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Say for some reason your gun gets stolen, what do you do, what information should you have on the gun allready?

Call the police?

It's a good idea to have the make, model, caliber, serial number, and a photo of each piece that you own.

Also, some people engrave their initials or an identifying mark under the grip stock.

- Jim

Call the police and file a police report. You should have the make, model, and serial number of the firearm.

If you're an NRA member, be sure to contact the NRA and file an ArmsCare insurance claim for the replacement value of your firearm. All NRA memberships come with $1000 coverage at no additional charge:
http://www.nra.org/benefits.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just another reason to join up and support the NRA!

Good point. I forgot about that.

- Jim

Does engraving the gun reduce the resale value? (Just curious)

I would have thought that the serial number was proof enough that it was your firearm.

Has anyone investigated to see if they can get a home insurance reduction for being an NRA member?

Kevinf2349 wrote:Does engraving the gun reduce the resale value? (Just curious)
I would have thought that the serial number was proof enough that it was your firearm.

If a piece is an antique or NIB, any modification reduces its value. However, if its a carry piece or beater, I doubt that engraving under the grip stock would reduces its value.

Criminals sometimes file the serial numbers off stolen weapons. However, if that happens, the piece would no longer be legal for you to own. Any other mark that could be used to trace it would simply give you "closure," as they like to call it.

(Probably no one would investigate that far. Possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number is a serious offense in its own right.)

- Jim

Thanks Jim.

Time to get the Dremmel out!

Kevinf2349 wrote:Thanks Jim.

Time to get the Dremmel out!

or get you one of those neat little electric engravers.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... 20Engraver" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Kevinf2349 wrote:Thanks Jim.

You're welcome.

I wonder if it would be completely legal to engrave the serial number under the grip stock. Federal law can be pretty weird.

That would give the cops a better chance of figuring out where the weapon came from, if it were recovered and someone thought of taking off the stocks.

- Jim

I just bought a used pistol from a reputable gun store in Fort Worth.
It had a person's name and a 10-digit number under the grips, and on the the mag.

seamusTX wrote:I wonder if it would be completely legal to engrave the serial number under the grip stock. Federal law can be pretty weird. Jim

Jim,

Your question reminds me of an M/96 Swedish Mauser (1917) in my collection. It has a 6-digit serial number, with the armory-affixed last three digits appearing on 18 bits and pieces elsewhere, including on the inside of all stockwork, and all the way down to the firing pin. This was customary during the manufacture of this wonderful weapon, and of course being demonstrably all original adds to its value to a collector. My Swede has an unstamped cleaning rod, the 19th place stamped by the armory, but this is quite common as anyone who has cleaned a military rifle in the field or in a barracks can understand. They tend to get passed around and shared.

More to the point, I might add a couple of items to your wise advice about maintenance of records on your firearms. I, for example, meticulously maintain written proof of where and how I obtained each weapon, be it as informal as a bill of sale/receipt scribbled on a scrap of paper. At least in the case of collectibles, all available information as to its provenance should be on your list. I keep an inventory of all armory/manufacturer stamps/engravings on the weapons. One little almost illegible stamp can mean many $$, invaluable in the case of either sale or negotiations with one's insurance company. As just an example, one little stamp on my early M1911, visible under only high magnification, gives it the same date of manufacture as for the Swede. The serial number on my Sharps carbine suggests, but only suggests, that it was in the Harpers Ferry arsenal when it was visited by John Brown. The little things sometimes count a lot.

In short, you cannot keep too many records on your firearms. I have been pleasantly surprised at how many firearms I have acquired in the last 60 years began as just an average piece, only to ripen into being a collectible, and they will last a lot longer than I will.

Jim, too

Serial-numbering of parts other than the frame seems to be typical of military weapons and those manufactured in countries where every part of a firearm, such as the magazine, is a controlled item.

I'm just wondering if it is legal to add such markings on one's own. As I said, federal law is weird and arbitrary. It's a shame, but that's the way it is.

I doubt that anything that I own will have collector value until long after my death, however far in the future that may be. You are right about the provenance and chain of custody for collectibles, though.

- Jim

I cry...