and almost got me in trouble...through no fault of my own. 
Was selling a stainless Ruger MK II, which is a 22LR pistol.
I bought it for the wife to shoot, in February of this year, from an IP here. (She won't go shooting, and I do not like shooting a 22, so sale was imminent.)
Met buyer, who checked out the gun and agreed to buy it for asking price.
He then followed me to MSP barracks to do paperwork.
Left gun in truck, locked in a case, as I read here to do.
Trooper took our ID's, and buyer's HQL.
Trooper then walked out to truck with me to write down serial number, and model of gun.
Serial Number was XXX-XXX06
Model (as engraved on gun): Ruger MK. II .22 Cal. Long Rifle
Buyer is filling out the forms, and Trooper comes out and says the gun is coming back as STOLEN, in a burglary in Howard County, reported on June 7, 2015, which would be one helluva good trick, since it's never been out of my safe since I took delivery of it on February 24, 2015.
Trooper then escorted me back outside to physically take possession of the gun so "he can provide HoCo Police with a better description".
Then....it really got interesting.
He prints out a very thorough list of my currently owned/registered handguns, where he shows me that the serial number on record, is one digit off, from the actual gun's physical serial number???
XXX-XXX05, instead of XXX-XXX06
So.....I have a handgun, that I bought and took possession of, in late February, that I "technically" LEGALLY do not own, and the one that I brought into the MSP barracks, is coming up as stolen....WTF?!?!
Trooper says he will try to see if Howard County Police have an actual description of the stolen gun, to compare to "mine". Keep in mind, this is Sunday...
The a-hole "records" person he spoke to in Howard County
had the bright idea for the Trooper to just take the gun, and in the Trooper's words, "Then they can just come GET ME tomorrow"...GET ME = arrest me because the POS records clerk/officer at HOCO was too effing lazy to check the report and tell the Trooper the stolen gun's description....which would have at least helped clear up ONE of these 2 mysteries...
While the Trooper is on the phone, trying his best to find out WTF is going on here, I call my son to ask him to bring me (ASAP) the pink paperwork from when I bought this gun. Right before my son gets there, he (the Trooper) comes out and says, "Unfortunately, we will be keeping this pistol, and our handgun unit, as well as ATF will now be involved due to the discrepancies in the LGS's paperwork and the gun still showing up as stolen."
The Trooper, who was great, and could not have been any nicer or understanding throughout the whole ordeal so far, basically apologizes and says it's all but out of his hands now. He then goes back to take a phone call, but first tells me to hang tight and he'll give me a chain of custody receipt stating that they now have possession of the firearm, and I need to go to the LGS to demand my money back from the original purchase...
Buyer, now pretty much done with the whole thing, knows (as do I) the gun will never be seen again, shakes my hand and asks me to call him when all is said and done, to let him know what happened.
I'm resigned to the fact that I now have 3,000 rounds of 22LR, a gun case, 4 spare mags, and a speedloader, for a gun I no longer have...
The buyer's walking out the door, as the Trooper comes back out and says, "I have some good news for you"....and this is after I thought the good news was that I wasn't getting arrested for possession of a stolen firearm.
It seems the MSP handgun unit (I think is what he called it), had awakened the knucklehead at HoCo Police records, and the RUGER that was stolen was in fact, a RIFLE...
Now, for whatever reason, the pistol, clearly says on it, "Ruger Mk. II .22 Cal. Long Rifle", and that is what the Trooper described to whomever was the next level up, after it came back as stolen...
He also says, that he's already talked to someone in the Licensing Division, and the INCORRECT SERIAL NUMBER that our IP put on the paperwork, was also corrected, and the transfer faxed in...
Talk about a ROLLER COASTER RIDE, lol...
I've honestly NEVER double checked any FFL paperwork for the correct serial number, but I will now.
I also saw on the printout the Trooper had, that another FFL, also an IP here, has physical possession of TWO of my OLD handguns, but the MSP still has me as the registered owner of both... I will address BOTH IP's tomorrow morning. One for nearly getting me in deep do-do for their mistake, and one for not ever logging in my OLD guns to the ATF, like I believe has to be done ASAP after they accept them...
