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Selling gun? What do I need to know?

Nate245

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2008
Messages
27
Location
, Arizona, USA
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I'm selling my 605s.357so that I have the money to finish schooland am not sure how to go about it. What do I need to know about selling a handgun? Do you have to go through the sate? Also how would I go about letting people know that I'm selling it? can I put it in the newpaper? If anyone can help that would be great:)

Thanks and happy OCing!!!!
 

Armed4Life

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Mar 6, 2007
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164
Location
Pinal County, AZ, ,
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Assuming you do not have information that the buyer is a felon and you yourself are an AZ resident, all you need to do is have them show a valid AZ id and that they are at least 21. That's it! How much are you asking?
 

wewd

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If you sell it as a private party, I would suggest you both sign a receipt stating your names, id #s, addresses, the date, serial #, etc, so in case the gun ends up in a criminal investigation you have written proof that you sold it. It's not required by law but it's a good "C-Y-A" measure. Or just have a dealer transfer it on a 4473 for an official record. Whatever you want.

A relative of mine in another state sold a bunch of his guns in private party sales a number of years ago, and he had the FBI call him because some of those guns ended up in crimes. Since he was the original purchaser, his name was on the 4473. Scared the bejeezus out of him but he had receipts and that ended the inquiry. In this case it's good to have a paper trail.
 

ixtow

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Suwannee County, FL
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OMG! Why would you want to do any of that crap?

'If the gun is involved in a crime' all you need to say is "what gun?" Supposedly, there is no gun registration scheme in Arizona or Federally. They like to 'trace' sometimes, but they know people buy and sell all the time. They may posture and threaten, but keeping a piece of paper with that information is more damning that it is helpful. They'll tell you the buyer was a felon (even is he/she wasn't) and all kinds of other crap. The Government is NOT your friend, and they hate you for owning a gun already. Keep it short.

It is quite extraneous to even mention this part, but.... IF, and that's a big if, you are 'questioned,' "What gun?," "Am I being detained?" "Am I free to go?" "I have nothing to say." Tell them nothing and ignore their empty threats, and believe me, there will be threats. But remember, cops love to slap cuffs on people. They wouldn't be standing there talking to you if they actually had any cause. they would kick down the door and drag you away without saying a word. They're talking to you because they're on a fishing expedition looking for any word they can twist or even pretend to hear something that sounded like a word you said that gives them any excuse at all to beat you to the ground, taze you, and drag you off. Just plain don't talk to them.

A gun being used in a crime does not incriminate you, even if there were a registry and it had your name and serial number on it. Doesn't prove whodunit. Just what, and where it used to be at some undetermined time in the past. It means next to nothing on it's own. Even if your fingerprints are all over it. Duh, it used to be your gun...

I wouldn't suggest selling to a criminal if you know it... It's just wrong. Nor does any ID need be presented, either. I probably wouldn't sell it to a toddler, no matter how much money he had....

All you need is another person with money, they hand it to you, you hand the gun to them, transaction over. Nothing illegal about it, and you have no other obligations or responsibilities; exactly as it should be.
 

Nate245

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2008
Messages
27
Location
, Arizona, USA
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Thank you all for the information that you all have provided. It seems to be more easier to sell a firearm then I thought! I thought that I would have to call the Gov. and get the FBI along with everyone else involved. I'm not really sure just yet what I'm asking, I JUST got it this year. I'd like to get close to what I need for school. So most likely about $450 that would be pretty close to what I need for school. I would really not want to go much lower then that seeing as I paid more then that when I got it.

Thanks again for all the help!

Happy OCing to all!!
 

TOF

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Nov 2, 2008
Messages
443
Location
Happy Jack, Arizona, USA

wewd

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Location
Oregon
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ixtow wrote:
OMG! Why would you want to do any of that crap?

The guns in question ended up in the hands of some organized crime syndicates (Mara Salvatrucha if you must know) and they wanted to know who sold them the guns since they were never reported stolen. There are people out there buying guns in private sales with the sole purpose of reselling them to gangs and criminals. It happens. A poster on another forum got a call from the ATF because one of his AR-15s ended up in Mexico with the narcotraficantes and they were tracing it. In that case he just told them that he sold it. And if you believe there is no gun registration in this country you are a fool. How do you think the feds got their information? What do you think a Form 4473 is for? The seller can do whatever he wants with his property. I was merely stating what I would do.
 

ixtow

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Suwannee County, FL
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I'm aware of the many backdoor registration schemes the gov has created. Adding your own documentation can't help.

Personally, I don't care who wants to know what about a gun I used to own. I'm not telling. I have more respect for criminals than I have for the gov and its wholesale version of the same. "I have nothing to say."
 

AZkopper

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2008
Messages
675
Location
Prescott, Arizona, USA
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What do you need to know to sell a gun in AZ?

1. the buyer is 18.

2. the buyer is not a known felon to you.

3. the cash he gives you is not counterfiet.
 

Nate245

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2008
Messages
27
Location
, Arizona, USA
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Thanks! I'll try putting it up on the site and see what happens. What happens if the person that you sell the gun to is a felon but I didn't know. Will I get in trouble IF I didn't know that they were a felon?
 

ixtow

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Nov 25, 2006
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5,038
Location
Suwannee County, FL
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Nate245 wrote:
Thanks! I'll try putting it up on the site and see what happens. What happens if the person that you sell the gun to is a felon but I didn't know. Will I get in trouble IF I didn't know that they were a felon?
They'll try to drag in "reasonable" to the argument. It still won't fly. "I have nothing to say."

But use common sense. Looks don't mean everything, but if some guy with a grill, pants around his knees and lots of bling, etc whatever... You get the idea, I wouldn't sell it to him....

The same common-sense that tells you a decent human being wouldn't sell a gun to a criminal, is the same common-sense that will tell you "this guy seems a little shady....."

It's a real give away when the guy starts offering more money when you decide it isn't for sale anymore. We gun owners like the lowest price we can get, most likely tell you thanks for wasting our time, or something less diplomatic... People with ulterior motives are usually willing to offer more and don't want to lose their rare chance to score a piece.

But that's just MY way of doing it... You can do whatever you want. ;-)
 

me812

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Messages
216
Location
federally occupied Arizona
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What happens if the person that you sell the gun to is a felon but I didn't know.

The federal law regarding that contains a good faith exception. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, the state law doesn't. It's one of the major things about Arizona's gun laws that really sucks and needs fixing. According to state law as I read it, you could be prosecuted for selling a gun to a felon, even if you do so unknowingly. However, that having been said, I doubt that prosecutions for this type of thing are very common. My guess is that in most cases, it would be impossible to prove and in most other cases the County Attorney would be more than willing to forget about any wrongdoing on your part in return for your testimony linking a certain gun found at a crime scene to a certain felon.

If you ever sell a gun and the cops show up and start asking all kinds of questions, remember that the Fifth Amendment is your friend. The first words out of your mouth should be "I do not wish to discuss anything without an attorney present." The days of Andy Taylor are long gone. Barney Fife is in charge now, and he has body armor, BDUs and an AR-15 provided by DHS.
 
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