# New Glock, ballistic fingrerprinting?



## smith (Mar 17, 2011)

I live in Maryland and so far from what I can tell from research it does not appear to be a very handgun friendly state. I want to get a glock 35 for target practice and to beef up the home security. I would prefer not to have to provide a ballistic fingerprint. Do all states require ballistic fingerprinting?


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

Doesn't matter as you cannot buy a pistol in another state anyways. Whatever your home states requirements are, you have to follow them.


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## smith (Mar 17, 2011)

I do have two residences. I plan on selling my FL residence soon so that is why I asked about MD. But for FL is technically my primary residence. I file my taxes there and spend more than half of the year there. Does anyone know if FL gun law requires ballistic fingerprints? If FL does not require ballistic fingerprints, when I move permanently back up to MD would I be able bring my handgun with me?


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## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

Buy the Glock, remove the barrel; buy an aftermarket barrel and shoot with the aftermarket barrel. Keep the original barrel in case you ever need it.

(But remember to collect your shell casings. :mrgreen


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## smith (Mar 17, 2011)

Sounds like a good idea. I'm such a novice that I did not know that it was the barrel that made the markings for ballistics. Is it legal to replace the barrel? I'm don't have any intentions of breaking the law but would prefer not to have ballistic finger prints out there.


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## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

smith said:


> Sounds like a good idea. I'm such a novice that I did not know that it was the barrel that made the markings for ballistics. Is it legal to replace the barrel? I'm don't have any intentions of breaking the law but would prefer not to have ballistic finger prints out there.


Yes it's legal and if you select a good barrel it will improve the accuracy too. Look at Bar-sto for instance. They will hand fit the barrel for yet improved accuracy.

Bar-Sto Precision Machine

The simplicity with which this finger printing can be bypassed is the reason it is not worrisome for civilians. Law enforcement officers may have a different view on this as it applies to their service weapons.


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

Except for the extractor markings and firing pin markings... not as easily changed. Besides, what difference does it make? IF it's ever needed (the ballistic fingerprint), it's either a good shoot or it isn't. If you're not planning on breaking the law, it shouldn't really ever affect you. I don't like the thought of it either, but again, it most likely won't ever affect me.


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## kg333 (May 19, 2008)

zhurdan said:


> Doesn't matter as you cannot buy a pistol in another state anyways. Whatever your home states requirements are, you have to follow them.


Huh, learned something new today. I figured the dealer transfer when purchasing online was because you couldn't ship a handgun to anywhere but an FFL, not because it was illegal to purchase from an out of state dealer. Good to know.

KG


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## zhurdan (Mar 21, 2008)

kg333 said:


> Huh, learned something new today. I figured the dealer transfer when purchasing online was because you couldn't ship a handgun to anywhere but an FFL, not because it was illegal to purchase from an out of state dealer. Good to know.
> 
> KG


Well, technically, you can order a gun(pistol) from another state but it needs to be "transferred" to you in your home state of residence. Rifles are different. You can buy a long gun in another state.

That's why they have to ship it to an FFL, so the transfer paperwork is done in your state of residence.


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## smith (Mar 17, 2011)

So I went to go buy a glock in Maryland but they couldn't sell me one bc my driver's license is in Florida (it is ridiculous that you should only be able to buy a gun to protect your primary residence but not your second home). Anyway, I have a trip to FL planned soon and I'll buy my glock then. I am trying to sell my house in Florida so what is the procedure for me to transfer a handgun from FL to MD? I had a hard time finding anything about this online. 

Also, before I go down to Florida I would like to have some type of firearm for home defense in MD. I can buy a shot gun in Maryland, right? Any suggestions for a cool shotgun? I would like something that is powerful but still holds a good amount of ammunition.


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## bass_lover1 (Jan 18, 2011)

smith said:


> So I went to go buy a glock in Maryland but they couldn't sell me one bc my driver's license is in Florida (it is ridiculous that you should only be able to buy a gun to protect your primary residence but not your second home). Anyway, I have a trip to FL planned soon and I'll buy my glock then. I am trying to sell my house in Florida so what is the procedure for me to transfer a handgun from FL to MD? I had a hard time finding anything about this online.
> 
> Also, before I go down to Florida I would like to have some type of firearm for home defense in MD. I can buy a shot gun in Maryland, right? Any suggestions for a cool shotgun? I would like something that is powerful but still holds a good amount of ammunition.


