• ODT Gun Show & Swap Meet - May 4, 2024! - Click here for info

Buying a gun without a serial number

Its probably a moot point given that most FFLs aren't going to be willing to deal with a questionable gun. Trying to sell a ghost gun to a pawn shop probably wouldn't go well.
 
It's illegal to possess/sell an item with an altered serial number. They would call the police, turn the weapon over to them, and you would have some 'splaining to do.


"Unknowingly" is not in most LEO's vocabulary.

This is the result of the highly popular "some dude" defense.
And most local police do not know Federal gun laws so they would call in a local ATF field agent and it would be up to them to decide.
 
I have a specific theoretical question.
Can a gun store (FFL holder) legally sell a gun that has had the serial number removed?

What if the gun is of the age where it was common for firearms to be made without serial numbers?

If the theoretical buyer has a receipt (from the FFL not an ODT bill o' sail) that states "no serial number", is there an issue?

If this theoretical gun was a H&R 922 revolver, would the serial number be on the buttom of the grip?

What would you theoretically do? Take it back to the FFL holding store you bought it from? Lose it in a boating accident? Hide your dogs?

I have a Marlin Mod 60 That does not have a Serial number and my brother got it new at K-Mart when he was a Kid and later gave it to me, he got it in 1968.
 
I have a Marlin Mod 60 That does not have a Serial number and my brother got it new at K-Mart when he was a Kid and later gave it to me, he got it in 1968.
GCA '68 went into effect on Oct 22 1968. Gun was probably made before October. This, by the way is the same law that required FFL transfers and FFL's. Before '68 there was no such thing. This was all put into effect because of the Kennedy assassination where supposedly this guy Oswald shot Kennedy with an Italian Carcano rifle he bought from the back of the an American Rifleman magazine.
 
And so it goes.

Addendum:

I think a "ghost gun" generally refers to a "80%" gun that is finished out. The person who builds such a gun can legally sell it, so that means you can legally buy it. IMO this falls into that broad category, "it may be legal, but it isn't smart." Personally, I wouldn't touch one on a bet. Don't care how deep the bunker you live in is.

And before someone jumps on this, No, you can't build a gun for the purpose of sale, Yes, you can build one and then sell it in a casual sale. Where the line is between the two is somewhere between your workshop and the BATF office.

If you complete and 80% you aren’t allowed to sell it legally. A person is able to build a firearm only for self use, while following all class 3 laws also. Can not sell it though. Otherwise you fall under the ffl for manufacturing firearms. If you could, I’d be making money


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
GCA '68 went into effect on Oct 22 1968. Gun was probably made before October. This, by the way is the same law that required FFL transfers and FFL's. Before '68 there was no such thing. This was all put into effect because of the Kennedy assassination where supposedly this guy Oswald shot Kennedy with an Italian Carcano rifle he bought from the back of the an American Rifleman magazine.

Quote for the interwebs about the same law that restricts more of our rights:

In 1968 Congress opened a thirty (30) day amnesty period where any person possessing an unregistered NFA firearm could register said NFA firearm for free and without liability for any previous violations of the law. During this time hundreds of firearms were registered including many war trophies.

The actual law allowed for up to ninety days and three amnesty periods, but the Treasury Department (then managing the NFA) did not see fit to use the last two periods and sixty days. Since then many collectors have pondered whether the ATF would take advantage of the law and offer another amnesty period.

Unfortunately the ATF has taken the position that 18 USC § 922(O) would prevent the registration of new machine guns under the current amnesty law, and that any amnesty would obstruct ongoing investigations. Therefore no amnesty periods have been enacted by the ATF since the original amnesty in 1968.
 
If you complete and 80% you aren’t allowed to sell it legally. A person is able to build a firearm only for self use, while following all class 3 laws also. Can not sell it though. Otherwise you fall under the ffl for manufacturing firearms. If you could, I’d be making money


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not 100% True as you can sell one you have built for yourself you just have to put a serial number on it and your name as Manufacturer (but this is only suggested on the serial number and intent is a beast on this one meaning if you built one then later sale it fine but you build 12 and then sell 12 you would be looking at Jail Time).
and partially true as you can not build them to sell as you would fall under class 7 FFL manufacturer and ITAR rules.
 
Back
Top Bottom