Before you purchase a firearm through a private sale I would recommend that you do some research. Looking online is not going to let you be sure about whether a gun has been stolen, so you can always ask law enforcement to help you out. Here is a good blog about that: How to Check if a Gun is Stolen. However, if you wait until after you purchase the firearm and then ask local law enforcement to check if the firearm was stolen, if they find out it was, they will, by law, be required to confiscate it from you.
- Locate the Gun Serial Number. Typically the serial number can be found on the handle, slide, trigger guard or receiver. There is no typical serial number. For example, a Browning serial number can range in length from eight to ten characters, a Glock number is only five characters long. Serial numbers can contain both numbers and letters.
- Serial Number The Heritage Model Number Lookup System will help you find detailed information about your Heritage Gun. Enter the serial number (no spaces) of your firearm and click on 'Search' to identify your model.
- The NICS check does not even include the make, model or serial number of the gun, only the general type (handgun, rifle, shotgun); it is a check on the buyer, not the gun. In general, there is no way to be sure you are not buying a stolen gun, even if you buy it legally from an FFL dealer.
Here are a few other helpful links if your gun has been stolen:
Regards, kcbuck
So... what do you think? Please leave me a comment.
If you request Law Enforcement to 'Run' a serial number check? The gun comes back stolen, it must be surrendered to the police. Our local LEO will run the numbers for you; if you bring the firearm to them. But in mid 1970, the serial numbers are not a continuation of the previous ones. Instead, now they have a “70” as the first two digits. The numbers style remains up until mid-1976 before the “70” is moved to the last two digits. Oct 19, 2017 If you request Law Enforcement to 'Run' a serial number check? The gun comes back stolen, it must be surrendered to the police. Our local LEO will run the numbers for you; if you bring the firearm.
Kcbuck isa guru veteran at Gun Values Board.
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32 Comments:
- StolenWeapon:Thanks for post, we have returned the favor and posted your site for our facebook users to visit.
Best Regards,
StolenWeapon.com Team - kcbuck:Your most welcomed.... This is so nice to be a part of.
Best Regards,
kcbuck - Gary Rabinowitz:I have a Zabala 20 guage SxS 3 inch magnum shotgun. I am looking for the serial number but can only see 3 numbers which are engraved under the barel. I can’t see any of the other numbers without taking the barel off, which I don’t want to do. Is the number anywhere else on the gun?
Thanks,
Gary Rabinowitz - discover:Impossible to find out...no national serach
- Ed:There is no national search online, however if you contact your local police or sheriffs department, they are allowed to run the serial number and tell you if it’s clean.
- winchester94:What are we suppose to do with the gun
if it does comes back unclean ? In Texas, I’m wondering if it matters? - kcbuck:I would contact your local Police Department and report the who, what, where, when, and how. Then they can buy it from the seller and award a consolation prise, free room and board for a few years... :)
- Boo boo:**** link..
- Frank Hendricks:I would like to check if I have a stolen gun.
- ds:this site has a bunch of ads no stolen search for guns?
- Rob62:Keep in mind that the blog is years old and the web site referenced may be defunct or no longer work as it once did.
In general there is no database that civilians can access to check to see if a gun has been reported stolen.
The NCIC computer system (database) is accessible only by law enforcement. That system is what keeps track of reported stolen guns here in the USA.
Regards,
Rob - sabas:I trade a 22l. For a 22 mag when I got home the last 2 # of the series not they have been srach of a paint I call the man a he said that I can have my gun back that he had but the gun of a cop he ad a bill of sale and his gone no were to be fund what can I do?
- Rob62:Sabas - unfortunately I do not understand your question. Are you saying you have a gun that was reported stolen ? Who told you it was stolen - the Police ??
- parrish mellott:i had a desert eagle .50 AE stolen from me in york city pa back in june 2015. its brushed chrome serial number is DE0003439 ANY INFORMATION ON ITS WHERE ABOUTS please contact york city police department <phone>
- Fedup99:Your site comes up with a threat warning of malicious software present.
