Just came back from looking at a small collection from a person that collects Early S&W Revolvers. Older Gentleman 81yoa he has some really nice old Pre/Post WWII Revolvers.
Every dam Firearm he had he put ether his Name or Both Name & Drivers license # on them Why???

Did people of that time not understand that the Serial Number on it was their security? He had his name & DL# down the Barrel of a really nice .38 M&P Navy

So, People don't carve your name or other identifying marks into your weapons. Take a picture of it with your DL if your worried about ownership, Write down the SN#.....Rant Over.

Yrs ago the police used to tell people to do that to ward off the thieves

+2 on what James A said.

I also wanted to add that it was more trouble to record the serial numbers of each firearm than it is to engrave each firearm with one number which could then be researched by police if their guns were stolen.

Back then, most saw guns as a tool rather than something that would have a great deal of value in the future.

Skeeter Skelton wrote a story titled "Bustamante, I Hate You!" because he had found a beautiful, minty Single Action Army he could have walked away with for a song...but the owner had scratched his name deeply in the frame with a horseshoe nail.

An honest hunting or handling ding I can overlook (at a price), but intentional marring is just a no-go. I'll never understand people who do such things.

Why? Because they were his, and he could do whatever he wanted to with them.

I run into this a lot and it makes my blood boil! I.E. the other day I was in 2k Pawn in Decatur and spotted a nice S&W revo. It looked damn nice for the money. The guy handed it to me and as soon as I turned it over my heart dropped. Someone has scratched their DL# into a beautiful smith. I have gotten some rifles lately that had it done to them. Its actually easy to fix if you don't mind refinishing the part. I.E. I bought the rifles for the actions. Got a good deal on them to boot since they were defaced. Took them home, took them apart and filed out the numbers. Refinished with Cerakote and went about my day like nothing went on.

I think its mainly the older generation that does this. I don't exactly get it but I am only 32. I guess my generation knows how to use an excel sheet and a camera for this kind of stuff.

My grandfather did it to each and everything he owns. I'm talking guns, tools(every stinkin one of them), even his house has his name on a few places. Lol

Back in the day, things were meant to last a lifetime and be passed down. I wouldn't own a nice revolver with a random name scratched on it. I wouldn't get rid of one with my grandpas name marked on it.

I really don't get the DL# or name on the gun. I wonder if a thief really cares as he is packing your guns and sneaking away? Know the S# already makes it a stolen gun. I bet a thief has ever stopped and put a gun back after seeing a DL# on a gun.
Even old timers know to keep a list of guns in two locations. In the case of fire or theft you need to have the serial number recorded. Sounds like bad advise to me.

When my great uncle passed, and his guns were being handed down to the family, every on of them had his name and social security number on them scratched into the metal. Doesn't bother me so much on a family heirloom, but it does discourage me from buying unless it is going to be a truck, boat, or bad weather gun.

Yep, my Dad etched his DL# on all his long guns. For some reason he did not do his pistols. Kudos to River Rider for the Skeeter reference. He is my all time favorite gun writer.

Most of the "older folks" that lived through the depression did "mark" their property and saved ever scrap of anything they owned. It did not matter if it was an empty jar, bricks, wire, tools or whatever......they saved it and did not give it up.

Had a good time visiting with him and listening to all his story's and Hot Cider his wife made.

Felt kind of bad that I didn't buy something after sitting with him for 3 hours he had a k22 outdoorsman that was 99%++ except for the engraving he did. Seemed to get better at it as time went by because he has 12 oldies but goodies he showed me all are the same way, Bless His Heart.
Just like has been said if it was a family Firearm anything put on there is just personally nice to have.
But when your looking a things you want to keep that's another story.

Police told people to use their social security number before everybody had a DL#. And be sure to put it on EVERYTHING!!!
Those are unique and nobody has any use for that number anyway, right?

When you buy a hammer, do you intend to use it or are all your hammers mounted in glass cases.
It is or was usually merely a tool to the person who bought it.
It only became a collectable or classic due to time.
Time is a collector firearms enemy.

Today, we have digital photos, databases and all kinds of crap to keep track of our stuff and so do a bunch of hackers if you keep it on your PC. But it's in the name of security you understand, to protect you.

After a buddy of mine Dad went to a nursing home he asked me to appraise They were all collectable but I told him the value to a collector is gone, along with the fact it will denture buyers so the value of the guns is a lot lower than the prices he is seeing on gunbroker. Im not sure he believed me.


That being said they are his guns and he if free to deface them all he wants. Just don't expect to get undefaced value out of them.

If the forms were not completed for a transfer of ownership the serial numbers are worthless. If his DL number is on there, it can identify the new owner.

I have only ever engraved my name on one firearm, a 1939 vintage Stevens 22-410 that my grandfather gave me. He had engraved his name on the sideplate with an electro pencil. I did mine below his with a Dremel. In a hundred or two years, God willing, my son will put his name below mine. Other than that, I take pictures and keep bills of sale, but I understand why the old timers did it. That just makes the collecting game that much more challenging.

My dad and his dad always took the butt plate off the rifle and engraved his dl# in the wood there. Its concealed but can still be used as an identifier.

Yup.

my guns don't get sold so I have no problem scratching or writing or taping whatever on them

I've seen it a lot on heirloom guns in my family. Would I do it? No way.

I'm not opposed to buying a gun that has been marked so long as the priced is adjusted accordingly. No way am I paying collector-grade on a firearm that has been modified.

That's the bottom line, right there. If you want a shooter, then such things can be taken into account in adjusting the price. If you're going to be working outside day in and day out in all kinds of weather and need a gun on you, then who cares what it looks like? It's not the same as collecting N-Frame S&Ws or Colt SAAs. Most of us fall in between the two extremes and we have our own ideas about what's acceptable and what's not, and what we'll pay for the gun.

I can understand it. Lots of folks have mentioned serial numbers. Well, serial numbers are actually a kind of new thing. I have several Winchesters that don't have serial numbers, and yes they are still shooters. I don't think serial numbers were required until about '34 or so. Every gun was identical. One did what one had to in order to "brand" it. I guess that mindset kind of carried over into the serial number age for a generation. Now, seeing a modern firearm defaced in such a way? No excuse.

1968 is the year it became mandatory to have serial numbers.

Wow that late? I guess I was confusing "had to" and "chose to." I have early 30's Winchesters with no serial number and a 1913 Browning with one.