Question about buying a possible unregistered handgun.

[that one guy]

Here’s the hypothetical situation. Father passed away and son finds handgun going there his possessions. Would it be a issue when doing a ppt if the serial number doesn’t match up with the seller? Do I treat this as a regular ppt? I’d like to cover my own *** as a buyer and not be out 1K+.

[foxtrotuniformlima]

as long as it isn't reported stolen, no issue at all.

AFAIK, they don't do anything regarding seller unless it comes back hot.

[Tank 57]

The only way I see you having a problem is if it comes up as stolen. Way to CYA would be to have seller do a voluntary registration. If he's the legal owner and not prohibited, should not be a problem. Might delay things.

[sbo80]

Unless something has changed, there is no part of a PPT that "checks serial to match the seller". They check serial against list of stolen firearms and that's it. Lots of firearms aren't "registered" to the seller, especially long guns, for lots of legal reasons (mostly because it wasn't always required).

[plumbum]

There are many, many legally owned guns that have been owned longer than CA required recording of sales and background checks and are not known to the system, so to speak.

[sfe187]

How well do you know "the son"? if he is a friend, tell him if it comes back stolen, he agrees to give back your money. If its a stranger, that's the gamble. He should give back your money but you know how these days are.

Check with https://www.hotgunz.com see if anything pops up but yeah those are the gamble you take. Just like buying from out of state with 03 cash/carry, I can track down the seller but that takes time and getting my money back also takes time and effort.

[SloChicken]

Unless something has changed, there is no part of a PPT that "checks serial to match the seller". They check serial against list of stolen firearms and that's it. Lots of firearms aren't "registered" to the seller, especially long guns, for lots of legal reasons (mostly because it wasn't always required).

Still not required in many states, though when entering Comstan state gov makes one register sidearms

[Quiet]

Question about buying a possible unregistered handgun.

Here’s the hypothetical situation. Father passed away and son finds handgun going there his possessions. Would it be a issue when doing a ppt if the serial number doesn’t match up with the seller? Do I treat this as a regular ppt? I’d like to cover my own *** as a buyer and not be out 1K+.

It is CA legal to sell an unregistered firearm.
^Exception for self-made firearms. Starting 01-01-2019, it is illegal to transfer the ownership of a non-exempt self-made firearm in CA.

CA laws allows the executor of a deceased estate to transfer the estate's firearms.

CA laws requires the son to report the firearm to CA DOJ within 30 days of acquiring the firearm from his father.

If the son is acting as the executor of his father's estate, then as long as he transfers the firearm within 60 days, the firearm is not required to be reported to CA DOJ.

If the son acquired the firearm from his father's estate via bequest/inheritance, then he needs to report the firearm to CA DOJ within 30 days of receiving it.

Therefore, if the son is selling his father's handgun to you within the 30/60 day windows, then there is no need for him to register it with CA DOJ.

The only issue is if the firearm has been reported stolen, then the transfer would be rejected and the firearm would be surrendered to law enforcement.

[that one guy]

How well do you know "the son"? if he is a friend, tell him if it comes back stolen, he agrees to give back your money. If its a stranger, that's the gamble. He should give back your money but you know how these days are.

Check with https://www.hotgunz.com see if anything pops up but yeah those are the gamble you take. Just like buying from out of state with 03 cash/carry, I can track down the seller but that takes time and getting my money back also takes time and effort.

The son responded to a WTB ad here.

[CSACANNONEER]

I've NEVER even considered if a handgun was in CA's AFS or not or, if the seller was the last owner of record in the AFS. It's really a non issue.

[Garv]

Who is the executor of the estate?

If not the son, who?

If he is not, then he is taking something of value from the estate if there are other beneficiaries.

[TheGood]

I've NEVER even considered if a handgun was in CA's AFS or not or, if the seller was the last owner of record in the AFS. It's really a non issue.

And it would be pretty foolish of the seller to try and sell a stolen gun via DROS. They would be tracking him down to find out what else he 'owns' pretty quickly.

[sfe187]

The son responded to a WTB ad here.

Its a gamble. "The son" (someone replied on a message board) might not know the entire history of his dad's guns or where did his dad got the gun from. As long as you tell him upfront that in case the dad's gun came back as stolen, he needs to refund. In this case, I would need his full contact info in case the dros didn't go thru. If he is a stand up guy, he should have no problem refunding if gun actually turns out stolen. If he refuse, then you know your answer.

[that one guy]

Who is the executor of the estate?

If not the son, who?

If he is not, then he is taking something of value from the estate if there are other beneficiaries.

[hunterb]

Sounds fishy. I would only do this transaction if I knew the person well. It's bit of a risk, and $1000 is not a paltry sum unless you're quite wealthy.