DO you folks remember

[Devil Dog]

I think the reason some people mark (deface) their names on things is the same reason dogs mark their territory.

[raymeketa]

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

[GA-Dave]

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]

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]

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!!

[dave]

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]

Of course if you have a Swiss K31, finding the previous owners name on a piece of paper under the buttplate is a plus!

[Major Tom]

I put my name and my Army service number on the inside of grips, stocks, under butt plates, etc.

[Reptile46]

That would be your service number BEFORE they switched to SSN, right?

[Major Tom]

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-)