# Here's how cops actually trace a gun.



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-cops-actually-trace-a-gun-2016-8

"The Gun Control Act was an abomination, from the gun-lobby point of view. Especially Form 4473, which they considered all but radioactive. Even though there wasn't a registry, there was suddenly a document that existed, a piece of paper linking a gun to the name of its owner. Surely the Second Amendment was thus doomed."


 Al


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

That's a very long article to discuss an easy to understand method of trying to trace a gun.

1. LEO finds a firearm that was used in a crime.
2. LEO contacts the manufacturer of the firearm and provides the manufacturer with its model and serial number.
3. Manufacturer tells LEO it sold that gun to Dicks Sporting Goods.
4. LEO contacts Dicks Sporting Goods and the store's FFL tells LEO that the gun was sold to John Doe whose address is 123 Main Street.
5. LEO goes to John Doe's house and tells him his firearm was used in a crime and that John might be a suspect.
6. John Doe tells LEO that he sold that gun for cash to a private party six years ago. (The sale between private parties of a firearm is legal in many states and there is no requirement to check the buyer qualification as far as meeting FFA laws and the seller does not have to keep a record of the transaction.)
7. LEO moves on to Plan B (whatever that is).


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## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

LEOs don't trace guns, ATF does. Fun part is when a FFL closed and sent their records to ATF. Then someone gets to hunt through a bunch of storage containers for the old documents. 

Jeff


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## NRA_guy (Jun 9, 2015)

Well, you see, we have the Second Amendment that guarantees law abiding citizens' the right to own guns.

Just like the First Amendment guarantees Jeanne Marie Laskas the right to write (and say) things without the government's permission and without all of it being approved or recorded.

PS: Motor vehicle ownership is not a protected Constitutional right; so the government can record them, tax them, regulate them, and prohibit someone from owning one.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

what TV would have you believe is that they can in a few hours take a bullet or case fired from a gun and through analysis tell you what gun it came from.

it is actually the revers if they have the gun they can confirm the bullet was fired from that gun.

Massachusetts spend about 20 years collecting cases from every new gun sold in the state and put them into a database and they then managed to use all that millions of dollars worth of date once as corroborating evidence because the already knew who the shooter was and what gun was used.

if you have a gun stolen you should report it to the local police or sheriff just to cover yourself.

if you sell jot down some notes , date , where , how much you got for it buyers name just something that you recorded that sets when it left your care. some states actually do require you record the name of the person you sold it to and keep that for 7 years. some states (ILL) require you report a stolen gun as stolen withing 30 days of learning it was stolen.

it us your butt cover it as you see fit.

having been through having a gun stolen , you really should at least keep a note book with your make model and SN# at minimum. I had it provided it to police and should it ever turn up in an unfortunate way I am covered. if you would want to make an insurance claim it is also important. the incidentals add up faster than you think also. what case was it in if it was stolen with the case , sling , sling mounts , scope , scope mount any other work you had done like a trigger job all bumps the cost up quick.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Back when the VA wanted to know if I wanted gun locks and could get 4 every one seemed to think I was nuts letting them know i owned 4 guns.

Since I bought my first gun some where around 1970 Form 4473 was filled out. That gun shop where I bought my first gun and several others is now gone so those Form 4473 is now in one of those conex boxes.


By the way the VA has now given me a total of 8 gun locks.

 Al


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

I always have believed the purpose of the gun control act was to have a list of what you own when they come to your door confiscating guns. Still believe it, more than ever.
Last time I bought a gun in a store was a rifle in a pawnshop and the guy asked me my name, I told him none of his damned business. He shrugged and sold me the gun anyway.
That was around 1976. If I bought, or were to buy any guns, it would be a private sale.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

I agree. Many 20th century gun laws were also racial by design; they just didn't say that. But then most laws aren't about what we are led to believe.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)




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## anniew (Dec 12, 2002)

I was told by a friend that someone who got into a minor verbal altercation with a state trooper had his guns confiscated and came to the house with a list of what he owned...


