Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Why block out serial numbers?

I see pictures all the time with the serial number blocked out or people putting XXX at the end so as to not say it's actual serial number. Why? Are people that paranoid that the government is going to track down their guns?

One major reason comes to mind. There's a slight risk the firearm might have been stolen at one time. Not by the seller, but sometime in its history.

No, just that people realize there are dicks in the world. Lets say I consider you a [bleep]. I see a gun you have a photo of and for fun I report a gun being stolen, here's the serial number. It gets entered into the system.

You sell the gun, gun is checked and is listed as stolen. People can do it for insurance fraud.

People can also try to sell your gun.

Lets say you post 14 pics of your NEWLY bought Smith & Wesson Model 29, along with serial number.

I lift the pictures, along with the serial number and post it on Gunbroker. Some guy sends me a check for a gun I don't own. I now 'disappear' and he's looking for me and his money.

Oh, but they have the serial number so maybe the cops can track it down.

Hey, serial number XYX was sent to Joe's Gunshop in Mooseballs, WI. Lets go there. He, Fred at Joe's Gunshop shows the gun was sold to YOU. Cops show up at door wondering why you took money for gun you never sold, something like fraud or something. Sure, you didn't do any of that, the guy that thought you a dick did.

But guess what, the problem is now in your lap.

I've never seen the serial number of a gun enhancing photos. I do know of the Gunbroker type scam happening.

If you want to post them, post them, I don't give a shiet. Just like you shouldn't give a sheit if I don't want to post pics of the serial numbers.

A true Philosopher

Philosopher = Full-of-it, sir

Nevertheless, Steelhead makes very good points; you don't need those numbers getting broadcast anymore than you'd want your driver license number posted all over.

A commercially manufactured gun with no serial number is illegal and cannot be owned. A home made gun for self us can.

Over the years there were several reasons for not having a serial number but most date back a long time. Chinese and Iranian guns have ben found by the case ALL with the same number.

My memory is a little fuzzy about German Mauser's that apparently were being counterfeited by bandit operators.

There have been some cases on record about replicas or antiques that didn't have numbers.

It may be possible that some estate guns had missing numbers, so I heard.

But you can take this to the bank: Any gun that has the serial number missing is HOT and party to a felony. You can't sell it, you can't own it, you can't ship it.

Maybe disquieting to the crooks but the experts can retrieve filed off serial numbers by some high tech science.
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However, if we are speaking about blocking out the numbers on a photo, as opposed to removing it from the weapon, that doesn't constitute a crime unless the intent is to hoodwink someone, commit some misrepresentation or fraud.

Wrong. Really wrong. Serial numbers weren't required until the Gun Control Act of 1968 came about. Millions upon millions of firearms were manufactured before that. Some had serial numbers but most of the lower priced ones did not. They were all "grandfathered" under the act and all, even without serial numbers, are currently legal to own.

There are a lot of little pricks that sit around a computer in their momma's basement that love to screw with people just because they can. In the last 8 years I've been the victim of identity theft twice and stolen credit card numbers twice. I'm still trying to fix the identity theft issue from 2007 where some prick in Columbus Ohio stole my social security number and had a phone turned on in my name.

What Steelhead posted is a valid problem. There are enough losers out there that will do something like that just because they're bored. There doesn't have to be any real reason behind it, it's just that they're losers and want to screw with someone that day. I've had enough of it happen to me that I don't want to risk it. It's the reason that you'll never see me post a photo of myself, my family, my vehicles license plates, or anything that can identify where I live on the internet.

You have got to be about the most stupid SOB on the 'Fire. I don't believe you've ever posted anything that's remotely correct or that you read in a Field and Stream article

^^^^^

I think that is a fair assessment.

This is precisely why I do not post the entire S/N.




Travis

Hell, that's why I file the numbers off of all my guns.

reel -

There are 'some' good answers posted to your ?

Sometime it makes sense ----STUFF happens out here in the real world.

Jerry

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Oh dear me! You're only joking - right? You HAVE to be ----seriously!

It's really degenerated from the sublime to the absurd.

One thing that I always do is fact check. And I have the facts to back up my comments. In any event those facts are not something that I "manufacture" from mythology. They are the laws made by someone else.

Sad to say that some posters here are not capable of understanding the numerous why's, wherefores, provisos and contingencies in my post. I just didn't want to make it miles long. The "shortfalls" in my post that you highlighted were already allowed for contingently in my comments.

Notice that I am polite and respectful in my responses. I don't respond to rules violators.
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I may add that the gun laws vary widely from state to state, county by county and Town/Village locally, as well as from Law Enforcement to Law enforcement - a lot.

In addition to my owning, transporting and/or shipping guns here in Wyoming, South Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania New Jersey, New York, Missouri the USA I also owned/ transported/ shipped, *( Sold at times ) rifles and hand guns in Canadian Provinces, Venezuela, Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Liberia, Cambodia and Vietnam. I also carried some in my luggage on airplanes and through customs including France and the Netherrlands. Did it since 1956.

I don't know about other manufacturers, but Marlin made some Model 62s without serial numbers. There was a voluntary recall where, if you owned a 62 without a SN, you could send your rifle back to Marlin and they would stamp the receiver with a serial number. I've seen both varieties and have a 62 in 30 Carbine that was returned and hand-stamped with a serial number. I have the invoice from Marlin that was returned to the owner with the newly stamped rifle.

William_E_Tibbe-

Below is a photo of a J.C.Higgins single-shot rifle chambered for the 22LR cartridge. It was manufactured by Marlin for Sears in the late 1950s or early 1960s. I own a rifle just like the one shown. My rifle has no serial number, and close inspection reveals that it never had one. I've checked at least 20 similar rifles in gun shops and at gun shows, and none has ever had a serial number. I purchased this rifle 40 years ago from an elderly friend who resided in the same state as myself. He's been dead at least 30 years.

This is "a commercially manufactured gun with no serial number".

What do you suggest is the proper course of action for myself, because it "is illegal and cannot be owned".

Thank you.
--Bob
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(image from gunsamerica archives)

Yes I have a Rem. b/a 22 mag.feed with no ser #,what should I do.

Bull:

I had two handguns that were brought in from overseas. I tried to register them but needed three character witnesses which I didn't have at the time. I even wrote to the County executive but wasn't able to engender more people. So I let it lay for 40 years. Couple of years ago I had the bug and necessity to transfer those to my son in a different state. By hook and crook and jawboning I was able to persuade the sheriffs department and county permit office to issue the permits. Thus I transferred/shipped them out of my state to my son who went through the drill and got them accepted and permitted in his state.

In your case don't stir sleeping dogs. Let it lay. You have a snowballs chance in hell of ever transferring title, or shipping out of state, or selling commercially such as on consignment in a gun store without a serial number. If you eventually pass it on to heirs just zip it up and keep quiet.

Get friendly with your local Law Enforcement. They are generally, predominately good guys and usually are accommodating in the matter if legitimate and makes sense.

This person has no earthly clue WTF he's talking about.




Travis

You really should try reading the posts you respond to before sharing your wisdom. The posts before yours were all discussing pictures of guns, where the serial number was edited out of the picture for privacy reasons. That has nothing to do with guns that don't have serial numbers.

I'm really starting to wonder if you're just a troll on this forum; posting things just to create arguments.