"Karl Townsend" writes:

still there, either fake a phone call to the local pd to check the serial
number, see what the "seller" does, or call ahead of time and have pd
meet up with you there... they can run the serial right away...

This is news to me. I knew they did handguns. Are rifles now registered? I'm
certain none of the ones I presently own are. "The kid" is pretty sure its
not hot or i wouldn't touch it. But, i think I'll pass on this deal.

Depends on where you are. Where I live, handguns aren't registered
either; some places, handguns and rifles are both registered.

But whether registered or not, the PD should be able to verify whether
it's been reported stolen.