Serial Number Concealment

[harry mac]

Can someone please explain to me the thinking behind obscuring part of a gun's serial number when one posts a pic of it on the internet? I can't see the point.

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[CINDERS]

Possibly to stop some types from having an orphan and it showing up as a legal weapon but I would think alarm bells would ring if the check shows the firearm licensed in 2 different states by separate people (Not dual license holders for that weapon) in Aus anyway.....

[Aragorn243]

As guns in the US do not need to be registered, the less anyone, specifically the government, knows about your ownership, the better. Under the current political conditions here, many are not even posting photos or talking about their new firearms anymore. I personally have no problems sharing items which were purchased either through online auctions or from an FFL dealer but if no paperwork is involved, I often think twice about it. In talking with associates, I find them much more interested in purchasing when no paperwork is involved. All legal mind you. Many areas here including PA where I live have no restrictions on the transfer of long guns. I personally even bought one off of a police officer. He glanced at my drivers license to ensure I was who I said I was, shook my hand and we went our separate ways. It may sound silly but it's pretty ingrained in ones thought processes here. I suppose you could argue that seeing the photos is proof that you own the rifle and they could just fill out a form stating Joe Blow owns XYZ rifle but without a serial number, they still can't really track it. Plus that rifle shown on Tuesday could be traded or sold on Friday and if the person you sold it to manages to do something illegal with it, they can't track it back to you. Lots of reasons.

[Lee Enfield]

Believe it or not, a large number of people (Joe citizen and public officials) do not understand how a Remington and a Winchester could possibly have the same serial number, so you must have stolen my daddy's Marlin which has the exact same serial number ...

Don't laugh, I know several people who have had it happen to them.

[rayg]

I think one of the worries about posting the full serial number for some folks is the possibility that the number may come back as stolen if run by the government or law enforcement resulting in the gun being confiscated. The law enforcement National Crime Information Center, (NCIC), system logs serial numbers of stolen guns and they never get expunged until recovered. One exception being that the government had purged the serial numbers of a lot of the older military guns that were stolen or lost years ago especially during the WWII period.. There are many serial numbers on rifles that are the same or duplicated on other weapons and a hit on a number does not mean it's the same rifle but you might have a visit or call from the police to confirm it's not, Ray

[Promo]

Remember that a lot of people here are from Europe aswell, where nearly all guns are registered complete with the serial number. And for some of those it might not be that of interest to be able to track them down to their full name due to posting a picture on the internet.

[WarPig1976]

I've since lost any and all firearms I posted here in a unfortunate boating accident. Anything I may have inherited from my father? Those were either stolen or lost in another unfortunate boating accident....officer....

No really though, I don't mind. If a guy wants to conceal his serial numbers, that's his business. People have lots of reasons, some already touched on.

[Promo]

I've since lost any and all firearms I posted here in a unfortunate boating accident. Anything I may have inherited from my father? Those were either stolen or lost in another unfortunate boating accident....officer....

No really though, I don't mind. If a guy wants to conceal his serial numbers, that's his business. People have lots of reasons, some already touched on.

That sounds reasonable. If I put my guns in a boat, it would already sink due to the enormous weight .

If the OP wouldn'd mind asking the question the other way round - why do you want to know the complete serial of a certain rifle of someone else? What does this allow you to know or give you an advantage?

[WarPig1976]

I could see wanting to know when maybe you have something close to the other guy. You know like, Hey, my rifle is 1231234 I see yours is 123xxxx how close are we?
Or if somebody wants to find out date of manufacture we have to know. Other then that it's kind of irrelevant I would think.

[Vincent]

I know a man who sent an expensive parts kit to a builder. The builder said the parts were “no good” and “unsalvageable”. Eight years later a gun made by the same builder showed up in the NAF section on Sturmgewehr.com. It had the same serial number as the “unsalvageable” parts.