Did I break an unspoken rule?

[beanz2]

If you are new to AKs, you're best bet is to buy new from a reputable dealer. The $100-$200 you save by buying second hand is not much considering the risks.

Don't have a very specific model in mind and you won't be too disappointed. It'll take you a very long time to find an SGL31-94 or a KTR-03V that everyone else wants.

I'll echo the poster above in looking at Atlantic Firearms as they are CA-friendly.

If you have to have a particular second hand gun a potential seller has, ask for a picture with unusual views, or with something in the background that cannot be photoshopped such as your email address and today's date on a piece of paper.

As for serial numbers to glean more info from the gun, you can forget it. Other than some typical number/letter sequences and year of manufacture, Eastern Bloc countries rarely publish detailed info on their guns. Knowledgeable AK sellers would be proud to show if their gun have matching numbers as a gun cobbled together from the parts bin rarely brings a higher price.


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[SanDiego619]

Did the seller contact you through calguns or did they email you outside of calguns?

If it was outside calguns, 100% scam

If it was within calguns, how long have they been here and what is their iTrader rating?

[Beelzy]

C'mon David, you know people don't post entire watch serial numbers when selling watches. Why would you think people would be different about gun serial numbers?
Yes, you broke the rule of serial number requesting. Happy Hunting.

[ar15barrels]

Howdy, I'm a very new member to CalGuns, but I'm not new to the world of internet buying and selling.
I had a weird interaction today from a seller.

I posted a [WTB] thread looking for an AK in the LA area.
I got a message from an individual that was looking to sell one, so I gave him my number and asked for pictures.
He gave me the name/model number and texted me a starting price.

He sent me two wide shots, both of the same side of the gun and nothing else.

Google search the photos he sent you.
See if they also exist on the web and where they came from if google finds them in the public domain.

The texting thing instead of continuing in private messages is also a big alarm as the scammers all take the communication away from forums immediately.
Does the person who replied to your ad have a very recent join date and no itrader points?
If so, that's the triple wammy...

[DavidLassen]

C'mon David, you know people don't post entire watch serial numbers when selling watches. Why would you think people would be different about gun serial numbers?
Yes, you broke the rule of serial number requesting. Happy Hunting.

Not sure what you are talking about, serial numbers are extremely important in watches for a wide variety of reasons. Some collectors want lower numbers on limited edition releases, some want to get exact information on the year produced. The difference between an Omega 210.30.42.20.03.001 and a 2561.80.00 is several thousand dollars despite both being Pro 300M Seamaster models.

If that doesn't translate to firearms I'll learn my lesson

[DavidLassen]

Text only. I edited my initial statement, I checked the seller and he seems to be a stand-up guy. My conclusion is that I'm just causing issues with my inexperience. I appreciate you writing down your thoughts on the matter.

If you are looking for an AK check our atlantic firearms. Their stock turns over fast and they will convert anything they can to california legal for you.

Also check out Rob Ski at http://www.akoperatorsunionlocal4774.com/
He does torture tests of AKs and served in the Polish army and is now sniper team leader in the US army.

Some of those reviews and others are listed at

https://thinlineweapons.com/wiki/ind...ms/Kalashnikov

You are the bomb. Thanks bud.

[SkyHawk]

Not sure what you are talking about, serial numbers are extremely important in watches for a wide variety of reasons. Some collectors want lower numbers on limited edition releases, some want to get exact information on the year produced. The difference between an Omega 210.30.42.20.03.001 and a 2561.80.00 is several thousand dollars despite both being Pro 300M Seamaster models.

If that doesn't translate to firearms I'll learn my lesson

There is no national database of stolen watches. There is for guns. You do not want your gun listed there by some swatter.

There is no state database for watch serial numbers. There is for guns. Some folks have guns legally obtained before there was a requirement for them to end up in the registry.

Officials in government have never threatened to come for your watches. Plenty of them have threatened that for guns.

There is not a segment of the population that is rabidly anti-watch. There is for guns.

Google and Facebook are not indexing watch serial numbers from photos, they are rumored to be doing that for guns.

Add all that up - and then never again question why someone would be reticent to give a new guy the serial number for their gun.

Most of what you need to research on a gun can be done with all but the last digit or two. Unless you are trying to verify you are buying John Wayne's Colt SAA or Eisenhower's Colt DS, you don't need the whole serial number. And as already noted, researching com-bloc serial numbers is usually a fools errand and so raises even more red flags.

You are free to ask if it is numbers matching, without asking for the serial. Then make a deal contingent on the numbers actually matching when you inspect it in person.

[five.five-six]

Google search the photos he sent you.
See if they also exist on the web and where they came from if google finds them in the public domain.

The texting thing instead of continuing in private messages is also a big alarm as the scammers all take the communication away from forums immediately.
Does the person who replied to your ad have a very recent join date and no itrader points?
If so, that's the triple wammy...

Not saying you are wrong but I'm not sure that's completely true.

Lot's of times I find that PMing is just too cumbersome for a detailed conversation and meet arrangements ... then again if the guy has a join date of 5/x/2020, 0 iTrader and 50 posts I'm going to be very careful with them

[norcal77]

What was the make/model of rifle? Maybe he was selling you a home build he put together cheap and if he answered your questions you’d have brought price down?

[beanz2]

OP, care to post his pics on this thread?

The seller shouldn’t mind as it only promotes the rifle he’s selling.


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[Milsurp1]

[splithoof]

David, welcome to the forum.
Something I may have missed in the thread, but here goes: one must be very careful about buying/selling certain types of firearms in California due to the endless minefield that has been created by various laws. You must be very careful when dealing with folks you don't know very well personally, as various LE agencies may be on fishing trips to see what they can hook. Photos of ALL markings are appropriate to help determine if something may be illegal. If there are any doubts, walk away.
As others have posted, your best bet after educating yourself on all the various AK nuances may to purchase new from a reputable dealer/FFL. That would certainly seem easier to me, but I'm in no hurry, ever.
Good luck on finding what you need.

[AlHO1966]

That's a pretty epic lead in to a question. If you were that laborious with a potential seller, I can see why they might react as the did.

[Paperchasin]

There's always 2 or more sides to every story. If we ever want closure on this instance, it would be best to invite the seller to this thread to speak for himself. Otherwise everyone here is just making ASSumptions!

[gunnlover]

Welcome to Calguns. Please, in CA we don't use the word Y'all. It triggers some people.