Curious about confiscation

[saabracer23]

Hey all, in a couple of weeks I'll be on the lookout for a 9mm and want to buy FTF from a fellow board member as I'd feel better about a private purchase because I don't need the men in black knowing what I own. I often go to my fathers ranch and we like to do a little shooting and I'd obviously take my new to me pistol.

Let's say I get pulled over and the police officer sees that there is a handgun box in the back of the jeep and asks to see it (I'm not going to say no, don't want any trouble). Can the officer take it because I choose not to register it? For all he/she knows I could have stolen it. The reason I ask is because a few years back someone broke into my dads place while they were on vacation and stole a number of things including a s&w 9mm that he purchased through a private sale. My dad reported the robbery and about a week later the guy was caught and my dad was asked to come and collect his items. He got most everything back with the exception of some money and the pistol. They showed him the pistol and he confirmed it was his but the wouldnt give it to him because they said it wasn't registered. Were they correct in this?

Dan

Read More

 

[gunnails]

Who would you register the gun with?

 

[Jamie6.5]

Gunnail's question is valid/correct.
I don't know what jurisdiction your dad's pistol was/is being held in, but there is no way to "register" a pistol in Oregon.
What they probably wanted was proof that the pistol was his, beyond his word.
A single letter from his lawyer would likely have gotten him his pistol back.

If he had the serial number on file for insurance purposes for instance, that may have sufficed. But if he had asked the sheriff where to "register" his next pistol, the sheriff would have likely given him a blank stare.

Again, there is no registration requirement or database maintained in Oregon that I know of. If you're worried about it, take your bill of sale with you when you travel with the gun.

 

[NCW Ray]

Sounds like your dad did not keep a log of his firearms with make, model, serial number, distinguishing marks, etc. so he couldn't give a serial number to the LEA taking the stolen report, if he had he probably would have gotten it back. A make/model/serial number identifies the Smith & Wesson Model 19 4" barrel from the bazillion other Smith & Wesson Model 19 4" barrel pistols in the world.

 

[saabracer23]

Thanks, sounds like I have nothing to worry about then

Dan

 

[rolandson]

Save the receipt!

 

[Stomper]

You would do well to keep a photo, description, and all serial numbers recorded and kept on file in a secure place.

 

[pokerace]

Get a firearms record book from brownell's,record all of your guns in it then store it away from your guns...This book is for YOUR information ONLY..

 

[branson4020]

You would do well to keep a photo, description, and all serial numbers recorded and kept on file in a secure place.

For insurance purposes if nothing else. Guns and optics add up fast.

 

[Stomper]

For insurance purposes if nothing else. Guns and optics add up fast.

I found and downloaded a freebie program that works pretty good called "gunsafe" built using "File Maker Pro". Its older and no longer available but I'm happy to email the 2.43MB zip file to anyone who wants to give it a try, just keep in mind it may not work with Windows Vista, or Windows-7 or a 64-bit OS (I'm still running Windows-XP 32-bit). If anyone wants it then shoot me a PM with your email and I'll fire it off to you.

Here's a link to another one I just discovered a few minutes ago (looks promising): NM Collector Software JE Download Free Version

 

[accessbob]

I found and downloaded a freebie program that works pretty good called "gunsafe" built using "File Maker Pro". Its older and no longer available but I'm happy to email the 2.43MB zip file to anyone who wants to give it a try, just keep in mind it may not work with Windows Vista, or Windows-7 or a 64-bit OS (I'm still running Windows-XP 32-bit). If anyone wants it then shoot me a PM with your email and I'll fire it off to you.

Here's a link to another one I just discovered a few minutes ago (looks promising): NM Collector Software JE Download Free Version

What happens if they steal your computer too (which has a high probability of occurring)? I guess there would be a way to print off the information and then keep that in a safe place.

 

[Generator]

When I update my Excel list of guns/cal/serial numbers I email it to myself. I leave these emails unopened in a folder. If I need to prove anything, there is a time/date stamp on the email that I can show to verify how long I've owned the guns.

 

[Partsproduction]

I go out of my way to buy FTF if possible. About 1/3 of my guns are off the books, and I wish it were 100%

 

[moose]

...the police officer sees that there is a handgun box in the back of the jeep

Mistake number 1. Never ever have it in view.

...Can the officer take it...

Yep. Legally you can not resist. Even if what they are doing is blatently illegal.

...They showed him the pistol and he confirmed it was his but the wouldnt give it to him..

Either he couldnt provide a serial number or they thought it was cool and wanted to keep it. (Its not like thats never happened before)

 

[PromptCritical]

I have a list of the stuff I own on my Google Docs account.

