Sphinx AT .380

[OTP]

Sphinx AT .380 M

I have searched the forum and haven't seen a mention of it. Is it that rare or is it not legal here.

[Nor*Cal]

Sphinx AT .380 M

I have searched the forum and haven't seen a mention of it. Is it that rare or is it not legal here.

Legal? Yes, its legal. It is however not on the CA Handgun Roster.

The only way you will find one is used and they do not surface for sale very often. Gun Broker is your best bet to find one but without an exemption to the CA Roster your probably out of luck because I doubt anyone does SSE on these. That leaves finding one in CA and doing a PPT.

Sphinx no longer has a US Distributor so no new Sphinx guns are being imported from Switzerland. Kriss USA was the last US distributor for them but they ended their relationship with Sphinx.

[OTP]

I have a chance to get one, $500.00. Original box, extra mags, ammo and only 100 rounds fired. Good deal?

[Nor*Cal]

Not sure if the deal is a good one, I've never priced that particular model. However, Sphinx is a solid manufacturer and I would not hesitate to buy one.

Maybe someone else with some knowledge of this model will chime in on the price. But if you like the gun and you have $500, I say go for it. It's a hard one to find and $500 does not sound unreasonable.

Good luck.

[89 Vision]

GREAT DEAL! Buy it now! I've been drooling over Sphinx pistols most of my life but could never afford them. They are very well made and were rare 20 years ago and even more rare now.

[OTP]

I just talked to the guy. He added that it was inherited from his late father in 2004 and that his research has said it was discontinud in 1996. He doesn't know where his dad got it and if it was ever registered here. I don't want to get wrapped up in any shady deals.

[Nor*Cal]

You should close the deal if its the gun you want. Have him meet you at a local firearms dealer and process the private party transfer. Him not knowing if it was ever registered is not an issue.

[OTP]

How does it work since it definitely isn't registered to him. Do they care who used to own it as long as the buyer is kegit?

[Nor*Cal]

I am not sure what the law was for inheriting a handgun from your father in 2004. Not sure if he was required to file a form with the DOJ. However, knowing how old that gun is its very likely that his dad never registered it so I would guess that CA has no record of it.

Look up a member named "Librarian" and send him a message asking for his feedback or just include a link to this thread. He would be the best at answering your questions.

[Librarian]

Let's suppose the original purchase was legal, wherever that occurred - we have no reason to suppose otherwise.

Let's further suppose the inheritance was indeed in 2004 - that's 9 years ago now; no reason to doubt that, either.

Inheritance via the execution of a will is exempt from using an FFL, either in CA or interstate. If it occurs in CA, the transfer of any handguns is supposed to be noticed to the CA-DOJ. Failure to do that is a misdemeanor, and I've never heard of anyone being prosecuted for that omission. (I suspect that's because it's hard to detect, and the means of detection seems most likely to be a desire to transfer the gun subsequent to inheritance.)

The advice from Calguns is consistently to follow the law; had the question been posed in 2004, the beneficiary would have been advised to file the OPLAW form.

Is the gun owned by a CA resident?

If so, it could be transferred PPT to another CA resident. Guns not known to CA-DOJ are transferred all the time - probably there are millions of them.

If the gun is NOT owned by a CA resident, then the transfer would be an 'interstate transfer' to a CA resident, the Roster would apply, and since the Sphinx is not on the Roster, something like the Single Shot Exemption process would be needed to make the transfer work.

[OTP]

It is CA owned and there was no will.

[OTP]

Checked a local shop to see if they would be able to do the transfer and found a slightly used 92FS with lots of goodies for $595. The Sphinx will need to wait now.
Thank you for the help, and maybe I can get it down the road.