There are a lot of smart reasons to engrave guns for identification.

Posted on Jul 19, 2022.

Many gun dealers have engraved firearms in stock. There's a segment of the market, with a select budget, that makes this inventory worthwhile, depending on your location and your market base.

In addition to decorative artwork, there's another type of engraving that dealers should consider offering their customers. Personalized engraving can provide a lot of benefits - to you and your customers.

Let's say you have a customer who buys guns for self defense. After doing some research, he discovers that a self-protection shooting can turn out to be a trick-bag. He realizes there are several advantages to having his gun engraved, and is willing to pay you coin of the realm to make it happen.

Again, we're not talking about engraved ducks or a gold-inlaid deer. We're talking about personalizing a gun so it's clear who it belongs to. This can be a name, initials or an ID number.

Here's a few reasons why customers should consider personalized engraving.

1. An engraved gun is less likely to be stolen. If it is, there's a good chance it will be ditched. This was the cornerstone of "Operation Identification," a nationwide program that was hot some years ago and is still in practice in many communities. A Social Security number, driver's license number, or whatever is engraved somewhere on the gun. Since this makes the gun undesirable on the black market, it is less likely to be stolen.

2. If it is stolen, the engraved gun is more easily recovered by its owner once it is taken into evidence by police.

3. An engraved gun makes it clear it is not a "throw down" or "drop weapon." Your customer's gun may be an older piece that is not registered anywhere. A creative - and unscrupulous - attorney can argue, "...only a criminal would carry a weapon that is untraceable! His intent was to dump the gun and flee, blah, blah, blah."

You and I know that's BS, but a jury of laymen may not. However it would take an unusually stupid lawyer to argue that your customer planned to ditch the "evidence weapon" when the gun is engraved with his name.

4. The engraved message delivers the correct message. Let's say your customer John Jones had to shoot a mugger in self-defense. You are a non-gun owning layman sitting on the jury. The prosecutor hands you the death weapon so you can feel its "awesome, deadly weight."

As you look over the first real firearm that's ever been in your hands, you see the engraving on the sideplate of the revolver. The inscription reads, "To John, Please, always come home safe to me and the children. Love, Jane."

Do you now view this "deadly evidence" differently? Has your examination of the gun had the opposite effect than that hoped for by the prosecutor?

5. People simply like to have personalized defensive equipment. Throughout history, armed men and women have wanted their weapons to have a little bit of themselves. Even General Patton had his initials inlaid on his trademark Colt single action .45 revolvers and S&W .357 Magnum.

6. Engraving is great for gift guns. How many of your customers buy a gun for their lady and then are disappointed when she won't carry it? Let your customers know that the more personalized the gun, the more likely it will be used.

Original article: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/There+are+a+lot+of+smart+reasons+to+engrave+guns+for+identification.-a016673392