I have a Glock 36 that I would like to sell or trade.
Would I be better off selling or trading with a licensed dealer or selling to an individual? What are the legal issues with selling to an individual? I bought this gun from a licensed dealer and went through the mandatory background check. If I sold to an individual and later this gun were to be used illegally would the gun then be traced back to me? If so would I be in any way responsible for any litigation and how would I prove that the gun had been sold. Is it even legal to sell a gun to an individual?
Also, would anyone know the fair market value of a used Glock 36? The gun is in excellent condition, it has had maybe fifty rounds fired through it and has a custom made holster from Horseshoe Holsters out of London.
I am not an expirenced gun guy as you can tell. I bought this gun for home protection, but it is a bit too powerful for me. I swear if I had to shoot this gun inside my home without ear protection that I would never be able to hear again.
Any suggestions for a handgun for suitable home protection would also be helpful.
What state are you in? It makes a difference. As for the sale of the gun, no mater what state you are in, I would sell it as a consignment at a local dealer, but that is just me.
For a discussion in General Questions, try this thread: “Gun Question - Advice Needed - 9mm vs. .380”
It may help to know where you are located for people to offer some advice about selling your Glock. In general, you will probably get a better price if you sell to an individual than if you sell or trade it in at a gun store.
To protect yourself during a private sale, I suggest you prepare a bill of sale and have your “customer” sign it and provide some form of identification, such as a valid driver’s license.
Home defense? Short barrel shotgun such as a Mossberg 500 or a 4" barrel .357 Magnum revolver such as a Smith & Wesson model 13. Both are noisy. For a more silent deterrent, an aluminum baseball bat may be a valid option.
The answer varies with juridiction, in CA you need to have a dealer process the transfer between two individuals. They will handle the background check and such. This way if there is a problem with the individual who purchased the weapon, its on the dealer, not you.
Shoot something you are comfortable with. If you are concerned for your hearing in a home defense situation take a look at these kinda nifty being able to hear better than the bad guys and not being deafened byt the muzzle blast of you shoot.
As far as which gun…find a range/store that has rentals and will let you try different guns if you tell them you are trying to find what to buy they are more likely to be flexible with trading off multiple guns without huge rental fees. Just about any 9mm+ handgun has a relatively potent cartridge that will fill your needs.
If you are serious about learning how to use your handgun well you might want to look into hooking up with the nearest IPSC chapter in your area and get some coaching and do a few matches. There are stock gun competition groups so don’t let anyone tell you you need a $5000 uber-gun to compete. Safe handling will be emphasized at all times, and significant penalties exist for any infraction. After a few matches you will be far more comfortable with your gun and using it from different positions, in motion, shooting at partially concealed targets, etc.
It’s an opinion, but a .22WMR revolver is about the smallest caliber/gun you’d want to go for a home defense gun. It’s easy for smaller people to hold and fire, but it’s still going to hurt your -unprotected- ears going off, particularly in a small room. Skip .25 and .32 entirely; some people have been shot with short-barrel .25’s and .32’s and the bullets didn’t even penetrate enough to bury themselves.
I would not under any circumstances advise wearing any sort of hearing protection in a home-defense situation at all. Soldiers and police don’t do it, and the reason is that they know that they need to be able to hear what’s going on around them. Either just take the hit on your ears from the gun blast, or get a suppressor.
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Easier said than done. A supressor is handled in the same way as machine guns. As with machine guns, you will need to buy a supressor from an authorized dealer, pay a $200 transfer tax, undergo an extensive background investigation by the BATF, and live in a state where they are not prohibited.
Really? Those Gentex Wolf Ears that drachillix linked to above look like they would be pretty handy… especially for soldiers and police, where you would know to have them on in advance.
Johnny L.A. - And the problem is… ? Assuming a person lives in a jurisdiction where suppressors are not prohibited - the procedure is a hassle, but harmless.
drachillix - In my opinion, IPSC has become too “gamey” to be realistic. There’s nothing wrong with IPSC (it’s a great competitive arena for superb gun handlers), I just prefer IDPA. At least for the present, IDPA is grounded in scenarios that don’t sacrifice realism in the quest of accuracy combined with pure speed. [aside - I used to shoot IPSC matches with a Colt 1911A1 Series 70 (out of the box) and a TZ-75 in 9X21. What do you shoot in Stock Class C?]
I was just curious as to what you meant by “too powerful”. Is it simply the noise? If so, and you like the gun and shoot it well, keep it. Any gun fired in a closed room is going to make your ears ring for a while, and I always found that 9mm’s make a more piercing sound than the boom of a .45. And if the time ever comes where you have to reach for your gun, I’m pretty confident in saying that your set of earmuffs is going to be the last thing on your mind.
I don’t know about the laws in your state, but just pick up the phone and call your local courthouse, police station or a reputable gun dealer. Even if it isn’t required, personally I would go through a dealer just to get the paperwork transferred. While you will make more $ selling privately than to a dealer, you might be able to get a good deal on a dealer trade. I’ve traded many guns with dealers and nearly always have received a fair deal. Privately, or for trade value, I would think that you should be able to get around $475, give or take $50, depending on the condition.
Even soldiers and police rarely spend time actually shooting. Are you going to wear those things all night, every night forever in case your house gets broken into? Supose you just keep them by the gun: okay, what if the batteries have run down, and you can’t hear anything? (how will you know you can’t hear anything if it’s quiet?) What if they get knocked off in a dark room? You going to get down on your hands and knees in a dark area and start feeling around for them? Are you going to not fire because you dropped your hearing protectors? No, you’d probably fire anyway, if you thought you had to-- so don’t even pretend you’ll need them for emergencies. “Needing” them doubles the number of items you’d need in such a situation, and you don’t really need them. At least, I hope not: I would hope that home invasions are not that regular of an occurrance where you live. …For practice, hearing protectors are great. Otherwise, forget them.
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County I agree. I have often joked that all I would need to do is fire this thing at the ceiling and any intruder would run from the noise alone. Turbo Dog By too powerful I do not mean just the noise. When I shoot this gun at a range, even with hearing protection,after about 6 rounds it actually gives me a sinus headache. I like the way the gun feels and I shoot fairly accurately with it. The recoil is strong but that does not bother me. But the percussion is like a damn cannon.
The guy across the street wanted to buy it, but I could see him selling it again and eventually it ending in the wrong hands.
Thanks to all the good advice I have received here if I do anythihg it will be thtough a dealer.
Or you could sell it yourself online. Auction Arms claims to be the largest online firearms auction site, where you offer your gun for bids, and at the conclusion of the bidding, you take it to an FFL gun dealer for transfer to an FFL near your buyer.
What kind of ammunition are you using? Most .45 ACP isn’t supersonic where a lot of other calibers you might replace the Glock 36 with will be and will have a louder muzzle blast. Try some .45 ACP 230 grain ball ammo and see if the noise is still a problem.
Something else to consider, if you have to use a weapon to save your life noise will be the least of your worries.