Why not show serial numbers on gun photos?

penguin

 What do you think bad will happen if you do? What bad has happened when you did?

mark christian

penguin said:

  What bad has happened when you did?

What good has happened when it is done? 

penguin

How would you know?

He Dog

A lot of sellers with good photos show the serial number.  I have been able to determine year of manufacture, which in some instances can make a difference in value, or if I am looking for an early or later issue.  The xxxx's see to be a result of an overabundance of caution and probably go back to early gun rags.   

bullshot

One explanation is that someone could use the serial number to claim that the gun was stolen and was actually theirs not the sellers.

Personally, I think that's silly, I have a receipt for every gun I own (except for the ones lost in the boating accident) and can prove that I own them. I also like to see the serial numbers as I can glean a lot of information on a particular firearm without having to ask the seller a bunch of questions.

Besides if you can prove that you own a gun that you have for sale, then why cover up the numbers, again, this paranoia is ridiculous.

nmyers

I can think of many times when knowing the complete SN has proven useful. 

When looking to buy USGI guns such as the M1911A1, M1 rifle, M1 carbine, etc, that let's you know when & who made it; then, you can identify the features that tell you if it is original or assembled from parts.  

And, those in Law Enforcement with access to the DOJ stolen gun data base can find out if a gun in question has been reported stolen.

OTOH, I have yet to see a documented case of something BAD happening when the complete SN is shown, if you don't consider having to return a stolen gun to the rightful owner a bad thing.

kannoneer

Serial number makes a difference to me; it may to others as well. It depends on the gun, of course.
X them out on the gun itself and see if anyone cares!

hillbille

because no one trusts you..........

BobJudy

When it is blocked out it makes me wonder if something else is being covered up. Bob

Smitty500mag

I have receipts for all the guns I've bought and I have insurance records and appraisals that were made on all my guns that I inherited back in the 90s and 60s. I also have pictures that are dated including some pictures of guns I inherited that date back to the early part of the last century. If any of my guns are stolen guns then I guess great grandpa has some explaining to do. 

select-fire

Choice.. WTH is the matter with folks.

montanajoe

I don't worry about it, either way.

Don McManus

Receipts only show that you did not steal the gun. If stolen at some point, it will just show you how much money you are out.

that is why I grind the serial numbers off all of my non-collectible firearms.

Locust Fork

I'll never understand why people think a person can report a gun they see on line is their stolen gun.    If you posted it up for sale BEFORE they made the report that it was stolen, they will have a very hard time proving they aren't a lying piece of crap.       I've never heard of anyone ever having this problem.    I've actually only ever had three legitimate STOLEN firearms in my many years of dealing with firearm sales.      Its really not a common thing at all.    Tennessee is the only area that I know runs all serial numbers through a database to find out if they are stolen at the time they are transferred.     

KenK/84Bravo

https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11151864#Comment_11151864

Maybe, I do not know, but that does not sound very Legal. (Removing serial #'s.)

Don McManus

in my copy of the BOR, the 2nd does not include ‘if they have serial numbers’.

;)

Mr. O

Well, there was a story released last year about google collecting serials and forming a database......

I have not tried it myself, maybe it's true ,

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/10/22/google-firearm-serial-numbers/

sharpshooter039

It was discussed on here years back but I had it happen.. Back when FB allowed gun sales I had a Browning BLR in one of the rooms for sale. Guy contacted me he wanted it and asked if I could meet Him at a place 1:2 way between ,, when I got there he had the Police with him saying it was his gun and it was stolen.. even had a report,, luckily I had reciept where I had purchased it a few years earlier .. Turned out the guy pawned it and when he went back to the pawn shop 16 months later to get it ,, It had been sold and the pawn shop refused to tell him who bought it so he filed it as stolen from his truck to the police.. when he just happened to see it for sale he thought he could get it back.. I do not post serial number in pucs but will supply if you ask for it

kannoneer

I guess a guy could sell a gun privately with no paperwork and then immediately file a police report saying it was stolen. He could end up getting his gun back for free in the future.  In fact, i did something like that just last month on a pickup. I advertised it online and in 3 hours a guy showed up with the cash so I signed the title  and he drove off. The next day I realized I had left my plates on. I called and told him to return them (he lived 90 miles away) but he just hung up. I left a message telling him I had reported it stolen. He called and said the plates were in the mail. I got them in 2 days.

