Bonded Warehouse: gun storage

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I have heard many tales of woe in my time on this forum about confiscated firearms making their way to Mr. Dowd to be held (for a fee) until legal matters are cleared up. However I hear that a lot of the firearms are never picked up and Mr. Dowd is within the law to sell the firearms to "recoup" the storage fees not paid by the owner to hold the "collateral" I mean dangerous weapons. I was curious as to whether or not one can choose where to send weapons and if the police have to offer all alternatives to the public as to where there weapons will go?

Furthermore I am curious to know what would be involved in starting up a Bonded warehouse business and what licenses would be needed? I am curious for all the right reasons, if I could possibly save some 2A citizens the some grief and make some fee's for processing paperwork by merely owning a secure lockup that is safe, secure, bonded and insured then why not look into it.
 
I know there was another thread on this that explained that in some cases even though the person whos guns have been taken has the right to transfer them to an FFL of his choosing the PD has called Dowd, and told him to rush down and get them before the person's FFL could. It would seem that running your own warehouse wouldnt do much to stop dowd.
 
A big obstacle is that the PD, not the individual, is the customer of the warehouse. As such, you will need to compete favorably with the services Dowd offers to the PD - in terms of professionalism, documentation, timeliness of pickup, etc. If previous reports are true, not providing a cut of the action to the PD from sales of forfeited guns could put you at a disadvantage. You will need to be able to pick up that old H&R breaktop from any department in your coverage area within a few days, and give the department a nice computer printout of the inventory accepted on the spot to meet the Dowd level of service. I doubt many police departments would consider "better protecting the interests of the person from whom the gun was taken" to be of any concern to them.
 
I'm answering this from a "real world perspective", NOT from a "MGL or CMR say" point of view.

No, the victim has no say in where the PD ships the guns/ammo/mags/etc. Most PDs will do what they have set up as their policy and don't take orders from subjects very well.

The victim usually thinks that the PD is still holding the guns at least until a 209A hearing is held (10 days max), but the PD is under no obligation to hold them for any length of time before shipping them off to the bonded warehouse of their choosing.

I think that you will find this to be a "closed industry" with each PD picking their favorite (mostly the two noted above) and not willing to consider changing. Since the PD doesn't pay anything, there is nothing in it for them to choose the cheapest alternative.

So I think that "breaking into this business" is not likely to be very successful.
 
NOT true.

Read the statute controlling bonded warehouses.
Scriv, I know where you are coming from. As you know, a dealer can enter into the bound book and store firearms for others before or even after LE gets involved. I have at one time had a "bonded w'hse" transfer a lot of guns to me after the person involved paid his storage charges to the w'hse. I did this as a favor for a good buddy when he got into a problem with the little lady. Having a bonded w'hse just to help someone out from time to time is not worth the hassle and I would never go that route. Jack.
 
A neighbor had guns confiscated as a result of some type of altercation. The PD sent the guns to a local gun shop for storage. The neighbor, figuring he was going to loose the guns, offered to sell them to me for a nominal fee. The gun shop owner refused to transfer the guns, insisting that the neighbor had to clear up the mess and obtain an FID before any transfer could be made.

This appeared to be a very cozy deal between the PD and the shop.
 
A neighbor had guns confiscated as a result of some type of altercation. The PD sent the guns to a local gun shop for storage. The neighbor, figuring he was going to loose the guns, offered to sell them to me for a nominal fee. The gun shop owner refused to transfer the guns, insisting that the neighbor had to clear up the mess and obtain an FID before any transfer could be made.

This appeared to be a very cozy deal between the PD and the shop.

If what you say is true, this is an illegal action by the gun shop owner, however it doesn't surprise me at all. That whole system of confiscation, bonded warehouses, lack of regulation of fees/terms, etc. is just rife for this sort of abuse.

As to your last allegation, that also would not surprise me at all.

There are absolutely NO checks and balances in this part of the law/regulations. An attempt to institute some regulation was met with threats by the owners of the bonded warehouses to abandon that business and leave the PDs with the untenable situation of piles and piles of confiscated guns with nowhere to store them indefinitely. The threat worked and no regulation was instituted.
 
This has been happening for quite a while now. When facing a 209A issue, best bet is to get the guns over the border into NH and bury them until the order expires and you can get your LTC or FID back. Home Depot and Lowes have all of the necessary supplies for preparing a cache for long-term or short-term burial. I did it myself about a decade ago; quite successfully, I might add. [grin].
 
Not that I have any real experience in this matter but it seems to me that it would be prudent to get your firearms out of the house (legally with documentation)before the police come for them if you are having problems with your significant other.
About 15 years ago I had a local guy show up at my business wanting to sell a couple old shotguns. I bought the shotguns and a couple boxes of ammo on the cheap. About two hours later the police called me to make sure I had the guns in my possession Apparently this guy knew he had an RO headed his way.
I was able to show the police the "blue cards" I had filled out and although it was the sellers responsibility to send them I had decided I would do it to make sure they were mailed, as the former owner was a bit of a dirt bag. That settled that matter and I still have those shotguns.
Another involved a buddy of mine from Medfield who ran into some trouble and he was able to sign his firearms/ammo over to me . Medfield PD had called him and notified him that they were lacking space in their evidence room and gave him the option of signing them off to someone qualified or sending them to a bonded warehouse.
I went to the PD with him, filled out the appropriate paperwork and they even helped load them up into my vehicle. My buddy died from cancer a while later.
I still have most of those guns also.
 
