I have a handgun that I am trying to sell and a gentleman called me a few minutes ago to inquire about it. We came to an agreement on the price and made plans to meet for a FTF transaction. When I told him that I wanted both of us to sign a bill of sale and provide our DL#s to each other he went on for about 5 minutes about how he doesn't want to do that and it isn't necessary. He kept going on about how he could legally own class 3 firearms and how he has made a personal decision that he won't do ANY paperwork when he buys guns....It sounded pretty fishy to me. I explained that it was just for my personal records in case the gun was ever used in a crime so that I could cover my arse. He thanked me for my time and said that he was not willing to comply with my request and we no longer have a deal.

Personally, I would rather keep the gun than worry about who has it or what they do with it. Does anyone think I am out of line to ask for a signature and DL# on a bill of sale?

Out of line? No. If that makes you feel more comfortable I think thats fine. It's not required, but there is nothing wrong with wanting to keep records in case of future problems, JMO.

Niether one of you are out of line!

Personaly I dont mind signing a bill of sale, as long as it dont include personal information such as a Drivers License number. They can have my name, phone number, city I live in, licencse plate number, Etc., but not any personal info!

I have sold a few guns on this site and have also bought a few too, and never once required a bill of sale!

I dont blame either one of you for your actions, but I do tend to side with the buyers position on this issue!

Your not out of line..just trying to protect yourself. Cold cases run for 75 years...natural life time. Had bought a rifle from a friend at work. Never shot it..but 10yrs later put in back in system and guess what? San Antonio Police Dept. wanted to talk with me. I did not do any paperwork on this transaction, now I wish I had..hindsight. I complied with them gave them all the info I knew, including the guys name etc. Guess that was enough for them to put them on someone elses trail. I know I would not want one of my guns floating around by someone else..not doing ANY paper. JMHO.

It's your property, so you can dispose of it any (legal) way you like. Don't let someone talk you into something you're not comfortable with, or you'll lose sleep wondering.

My preference is not to give out too much personal information, but I'll readily show my CHL to someone as part of a transaction (especially a handgun sale).

For any transaction to be truly successful, both buyer and seller have to be comfortable with it.

I have bought and sold several guns. Sometimes I don't bother with it and sometimes I try to get the bill of sale.

This guy was acting kind of weird even before I brought up the bill of sale so when he refused it seemed like maybe he had something to hide...maybe he didn't. Either way, he was kind of an odd character so I didn't mind losing the sale. I just wanted to see what others thought about the situation. Thanks for the feedback.

Your instincts are probably right.

A while ago, I had a handgun up for sale, and some guy said, "Well, I live in Louisiana, so I'll send my brother/nephew/buddy (I forget) to buy it from you and then he'll give it to me."

When I balked at that, he came back with, "Well, I'll give you an extra fifty bucks. Just put it in a box and UPS it to me here [in Louisiana].

I told him to forget it and never contact me again. There's no way I was going to go along with that--I wouldn't knowingly participate in an illegal interstate handgun transaction.

It was such a weird request that I wondered if it wasn't an ATF agent or something trolling for lawbreakers.

Well, I'll never know. The whole thing creeped me out.

I think it was a smart move on your part. Providing a DL number is no big deal. Providing a Social Security # can be, JMO coming from an Identity Theft Investigator.

yeah, bill of sale is a good idea. for both parties, if the buyer then has some kind of trouble, say the gun was used in a crime before he bought it, he would have that info. its good to protect yourself.

Next time meet at the FFl that yall both agree to and transfer it legally. If he has a class 3 he should be accustomed to that. (he's already on the short list)

A friend of mine was at a San Antono gun show a number of years ago with a couple of rifles to sell. A man tried hard to negotiate the price and did not want any records...wouldn't even show his DL.

They didn't execute the sale! My friend later learned who the ""almost" purchaser was by watching TV......David Koresh!!!! How about having the ATF in your face on that one! I always require a Texas DL before I sell to anyone.