Pics of paperwork on phone?

[glocknroll9]

I always have extra copies of stamps in each car, could I just have pics on my phone?

 

[30calmachinegunner]

Sure, then they can take your phone and everything on it once you hand it over to view the picture

 

[ryknoll3]

I would do it (and did) just to have a backup in case I forgot my hard copies (which I did once). I would still want to have hard copies as I don't want to hand my phone to anyone I don't know and I'm not sure the cop would accept it anyways.

 

[glocknroll9]

Kind of what I was thinking, wouldn't depend on to replace hard copies but better than nothing if ever didn't have a copy.

 

[Hop]

It's a tax stamp. Is the tax man wanting to see it for some reason? If anyone wanted to check mine I'd tell them to call the NFA with my serial number.

 

[Beowulf]

Just go to Kinkos and get some color, wallet size copies made and have them laminated. I did that for my M10 and various suppressors and SBRs and just carry them in my wallet with me.

You can get them pretty close to business card size and still be completely readable.

 

[Scutter01]

It's a tax stamp. Is the tax man wanting to see it for some reason? If anyone wanted to check mine I'd tell them to call the NFA with my serial number.

This. As far as I know, the police have no jurisdiction to inspect your tax stamp. Also, if you hand your phone to the police, doesn't that implicitly give them permission to search your phone?

 

[ryknoll3]

Problem with the "none of cops business" approach is that in Indiana, NFA stuff is illegal unless it's registered with the ATF, so refusing to show cops your paperwork could possibly lead to your arrest. You obviously wouldn't be charged, but you might take a ride downtown, plus have to deal with getting your guns back.

 

[rvb]

This. As far as I know, the police have no jurisdiction to inspect your tax stamp.

They may not care about your actual tax stamp or taxes pd, but they may care about compliance to IC 35-47-5-10 (7)

A person who owns or possesses a machine gun commits
a Class C felony...
Sec. 10. ...shall not be construed to apply to any of the following...
(7) Persons possessing, or having applied to possess, machine
guns under applicable United States statutes.

There is no such law for silencers or SBRs AFAIK, so at least as long as you are in IN you wouldn't need paperwork for those (in theory... as long as the interested officer didn't assume they were illegal... cops aren't lawyers)

I wouldn't carry the paperwork in my wallet for fear of loosing my wallet or having it stolen which would basically be putting a neon sign on my house saying "rob me." Phone is at least password protected.

 

[Beowulf]

Problem with the "none of cops business" approach is that in Indiana, NFA stuff is illegal unless it's registered with the ATF, so refusing to show cops your paperwork could possibly lead to your arrest. You obviously wouldn't be charged, but you might take a ride downtown, plus have to deal with getting your guns back.

This. They have no authority to look at your tax paperwork, but they can certainly waste your time and confiscate your stuff under the guise of probable cause of illegal weapon possession.

It's not legal nor Constitutional and you'll get your stuff back eventually (if they don't "lose" it in the process), but your day will be ruined and a ton of time and money will be wasted dealing with their nonsense. If you are a confrontational civil libertarian type, by all means keep fighting the good fight. I fully support you (not even being sarcastic), but there is an easier path.

 

[rockhopper46038]

This. As far as I know, the police have no jurisdiction to inspect your tax stamp. Also, if you hand your phone to the police, doesn't that implicitly give them permission to search your phone?

I took pics of my stamps, just in case. But why would you hand your phone to the
Police? If a properly credentialed agent asked, and I didn't have my paperwork, he could look at the screen why I held it. I would certainly refuse his request to take my phone.

 

[Beowulf]

They may not care about your actual tax stamp or taxes pd, but they may care about compliance to IC 35-47-5-10 (7)



There is no such law for silencers or SBRs AFAIK, so at least as long as you are in IN you wouldn't need paperwork for those (in theory... as long as the interested officer didn't assume they were illegal... cops aren't lawyers)

I wouldn't carry the paperwork in my wallet for fear of loosing my wallet or having it stolen which would basically be putting a neon sign on my house saying "rob me."

That's going to be true about anywhere you keep your paperwork that's not locked up in a safe at home. Do you keep your NRA (or any other gun organization) membership card in your wallet? How about a membership to a range or anything else that might identify you as a gun owner? How about pro-gun bumper stickers on your car?

At some point, you can just accept the very small risk. I've made it 36 years without ever losing a wallet or phone. On the other hand, I've been questioned or "observed" by police or DNR officers while shooting several times (I have always had a rather unique collection of firearms, even before I got into NFA, including some belt fed semi-autos... which always attracts attention). Nothing unfriendly and most of the time they were just curious about what I was shooting since they were gun guys themselves. But if I have to weigh which is more likely, I'm going with the one that's actually happened to me.

 

[rvb]

That's going to be true about anywhere you keep your paperwork that's not locked up in a safe at home. Do you keep your NRA (or any other gun organization) membership card in your wallet? No, just LTCH/CCWs. How about a membership to a range or anything else that might identify you as a gun owner? Range cards in truck. How about pro-gun bumper stickers on your car? No.

I've never had my stuff questioned, but then I usually shoot at private ranges or personal property.

Joe Blow criminal has a 50/50 chance of finding "guns" in any house in the state. But to make it obvious there are MGs or silencers, etc would be the "neon sign," imo.

I keep paperwork copies in my gun bags/cases. my AR SBRs have 1/3 size copies in the grips (incl paperwork for silencers that may go on them). I have pdfs on my tablet (spends 99% of it's life at home, but does often come to the range w/ me for ballistics apps, chrono notes, competition scoring apps, etc). I spend too much $ on guns/ammo to be able to afford a smart phone...

-rvb

 

[Trigger Time]

This. They have no authority to look at your tax paperwork, but they can certainly waste your time and confiscate your stuff under the guise of probable cause of illegal weapon possession.

It's not legal nor Constitutional and you'll get your stuff back eventually (if they don't "lose" it in the process), but your day will be ruined and a ton of time and money will be wasted dealing with their nonsense. If you are a confrontational civil libertarian type, by all means keep fighting the good fight. I fully support you (not even being sarcastic), but there is an easier path.

Very true. But a lot of cops don't know dick about guns or the NFA laws so showing them your paperwork still might get you in the same boat. You always hope they will call a more competent cop but who knows.