Taking in used guns with no serial

[weaponsandgear]

Need some guidance from all the FFL's who deal secondhand firearms, please.

I need to know how you all deal with a firearm that comes in with no serial on it. As we all know there are a ton of very expensive older guns that do not have serials on them. I called CA DOJ and they told me I have to have the Sheriff engrave serial #'s on the gun. (Yikes!) Doing so would kill the value of the collectable gun.

The FDAS system is the hang up. It won't take a gun with no serial.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

Will the FDAS system accept a firearm with the serial number "NSN"?

[ke6guj]

federally, you would just list the serial number as NSN (no serial number), can't you do the same thing in the FDAS system?


edit: too slow

[LambertPawn]

DOJ told me to enter "2Antique".....

[PolishMike]

+1 for NSN

[weaponsandgear]

Well, after another set of calls to the DOJ, a new answer evolves. Use the 2ANTIQUE as the serial (just as LambertPawn said to do) ....and use that on the DROS when selling as well, according to the DOJ.

With that information in hand I had to try my luck at the next question. If a customer brings in 10 guns to sell do I have to make that person stand there while I enter all 10 in the FDAS just so I can get their thumbprint on every print out in that exact little "thumbprint" box? Wht if FDAS is down? The answer they gave was "yes" thumbprint required. Hmmmm........so, what if I bought the guns from a guy in Indiana? All he is doing is sending my a drivers license (as required by federal law). I obviously don't get a thumbprint with those......? There was a LONG pause......and then the "the law requires you get a thumb print".

In the end, there was really no answer. The one person I was on the phone with said she wouldn't write me up if I didn't have them in that case, but can't speak for other inspectors. Great! I have that going for me!

Any thoughts? What do you all do?