Gun sales/buys/transfers CAN be like a game of musical chairs - only it's a game that can have possibly serious consequences.
Ya see, it's like this..................Someone, somewhere bought that gun
ON PAPER from an FFL - who has to keep a copy of the transfer in his bound book forever.
When the Feds "trace" a gun, they start at the maker or importer, go to the distributor/wholesaler, the dealer, the first non-FFL buyer - and work their way down the line until they get to the guy that
doesn't have the gun, or a record of where it went, and says......well, pardner,
WE have a problem.
SO..................... The only FTF transfers by private (non-FFL) citizens, are the legal in-state transfers (both parties residents of the same state) OR the illegal transfers from a resident of one state directly to the resident of another state.
In the second example, both parties may be somewhat shielded, if the seller's name isn't attached to the gun's serial number anywhere - unless, of course, the buyer is an ATF undercover.
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