High risk of malware present. - MingoFrank:Fedup99,
It’s 'a' site , not 'our ' site. This post was from over 5 years ago so it’s hard to say what’s happened to that site between then and now. - gary:how can I find out if I am tryin to buy a stolen gun
- Rob62:
gary - read this recent blog I wrote about the topic. It answers your question about checking stolen guns. http://www.gunvaluesboard.com/how-to-check-if-a-gun-is-stolen-13986.html
- Rob62:Hey right back at you Tabitha. 😊
- SickOfItAll:I’m texting from a phone really guys I just want my pistol back
- Rob62:I hope you get your pistol back. Best of luck in that regard.
- Troutbum:All well and good if the Item you are purchasing WAS REQ’D to have a serial # at time of Mfg.... Case in point, I just purchased a MINT Savage Model 24 J -DL at the time it was made Serial #’ s were Not a requirement..
Very good Point to make
Cavet Emptor , take the Time to Check it out 'Before You BUY'
Troutbum - .JtAlmond:If ANYTHING is in my possession its mine..
- Nerdlick:
—Post deleted—Due to prohibited comments—
- Rob62:
Nerdlick - You need to read the community (forum) rules and abide by them. Further inflammatory comments may result in you being banned from GVB. https://www.gunvaluesboard.com/terms/community-rules.html
- Dammit alice:My deceased father reported his pistol stolen because he could not find it. That was about 3 years before he died 2 years ago. I was going threw some stuff of his in storage and found it. How do i check to see if it will be confiscated. I don’t want to lose it it was one of the only things i have from him besides the <email> junk that builds up.
- Rob62:Hello Dammit alice - You need to contact the Law Enforcement Agency the gun was initially reported stolen to. They can remove the gun from the NCIC computer system - if it was ever entered there in the first place, which it should have been.
Under federal law, a gun manufacturer or importer must engrave or mark every gun it makes with a serial number on the receiver or frame. Law enforcement agents can use the number to determine the owner of the gun or learn if it was reported stolen, but a private individual cannot.
How to Find the Serial Number
If you're trying to find the owner of a gun or want to learn if a particular gun was stolen, you'll need to find the serial number engraved on the gun. Federal law mandates that the number be located in a conspicuous place on the gun receiver or frame. The law does not require that the number be any particular length, just that it be composed of letters and numbers. That means that gun serial numbers can include any number of characters. Therefore, any combination of letters and numbers you see stamped into the gunmetal is likely the serial number.
How to Track Ownership with the Serial Number
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is legally authorized to track firearm ownership with a gun serial number. They do so through the ATF National Tracing Center. All law enforcement agencies have the right to submit trace requests, but private individuals do not. A trace requested by a law enforcement agency must be for the purpose of a criminal investigation or to prevent a crime or an act of terrorism. In fact, every firearm found by the police at a crime scene is the subject of a serial number trace.
Is there a legal way for an individual to track gun ownership using a gun serial number? You'll find online sites that claim to be able to track gun ownership with a serial number. But there is no guarantee that their information is valid or that use of the database is legal.
How to Determine Whether a Gun Is Stolen
You don't want to buy a gun that was stolen from someone else if for no other reason than you can get into trouble with the law. So, what if you buy a used gun from an individual and you want to know if it was stolen? Again, you'll find various websites that offer online databases of stolen weapons, but none run by law enforcement personnel.
Some websites allow gun owners to register stolen guns with them. They may offer search engines of the serial numbers of stolen guns reported to them, but they obviously are limited to the information they have. Many guns may be stolen that are not reported to these websites.
The only way to determine conclusively whether a used gun is stolen is to take it to a law enforcement officer. She can run the serial number to determine whether the gun was stolen or used in a crime. If it was reported stolen or used in a crime, the gun will be confiscated. If the gun is returned to you, you can be sure that the gun serial number is not listed as stolen.
References
Check Gun Serial Number Az
Photo Credits
- gun image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
About the Author
How Can You Check A Gun Serial Number
From Alaska to California, Switzerland to Brazil, France's Basque Country to Mexico's Pacific Coast, Teo Spengler has camped, hiked, surfed and fished, and written articles lighting the way for others to do the same. A published novelist and professional writer, Spengler earned a BA from U.C. Santa Cruz, a law degree from U.C. Berkeley's Boalt Hall, and an MA and MFA from San Francisco State. She currently divides her time between San Francisco and southwestern France. Her articles about the joys of being in the great outdoors have been published online by Arizona Central, USA Today Travel Tips, Working Mother, Hunker, Go Banking Rates, Gardening Know How, Atlanta Journal Constitution and eHow,