Firearms Sales Letter

[Funk49]

I'm selling 2 semi automatics to a friend. I want to write up a form stating the sale,names,gun info,etc.
Is there a form somewhere online that I can copy and just fill in the important info rather than originating something?? I'm in Ohio.....

[Ben Diss]

https://texasguntrader.com/billofsale.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Whirlwind06]

You don't legally need to do this, but if you and the buyer are okay with it then have at it.
I'm sure you can find a generic 'bill of sale' form somewhere online.

[Bama.45]

Yep you can google firearm bill of sale and several will pop up that you can download and print.

[JustaShooter]

One of the members over on OCDO is a lawyer and recommends a form available on his website: http://www.virginialegaldefense.com/tem ... ferBOS.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Seems like it could be easily adapted to Ohio - but I am *not* a lawyer, and for that matter, don't do a bill of sale for my firearms sales / purchases to / from individuals, so...

[JU-87]

Why bother?

Do you REALLY need a "record" of this sale of private property?

Like many people here on this forum, I've bought & sold firearms in my life. I have not yet been contacted by law enforcement
about a firearm that I sold, and that I filled out a 4473 form when I bought it (so called "traceble" to me).

If I am contacted,SO WHAT?! I will reply: "I don't recall who I sold it to." End of issue.

There is no liability to you, as long as you sell to an Ohio resident, 18 yrs old+ for long gun, 21 + for handgun.

Best regards.

ETA: I just sold an air compressor on Craigslist, and did'nt write up a Bill/Record of sale! Same thing.

[Stryker74]

This topic is much like the OC vs. CC topic - vocal people come down on either side very firmly at times.

I don't make anyone sign a letter of sale, but then again - I rarely sell my firearms.


If someone wants me to sign a receipt, then it depends on the situation. I did sign one for an old manager of mine because he was having problems with his soon-to-be ex. He just wanted to be able to show that if the guns came up in the divorce proceedings.

[Bama.45]

My fear has always been getting a stolen gun.. And if something happened and it come back stolen, I'd like having something with the person's name I bought or traded for it from.

[CCIman]

CYA, is the name of the game, also why you go through the trouble of buying auto and home insurance--- and why we carry concealed. IF it is your gun purchased through FFL under your name.

So you sell a gun in what you think is in a perfectly legal manner....a gun that you had to go through detailed purchasing papers through FFL to own, ie paper trail that you own it. You have no duty to check out the buyer, other than to check his drivers license, and he is VERY happy to buy it from you without having to give up his identity or prove physical transfer, preserving his anonymity.

Now 10months or years from now, gun is found at the scene of a crime--- robbery, murder, rape, bank robbery, terrorist attack, and you have no proof that you transfered the physical ownership of that gun, your fingerprints on the magazine...and the last known registered owner of that weapon on ATF file was YOU. I hope you were the guest of honor at a birthday party that night.

I give a copy to the buyer-- protects both of us-- I could be selling a gun that I used in a murder last night, the buyer needs to prove that I had possesion prior to a given date/time. If I buy a gun, I would want a bill of sale from the seller.

[ScottyPotty]

The cover your own butt thing is nothing but an emotional feel good excuse. Unless it was someone very close to you (wife) it would be pretty easy for LEO to clear you of some random gun crime. If you stop and think about it honestly, its not like that piece of paper would actually protect you if the LEO thought you actually used that firearm in a crime. Do you get the receipt notarized? How do you know the person didn't use a fake ID? If the LEO believes you are involved, a receipt will not stop them from investigating you. Failing to produce a receipt will have the same outcome either way.

Quite frankly it reminds me of this quote by Samuel Adams

“If you love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”

[CCIman]

You have faith in the system.

I just want the receipt if I'm selling a gun with my name on it.

[Brian D.]

I have experience in this area. Swapped a bought-new gun with a relative. When he got divorced it stayed with his ex-wife. Much later it was stolen by their daughter's boyfriend, who used it in a homicide. I knew nothing of that last part until..

After the trial and conviction, police from where the crime occurred contacted me, described the gun and asked me to verify that, according to the Form 4473, I had been the original buyer. Why any of this mattered 25 years later I did not fathom, and I only vaguely recalled the purchase and subsequent trade. Certainly I had no written record of the deal after a quarter century.

Maybe they were attempting to add other felony specifications to the whole thing, on the killer. Just so happened the guy had previously been tried and convicted for beating a homeless guy almost to death but hadn't yet been sent up for those crimes.

In spite of all that, he still got a sort of watered down, pled out sentence for all those convictions.

[MyWifeSaidYes]

Entirely personal choice.

There are some sellers out there that demand to see an Ohio driver license and/or CHL before making the sale.

I would love to know what class they took to verify the validity of these state-issued documents.

[DontTreadOnMe]

There are some sellers out there that demand to see an Ohio driver license and/or CHL before making the sale.

I would love to know what class they took to verify the validity of these state-issued documents.

You don't seriously think that cashiers who check IDs (alcohol or OTC meds) are trained to spot fake id's do you? From all 50 states? That's a joke. At best they look for the DOB to make sure the age is over 18 or over 21. The term is "due diligence".

[BEAR!]

The cover your own butt thing is nothing but an emotional feel good excuse. Unless it was someone very close to you (wife) it would be pretty easy for LEO to clear you of some random gun crime. If you stop and think about it honestly, its not like that piece of paper would actually protect you if the LEO thought you actually used that firearm in a crime. Do you get the receipt notarized? How do you know the person didn't use a fake ID? If the LEO believes you are involved, a receipt will not stop them from investigating you. Failing to produce a receipt will have the same outcome either way.

Quite frankly it reminds me of this quote by Samuel Adams

“If you love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”

Love the quote.