Secondly, as a general question of logic, does the fact that an object is a gun make it special? Does the officer ask, "Hey, that snowboard in the back. Is it registered? How do I know you didn't steal it?" Why does the gun always engender suspicion? Why does the subject of the object at hand change the rules? One set of rules for everything else, another for guns? Makes no sense.

I've been asked by people, "Is your gun registered?" The question irritates me for a couple of reasons. Beyond the obvious fact that you don't register guns here, it implies that I may be breaking the law. Maybe the suspicion comes from the premise that since I own guns, I can't be 100% law-abiding. TV is probably to blame. On TV guns are registered. Probably to desensitize us to an obvious breach of privacy. No doubt similar to NCIS making government hacking into private computer systems seem perfectly reasonable.

Since I rapidly tire of stupid questions, I usually answer "No." since it's truthful, and I haven't got time to cast pearls before swine.

Anyone watch the movie "Untraceable"? Filmed in Portland. First scene is annoying. They're observing some dude on the internet and don't decide to raid him until they find out he has "registered assault weapons". That makes no sense. How does the fact that he took the time to legally register a weapon indicate that he's the criminal you're looking for?

 

[branson4020]

I have a list of the stuff I own on my Google Docs account.

Secondly, as a general question of logic, does the fact that an object is a gun make it special? Does the officer ask, "Hey, that snowboard in the back. Is it registered? How do I know you didn't steal it?" Why does the gun always engender suspicion? Why does the subject of the object at hand change the rules? One set of rules for everything else, another for guns? Makes no sense.

I've been asked by people, "Is your gun registered?" The question irritates me for a couple of reasons. Beyond the obvious fact that you don't register guns here, it implies that I may be breaking the law. Maybe the suspicion comes from the premise that since I own guns, I can't be 100% law-abiding. TV is probably to blame. On TV guns are registered. Probably to desensitize us to an obvious breach of privacy. No doubt similar to NCIS making government hacking into private computer systems seem perfectly reasonable.

Since I rapidly tire of stupid questions, I usually answer "No." since it's truthful, and I haven't got time to cast pearls before swine.

Anyone watch the movie "Untraceable"? Filmed in Portland. First scene is annoying. They're observing some dude on the internet and don't decide to raid him until they find out he has "registered assault weapons". That makes no sense. How does the fact that he took the time to legally register a weapon indicate that he's the criminal you're looking for?

Even among gun owners, guns are frequently treated differently. For example, in a FTF transaction involving any sum more than a couple hundred bucks, I would expect the seller to receive a bill of sale and the buyer to receive a receipt. I'd want both these documents to have the opposite party's identification information, like a name, address, phone # and DL #. Hardly anyone would balk at this if the item being transferred was a chainsaw, but a lot of folks don't want to do this when a gun is involved.

 

[Stomper]

So a $100 "Saturday Night Special" isn't as dangerous or lethal as a $1,000 1911A1?

 

[branson4020]

So a $100 "Saturday Night Special" isn't as dangerous or lethal as a $1,000 1911A1?

I certainly didn't say, or imply, anything like that. If you feel even a $100 transaction needs documentation, then that is your business. But at some amount, the transaction just becomes 'small change' to me and not worth the documentation. A $500 saw, you bet, even to my neighbor. A $50 set of tire chains, probably not.

 

[hermannr]

Hey all, in a couple of weeks I'll be on the lookout for a 9mm and want to buy FTF from a fellow board member as I'd feel better about a private purchase because I don't need the men in black knowing what I own. I often go to my fathers ranch and we like to do a little shooting and I'd obviously take my new to me pistol.

Let's say I get pulled over and the police officer sees that there is a handgun box in the back of the jeep and asks to see it (I'm not going to say no, don't want any trouble). Can the officer take it because I choose not to register it? For all he/she knows I could have stolen it. The reason I ask is because a few years back someone broke into my dads place while they were on vacation and stole a number of things including a s&w 9mm that he purchased through a private sale. My dad reported the robbery and about a week later the guy was caught and my dad was asked to come and collect his items. He got most everything back with the exception of some money and the pistol. They showed him the pistol and he confirmed it was his but the wouldnt give it to him because they said it wasn't registered. Were they correct in this?

Dan

Where does/did your dad live? If he had the model and SN of the weapon, they have to give it back to him. He may have to ask a judge to order them to do so, but they have to return it. There is no "registration" (around the PNW) except for at an FFL, in his book. The FFL has to keep track of who he sold the weapon to, but you do not have to keep track of anything. (except for insuance). If your father lives in NY or NJ that is another matter.

Personally, I have my weapons model/sn/condition/location and date of aquisition/cost etc on paper, on file with my insurance. They want to know (rider) what they have to cover in case of fire or theft and there is no way someone else will get it from them.

 

[gunnails]

I have pictures of all my guns and there serial #s uploaded on <removed>.