I just recently learned that buying a gun through an FFL doesn't mean the government knows what gun I bought. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the background check doesn't include any gun details. The form you fill out is the only place that has that info and the FFL keeps that in his files. I know there are exceptions for NFA items and some states have records and such.
An example of what this means is when the police need to trace a gun used in a crime. They first need to go to the gun manufacturer to find what dealer they sold it to. And so on until they get to the dealer that retailed it. Then they need to find and search that dealers FFL records to find the form you filled out which would then tell them you own it. If that FFL has closed business, then his records may already be with the ATF. I can picture a very large room with endless boxes of forms from out of business FFLs.
All that being the case, for anyone that bought guns 30, 40 or 50 years ago, how likely is it that this paper trail could be followed? A lot of things happen over that long of time. I'm sure it's at least a lot of time and effort and isn't 100% successful.
An example of what this means is when the police need to trace a gun used in a crime. They first need to go to the gun manufacturer to find what dealer they sold it to. And so on until they get to the dealer that retailed it. Then they need to find and search that dealers FFL records to find the form you filled out which would then tell them you own it. If that FFL has closed business, then his records may already be with the ATF. I can picture a very large room with endless boxes of forms from out of business FFLs.
All that being the case, for anyone that bought guns 30, 40 or 50 years ago, how likely is it that this paper trail could be followed? A lot of things happen over that long of time. I'm sure it's at least a lot of time and effort and isn't 100% successful.