Thinking of carrying copies of my tax stamps on micro film.

Thoughts?

After all I have copies with me.

You don't need them with you at all.

Correct but wouldnt it bring joy to your life giving someone microfilm even if you were asked?  It would be hilarious as most people would not know what to do.

I mean you could just stick a scan of it on a thumb drive and have about the same effect.

Kind of the idea but I would much rather use a iomega zip drive.

Wow, I just threw a whole box of those out.

Did't know you needed one.

Why not just keep a pic of your stamps on your cell phone?

And "microfilm"?
I thought that went out of style along with shoe phones.

Not sure if this is a serious question or not, but I don't see the point.

Obviously there has been a historical healthy debate on this forum about whether you need to carry proof of registration paperwork with you.  There are essentially two camps of divided along the lines of "screw anybody who asks me and I will take a felony arrest if I have to" and "It not a huge burden to be polite to inquiring LE and save me the hassle, potential arrest and property seizure".   That said, I don't think we have ever nor will ever arrive at a consensus on the commonly accepted "correct" approach.  YMMV

However, carrying copies on microfilm that nobody can read on the side of the road just seems like you are taking the disadvantage of both positions.  i.e. Dealing with the hassle of carrying around a role of microfilm and if you are ever stopped the law enforcement officer probably can't read it anyway so the microfilm is probably close to  worthless to prevent hassle or arrest.   You might honestly come off as more of an ass (or just plain crazy) handing over a roll of microfilm to a State Trooper, so it might be better to just carry nothing at all and tell them you you left your paperwork at home.

Me personally... I like straight up full size paper copies.  They always work as they don't require a cell signal, a charged battery, or a functional handheld device, etc.  Full hard copies in a nicely organized binder, imho look the most professional/legitimate when trying to convince a potentially skeptical officer that all these scary looking exotic guns are legal.  I also am not thrilled with the idea of potentially handing over my unlocked phone to LE who is going to have to try find the right .pdf file out of 75 odd files and also have to zoom around an original ~8.5"x11" document on a ~4" cell phone screen.   With full sized hard copies in a binder an officer can easily navigate all of my paperwork without my assistance if worst case I am sitting handcuffed on the curb.

I just carry what I know they will look for when or if I am asked, so I can spend the least amount of time interacting with them.  Purposely introducing drama into your life is dumb.

The harder you try to make it for them, normally just ends up with them making it harder on you.

I just put a folded-up photocopy of the gun's Form 4 inside a Ziploc bag, then put the bag in the side pocket of the gun case.

If you want to carry a microfilm, go for it.

jbntex, thanks for the binder idea, although I might use that for home cataloging use only, not for when I go to the range.

Better watch out, a lot of them had the Click of Death issue and your data might be irretrievable.

After all of these years, I finally threw all of my zip drives away.

It would take a lot of zip lock baggies for me to keep everything straight, so the binder is just more practical for me

Mine is a "zip up" 1 inch 3 ring binder which helps to keep everything clean and organized.   The 3 ring arrangement also makes it easy to quickly flip through the pages and everything is sectioned together (machineguns, SBRs, SBSs, Suppressors, etc.) so its easy to turn to the "SBR section" and start flipping the pages.

For the most part I try and keep two applications back to back in each "sleeve" so you can see two application for each view and it also cuts down on the number of sleeves which take up room for more forms.

Whenever something new comes in I make a copy or print out an approved eForm and add it to the binder.   Whenever I go shooting, I just grab the binder and have copies of all my paperwork with me.

I am going to have to move up to a new larger 2" binder in the next couple  years as this one is starting to run out of room and already is starting to have issues zipping up and closing, but I think I could get another 15 or 20 stuffed in there before it reaches critical mass.

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You sir are my hero.

That sure is a lot of work.

I'am serious.  The question is not about weather or showing your tax stamps.  Its about why should obligated to make a persons life easier.  Think of it like showing proof of insurance on a vehicle when pulled over, you showed your proof of insurance according to law and as requested.

Go micro dot!

You are not obligated to, but the life you make easier may be your own.

There is no requirement to carry paperwork (or copies) with you.
There is no requirement to produce them for any agency except BATFE.

Other LE may still be able to arrest you for NFA possession under state/local law, so it's going to depend on where you are, what NFA item you possess, and what the statutes/ordinances in that jurisdiction dictate. Some of them have you in violation with federal NFA registration as an affirmative defense, so do whatever is best for your situation.

Personally, I like to email forms as PDF files to myself. Makes it easy to retrieve them anywhere there's internet access.
I haven't carried actual copies in years. No one ever asks to see them.

I dunno.... "right click - Print" or pressing the "Copy" button on my printer/copy/fax machine seems like a pretty low bar on the effort scale.  Although, every so often I do have to put another plastic sleeve in the 3-ring binder, which adds another 10 seconds to the process.

Either way, it certainly seems like a lot less effort than microfilm.  I am not sure where you get microfilm and what type of specialized camera equipment it requires.  While I admittedly don't know much about the microfilm industry I am going to bet most folks probably have to send it off to be developed.

This.

As kitbuilder points out, there is no legal obligation for you to show local law enforcement your documents or proof the guns are registered to you.  I suspect that its theoretically possible for somebody to be arrested, convicted, and serve jail time if they steadfastly refused to testify in their own defense at any point in the process that the guns in question are legal under State laws.  Maybe local LE will figure it out on their own or maybe they won't (or won't care to).

For me, its not about making law enforcement's life easier..... it about making my life easier.   Those officers get paid the same whether I clear up their questions on the side of the road and I go on my merry way or they arrest me.

Similar to your insurance card scenario, I keep a printout in my car as keeping copies of my proof of insurance on microfilm will probably just result in me getting a ticket.

Why? Gotta be edgy I suppose. Carry a paper copy.

It's the Photoshop age, nobody is going to believe a piece of paper you give them anyway.  They are going to verify your stuff is legit by calling the ATF.

Few cops know (how) to do that.
Probably less would care to.

Far more would be convinced by whatever paperwork you showed them, if you appeared to be legit.

Wow...Jbntex, you have a lot of money tied up in tax stamps. Great idea for cataloging them.

This.
I've only been asked at one gun range in the Dallas area (Garland) to show them my "Class 3 license" once and tax stamps twice.
Being an FFL I don't have a single "stamp", but possess my silencers/sbs/sbr's on Form 3's (which aren't stamped)

You should have seen the range Nazi's face when I told him "No such thing as a Class 3 license" and "No, I don't have stamps for any of my silencers".

Three different range Nazi's, three different versions of "Whut? Huh? Whadda ya mean?  But there used to be a Class 3" babbling.