Why are firearms traces important? The first thing we should answer is what is a firearm trace and how is it used by law enforcement?

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National Tracing Center (NTC) is the country's only crime gun tracing facility. The NTC mission is to conduct firearms tracing to provide investigative leads for federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies. The purpose is to provide critical information that helps domestic and international law enforcement agencies solve firearms crimes; detect firearms trafficking; and track the intrastate, interstate and international movement of crime guns.

Firearms tracing is the systematic tracking of a firearm recovered by law enforcement through the chain of distribution to identify the first retail purchaser. The reason firearm traces are important is that they support investigative leads, possibly linking a suspect to a firearm in a criminal investigation, identifying firearms...

Conducting a firearms inventory is an important aspect of business operations. Most importantly it should be done in an effort to prevent and detect the loss of firearms, but it should also be accomplished to ensure the accuracy of the inventory of the assets of your business.  

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has provided guidance on conducting inventories, focused on identifying and preventing firearms inventory loss by theft or improper recordkeeping. In addition, inventories support accurate record keeping, conducting inventories helps ensure all firearms are properly recorded in your A&D records and ensures those firearms that have been transferred have dispositions recorded.

The following steps should be taken to conduct an inventory and ensure that inventory processes are in line with ATF recommendations and how they conduct inventories during an Inspection.

1. Identify all open dispositions. An open disposition are those firearms recorded...

Their can be a very blurred line when it comes to the differences between gunsmithing and manufacturing, gunsmithing tasks can very easily become manufacturing activities. Gunsmiths and/or Licensees need to be mindful that the more a firearm is altered and modified for the purpose of offering it for sale to the public, the stronger possibility that they are manufacturing.

The ATF has provided some guidance bringing clarity in identifying as to when a manufacturing license is required. A person engaged in true Gunsmithing only requires a Dealer’s (Type 01) License. There are, however, circumstances in which a Gunsmith may be required to have a manufacturing license. Those situations where a person should obtain a Manufacturer's (Type 07) License are generally as follows;

To clarify, per federal law, a Manufacturing Licenses is required if the person is performing the operations as a regular course of business or trade, and is performing the operations for the purpose of sale or...

Most FFL’s invest wisely in closed-circuit security camera systems and have upgraded to the newer digital or network video recording systems.  But what value is there in installing a large public view monitor at the front entrance or over your gun counter to alert criminals to the presence and recording capabilities of your camera system? 

Installing public view monitors can serve as a strong deterrent to otherwise bad or illicit behaviors. Public view monitors are normally suspended from a ceiling and face retail customers as they enter a store, reminding them that surveillance video is being used.

Most security system installation providers will advise that you should include or upgrade to a large color video monitor to alert visitors and employees that they are, in fact, being recorded. Overt monitors today are sleek and lightweight in design and can integrate into any environment. And with advances in today’s camera system software, you may be able to...

Being a firearms dealer comes with some angst, especially when you lock up each evening and head home leaving your valuable inventory protected by gates, alarms, cameras and …

Wait a minute. Did I just say “protected by cameras and alarms?”

Today’s brazen thieves are not deterred by cameras and alarms. If they were, the frequency of pawn business burglaries we’re seeing now wouldn’t be happening. As I explained for a group of business owners during a recent Operation Secure Store workshop hosted jointly by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and ATF, alarms and cameras only tell you how and when a burglary occurred. This is certainly critical to your overall security strategy, but today’s criminals are wearing hoodies and ski masks to avoid recognition by camera surveillance system and are in and out of your premises in under two minutes—and that’s sometimes long before your alarm company notifies you or the police of a...

With the holidays upon us, thieves are realizing the same thing your customers have come to expect at this time of year.  And that’s the fact that your store is full of cool new and expensive inventory! And this just adds to the everyday stress every FFL already experiences regarding keeping your inventory safe and secure when you head home each evening.

What we can be sure of at this time of year is the typical increase in gun shop burglaries resulting from the increase in store inventory levels.  Holiday retailing brings with it a double-edged sword. You need to have a wide assortment of quality inventory on-hand to meet the needs and demands of all the December shoppers and to support your holiday promotions.  This seasonal change in standard stock-keeping practices will result in overcrowding the retail floor and stock areas and may even compromise your security standards consistently practiced throughout the year.  And to be realistic, it’s just...

Severe weather and weather disasters have become all too common and all too often businesses aren’t prepared to respond when the threat of severe weather emerges. Statistics show that when businesses close due to a disaster, 25% never reopen. As they say, An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and a little precaution before a crisis occurs is preferable to a lot of fixing up afterward.

Spring is a time of year I believe we all look forward to, I know I do. It’s also a time for unpredictable weather and a time when you have to remain alert and pay attention to rapidly changing weather conditions. As a business you should do all you can to safeguard your business and assets so you can expedite recovery and get back in the game as soon as possible. As a Federal Firearms Licensee you have a responsibility to protect the public from the risk of theft or the loss of firearms and ammunition. Severe weather events have shown how vulnerable FFL’s can be when...

A security camera system is a critical and necessary investment for every FFL and one that should be maintained to keep it in good condition. We recommend that you schedule regular system maintenance to protect your investment and ensure that you’re getting the best performance out of your camera system. Following are 10 easy tips for maintaining your cameras on a semi-annual schedule:

1. Carefully inspect all your indoor and outdoor cameras, looking for signs of any damage, weathering and corrosion. Be sure to replace any connectors that show signs of corrosion, because this kind of deterioration can cause your equipment to short.
2. Check all power supplies to ensure that your system hasn’t lost power due to tampering, a storm, animals or some other unwanted event. If you have an uninterruptible power source or backup battery, look at the unit to make sure that the battery is fully charged and does not display any warning lights.
3. Check all your indoor and outdoor camera...

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