I need a little help from you guys. My wife bought me a HS2000 for Christmas, a private sale from a guy on hs2000talk.com. He has over 200-something posts over there.

The seller received payment and a copy of my dealer's FFL and COE, and he was supposed to have shipped it last Friday, Dec 21. I talked to my dealer yesterday and he hasn't received it. It was supposed to be shipped from Vacaville, CA to my dealer's address in Oceanside, CA and according to my dealer, shipping from NorCal to SoCal should be 2-3 days max. It has now been 8 days, less Christmas and Sunday, so make that 6 business days.

The seller has not responded to emails or messages left on his voice mail since yesterday. We have his name, address, and phone number. I tend to think maybe he took a Christmas vacation but my wife is freaking out thinking we got ripped off. It's the first time she ever bought me a gun, and she doesn't have warm and fuzzies about this at all.

Another thing I should add is that the seller said he was going to ship it through The Shooting Gallery in Vacaville, even though he was told he could ship it directly to a FFL for in-state transfer. My wife called The Shooting Gallery this morning and the guy said he knew the seller but he hadn't shipped anything for him.

How much longer would you guys wait and what would you do at this point? I'd get a tracking number if the guy ever returns calls or emails. Thanks in advance.

I don't know, shooter65. I always ship insured but I don't know if the seller did. Here's a copy of the last email my wife got from him a week ago Friday, Dec 21.

She called The Shooting Gallery a little while ago and he said it's possible the guy sent it through another FFL in the area. He also said shipments are very slow, due to the Christmas rush, and for security reasons due to terrorism. I don't know if it was shipped via UPS or FEDEX and no, I don't have a tracking number. That's what we're trying to get right now so we can track it down.

Small consolation is that it was paid with a USPS money order. I verified the name in a yahoo white pages search, but a different phone number was given, and it also shows a woman's name with the same number, probably his wife. I think the phone number we have is a cell phone. We also have his address. It's entirely possible this guy is on vacation or slow with emails. I've experienced that before. But not returning voice mail messages has me a trifle worried. [:\]

[red]UPDATE![/red] -- My wife just got a email reply from the seller! He was out of town like I thought he might be. Apparently, the seller dropped the gun off at Vacaville Surplus Armory, not the Shooting Gallery because they were real busy that day. It was supposed to be shipped on Friday Dec 21, but the gun wasn't shipped until Friday Dec 28. It is in transit via UPS ground and should get to my FFL soon after New Year's day. The seller advised us that he would get us the tracking number as soon as he can get it from Vacaville Surplus.

That, boys and girls, just made my day!!! Woo HOO! [bounce] I'll post pics when I get it, after the stOOpid California 10 day waiting period, which won't start until my dealer logs it in. [V]

Sounds like good news Big_Bear. Cool present from your wife. Great choice for a handgun. You got a good woman there. My wife is cool that way and if it wasn't for my lawyer fees, this x-mas I would have gotten a new pistol too. I hope you get it soon. Good Luck.

First of all, thanks to all you guys who gave kudos to my wife. I agree wholeheartedly. I think I'll keep her. [;)]

Secondly, there's good news and not so good news. My dealer finally received the gun yesterday. But since it was shipped late and the transfer initiated after 1/1/02, I will now have to comply with California's new "safety device" law. No problem, I thought, I've got a Master trigger lock that's been sitting in a drawer for about 10 years.

WRONG!

The "safety device" has to be approved by CA DOJ [i]and[/i] it has to be approved for the particular make and model gun that being transferred.

A visit to CA DOJ's website shows there is exactly [b]1 (one}[/b] "safety device" approved for the HS2000, made by Armadillo Firearm Security Products. So I check their website and see that they have a special, $5 + shipping. That's not so bad, I thought, so I called their toll free number to order it.

WRONG!

The "safety device" approved for my gun is $12.95 + shipping and they're [b]out of stock![/b] Not only that, the approved "safety device" is like a bike lock that goes through the magazine well and the ejection port and they expect you to store the gun with the slide locked back! Check this out:

[img]http://www.armadillogunlock.com/images/Ruger-Pistol.jpg[/img]

Uhhh.... I don't think so!!! My dealer also told me that new DOJ rules require him to annotate the make and model of the "safety device" on the DROS form along with the firearm info before he calls it in to start the ball rolling, [i]AND[/i] he has to attach the receipt for the "safety device" to his records and keep it for three years. Do you think CA DOJ cross-checks to make sure the "safety device" is approved for the particular gun being transferred? I wouldn't doubt it for a minute. It would give them one more reason to hold up a sale.

The stupidity in this f'ing state never ceases to confound me. [:(!]

(late-breaking news!) -- The guy at Armadillo just now called me back to say he found a sample that he will ship today. Oh joy. [rolleyes]

Yeah yeah yeah, we both want to move soon but when the time is right. My wife is finishing her degree, I have a teenage daughter who I share custody with my ex-wife... I don't want to bore you with my life's story but I'll move when I'm good and ready. My daughter wants to come live with us full time but that's gonna be a fight with the ex. You think it's so simple don't you? I'll bet you're single with no kids. If I were, I'd be gone yesterday. Sheesh. [rolleyes]