Regulations for selling a shotgun in Indiana

[smb]

I'm thinking about selling my shotgun. Can I just complete a private sale with another individual without filing any paperwork etc.? Thanks

 

[9rows]

yes

 

[Clay]

as long as that person lives in Indiana, that person is 18 or over, and that person has not been convicted (knowingly) of a felony...... sell away.

 

[ballzac86]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can't sell a shotgun with a pistol grip to someone under the age of 21 can you? I'm pretty sure a dealer can't sell that way...anyone?

 

[PapaScout]

Even with a pistol grip it is still just a shotgun assuming that the over all length is 26" or greater.

 

[NateIU10]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can't sell a shotgun with a pistol grip to someone under the age of 21 can you? I'm pretty sure a dealer can't sell that way...anyone?

A dealer can't sell a pistol grip shotgun like that to someone under 21, same with handguns. Private transfers need to be over 18 though, as Federal law only addresses minimum ages for sales by dealers.

 

[smb]

Do I need to go through a FFL if I want to sell to a Michigan resident? Does it matter whether the FFL is in MI or IN?

 

[NateIU10]

Do I need to go through a FFL if I want to sell to a Michigan resident? Does it matter whether the FFL is in MI or IN?

You would need to go through a MI FFL

 

[JcJ]

You would need to go through a MI FFL

The MI buyer would need to go through a MI FFL. The IN seller could just ship to the MI FFL directly..

 

[NateIU10]

The MI buyer would need to go through a MI FFL. The IN seller could just ship to the MI FFL directly..

Yeah, that's what I was saying. The firearm would need to go through a MI FFl

 

[Bronsonbull]

As a seller in a FTF transaction, who is liable if the buyer has committed a felony and isn't allowed to own a firearm? What due diligence do I need to do as the seller? I would think felons and criminals would love to do FTF transactions to buy firearms...

 

[cordex]

As a seller in a FTF transaction, who is liable if the buyer has committed a felony and isn't allowed to own a firearm? What due diligence do I need to do as the seller?

I like to ask to see a valid Indiana gun permit and Indiana driver's license. The license to you know they are who they claim to be and are an Indiana resident, and the gun permit to see that they've been checked out.

I would think felons and criminals would love to do FTF transactions to buy firearms...

They do. Usually with other felons. Why pay $500 to buy a legal gun on the open market when you can get a stolen one from a fence for $200?

 

[Soundslikejosh]

As a seller in a FTF transaction, who is liable if the buyer has committed a felony and isn't allowed to own a firearm? What due diligence do I need to do as the seller? I would think felons and criminals would love to do FTF transactions to buy firearms...

IMO, you should ask if the person is able to legally purchase or own a firearm. If they say yes, sell. If they say yes, but are lying, it's on their head. How could you know? Asking to see a LTCH is not fair. A LTCH is not required to buy a gun from an FFL, and having a LTCH does not mean they aren't a felon. It just means that they weren't a felon when they acquired the permit.

It is our duty to ask, but thats where the buck stops. You cannot know if a person is lying to you, and its not reasonable to invent some system whereby people have to jump through each seller's personal hoops. Thats your right, but I don't agree with it.

 

[Bronsonbull]

Okay, I actually make them sign a bill of sale that states that the buyer is able to own a firearm.

I was just curious about the legal liabilities. Has anyone heard of a FTF sale to a felon (buyer didn't know) that actually was traced back to the seller? I wonder if this seller was at all liable.

 

[Soundslikejosh]

There have been a few other threads about this, but there seems to be a camp of folks (I am one of them) who believe a bill of sale is worth less than the paper it is printed on. You can still do it, but I doubt it does anything. Your bill of sale can be easily fabricated- before or after the sale. IMO, it is not going to exonerate you any more than your testimony would. "I asked him if he could legally own a gun and he said he could." I am not suggesting that people should be lax, you must do your due diligence, but there is a limit to the sellers responsibility, and I think that kitchen table documents cross that line. No disrespect meant, I just don't see the utility of such things.

 

[jsgolfman]

Does anyone else find it depressing/hilarious that such a simple question requires this many responses because of the despicable condition of our republic?

 

[cordex]

Asking to see a LTCH is not fair. A LTCH is not required to buy a gun from an FFL, and having a LTCH does not mean they aren't a felon. It just means that they weren't a felon when they acquired the permit.

Are you of the opinion, then, that a non-FFL should follow the requirements required of an FFL?

You cannot know if a person is lying to you, and its not reasonable to invent some system whereby people have to jump through each seller's personal hoops. Thats your right, but I don't agree with it.

Why isn't it reasonable?

 

[NateIU10]

Are you of the opinion, then, that a non-FFL should follow the requirements required of an FFL?

Why isn't it reasonable?

First of all, there is no requirement of an FFL to ask to see an LTCH, so I'm not sure what you're talking about . Secondly, The requirements are much lest stringent from a private party. Are you saying that a person shouldn't sell a handgun to someone under 21 because an FFL can't?

 

[Bronsonbull]

There have been a few other threads about this, but there seems to be a camp of folks (I am one of them) who believe a bill of sale is worth less than the paper it is printed on. You can still do it, but I doubt it does anything. Your bill of sale can be easily fabricated- before or after the sale. IMO, it is not going to exonerate you any more than your testimony would. "I asked him if he could legally own a gun and he said he could." I am not suggesting that people should be lax, you must do your due diligence, but there is a limit to the sellers responsibility, and I think that kitchen table documents cross that line. No disrespect meant, I just don't see the utility of such things.

No offense taken. However, why not have someone sign a bill of sale? It surely can't hurt and honestly if someone refuses to do it then that's a pretty good indication there may be a reason not to sell that person a firearm. Not sure your logic in the quote above. Sure, any paper product can be fabricated, but most legally binding agreements in America are basically paper with signatures on them. I would argue that a signed paper does have more value than someone's verbal testimony in most cases.

You also say "I am not suggesting that people should be lax, you must do your due diligence, but there is a limit to the sellers responsibility".

What is your definition of due diligence and what do you mean (give me an example of the due diligence that should be done in an FTF sale). Then you say that there is a limit to the sellers responsibility. That's my question, what is the limit to the sellers responsibility?

The reason I'm asking is because everyone has a different answer and I'm not sure if anyone truly knows

I'm also interested because I'm starting to sell some firearms and so far have tried to sell them all through an FFL just to be safe (I've been paying the fees). A lot of buyers want to buy FTF without an FFL, even if I pay their FFL transfer fee. I'm guessing because they don't want any record of the firearm being owned by them. My issue with that is that if its not registered to them, then it's still registered to me. Another reason I have them sign a bill of sale. Anyway, I'm curious to know if anyone has had experience with a FTF sale gone bad. Maybe, their gun was used in a crime and was traced back to the seller. If you say, "I sold it to so in so last year" are you off the hook? In my opinion, I'd like to open my file cabinet and say, "I sold it to so in so on May 9th, 2007 and here's the signed bill of sale showing that".

 

[PapaScout]

Does anyone else find it depressing/hilarious that such a simple question requires this many responses because of the despicable condition of our republic?

Great point. Repped.