You can purchase the gun in FL since that is your primary residence. You need to check though, if you plan to make Maryland your primary home, on what their requirements are for gun ownership.

I can't see them forcing you to do anything since the gun wasn't purchased there. Unless they have a law about requiring you to register any type of firearm regardless of where purchased.

Gun laws in the United States (by state) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Glock Doctor (Mar 14, 2011)

Please define, 'ballistic fingerprinting'. Thanks! 

You buy the gun in Florida where you, now, live. You move to Maryland and establish a permanent residence there. 

(A driver's license is usually accepted as proof of permanent residency. In my home state you can, also, get asked for a monthly utility bill and/or income tax statement.) 

When you move to Maryland simply bring your handgun with you the same way you would any other property that you own. (This assumes, of course, that your handgun is legal to own in Maryland - OK.) 

I still want to know all about Maryland's, 'ballistic fingerprinting' program - Which has to be a HUGE WASTE of more public tax dollars!


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## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

Glock Doctor said:


> Please define, 'ballistic fingerprinting'. Thanks!
> 
> You buy the gun in Florida where you, now, live. You move to Maryland and establish a permanent residence there.
> 
> ...


Here is a link that explains the finger printing process. Basically all new guns are fired once and an image of the fired round is recorded. Then if you shoot someone they will presumably have a chance to trace it back to the owner. NRA-ILA :: "Ballistic Fingerprinting" -- The Maryland Example:Costing Taxpayers Without Benefiting Law Enforcement

As pointed out it is a relatively easy matter to swap out barrels on most automatic weapons. And though it is damaging (but not terribly so) to use emery cloth to alter the internals of a revolver's barrel, a few minutes with an electric drill and some emory cloth will hone the barrel and create a new fingerprint from that barrel. A revolver's barrel is not as easily replaced.

It is basically an expense and a waste.

The one place where it would be effective is when there is a politically sensitive police shooting and they want to find someone to blame. The police weapons, I understand, have barrels with serial numbers and they would not be so easy to swap out, especially if there are frequent management checks. But even there, an officer can carry the replacement barrel in his gun at all times, and if needed he could dispose of that barrel and put in the serially numbered one.

Years ago politicians wanted serial numbers imprinted on the bullets themselves. Only people not familiar with reloading would think this is a good idea.

The ballistic fingerprinting statutes were almost certainly written by politicians with no knowledge of firearms.


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## Glock Doctor (Mar 14, 2011)

Packard said:


> Here is a link that explains the finger printing process. Basically all new guns are fired once and an image of the fired round is recorded. Then if you shoot someone they will presumably have a chance to trace it back to the owner.
> 
> NRA-ILA :: "Ballistic Fingerprinting" -- The Maryland Example:Costing Taxpayers Without Benefiting Law Enforcement .......


You know, I have to ask: Why is the Second Amendment so incredibly antithetical to modern politicians? Early American patriots and statesmen fought and died for our Constitution; and, they did so in the hope that it would help to create a better world. Sadly, however, that doesn't appear to have happened.

Of course ballistic fingerprinting is, 'backdoor gun registration'. In fact ballistic fingerprinting can be very easily and scientifically demonstrated to be a complete waste of: time, tax dollars, and government personnel.

In a very large number of cases, modern firearm manufacturing methodology makes it, all but, impossible to connect the dots between a fired bullet and the pistol it was fired from.

This is a fact of which the general public is, at the present time, mostly unaware; but, surely, properly qualified government examiners would be well aware of the growing impossibility of trying to match modern pistol barrels and bullets, together, the one to the other.

Any attempt to do so is bound to end up in a quagmire of doubts; and a further attempt to gather spent cartridge cases can be, either, easily thwarted by even the simplest of minds or (Worse!) cleverly misdirected.

Polygonal rifling makes forensic bullet matching more difficult? - Glock Talk


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## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

And how would you fingerprint Taurus' The Judge? Or S & W's Governor? Both fire shotgun shells.


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