Gun Registration Question

FC Magic

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I found a listing for an older Mossberg 500 in good condition for a great price on a different site. I reached out to the seller and we arranged to meet locally for the sale. The first red flag was that the seller was completely unaware of the MA Gun Portal, and initially though he could just sell me the firearm and I could then get it "registered" at a gun shop. After explaining how the Gun Portal worked, he arranged to meet locally with his laptop with which to transfer the shotgun. The next day he contacted me to say that his elderly uncle, who actually owned the firearm, had let his LTC expire a long time ago and he wasn't sure if it was worth the hassle of trying to "register" the gun in his own name just so he could sell it to me. After consulting with someone at a gun shop, he was advised to sell the gun as a "parts gun". I wished him luck with the sale and slowly backed away from the situation.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but is this guy's uncle currently in violation of a number of serious gun laws by having this shotgun without a valid LTC? And isn't his nephew, who is currently in possession of the gun, also violating a number of serious gun laws? And is there any "parts gun" rule I've never heard of before? Thoughts?
 
I found a listing for an older Mossberg 500 in good condition for a great price on a different site. I reached out to the seller and we arranged to meet locally for the sale. The first red flag was that the seller was completely unaware of the MA Gun Portal, and initially though he could just sell me the firearm and I could then get it "registered" at a gun shop. After explaining how the Gun Portal worked, he arranged to meet locally with his laptop with which to transfer the shotgun. The next day he contacted me to say that his elderly uncle, who actually owned the firearm, had let his LTC expire a long time ago and he wasn't sure if it was worth the hassle of trying to "register" the gun in his own name just so he could sell it to me. After consulting with someone at a gun shop, he was advised to sell the gun as a "parts gun". I wished him luck with the sale and slowly backed away from the situation.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but is this guy's uncle currently in violation of a number of serious gun laws by having this shotgun without a valid LTC? And isn't his nephew, who is currently in possession of the gun, also violating a number of serious gun laws? And is there any "parts gun" rule I've never heard of before? Thoughts?

Lol maybe he is maybe he isnt, who cares, not your circus not your monkeys. (its not you going to jayle if theyre doing something stupid WRT possession) Bottom line is you cant really do an FTF sale in mass unless both parties have valid creds. Otherwise in this case seller must go through an FFL to facilitate this.
 
How should someone deal with this situation. If they take the shotgun to a gun store, is it as easy as creating a new point of sale with a new person?
 
First off, an eFA10 is not a gun registry, it's a transaction record. Don't normalize the idea of a registry by calling it that.
As for the transfer, you pick up the gun (because you have a license) and you and the owner (pretty much whoever says their the owner at this point) go to an FFL and do the transfer.
The FFL takes it into inventory, no requirement to do an FA10 by the FFL at this point. Then he transfers it to you with a 4473 and eFA10 with the FFL as the seller.


What laws the current owner may or may not be violating is none of your business, unless you think the gun is stolen (receiving stolen property would be on you).

Usual disclaimer IANAL
 
The way I look at it, in a P2P gun transaction, the seller has far more motivation to register the transaction so that there’s a record that he no longer possesses the gun from that day. In the days of paper FA10s, it was the seller’s responsibility to mail in the copy. That should tell you something.

You know what I meant if you want to be a boy scout, and you also know what I meant if you don’t.
 
Makes you wonder how many sellers back in the good old days simply trashed the paperwork. [laugh]
There’s always plausible deniability that the paper copy got ‘lost in the mail’, as long as the seller can produce a paper copy himself should the occasion rises. IMO, the most significant aspect of the eFA10 system is that such deniability is removed.
 
After consulting with someone at a gun shop, he was advised to sell the gun as a "parts gun".

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but is this guy's uncle currently in violation of a number of serious gun laws by having this shotgun without a valid LTC? And isn't his nephew, who is currently in possession of the gun, also violating a number of serious gun laws? And is there any "parts gun" rule I've never heard of before? Thoughts?

Consulting a shop is usually similar to Consulting w/ the police re: gun laws in MA.

Who has possession? If the nephew is and has a valid LTC then there is no issue.
 
OP - everything about the transfer going through the FFL is correct. ( Post by 42! post 7)

If you're still nervous, move along. It's a Mossberg, not Patton's revolver. Before you proceed, check with the FFL as to the transfer fee. I'm not sure what the good price is, but it the dealer charges $30-$50, it's probably a significant percentage of the sales price, and you or the seller will have to cover it.
 
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