Collectible Military Firearms

[Wild Deuce]

What are the legalities of owning or possessing a firearm that was manufactured for the U.S. Military?

For instance .... G.I. fights in WWII and survives some of the most ferocious battles of the pacific. He goes home for a visit after the war and somewhere along the way his pistol and rifle that he carried in battle "accidentally" get left at his house. Fast forward a decade or two and he decides that the weapons are a piece of family history now so he cleans them up real good and oils them up before slipping them into oily rags, plastic and burying them under insulation in the attic. Fast forward to present day and he senses that his time is coming. He's not terminally ill, mind you, he just "knows" so he decides to tell his wife about the firearms and where they are located. She had forgotten about them but remembers them when he brings them up. He tells her to give them to a certain family member after he's gone. A few months pass and he dies unexpectedly. A few weeks later, the widow calls the family member and he comes over to dig through the attic. It takes a while but after a short search (years of dust, blown insulation, no eye/resp protection), the attic yields its first treasure ... a battle scarred but rust free Colt 1911. No further searching is done but it is suspected that an M1 Garand resides in the attic as well.

One thing at a time. What are the legalities?

FYI. The person is not me ... honest (I couldn't be this lucky). The person has not been identified to me either but I have a very strong suspicion. I was approached with this "hypothetical" situation through a third party since I have been known to dabble in firearms. Hypothetically speaking, this person would want to hand me the firearm to evaluate or find someone trustworthy that could properly evaluate this (these) firearm. I have not seen this hypothetical firearm yet so I cannot confirm US Gov markings.

Once I get an answer to the legalities, I would like to continue with issues of proper handling to prevent further degradation (damage), history of the firearms, documentation of that history, restoration (or not), etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

[highorder]

if they are NOT NFA firearms, they need a detail strip and clean, light oil, and you're all set. anything missing that long is forgotten.

I probably missed a few points, but someone else will be along shortly.

 

[Wild Deuce]

Thanks, Highorder.

By all indications, it is a plain jane, military issue Colt 1911 and an M1 Garand (unknown maker and yet to be found in that attic). Also forgot to mention, there are two magazines for the Colt (one is loaded and one is empty). The person in question is unfamiliar with the 1911 so I passed along the urgent admonition to leave the pistol alone until a knowledgeable person can confirm that it is unloaded and empty.

 

[Jim Watson]

It comes up every week on the internet, somebody has a 1911 with the "US Property" filed off so the FBI couldn't find the troop who took his sidearm home with him. This is a baseless fear, there is no program to recover obsolete weapons taken home by their users many years ago. I am sure I could go to the gun show next weekend and buy all manner of USGI firearms. They may have been surplused through the NRA/DCM program, they may have been lend-leased abroad and sold back to us by foreigners, or they may have been brought back by their USGI users. Nobody cares.

As said, study up on the gun to clean and maintain it the way the Army would have wanted you to. Restoration is a touchy subject. It can be made to look like new but at high cost and loss of whatever originality it had.

Unfortunately, there will be very little "historical" information to uncover. The year, maybe even month, of manufacture can be determined from the serial number. There is shipping information as to when some, but not all, guns went from the factory to a depot or base for issue. But after that there is no central record of who was issued what or where he carried it. I don't know what would be available as to the service record of the GI. Maybe a unit history.

 

[Wild Deuce]

Ok. I will worry a little less and tell him to do the same in regards to the legalities of possession since it has been in his familiy's possession the entire time.

He has a complete history of his relative's military service. Will this have any bearing or could it even prove that the weapons were present at all the battles (or any battle)? ... not likely. It is interesting to consider though since I was told the gentleman did fight at Iwo Jima.

I will be making some phone calls later today. Curiosity is getting the best of me. I have to know more details. If I do get a chance to inspect these firearms and they seem interesting, I will post some pictures.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[igpoobah]

Any written history of the firearm that can accompany it can increase the value, especially if it is verifiable.

As far as any laws go, I believe the person is in the clear to just take possession, so long as they are legal to own a firearm.

If you are in one of those creepy blue states you may want to investigate that further......

 

[Jim Watson]

The GI's service record will not likely identify his smallarms. The only way I know of to provide provenance on that is by a family affidavit; everybody agree that Grandpa brought that gun back from the war.

One sad story, I knew a guy who took his Father's WW I sidearm to fight WW II. He and the gun stayed together throughout, until it was stolen 40 years later.

 

[Ratzinger_p38]

My grandfather personally did this with a 1903a3 he was issued. He later sporterized it (argh) and it has since vanished. (would love to find it)

Maybe not what the military intended, but people did it and I've never heard of people getting in trouble, 60 + years later (oh THATS where 1903a3 serial number 42389239 was hiding!).