This has been happening for quite a while now. When facing a 209A issue, best bet is to get the guns over the border into NH and bury them until the order expires and you can get your LTC or FID back. Home Depot and Lowes have all of the necessary supplies for preparing a cache for long-term or short-term burial.[grin].

And you're just going to offer that out on the interwebs, on a site that's no doubt patrolled by the very people you hid those fire arms from...

I would edit that last sentence that I removed from the quote if I were you...
 
This has been happening for quite a while now. When facing a 209A issue, best bet is to get the guns over the border into NH and bury them until the order expires and you can get your LTC or FID back. Home Depot and Lowes have all of the necessary supplies for preparing a cache for long-term or short-term burial. I did it myself about a decade ago; quite successfully, I might add. [grin].

Anything else you want to confess on a public internet forum?[rolleyes]
 
A neighbor had guns confiscated as a result of some type of altercation. The PD sent the guns to a local gun shop for storage. The neighbor, figuring he was going to loose the guns, offered to sell them to me for a nominal fee. The gun shop owner refused to transfer the guns, insisting that the neighbor had to clear up the mess and obtain an FID before any transfer could be made.

This appeared to be a very cozy deal between the PD and the shop.
Anything can happen. What if the PD picks up a bunch of guns because of a RO, leaves a signed receipt, takes the guns to a bonded w'hse, and one gets "lost" along the way? It happened. I know. Jack.
 
To be fair and respectfull to all of the quality gun shops in Mass, this particular shop has the worst feedback that I have seen on the NES forum. This is just one more "allegation" in a long list. Because of my location in the state, I have to drive long distances to patronize my favorite gun shops and avoid this one.
 
What happens to firearms that are "turned in" to police departments? For example firearms turned in by a widow or those found in a home by the new owners etc.
Is there a legal procedure that is required to be followed ? Do the officers get to draw a name out of a hat and see who gets to take it home or is it supposed to be sold or destroyed?
Just wondering.
 
Anything can happen. What if the PD picks up a bunch of guns because of a RO, leaves a signed receipt, takes the guns to a bonded w'hse, and one gets "lost" along the way? It happened. I know. Jack.

It's happened too many times to count. I've heard many credible stories from numerous sources that I trust about this.

What happens to firearms that are "turned in" to police departments? For example firearms turned in by a widow or those found in a home by the new owners etc.
Is there a legal procedure that is required to be followed ? Do the officers get to draw a name out of a hat and see who gets to take it home or is it supposed to be sold or destroyed?
Just wondering.

In MA they are supposed to be sent to the MSP for destruction. What actually happens may vary as we have 351 cities/towns, each with their own policies, procedures and record keeping.
 
What happens to firearms that are "turned in" to police departments? For example firearms turned in by a widow or those found in a home by the new owners etc.
Is there a legal procedure that is required to be followed ? Do the officers get to draw a name out of a hat and see who gets to take it home or is it supposed to be sold or destroyed?
Just wondering.
I know several Lawrence Police officers and the general concensus is that they help themselves in the back room of the station. A former chief liked a Browning A-5 shotgun that was turned in and he just took it home. This fact was brought into the limelight when he was accused of spying on his men in the wee hours of the morning, with the smell of booze on his breath while he made an unannounced inspection of the police station. Apparently, he caught at least one officer sleeping on duty and disciplined the entire shift. The police patrolmen's union did not take kindly to this type of personnel action and the firearm incident was brought up by an alleged witness at a hearing. The chief testified that it was his "right" to retain and keep a surrendered firearm (they are supposed to be turned over to MSP headquarters) and the matter seemingly was dropped. You see, police do not obey the laws themselves but they expect us to do so. Classic double-standard.
 
Anything can happen. What if the PD picks up a bunch of guns because of a RO, leaves a signed receipt, takes the guns to a bonded w'hse, and one gets "lost" along the way? It happened. I know. Jack.
It gets better. After a while a trace request for that particular gun, a revolver, comes from ATF. They say it was "Used in a crime". Jack.
 
One step further.

If you are regular guy with a FID, You have a problem. If your work involved some sort of security clearance and you got caught in this one, It would get ugly.
 
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In Jim's defense, I think he was trying to show the confusion of the process, and that even "honest" attempts to follow the enigmatic firearms laws of the Commonwealth
fall short of realistic; thus, the potential for abuse of personal property issues festers...

~Enbloc

Jim Wallace, executive director of the advocacy group Gun Owners’ Action League of Massachusetts, offered a different explanation, saying the lack of compliance with the statute likely stems from honest confusion.

“Any gun that’s supposed to be up for destruction or for auction has to go to the state police,” said Wallace. “Police departments are not supposed to be trading things for store credit.”

However, knowing that would require knowledge of a long list of laws Wallace has called “draconian” in his writings online.



“There’s only a handful of us in the state that have a pretty good grasp on them,” he said.

Still, Wallace does not mean to cut police departments any slack. “If we have to obey the laws, then everybody has to obey the laws,” said the Second Amendment activist. “If you don’t like the laws, then get them changed.”
 
Is this Dowd's old buddy, NE Guns and Parts. He has a lot of "Parts Kits" listed on Gunbroker which leads me to believe these are the remnants of bonded storage destroyed gun receivers. See "Sellers Other Items"
Not affiliated with Dowd that I'm aware of, but it *is* a Mass Bonded Warehouse operation (and a fairly aggressive one at that).

Dowd's former operation is now known as Guardian Arms in Westboro, MA.
 
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