shilowar

I block my serial numbers in photos, I block my vehicle tag number in photos as well.  It takes very little effort to do, and the internet is forever so better safe than sorry.  Why be bothered by it?  You be you, and I'll be me, if you want to display that information then have at it.  I prefer not too.

shilowar

sharpshooter039 said:

It was discussed on here years back but I had it happen.. Back when FB allowed gun sales I had a Browning BLR in one of the rooms for sale. Guy contacted me he wanted it and asked if I could meet Him at a place 1:2 way between ,, when I got there he had the Police with him saying it was his gun and it was stolen.. even had a report,, luckily I had reciept where I had purchased it a few years earlier .. Turned out the guy pawned it and when he went back to the pawn shop 16 months later to get it ,, It had been sold and the pawn shop refused to tell him who bought it so he filed it as stolen from his truck to the police.. when he just happened to see it for sale he thought he could get it back.. I do not post serial number in pucs but will supply if you ask for it

Well there ya go.

shilowar

KenK/84Bravo said:

Receipts only show that you did not steal the gun. If stolen at some point, it will just show you how much money you are out.<\/p>

that is why I grind the serial numbers off all of my non-collectible firearms.<\/p>","bodyRaw":"[{\"insert\":\"Receipts only show that you did not steal the gun. If stolen at some point, it will just show you how much money you are out.\\n\\nthat is why I grind the serial numbers off all of my non-collectible firearms.\\n\"}]","format":"rich","dateInserted":"2020-01-25T19:10:49+00:00","insertUser":{"userID":383005,"name":"Don McManus","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6031683\/uploads\/userpics\/223\/nUF16ZM238AOV.png","dateLastActive":"2020-01-26T04:30:14+00:00","label":"✭✭✭"},"displayOptions":{"showUserLabel":false,"showCompactUserInfo":true,"showDiscussionLink":false,"showPostLink":false,"showCategoryLink":false,"renderFullContent":false,"expandByDefault":false},"url":"https:\/\/forums.gunbroker.com\/discussion\/comment\/11151864#Comment_11151864","embedType":"quote"}"> https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11151864#Comment_11151864

Maybe, I do not know, but that does not sound very Legal. (Removing serial #'s.)

I'm confident he is joking.

Okie

I keep the serial numbers hid from the Democrats.

  Bloomberg might add them to the Demo hit list if he gets elected.

spasmcreeksrun

still looking for my high standard olympic 22 short 2nd with weights...#416713  stolen out of my house while i was at work and reported many years ago....

dok2u

While I agree with everything that has been said about the advantages of being able to read the serial number, I know of several occassions where the firearm turned out to have been stolen.  I also know of at least one incident where the dealer found a firearm in California listed for sale on line and had a very difficult time getting the locals or the feds to recover it for him.   

Smitty500mag

If one of my guns is a stolen gun I would want to know about it rather than hiding the serial number. I don't want to keep somebody else's gun anymore than I would want someone keeping mine. 

Mr. Perfect

Don McManus said:

in my copy of the BOR, the 2nd does not include ‘if they have serial numbers’.

Exactly. What would govern what I am doing with my personal property anyway?

select-fire

Maybe someone is looking to buy a consecutive number firearm

Mr. Perfect

select-fire said:

Maybe someone is looking to buy a consecutive number firearm

Still my decision to worry about that or not.

drobs

Mr. O said:

Well, there was a story released last year about google collecting serials and forming a database......

I have not tried it myself, maybe it's true ,

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/10/22/google-firearm-serial-numbers/

This - but I don't really give hoot. My pics might or might not have visible serial numbers.

Firearms ownership is still legal / constitutional in the USA. So Google / Facebook can go F themselves.

nunn

I get some of my firearms from a dealer who does not want the serial numbers on the guns he sells me published.  It's his choice, and I agreed to his terms, so that's that.  I usually don't cover the entire number, just the last two or three digits, so it is possible to determine the date of manufacture.  On other guns, I don't care, and I will display the entire number.