Got lucky in a gun raffle, now what?

Got a call from my brother last weekend about the best Christmas present ever. Now knowing what he was talking about I said, I’ll bite. “Hey bro, remember that raffle ticket that was your Christmas gift? You won!” “Better yet, the ticket to the brother-in-law won too”.

He bought five tickets and two hit for winners. This was the range out of Fargo, Red River Regional Marksmanship. His wife’s step dad is heavily involved there so we participate in fund raisers from time to time.

So I have a brand new Springfield XD 4″ service model waiting for me to claim but I don’t know what to do. I could just keep it but don’t really need it with what I already own. Hey it’s free right? Should I trade it in on something more expensive? Yeah, but what? Should I do the smart thing and sell it so I can use the cash for an Alaska fishing trip this summer? That’s the smart play.

I never win in raffles so this post is part celebrating and part what would you do?

The other thing I don’t know is selling firearms to private parties. When I’ve done it before it’s always been family and friends. No one I needed to worry about nor did I have to advertise. Don’t even know where to start if I take the smart choice.

You can gift it to me.

Hey congrats! Most gun raffles I have seen they give a gift card for the value of the gun and you pick them up at a Scheels, Gander, Cabelas ect. So you dont need to spend it on the gun and can use it in the store for something else.

I have a standing rule that once I acquire a gun it never leaves so I am not much help.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

You can gift it to me.

Took the words right out of my mouth! Betchya it would fit nicely in my small hands.

Our Sportsman’s club will raffle long guns but not handguns. To purchase a handgun in MN one needs either a Permit to Purchase or a Conceal Carry permit. Can they hand it over to you if you do not have either? As far as selling there are many venues that do not allow firearm ads. Ebay and Craig’s List to name two. Word of mouth, bulletin board postings at gun clubs and web sites like this one are the best options.

To answer a few reponses

1. Silly me, I forgot the fourth option. Regift it to a fellow IDO’er. You’re all the best

2. Yes, I believe I can get an equivalent gift card The challenge is that I don’t live in an area that has a Scheel’s. Too bad, they are still one of my favorite stores. Both my brother and I worked at a couple of the Fargo stores years ago.

3. Correct, a permit to purchase or Conceal paperwork will be required for me to take possession. In addition it will have to be from a Minnesota FFL dealer. The cheapest option is to ship it to their St. Cloud store. Thanks for the advice on how to sell.

Congrats on the win, I wish I could say I’ve had that pleasure. But oh well, I’ve only bought about 1,482 gun raffle tickets and never won, but who’s counting really?

Well, the question here is really what alternatives are on offer here?

Will the Scheels let you cash it out or give you a gift card and in either case for what value? Most of the time when places donate goods for these raffles the reason they do so is that it’s cheaper than donating cash.

So the gun has a retail price of say $500, but Scheels didn’t donate $500, they donated their cost.

So what, if anything, can you get instead of the gun?

As an individual, if you have the permit to purchase and you legally acquire the gun, you can also legally sell the gun to anyone. As long is it’s within your own state and obviously you have to follow any local laws that apply.

Now how you feel about this and go about it is your own decision. Personally, I wouldn’t sell a handgun to anyone without making them do a transfer at an licensed dealer. I would gladly pay for the fee just to have the peace of mind.

Grouse

The best way to protect yourself is to meet the buyer at an ffl. If you are selling it on say Gunbroker you could ship it to an ffl. That way you know the transfer is done.
DT

Pat, it is completely legal to sell your gun to anyone any where, any time as long as you don’t KNOWINGLY sell to someone who is forbidden by law to purchase. That being said if you don’t have a PTP and don’t want a handgun a gift card would be much easier. Oh yah, Armslist is a great place to sell guns online for free.

Thanks everyone for the help. I decided to put the word out to some friends who like to shoot that I’m interested in selling it. Looking to find a win/win price where someone gets a deal and I don’t totally give it away. Will turn the money into rain gear for a possible Alaska trip this summer.

@suzuki – if my lukewarm attempt to sell doesn’t work I guess there’s just one more for the collection. Oh darn!

To everyone else apologies are in order. I’ve decided to ignore the popular suggestion and won’t be gifting it to any of you