Yep, hindsight sure is twenty-twenty.

I used to be quite a collector of guns a few years ago, and have found that they usually sell pretty easily. These are not the cheapo $75 pieces of crap, but customized, high dollar guns. Before selling the first one, I called our sheriff's office and asked the proper way to transfer ownership, I was told they stopped doing paperwork on these things as it was "too much trouble". And I should simply write down the name/address/phone number of whoever I sold it to in case there was trouble later on. The $850 meant alot to me (as it would anyone), but I was actually more concerned that the gun could be used in a crime or to harm someone. I've sold 6 or 7 guns in the past, and this is the first time that I've had trouble.

Some of the earlier posts indicated that if the detective had pictures of this guy, it should indicate he is a trouble maker. But what I was looking at was a line-up of drivers license pictures. So it is possible this is a first for the guy.

The funny thing about it, was the guy actually talked me down from $1000 to $850 before agreeing to buy the gun! Needless to say, I've really felt like an idiot over the past couple of weeks, not only for taking a check, but for falling for this guys story.

Valuable (and expensive!!) lesson learned!!

Thanks for all your input. I truly appreciate it.