buying a firearm with no paper work?..help

[reptilla]

So if someone has a firearm that they have never transfered to there name and they want to sell it to you is that legal to buy it ? & if so how do you get it transfered in to your name? Im asking because I absolutely do not wany to do anything illegal and someone wants to sell me a firearm in this manner. Thank you.

[paul0660]

It can be done on 50+ year old long guns. If it is not, run away.

[the86d]

Not a legal transaction, if it is not in "their" name...

What if it comes up stolen?

[paul0660]

Not a legal transaction, if it is not in "their" name...

Lots of guns are not registered, and can still be sold by the owner. Being stolen is a different ball of wax, and knowledge of that is not required by the buyer. The buyer, down the road, could lose the gun when it is returned to the person it was stolen from.

If a seller wants to go around the rules the chances of the gun beings stolen seem higher, to me, but that is not the main reason I would not do it.

[Vacaville]

Tell them to take the gun to a gun shop, go with them, and do a private party transfer. Should cost you $35, and you'll have to wait 10 days. If they aren't willing to do that then walk away.

[Dr Rockso]

So if someone has a firearm that they have never transfered to there name and they want to sell it to you is that legal to buy it ? & if so how do you get it transfered in to your name? Im asking because I absolutely do not wany to do anything illegal and someone wants to sell me a firearm in this manner. Thank you.

There are a lot of firearms in California that were owned prior to any registration or dealer transfer requirements.

To answer your question, however:
-If it's a 50+ year old non-handgun, you can buy it cash-and-carry with no state or dealer involvement. The actual gun in question must have a manufacture date of 50 years ago or more, not the model of the gun (i.e. a Remington 870 that was manufactured in 1960 would qualify, one that was manufactured in 1975 would not).
-If it's a handgun or if it's a long gun that's less than 50 years old, you MUST go through a California dealer. For a private party transfer both buyer and seller must be present. What they are checking for is that you, as the buyer, are eligible to purchase a gun, and that the gun is not listed as being stolen, etc. The maximum that the shop can charge for a private party transfer is $35.

[Capybara]

I just sold a rifle that was given to me by a relative, with no transfer, back a few years ago when I was naive about how to do the correct transfer procedure. As far as I was told, the relative won the gun in a contest about six years ago (sounds sketchy but it was feasible, knowing the sales oriented business said relative was in) but I did not have any first hand knowledge of the transaction. When I brought the gun to my local gun store to sell it on consignment, the owner said that he had to run the numbers and it would show up as okay or as stolen.

Gun did not have any problems with serial number and did not show up as stolen so dealer sold the gun for me and everyone was happy. That said, it this would have all went down more recently, I would have done a PPT and then would have not had to worry about if the gun was possibly stolen. I trust this relative but he is in a business with a lot of questionable people.

[bigdawg86]

I recently (over the last 2 -3 years) acquired several guns from my grandfather... he got them from when one of his best friends passed away (also 2-3 years ago). So the reality is, the original owner is dead. The paperwork is guaranteed long gone. There were never any actual transfers other than "here you go"... NOW WHAT? lol

Colt 357 King Cobra
Ruger P90DC
Army 38 Special
Ruger Single Six
Helwan 9mm
Ruger MK II (?)
Mosin Nagant
Ruger 10/22

[glock21fan]

Big dog. The handguns need to be registered. Send the doj family transfer form in and your gtg.

[reptilla]

Thanks for the info guys.

[robcoe]

So if someone has a firearm that they have never transfered to there name and they want to sell it to you is that legal to buy it ? & if so how do you get it transfered in to your name? Im asking because I absolutely do not wany to do anything illegal and someone wants to sell me a firearm in this manner. Thank you.

If we are talking about a situation where the gun was never registered because it was bought before those requirements, then just go through the normal PPT process.

If it "fell off the back of a truck" or was "found" run, run fast and far.

[CSACANNONEER]

There is ZERO problem buying a gun without the seller having any paperwork. If it's over 50 years old and a long gun, just give him/her the money and take the gun home. If it is any other gun, meet at a local FFL and do a PPT. MOST rifles and shotguns in CA aree not "registered" in any way and many legally owned handguns aren't either.

[alfred1222]

Just make sure you do a PPT

[cabinetguy]

it sounds perfectly legal, just make sure you PPT it and you should be fine