seen this done on a regular basis in my 23 years in law enforcement....Good Luck...it may turn out to be a snake that bites !!!!!

    Join / Support the NRA
    Guns are my friends !!!

    Gunsmith / LEO
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  • rrfhunterrrfhunter Member Posts: 187 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Okay guys let's look at this from a potential victims point of view!

    I personally had a dozen guns stolen last year in a burglary of my home. There is probably only a 50/50 chance the owner reported the serial number of the gun to begin with. If the SN was documented, this guy might be helping to break up a burglary ring or solve some SERIOUS crimes by doing the right thing and having the SN checked. If it comes back clean he can sleep at night, if it's hot he should go pound on his buddy for the money back. But either way he knew better than to buy a gun in a bar for cheap. This guy has an opportunity to do something POSITIVE for a victim in the world someplace and I don't hear anybody telling him to stand up and do what's RIGHT. As a victim of theft, I would love nothing more than to get a phone call from the sheriff's department stating the same circumstances. I don't even necessarily want the gun back. I DO HOWEVER want the son of a onager in state prison for a long time that destroyed the sanctity of my home and feeling of security while I was on vacation.

    There is a REASON why we should record the serial numbers!

    ....I never met a gun I didn't like!
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  • scrumscrum Member Posts: 32 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Just in Case: Does buy from friend from guy in a bar mean transfers between private parties without FFL? If so, be very careful about your search method on the Serial#s, because a crime (or two, guy in bar to friend, friend to you) may have been committed and you do not want to have your actions read against you as evidence in court.
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