What to do with "found" guns?

[$nake-Eye$]

LEOs,

A while back, I saw on TV during one of those storage unit auction programs, a couple of guys bid on an abandoned storage unit and won it for a grand or so.

When they opened it up and looked at the contents, they found like 3 shotguns and around 4-6 handguns in the stuff.

My questions are: 1) how would someone go about to find out the history of the weapons (stolen? involved in a crime?) and if, they were in the clear, properly register the weapons?

SE

[SVT-40]

Those shows are full of BS..... In California the storage places cannot knowingly sell via auction any firearm and immediately deliver it the the auction winner. They must also do a legal PPT on any firearms which they find in any unit.

[biochembruin]

If you feel comfortable with it, you can write down the serial numbers, make and model and ask someone at your local station to run them. I wouldn't take the guns into the station, for obvious reasons. Maybe have some documentation to demonstrate that you did indeed find them, if such documentation is available. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, consult with an attorney.

As far as registering the weapons, you might need to ask that in the FFL subforum to get the best answer.

[Ron-Solo]

If you look at the fine print on most of those auctions, firearms must be surrendered because they can not legally be transferred in that manner.

[kemasa]

Not to mention that a customer of mine talked to a firearms dealer on one of those shows and the guy said that he never bought any firearms, he just read the script. Many reality shows are actually fake.

[TheExpertish]

Not to mention that a customer of mine talked to a firearms dealer on one of those shows and the guy said that he never bought any firearms, he just read the script. Many reality shows are actually fake.

Say it isn't so...

Usually a dead giveaway (other than crappy wtf acting) is the WRITTEN BY credit at the end of the show.

[BigDogatPlay]

Those shows are full of BS..... In California the storage places cannot knowingly sell via auction any firearm and immediately deliver it the the auction winner. They must also do a legal PPT on any firearms which they find in any unit.

^^^ This ^^^

It's also why all those auctions are, essentially, sight unseen. They open the door in advance and bidders get to look through the open door, but they don't get to poke into anything. That way if something of questionable legality turns up the property owner can say somewhat honestly that they didn't know what was in there.

Now if the winning bidder was an FFL I suppose he could, maybe, receive a firearm (except AW or other prohibited types) into his bound book for either eventual resale or his permanent collection. An FFL would be the best source for the answer to that question.

[kemasa]

The auction company actually goes to the storage facility in advance, opens the unit, takes pictures and documents what they see, but they don't go in and they don't touch anything. The unit gets locked with a storage facility lock and sealed with a tag.

From what I checked on, it appears that the firearms could be entered into the bound book with the storage facility as being who they came from. You would need to be a secondhand dealer and report the firearms with the FDAS system. If you are not a business, then you also have to pay sales tax on the auction price.

I went to several auction to learn about them. Most units go for a higher amount than I think it is worth it. There was one that didn't, but it was a 10x30, stacked high with old junk and perhaps there was something worthwhile in there, but you need a big truck, a lot of effort and a storage place to deal with it. Generally you have a short time to get the stuff out.

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

I bought a shotgun at an estate auction a few years back. The auctioneer had a designated FFL who received the shotgun. I went to his shop and did the 4473 and DROS, picked up the shotgun after the wait. The transaction was not handled as a PPT if I recall correctly. I don't know if that's a standard or common method of handling that sort of sale, though.

[kemasa]

It would be hard to sell such a firearm as a PPT since you need a seller, which is not a business.

[SVT-40]

At the auction house I work for we sell thousands of firearms as consignments each year. The seller consigns the gun for auction with us and fills out and signs the sellers portion of the paper handgun DROS. After the auction the new buyer completes the buyers portion of the paper DROS form. We fill in the remainder of the needed info and write the DROS number , dates and times on the paper DROS. DONE

Our advantage is we have A ffl so there is no middle man which could be complicated.

[kemasa]

The issue above is that it is coming from an estate. For an auction house with seller, there is no issue at all and it can be done as a PPT.

[DEPUTYBILL]

I could be wrong,but I think there may be something in the civil contract that a renter signs when he rents a storage room. In that contract I think it states the terms in which the renter company can take control of all property in the storage room. Then under operation under law,the person in control of the storage business can sell all items in storage. If a firearm is found,it still has to be run thur an FFL for sale. The only problem would be if the gun was stolen,or the buyer was a prohibited person.