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Thread: Another; When is it considered "good to go"? thread

  1. #1
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    Another; When is it considered "good to go"? thread

    With a twist;

    I have a S&W shield 40 that was carried by me for about a year. I shot it occasionally for function testing and decided it was not my favorite carry gun. So, it became my truck's center console gun. It got stolen during the height of the rona, mid 2020. Of course I filed a police report right away.
    Amazingly it was recovered a year and a half later during a routine traffic stop, and I recently got it back.

    It appears to be okay. The barrel looks like it had literally only a round or two put through it since I last saw it in 2020, all the grooves are 100%. The grip is a little dirty inside, but nothing like a hard used piece. Functioning with snap caps = all is working.
    I'm going to get to the range tomorrow and put a box or three through it. If it functions perfectly, would you trust it again?

    Or leave it in the safe and kept as a conversation/memory piece? "I wish this gun could tell a story" type of piece? If anything, it has taught me to not be so careless with my firearms.
    Last edited by matemike; 05-21-22 at 00:41.
    “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
    - Mark Twain

  2. #2
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    I'm glad you got it back unmolested. I wouldn't even bat an eye trusting it after a once over.

    Andy

  3. #3
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    If it was reliable before, passes cleaning / inspection, and fires 50 or more rounds at the range with no issues after getting it back --> I'd be fine with it.

  4. #4
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    I’ld stick that sucker in your safe or sell it. I would be too worried some government employees goofed up paperwork and you end up trying to explain to some LEO or prosecutor that you weren’t the one who used it in a dozen crimes. Probably paranoia on my part, but no thanks. I’ve got plenty of other guns and they make new ones every day.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Inkslinger View Post
    I’ld stick that sucker in your safe or sell it. I would be too worried some government employees goofed up paperwork and you end up trying to explain to some LEO or prosecutor that you weren’t the one who used it in a dozen crimes. Probably paranoia on my part, but no thanks. I’ve got plenty of other guns and they make new ones every day.
    According to the paper work that I got, the ATF had it for several months. They supposedly shot a bullet out of it, collected that bullet as a sample and used it for forensics if any were needed for 40 cal bullets found at crime scenes where crimes happened during the time the gun was reported stolen and recovered.

    And I have to imagine that they still have that sample bullet.

    And I guess my paranoia continues; If I were to sell it or trade it properly at a lgs, gun show, or even a pawn shop, they call in a bg check which includes running the gun's serial number and if it shows up hot, paperwork mistake or no, I'd be in possession and the establishment is "supposed" to call the police.

    I'll never forget a buddy of mine went to sell a collection of pistols that he inherited from his grandfather or something like a decade before. Well, his story was that one them, a 1911 he thinks, had no serial number and the gun counter clerk showed him where it had been scratched off. He just said he could not legally buy it nor sell it and that he's actually supposed to report it, but he just suggested to my buddy to destroy it and that he never saw it.

    I think I'll put this returned pistol back in my carry rotation. At least I have a 40 cal again. Too bad I sold all my 40 ammo a couple months after the gun being stolen. I seriously thought I'd never see it again.
    “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
    - Mark Twain

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by matemike View Post
    With a twist;

    I have a S&W shield 40 that was carried by me for about a year. I shot it occasionally for function testing and decided it was not my favorite carry gun. So, it became my truck's center console gun. It got stolen during the height of the rona, mid 2020. Of course I filed a police report right away.
    Amazingly it was recovered a year and a half later during a routine traffic stop, and I recently got it back.
    Hope the fool that they found with it gets prosecuted big time for being in possession of a stolen firearm.

    VERY good thing you reported it stolen when you did so the fool could be caught when he was...


    A guy I know from work recently was driving down the road with his recently purchased used trailer when - The previous owner that it was stolen from saw it... Police were called, trailer was recovered and returned to rightful owner, guy that bought stolen trailer lost ALL of his tools and stuff that was inside it and now has a pile of legal expenses that continue to add up for being in possession of stolen goods. As it should be...

    Guy tried giving me a sob story about losing all of his tools and I told him right quick that he should have damn well known the thing was stolen by the price he paid for it... You don't buy something for pennies on the dollar when things are legit. Hopefully he learned his lesson.

  7. #7
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    Unless you're in a goofy, restrictive state, the FFL is not "running" the gun's serial number. The ATF/FBI/NICS provide no mechanism for the FFL to do this. A NICS check is on the purchaser only.

    The paranoid worrying is wasted effort. If you keep the gun, shoot it, carry it, sell it, whatever, gas mask clad government agents are not going to rappel from the ceilings and arrest you.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by matemike View Post

    And I guess my paranoia continues; If I were to sell it or trade it properly at a lgs, gun show, or even a pawn shop, they call in a bg check which includes running the gun's serial number and if it shows up hot, paperwork mistake or no, I'd be in possession and the establishment is "supposed" to call the police.
    Doesn't work that way. NICS checks see if YOU are eligible to purchase a firearm, the serial number is never provided.

    As for the firearm, clean it, shoot it and determine if it's reliable. Everything else is a non issue.
    It's hard to be a ACLU hating, philosophically Libertarian, socially liberal, fiscally conservative, scientifically grounded, agnostic, porn admiring gun owner who believes in self determination.

    Chuck, we miss ya man.

    كافر

  9. #9
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    Went and shot a little steel silhouette today. 100% flawless functionality. 100 rounds. 50 of 155gr, 50 of 180 gr. federal fmj ammo.

    Thanks for chiming in fellas.
    “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
    - Mark Twain

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by AndyLate View Post
    I'm glad you got it back unmolested. I wouldn't even bat an eye trusting it after a once over.

    Andy
    Andy, 100% agree

    PB
    "Air Force / Policeman / Fireman / Man of God / Friend of mine / R.I.P. Steve Lamy"

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