Avery said the shotguns, rifles and handguns were either stolen, seized or never claimed by the owner.
March 10, 2019
OKLAHOMA COUNTY – Old, antique guns are up for auction.
The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department is purging their evidence room.
And, you can get your hands on the guns, but only if you have a federal license.
Over 500 guns gathering dust in evidence will soon be up for auction, and the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department said the money will be put to good use.
“All budgets are tight right now, so this is going to help us,” said Captain Charles Avery with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department.
Avery said the shotguns, rifles and handguns were either stolen, seized or never claimed by the owner.
And, none of them were used in crimes.
“Some of these guns have sat down here for almost 50 years, so it’s going to allow us to free up some space, it’s going to allow us to get room for incoming guns that maybe seized today, tomorrow or so forth. So, it’s a win win for everyone across the board,” Avery said.
Avery said selling the guns in their property is also rare.
Other departments like Oklahoma City police get rid of the guns by recycling them.
But, to be safe, the auction is not open to the public.
If you want to buy one, you have to have to be a Federal Firearms License holder.
“We strive to make sure that this is done in a proper way,” Avery said. “It’s a certification or a license through the United States Government that says you’re allowed to sell firearms to the public.”
Avery said, when they recovered guns, they check the national database to find the original owner, but sometimes they don’t want them back.
“We’ve done our duty to make sure that these guns don’t belong to anyone, so that situation doesn’t present itself or someone sees a gun and says, well, that’s my gun,” he said.
Beware, if you just show up, you won’t be able to participate in the auction. You must call ahead.
“If you are an FFL holder, to reach out to the sheriff’s department prior to the day of the event, and they have a log of who’s coming that allows us to verify that their FFL is active and then they can get a bid,” Avery said.
UPDATE: The auction will be held April 2 at the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office Spencer Training Center, located at 8601 Main St. in Spencer.
You can only pay with cash, money orders, or a cashiers or business check.
