long lost guns... what to do?

[serrogate]

Quite some time ago about 10 years or so I used to have 3 guns that my best friend and i used to go shoot with together registered in my name but my family didnt want the guns at my house so he held onto them.

well after time passed we fell out of communication and he had the guns at the time and never returned them and hes no where to be found.

hes a good guy and doubtful he would do anything stupid with them and i also dont want to get him in trouble but my life is getting alot better but i dont want police showing up saying the found my gun at a crime scene.

what should i do?

sorry to the grammer police ahead of time lol

[Purple K]

Track him down via family, friends, coworkers, google, etc. If he was your best friend you must know something about his parents, siblings or his employer.

[serrogate]

I've tried but no luck.

[Untamed1972]

How were they registered? You can check with DOJ to see if what if any guns are registered in your name. Might be a good place to start.

If nothing shows up then you prolly dont have much to worry about.

[serrogate]

they are registered under my name.

[Ron-Solo]

Are they rifles or handguns. Rifles are not registered in anyone's name unless they are an "Assault Rifle" and technically handguns are not "registered" but there will be a DROS record showing who the buyer is. You can contact DOJ and fill out a form and they will tell you what handguns their records show you owning.

[professionalcoyotehunter]

Are they rifles or handguns. Rifles are not registered in anyone's name unless they are an "Assault Rifle" and technically handguns are not "registered" but there will be a DROS record showing who the buyer is. You can contact DOJ and fill out a form and they will tell you what handguns their records show you owning.

I would be careful on here people will take this the wrong way.

[jmzhwells]

Facebook? or one of the social networks might help.

[xibunkrlilkidsx]

boating accident eh?

[big red]

Except for some private eye work tracking him down about all you can do is send a certified letter to DOJ and a certified copy to the local police department with a description of the weapons, serial numbers if possible, and the last date you saw them and who had possession of them. Have them listed as stolen since you cannot recover them. If anything was to happen then you would have a paper trail with times showing your effort to clear things up.

[serrogate]

Except for some private eye work tracking him down about all you can do is send a certified letter to DOJ and a certified copy to the local police department with a description of the weapons, serial numbers if possible, and the last date you saw them and who had possession of them. Have them listed as stolen since you cannot recover them. If anything was to happen then you would have a paper trail with times showing your effort to clear things up.

i dunno the serial numbers and it was a Mossberg 500, a 10/22, and a mauser big 5 special. the stolen part is the problem because i dont want to get him in trouble if he still shoots with them and get pulled over.

i wonder if this is what its like buying a car without a pink and the owner cant be found lol

[bjl333]

i dunno the serial numbers and it was a Mossberg 500, a 10/22, and a mauser big 5 special. the stolen part is the problem because i dont want to get him in trouble if he still shoots with them and get pulled over.

i wonder if this is what its like buying a car without a pink and the owner cant be found lol

They are all long guns so the DOJ won't have them on record anyways !!! If its bugging you that bad, hire a PI to track him down. But it doesn't sound like you have a bunch of money wrapped up. I would just forget about them, but thats just me !!!

[Ron-Solo]

I would be careful on here people will take this the wrong way.

I know. Silly me for posting anything accurate.

[redcliff]

I always get flamed for this, but I have my old drag-racing firesuit on....

Definition of register: record in writing; enter into a book of names or events or transactions

Technically, all firearms purchased from an FFL are registered, as the 4473 forms are kept on file and the transaction is recorded in the dealer's bound book. All firearms purchased new from an FFL (rifle, shotgun and handguns) can be traced to you, but it takes some effort.

As the LEO on this board probably know, if a firearm was found at a crime scene, the manufacturer of that firearm has records of what distributor it was sold to. The distributor has to keep a record of what dealer it was sold to, and the dealer has a bound book and 4473 record of who the firearm was sold to.

If you purchase a used firearm thats not a handgun from an FFL its much harder to track as they would have to get ahold of the original purchaser from the ffl's records and try to follow any subsequent change of ownership.

New and used handguns sold at a California FFL have the additional and easier tracking record available of the Dealers Report of Sale which does list serial numbers for handguns.

In the OP's case, if the firearms were new when purchased from the FFL they are traceable to him if there was a good reason to go through the effort. I would think the odds of that happening are extremely low since it doesn't sound like his friend is a gang-banger or someone that would use the firearms in the commision of a crime and leave them at the scene.

Just a related story; a few months ago I got a call from my local FFL asking me to bring in a Cimmaron Thunderer I had purchased as the BATFE had contacted him and needed a verification of the serial number. Apparently they were auditting Cimmaron and found a mismatch of the serial number and shipping information. They traced the firearm to the my local dealer who had to trace the transaction through his bound book, the California DROS system never came into play. My dealer verified he had recorded the proper serial number in his bound book and informed BATFE and I never heard any more about it.

[serrogate]

Thank you I feel Much better. Everyone here is awesome and this is why i love calguns =)