View Full Version : DO you folks remember
John Sukey
09-18-2010, 01:12
Many years ago some people were saying you should etch your name and social security number on your guns so they could be identified? Not only did the perp get your gun, but he also got your identification!
I once bought a gun like that. Fortunately the crap could be polished off and reblued. BUT If i had been a crook, it would have been a license to steal:eek:
Dave in NGA
09-19-2010, 06:07
From time to time I see an example of a fine pistol for sale with the social security number of some previous owner etched on the frame. Not only does it look bad, but it puts a serious dent in the value of the piece. I once saw a guy try to sell his deceased father's Colt collection at a dealer in Greenville, SC. I thought the dealer was going to have a coronary when he picked up the fine examples of early SAA's and saw where the son had engraved the father's social security number on each gun. The son said he was afraid the guns would get stolen and this same 'fear' lead him to sell the guns. Seems his father had told him they were very valuable and to be careful of thieves. I'll bet the father was spinning in his grave when his son took the electro pencil to each of his treasures.
If you MUST mark your property your driver's license number is a much better choice (with an indicator of the state of issue of course).
The cops have much more ready access to the DL info.
Many years ago some people were saying you should etch your name and social security number on your guns so they could be identified? Not only did the perp get your gun, but he also got your identification!
I once bought a gun like that. Fortunately the crap could be polished off and reblued. BUT If i had been a crook, it would have been a license to steal:eek:
I once drove a long ways to an estate auction that had a Colt revolver that I wanted.When I saw they had done that to it I turned around and drove back home.What a waste.:(
I bought a pistol at auction and under the grip was the guys name and SS number.
Corps 8404
10-26-2010, 08:14
I once bought a rifle via online auction. The seller did indicate there was a "shiny spot" in the finish under the receiver. Turns out that the piece was fine, as advertised, and purchased for a fair price. When I subsequently scrutinized the "shiny spot," it was evident that someone's etched (not electro-penciled luckily) initials had been removed. It was virtually pristine other than that, and I use it as a shooter. Have never had a need/desire to reblue the area.
I honestly can't understand the motivation/logic that compels people to destroy otherwise fine firearms. I've always subscribed to the philosophy "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I'm so anal, that hopefully some (or all) of my arms will hopefully someday be displayed in a museum as specimens that are "as-manufactured."
John Sukey
10-26-2010, 11:08
I do have a revolver with a guy's name scratched on it, but in this case...... Lt. Spowart R.E.
And another with two names scratched on the side, both Scots Lieutenants going by the names.
I consider these scratches a plus.
The Royal Engineer did survive the war as his name was on the Army list after the war.
(WW1 in both cases)
Griff Murphey
10-27-2010, 05:12
Most of this was done in the 60's. Until then, most people left their houses unlocked, at least in Texas. In the mid to late 60's, early 70's, there was a meteoric rise in home burglaries. At the time, Major LE agencies, and some dealers, would recommend this. Incidentally, Corps, I would say any gun with DL/SS numbers ground or polished off probably IS stolen, or was at some point in its life. At the same time there were reports of police in small towns confiscating guns out of cars. So I did mark three of mine. Yes, the two I have done that way, should I offer them for sale, have been decreased in value (but I have no plans to do that). I have a Smith M-59 out there that has my Texas Drivers' license# under the grip, which was in fact stolen...
Herschel
10-28-2010, 10:37
Before the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) came into existance people had to improvise some way of marking their property to identify it. Since NCIC now has a national data base of stolen property which is available to law enforcement agencies the improvised identification systems are obsolete. A person should simply keep a record of the make, model and serial number of any item that has a serial number. That information can be provided to law enforcement when reporting stolen property. If the stolen item is ever checked for stolen by any law enforcement agency the reporting agency and listing agency are instantly notified if the item is in the data base as having been stolen.
Corps 8404
10-29-2010, 06:42
I would say any gun with DL/SS numbers ground or polished off probably IS stolen, or was at some point in its life. ...
With all respect, since the beginning of my "shooting life", I've always been certain to obtain a well-documented receipt for ANY firearm that's come into my custody, as well as for those I've sold. Logic dictates that in the legal sense, a documented factory-stamped serial number will supercede any home-made inscription.
If I were to inherit, then subsequently sell an"inscribed" collection vial FFL, I don't think I'd want to leave an ssn, or any personal info on it...I doubt the purchaser would want it like that either.
JMHO
Devil Dog
10-21-2013, 01:19
I think the reason some people mark (deface) their names on things is the same reason dogs mark their territory.
raymeketa
10-21-2013, 01:42
Don't forget where you are guys. Everyone here is a gun nut and etching a name and number on a firearm is a no-no. But, not everyone feels about guns the way we do. I scratch my name and phone number on my cell phone just in case I lose it. Nerds would probably chastise me for that. Most of the really expensive tools in my garage have my name etched on them. How many of you have your girlfriend's name inked on your body somewhere? Everything is relative.
JMHO
A few years ago I was in a gunshop that was selling an estate and there were several BARs with high quality scopes in the lot. All of the rifles had a GA drivers license number electro-penciled on the side of the receiver so the shop priced the rifles at the replacement cost of the scopes and still had a hard time movig them. It was a shame because the rifles looked to be nearly new.
