Been awhile since I've done an installment, mostly because no new material. Haven't done any recent gun shows and been mostly dealing with my regulars so not much funny stuff to relate.
I should also stress that I posted this one, not to make fun of somebody who didn't understand, but to address something that is common enough that I run into it from time to time.
Anyway I get the usual call inquiring about what is needed for me to "transfer" a gun. First things first and I establish that it actually IS a "transfer" and not somebody trying to order from a FFL distributor. The old timer on the phone explained that they were going from one private collection to another so no problem. He asked how many could be transferred at one time as it involved about 20 guns and he wanted to make sure there weren't any other charged besides the $25 transfer fee per gun, for a total of about $500.
I explained that he could put 3 guns on a 4473 (so long as there wasn't more than one handgun) and that would knock his costs down by 2/3s or a little more than $166 instead of $500. He didn't realize that and thanked me for pointing it out and made arrangements to stop by to drop off the money. He said he'd also "bring the guns", which of course confused me. Up to this point I assumed he was the buyer and found about 20 new toys on some auction site but I figured I'd sort it out when I saw him in person.
So he shows up and he's got about 20 guns in cases. Now I'm confused and I'm wondering why I'm "transferring" guns he aleady has in his possession. Turns out he's giving them all to his grandson and wants me to handle the "transfer."
So I start to explain the "transfer" process from an ownership stand point. First, in this state, there is NO firearm registration so guns don't have a registered owner. Proof of ownership is no more different than what you have for your TV or DVD player.
When a background check is done the firearm is NOT registered to an owner. The make, model and serial number are NOT provided to the agency doing the check. The ONLY record is that person being cleared for the purchase of a firearm and suppossedly those records are not kept anyway.
The 4473 does have all that information but does NOT prove ownership. A person can sell their firearm the very next day and the 4473 will no longer indicate who owns that firearm. It is only a record of a FFL transaction. The 4473 is not provided to the customer or any agency so their is nothing in the way of registering a firearm to an owner.
The bound book only shows where a firearm came from and went to. Again it is just a record of the transaction and does not prove ownership. The bound book information is not provided to any agency or to the customer and again does NOT register a firearm to an owner.
So in short, NOTHING a FFL does registers a firearm to an owner. The information ONLY shows the transactions were done lawfully.
Long story short I told him to give the guns to his grandkid and simply make a record of the transaction (including makes, models and serials) and keep it with his personal papers. I also told him if he wanted it to be a little more official he could get it notarized.
He thanked me and tried to give me $25 for my time but I told him to keep it. I didn't do anything and advice is free. I wonder how many of the local FFLs would have made $500 or $166 for this guy to give his guns to his grandkid.
Again, FFLs (in states with NO registration) DO NOT change the ownership of a firearm any more than Best Buy registers your TV to you. If you want PROOF OF OWNERSHIP or CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP it is exactly like selling or giving away your television. And a notarized document is cheaper than a FFL.
Should cost about $5.00 and is far more useful for proving transfer of ownership.