Thanks for letting me vent...
Was selling a stainless Ruger MK II, which is a 22LR pistol.
I bought it for the wife to shoot, in February of this year, from an IP here. (She won't go shooting, and I do not like shooting a 22, so sale was imminent.)
Met buyer, who checked out the gun and agreed to buy it for asking price.
He then followed me to MSP barracks to do paperwork.
Left gun in truck, locked in a case, as I read here to do.
Trooper took our ID's, and buyer's HQL.
Trooper then walked out to truck with me to write down serial number, and model of gun.
Serial Number was XXX-XXX06
Model (as engraved on gun): Ruger MK. II .22 Cal. Long Rifle
Buyer is filling out the forms, and Trooper comes out and says the gun is coming back as STOLEN, in a burglary in Howard County, reported on June 7, 2015, which would be one helluva good trick, since it's never been out of my safe since I took delivery of it on February 24, 2015.
Trooper then escorted me back outside to physically take possession of the gun so "he can provide HoCo Police with a better description".
Then....it really got interesting.
He prints out a very thorough list of my currently owned/registered handguns, where he shows me that the serial number on record, is one digit off, from the actual gun's physical serial number???
XXX-XXX05, instead of XXX-XXX06
So.....I have a handgun, that I bought and took possession of, in late February, that I "technically" LEGALLY do not own, and the one that I brought into the MSP barracks, is coming up as stolen....WTF?!?!
Trooper says he will try to see if Howard County Police have an actual description of the stolen gun, to compare to "mine". Keep in mind, this is Sunday...
The a-hole "records" person he spoke to in Howard County
had the bright idea for the Trooper to just take the gun, and in the Trooper's words, "Then they can just come GET ME tomorrow"...GET ME = arrest me because the POS records clerk/officer at HOCO was too effing lazy to check the report and tell the Trooper the stolen gun's description....which would have at least helped clear up ONE of these 2 mysteries...While the Trooper is on the phone, trying his best to find out WTF is going on here, I call my son to ask him to bring me (ASAP) the pink paperwork from when I bought this gun. Right before my son gets there, he (the Trooper) comes out and says, "Unfortunately, we will be keeping this pistol, and our handgun unit, as well as ATF will now be involved due to the discrepancies in the LGS's paperwork and the gun still showing up as stolen."
The Trooper, who was great, and could not have been any nicer or understanding throughout the whole ordeal so far, basically apologizes and says it's all but out of his hands now. He then goes back to take a phone call, but first tells me to hang tight and he'll give me a chain of custody receipt stating that they now have possession of the firearm, and I need to go to the LGS to demand my money back from the original purchase...
Buyer, now pretty much done with the whole thing, knows (as do I) the gun will never be seen again, shakes my hand and asks me to call him when all is said and done, to let him know what happened.
I'm resigned to the fact that I now have 3,000 rounds of 22LR, a gun case, 4 spare mags, and a speedloader, for a gun I no longer have...
The buyer's walking out the door, as the Trooper comes back out and says, "I have some good news for you"....and this is after I thought the good news was that I wasn't getting arrested for possession of a stolen firearm.
It seems the MSP handgun unit (I think is what he called it), had awakened the knucklehead at HoCo Police records, and the RUGER that was stolen was in fact, a RIFLE...
Now, for whatever reason, the pistol, clearly says on it, "Ruger Mk. II .22 Cal. Long Rifle", and that is what the Trooper described to whomever was the next level up, after it came back as stolen...He also says, that he's already talked to someone in the Licensing Division, and the INCORRECT SERIAL NUMBER that our IP put on the paperwork, was also corrected, and the transfer faxed in...
Talk about a ROLLER COASTER RIDE, lol...
I've honestly NEVER double checked any FFL paperwork for the correct serial number, but I will now.
I also saw on the printout the Trooper had, that another FFL, also an IP here, has physical possession of TWO of my OLD handguns, but the MSP still has me as the registered owner of both...
I will address BOTH IP's tomorrow morning. One for nearly getting me in deep do-do for their mistake, and one for not ever logging in my OLD guns to the ATF, like I believe has to be done ASAP after they accept them...Thanks for letting me vent...
