Why would he need to notify BATF big10gauge? The 4473 that is completed at the time of purchase is not a registration, its a background check. The FBI NICS does not even ask any information on the gun outside of whether its a handgun or a long gun. They never get the make, model or serial number. The 4473 stays on file with the FFL. It would be no different than selling a firearm. I dont notify BATF when I do that. If that gun ends up in the wrong hands and could be traced back to the original owner it would be the gunsmiths problem in this case. He was the last person to have his hands on it.
WyoSongDog , This is my understanding of how it works in Washington State.
You are correct in the 4473. There can be an issue if the dealer that originally sold the rifle is now out of business, BATF now has those records if that is the case. If a FFL goes out of business they must transfer the records to the BATF or they are required to keep them for 75 yrs. If it is a handgun, different rules and another form apply and the FFL dealer has a limited time to send one of the copies to Olympia. The steps taken to trace a firearm is first the manufacturer lets them know what wholesaler bought it, then the wholesaler has records of what FFL bought it then the FFL has the records of what individual bought it. Once it has gone into a private sale it can be no longer traceable if private records are not kept. A friend sold a pistol at a gun show, several years later a police dept from another city called him and said his pistol was confiscated during a drug raid. He was on the hot seat and had to answer some very pointed questions for quite awhile since he did not keep a record of selling his pistol. But he did manage to get the pistol returned to him since he was the last registered owner even though he had sold it privately. I would rather make sure if I lost a gun that it was dutifully noted by BATF or actually anywhere else if possible. Might be overkill on my part but better safe than sorry and might save me having to take the time to answer to some law enforcement as to how and why my gun was used at a later date. I'm not a believer in the presumed innocent until proven guilty anymore. But you may be right I'm not sure exactly what a person should actually do to legally record a lost gun other that report it to the local law enforcement. On your statement you are also counting on the gunsmith to fess up that he misplaced the gun. Doesn't sound like he kept good records to begin with. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