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

people don't like it when I remind them that the people eitehr ha


anniew said:


> I was told by a friend that someone who got into a minor verbal altercation with a state trooper had his guns confiscated and came to the house with a list of what he owned...


depending on the state that is possible.
some states require License to purchase hand gun , NY requires handguns and "assault weapons" be registered.

Milwaukee WI had a crooked police chief who had a deal with a not very good gun store owner who sold a lot of guns that ended up in crimes and ran an indoor range anyone who came in to shoot on the indoor range the owner was collecting a copy of the drivers license and keeping records of what guns they brought with. then providing these records to the police so they could build their file of gun owners.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

I've got a good buddy that is a detective. He tells me that even though we have all been filling out paperwork when purchasing guns for the last 30 years or so, a whole lot of those records were not managed very well since they were paper making a whole lot of legally purchased, registered guns pretty much untraceable.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

Fishindude said:


> I've got a good buddy that is a detective. He tells me that even though we have all been filling out paperwork when purchasing guns for the last 30 years or so, a whole lot of those records were not managed very well since they were paper making a whole lot of legally purchased, registered guns pretty much untraceable.


you mean like the dealer who stores his paper copies on the bottom shelf in the basement that floods every few years , when asked why had them there again he said it was a 99 year flood I figured I had at least 97 left before I needed to move them.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

weaselfire said:


> LEOs don't trace guns, ATF does


When I was a Deputy I traced many guns from manufacturer to dealer, to first owner. Never once involved the ATF.


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## ergo (Aug 15, 2017)

I've seen a gun change hands half a dozen times in one day.  They dont care about the guns. Once they lock YOU up, your guns will do nothing to oppose them.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

ergo said:


> I've seen a gun change hands *half a dozen times in one day*.


I've seen people lie that many times in one post.


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## ergo (Aug 15, 2017)

you aint old enough to remember gunshows before GCA 68, obviously. The Pamona county fairgrounds show would have 8 buildings full of dealer's tables. It took me 3 days to get thru 4 of them.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

ergo said:


> you aint old enough to remember gunshows before GCA 68, obviously.
> 
> It took me 3 days to get thru 4 of them.


You're still slow.
And boring.
See ya!!


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## outgunu (Sep 14, 2006)

Why does it matter who bought a gun, when and where it came from? I think the whole gun tracking thing is just a reason to give more LEO's a job. Kind of like the ATF as a whole. Why do we need them anymore...


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

outgunu said:


> Why does it matter who bought a gun, when and where it came from?


It can be important evidence if the gun has been used in a crime.

It's more often used to prove rightful ownership in the case of stolen gun or for proof of ownership for insurance claims.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Friend of mine got a letter from ATF about several guns he USED to own being in their possession, and now up for sale, he would be getting to buy his guns back if he wanted. He didn't.

Mon


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

frogmammy said:


> Friend of mine got a letter from ATF about several guns he USED to own being in their possession, and now up for sale, he would be getting to buy his guns back if he wanted. He didn't.
> 
> Mon


That doesn’t make sense. Are you sure it was the ATF? The only way the ATF would come into possession of guns that weren’t their own duty weapons, is if they seized them as part of a federal crime, or, for some reason someone surrendered them to them. Under any of those circumstances, the ATF wouldn’t sell them. 

Even if it was a state or local agency, who DO sometimes sell guns to the public, they’d only have them for similar reasons that the ATF might. If they were stolen, they wouldn’t sell them back to the legal owner. If they were there under any of the other circumstances, it would be odd for them to specifically write someone who used to own them to see if they wanted to buy them.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

I remember into the 1980s many news reports still stated that the weapon used in the murder being reported was found within 20 feet of the body as was common in decades past. An officer then told my father that as most gang execution weapons were stolen, the trail generally ended where the weapon was found.

Now that many felons keep the weapon they use in a murder because they do drive by shootings or just decide to keep the weapon, maybe they catch more criminals with stolen weapons than in past eras and lock them up for one or more crimes.


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