I just returned from the Phoenix gun buy-back.
 

This was surreal. The buy-back was at four churches and one police station. We started at the police station. My buddy brought three junk guns that were barely worth $50 a piece and he got three $100 gift cards for them. Some of the other gun rights locals showed up and we all just sort of milled around talking with the cops there. The Phoenix mayor showed up and came out to chat with us, seeming not to care or understand why we were there. Someone took a photo of all of us, so it might make the papers. We saw no one else bringing in guns, so we left to go to one of the churches. I left my bike at the police station and rode in my buddy's car. First church had nothing going on, but some middle aged white guy with three beaters that probably weren't worth $50 each. Amazingly, the church folks said they were out of gift cards then. So we headed over to another church and this was where it was at.

The cops there knew what we were doing and left us alone. First guy we saw get out of his car with a plastic baggy, we approached. He didn't speak a word of English. He handed over the baggy for us to look at. As soon as my buddy saw "Ruger" on the grip, he whipped out his own gift card and made the swap. He got a very sweet 22/45, though its mag. release button was loose in the bag. Still, a nice score. The cops were watching us now. We were both carrying concealed, but printing pretty obviously. We saw another guy get out of his car with a plastic baggy. I yelled out, "Whatcha got there?" He said, "It's just a Makarov." I almost broke into a sprint. Walking briskly, I said "Is is East German?" He said, "No, Russian." I was reaching for my wallet when three very serious looking Phoenix PD were on us and said, "You guys need to roll now." One cop even had the nerve to say we were taking advantage of people. I said, "But you guys are out of gift cards and we're not AND we have cash." Cop said the church folks wanted us gone, which was the threshold for a trespass cite if we argued anymore. So we left.

Figuring those cops had radioed all the other locations to tell them to watch out for us, we decided to head back the police station and get my bike and go home.

But wait!

Seems the cops at the police station didn't care about what we were doing. Some lady with her little girl got out of her car with an S&W hardcase. We swarmed her. After fiddling with the lock we got it open and it was some old CZ beater. Some other guy handed her a C note for it and she went on her way. Cops, meanwhile, were pulling up in their squad cars with piles of handguns in plastic evidence bags and long guns with bolts open. What a sight. Then another guy pulled up in a truck with a cardboard box under his arm. We swarmed him too. We looked like paparazzi stalking a celebrity. He had a decent condition Bersa .380, which my buddy took for one of his gift cards.

By then the media were showing up and wanted to interview us. Cops didn't care at all. Because of where I work, I chose not to be on camera, but I spoke with two of the reporters and the guys that did speak on camera were standing next to my bike. So my bike might be on the news tonight. Anyway, it was about 100 deg. with no shade by then and I was getting lightheaded after 30 min. of this. So I headed home with only the gun I was wearing when I got there. Still, it was pretty exciting and also interesting to see how cool the cops were with us outbidding them and buying guns under their noses. What a country!

I guarantee in Illinois I would have spent the night in jail had I done the exact same thing and behaved the exact same way--no matter how polite and lawful.

In IL you would have probably spent a lot more than one night in jail.

I just spent my 1st day with my CPL (CCW) and my Sig 239 holstered in a DeSantis on my hip and I felt really strange carrying concealed. I spent 9 years in the military and obviously never carried concealed during that time. The Sig is nice but it's just going to take some getting used to...

I carry my P239 all the time, but took the P220 today, since I was open carrying part of the time. P239 looks kinda wimpy for open carry, but is great concealed.

Cool! That's a wild story, Rick. If you see it on the news, please post a link or something. I'm suprised the cops weren't a little huffier.

I bet you wouldn't have given me any gift card for the stuff I would have showed up with. I'd drive 100 miles to get rid of some $100 guns.

Way to go, Rick....:)

Glad a little of it worked out for you Rick!! Tony.

It's illegal to buy a handgun without transferring it at a gun store and undergoing a back ground check.

That's a federal law, innit?

WTF, over?

Sounds like a fine day. Love the hunt. Be responsible with those guns.

What do they do with all the guns?

I carry my .380 everywhere I can't carry my .45. Like today, riding 65 miles in the heat and humidity.

Ahh, it's so nice to be chatting with nice, intelligent, polite and knowledgeable individuals.

Not at all. That's only between residents of different states. Face-face sales between non-FFL residents of the same state are perfectly legal in many states. In AZ the custom, not law, is to ask to see an AZ driver's license and/or CCW before selling a gun to someone.

They make them into manhole covers. So sad. But most of the guns we saw were worthy of such an end. Lorcin, Jennings, Raven Arms, total junk. Plenty of the guns were so bad that the cops wouldn't even take them, rifles missing bolts, pistols missing mainsprings or recoil springs. If it looked non-functioning, the cops didn't want them. I suggested to one cop that buying ammo from folks would be far more effective. He agreed. None of the cops we asked thought this was going to reduce crime in the least.

Figures. Shame about the small amount of nice stuff that gets melted down though.

For you guys that conceal carry, what do you do when you go places that don't allow CC? I don't carry, and probably won't. I've just never seen a need, but it seems that just about every non-residential location I see has a sign on the door that says that you can't bring weapons into the location, restaurants, convenience stores, etc.... Do you guys have to stuff a gun under your seat everytime you get out and go in a building? Just curious.

Not here in Pa. You would go to jail if you did that here.

I thought it was federal though.

Thats one of the reasons why many of us do not live in states like that!

When someone offers me a job in another state first thing I do is check the firearms laws, and smog laws for cars.

Most of the transactions at the gun shows I went to in AZ were person to person, conducted as you walked around the room. People would walk in with 15 or 20 guns tied to a pole, with the intentions of selling or trading outright with other visitors. The vendors with tables mostly sold ammo and stickers...