We found an abandoned/lost gun

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I just got back from running over to be there when a tank inspection was done at the property we are buying next. While the guy was looking for an in-ground oil tank that might be present he found something else.

What he found, and we then dug up, appears to be a small .22 caliber revolver. It was pretty gunked up and dirty and we diecided not to handle it so we left it lay where we dug it up and called the police. To my suprise they were there within literally 5 minutes.

They asked a few quick questions and took the name of the guy that found it and asked if we had the name of the property owner (which I did not) then they were on their way. No crime scene investigation or anything. What a bummer. Thought I might get to be on CSI or something. :p
 
They took it. The guy that discovered it says it is not his first one and that his company tells them to just call the police and turn them over.

I stayed out of it pretty much. It was his deal not mine since I am not the property owner yet.

On a side note...one of the officers did ask if either of us were currently in possession of any other firearms to which I said "yes". I told him I was CCW and that I had a permit. He asked what I was carrying and I told him and he did not even ask to see my permit after that. Seemed like a non-issue to him which suprised me. He seemed more interested in knowing what I was carrying than anything else. I did mangage to control myself and not make a joke about how sorry I was they took away their real guns and gave them Glocks instead. :)
 
Playboy Penguin said:
Seemed like a non-issue to him which suprised me.

I've been in several situations where I came in contact with LEOs and told them I was carrying. Most often, I was a witness to an accident, which is not uncommon, as I spend most of my day on the road.

Only once did an officer make an issue of it, when I was in a department store once and was mistakenly identified as a shoplifter. Other than that one incident, I have never even been asked to present my permit.
 
If you found one would you really want to keep it, not knowing if it was used in a crime???? :what: :uhoh:
I could care less if it was used in a crime, I'd be more concerned if it had been reported stolen ... possession of a stolen firearm is bad juju.
 
aww, the poor boy probibly lost his way home, he must of been hungry and scared, and you sent him to the pound :( shame



:neener:
 
Only once did an officer make an issue of it, when I was in a department store once and was mistakenly identified as a shoplifter. Other than that one incident, I have never even been asked to present my permit.

"Geez, officer, I have a GUN for chrissakes. You think I'd shoplift if I could just rob the place?"
 
If you found one would you really want to keep it, not knowing if it was used in a crime????

If it was a Thompson I wouldn't care if it had been used in the
St. Valentines Day Massacre, it would be MINE!!!!!:D

Walter
 
I found a gun once...a Walther PPK...at the range, on one of the benches. Apparently someone just forgot to pack it up when they left :scrutiny: I turned it in hoping that if I did anything that foolish someone would be kind enough to do the same thing :D
 
Finding a lost gun at a range is one thing. Finding a gun in a storm drain or in a oil tank:uhoh: I would always call the cops.
 
If you found one would you really want to keep it, not knowing if it was used in a crime????

I guess the same could be said about a $20 bill found on the ground. It could have been used to buy crack.

Or maybe someone got beaten with a stick in the woods. You wouldn't want to touch any sticks.

The same could also be said about a used gun in a gun shop.
 
I think the problems associated with getting caught with a gun used in a felony are a good bit stickier than what could happen to you for having a $20 that was once used to buy crack.
 
I would check to see if it was stolen but that was it. That's if it's obviously abandoned. If it's sitting on the gun range I turn it in the the shop owner immediatley. This happened once and the owner did eventually come back looking for it.
 
I told him I was CCW and that I had a permit. He asked what I was carrying and I told him and he did not even ask to see my permit after that. Seemed like a non-issue to him which suprised me. He seemed more interested in knowing what I was carrying than anything else.
Who would claim to be that, who was not? ;)
 
If I found a discarded/lost firearm, I would check with local police to see if it was stolen. If it was not stolen, I would make any necessary public announcements(newspaper ad?), hold for the required amount of time(if applicable), then if nobody claimed it, it's mine.
As for a firearm left at a range, I would TELL the range owner I had it, do the announcement/time thing, then if nobody claimed it, it's mine. I would NOT turn it over to the range owner. I am a realist, I don't trust anybody(with a very few exceptions).
In any event, I would hold the firearm for a year before disposing of it. If the owner showed up at ANY time I had the firearm, even if it was 20(or more) years later, I would return it.
 
How is finding a gun and keeping it any different than buying a gun FTF from a stranger in your state with no paperwork which is the norm in most states? You really have no idea if the gun was stolen, used in a crime or completely legit.
 
I don't know about you ,SYM, but when I buy/sell a firearm FTF from/to an individual, I ask/offer I.D. If they don't want to trade info, I don't deal. I have had firearms stolen from me and I won't buy stolen property of any kind.:fire:
 
This subject comes up from time to time here... what to do if you find a gun.

You call the cops.

Now I'm not saying that's the rule if you come across an old Winchester in the wall of a barn, or an heirloom in granny's trunk, or an obvious piece of 'western heritage' rusted shut out on the back 40.

We are specifically about finding a hunting rifle in the woods, a handgun by the side of the road, a shotgun in a dumpster etc etc.

Because there is a really really good chance the last 2 are crime guns and the former might just be lost, but you never know.

Add to that: you come across a rifle in the woods, laying on the ground, or leaning against a tree you better have a look around, and make sure your 'lookie here I found me a new rifle' experience isn't really a case of coming across a hunter in distress. Call out, shout a man's name... is he behind a bush taking care of nature's call, or down the hill from you with a broken leg? Look for tracks... try to figure out where the owner went. I'd hate to think you carted off a dying man's firearm because it's 'finder's keepers'.

Just a thought.
 
It probably was just another one of those guns the anti's are always talking about. You know, the one's they keep wanting laws for?
"We gotta get these guns off the street, for the children." I've been searching my streets for years and I've never found one. :(
 
At our range we have a couple guys that bring 4+ shotguns with them and every now and then forgets to take one back home. Thing is their guns are in the $2,500 - 10,000 range. They always get them back.

A coworker "found" a pistol in the "ditch" and took it to the police. After running the gun and talking to her, the police discovered the gun was stolen, given to her 16 yr old son by his uncle (without her knowledge) and found in his bedroom. The moral of the story is don't lie to the cops. They kept her all day making sure she had nothing to do with the theft.
 
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