About 20 years ago I traded a concert ticket for a pistol. At the time it didn't seem like a big deal. I grew up around guns so another one at a great price seemed fine. Anyway, now I would like know more about where the gun came from. Is there a site I can go to and punch in the SN to find out this kind of info?
Glacierwolf
You should have included the make and model - some of the people here have better data base skills than others.
Generally - the manufacturer's web site will only tell you when it was made. If you take the time to contact customer support at the company who made it - they may be able to tell you what distributor it was originally shipped to ......... but only if they have digitized their records. Doubtful you will get any further than the distrubutor without being a police official or having a court order...... and this would only give you the name of the FFl who sold it - and the original owner.
However, before you start doing that - go write the make, model and serial number on a piece of paper and bring it into your local police dept and ask them to check the serial number and verify it is not stolen. You do not bring the gun in - this way if it does come back as stolen you can just shrug your shoulders and tell the cops you will re-check the serial numbers. You do this because the GAO has estimated the data base of firearms has nearly 20% of the records in error. And standing in a police station with a potentially stolen gun makes it just too easy for them to lock you up - until they get it sorted out. You traded concert tickets for a pistol - yeah - you never know.
USAFisnumber1
You can often find the time period a particular gun was made on the internet. You would have to google a bit. You can also contact the company that made it and ask them. Sometimes they charge a fee. If the gun was made for a particular company, such as a particular store chain, you might be able to find out from them which store sold it.
A bit more risky is to contact the police in the area where you first got the gun and find out if it is stolen. If it is, you can perhaps find the owner and return it to him and get the history that way. Plus if it was stolen, you eliminate the risk of you someday being arrested for having a stolen gun.
Shogun
Not with the serial number alone, but there are sources, depending on the make and model. Here is an example for old Colts and Brownings. There are books on the market for other makes and some people on this site have them and can give you the date information. You can also find people like this in firearm forums.
However, there are some brands that have no historical information because they lack any collector interest, or the records were destroyed. Also, the main manufacturers guard a lot of the information so that you have to pay them for the historical information. Be safe.
http://proofhouse.com/colt/
John J. S
If the gun was manufactured before 1968, no way in the world. Its like buying a rusty shovel at the swap meet and trying to find its history.
After 1968 its a long fragile chain. You can call the manufacturer and find out the date of manufacture and possibly wheedle the name of the distributor/dealer it was sent to and chase the chain of ownership to the first purchaser, then to all subsequent purchasers, but there is ( by act of congerss) no computerized database with this information on it. And if even one of those dealers is out of business, the chain is broken.
?
Normally no unless the gun as a pedigree like having been owned by a famous or infamous person or if it's extremely rare and even then there's no 100% guarantee. Like August said you can possibly check with the manufacturer assuming they're still in business.