Doug Douglass
11-18-2013, 04:38
Three times I have found identifing slips of paper under the butt plate of rifles I bought. One slip dated 1932 in an early M52 had the guys name and address plus the heading, STOLEN FROM
oldtirediron
12-02-2013, 12:58
Sometime around 1966 I scrapped together the ungodly sum of $70.00 and had my father purchase me a 1903 high Numbered Rock Island arsenal rifle!! It is in the 426,000 serial number range and has an RIA 1922 dated barrel on it!! Anyway this rifle was lent out by a family member while I was away at college never to return !! Anyway 27+ years later I recieved a phone call from an acquaintance that asked me if I ever owned a rifle like this! he was cleaning the rifle and as in the 1960's people used to put a piece of paper under the buttplate with the owners name on it! I had also wrote my name in the wood under the barrel on ths rifle in old fashioned fountain pen ink!! I was able to get the rifle back and trace it back to the theif who was an acquaintance of my brother!! He was real suprised when I showed up at his door and told him that a stolen weapon report had been made out on this rifle and if I didn't receive the money he got for it immediately problems would happen!! So I bought this rifle when i was 14 years old, lost it when I was 20 and got it back when I was 42 years old!! When I bought it 30-06 ammo was 6 to 6 1/2 cents through the DCM, I can remember saving up the money with other club members and we sent an order in and then a large gray 40mm can would come from the DCM from Savannah Army Depot with several thousand rounds inside !! The good old days !! That old Rock Island was shot until the hand guards were so hot you couldn't touch them! I let all my friends shoot it because the club's M-1 rifles were all old and extremely worn out ! At least the 1903 didn't break down, Always something in those days with the old M-1 rifles!!
My son and I both collect early Mossberg 22 rifles, not big bucks but still money and going up. As everyone probably knows these were never serialed. I remove the butt plate and stamp in the wood, last 4 digits of SS number and collection record number. Not visible and a record for me. Similar could be done with any gun and I do not think value would be hurt. If gun has serial not needed, except a thief would never know it was there and would not remove it like a serial #.
John Sukey
01-27-2015, 10:58
Of course if you have a Swiss K31, finding the previous owners name on a piece of paper under the buttplate is a plus!:icon_lol:
Major Tom
01-31-2015, 09:55
I put my name and my Army service number on the inside of grips, stocks, under butt plates, etc.
Reptile46
02-11-2015, 08:40
That would be your service number BEFORE they switched to SSN, right?
Major Tom
07-16-2016, 03:16
That would be your service number BEFORE they switched to SSN, right?
No, I don't put my SSN on anything! My Army serial number is used, no identity theft there but if item is recovered I can easily ID it. 8-)
Many years ago some people were saying you should etch your name and social security number on your guns so they could be identified? Not only did the perp get your gun, but he also got your identification!
I once bought a gun like that. Fortunately the crap could be polished off and reblued. BUT If i had been a crook, it would have been a license to steal:eek:
Evidently, the practice of marking guns with identifying information has been around for a while. Several years ago, I bought a Model 1816 Springfield .69 caliber smoothbore musket at an antique shop in Gettysburg that was converted from a flintlock to a percussion cap ignition in the 1840s or 1850s. The lock plate has Springfield and 1838 stamped on it but the customary eagle was ground off indicating it was possibly a Confederate musket during the Civil War.
Under sunlight, I could see printing scratched on the shoulder stock: John McGess 1868. I found a McGess family in West Virginia, but no-one named John.
Wow. This thread started back in 2010. It's like a time capsule reading the user names of those that replied. Some have left the forum (or the forum has left them). Others aren't with us any more.
Yep. The thread is an oldie alright. I think old guns with ID marks can be interesting. I have a 1923 Colt Army 38 Special that somehow acquired a 2 inch barrel in place of its traditional 4 inch barrel making it resemble a Detective Special. Someone scratched their initials (GP) and a date (3-29-52) on the side plate that suggests it may have been marked for evidence. I could swap out the name plate, but why bother? It’s part of the history of the gun that raises the level of interest. What I find interesting is that so few guns that were used as evidence made it back on the street, especially a hand gun.
The bad guys will get your SS numbers with out it being on your guns. I have a large collection of older .22 rifles, most have no serial. I make one up (with my own system, which includes portion of SS#) and stamp it in the wood butt, under the butt plate.
Great idea. Sounds like you’ve given it some thought. Stamping the number in an inconspicuous location preserves the value and natural look of the rifle.
Major Tom
05-26-2018, 04:00
I put my Army serial number on a lot of stuff, but not on firearms or even the inside of grips. Under the butt plate is OK.
Dan Shapiro
06-08-2018, 03:30
The federal database of stolen items is purged of an item when it's been listed for 6 months but still not recovered. I learned that years ago when researching stolen property, looking for the legal owners. Luckily, IBM maintained their own database and I could confirm an electric typewriter (that dates me!) was stolen property.......the serial number had been in the federal database but was purged after 6 months. Firearm serial numbers are never purged as they are kept in a separate, but linked, database.
As for my own weapons; I place one of those "address labels" with my name, address and phone number, under the grip or under the butt stock. I'm not giving away any "personal information" that can't be found in the phone book.
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