What would you do if you inherited an illegal firearm?

[Solomonson]

What would you do if you inherited an illegal firearm (eg. antique Parker Brothers SxS Coach Gun) with a great amount of family heritage that could not be made legal to own where you live without ruining its history?

Would you make it legal, no matter the cost/degradation to the firearm if possible? Would you send it to live with a friend or relative where it could be made legal to own without butchering it? Would you move? Would you render it un-shootable? Would you keep it in the back of your safe knowing you could never take it outside, much less shoot it and be content with midnight fondling sessions? Would you donate it to a museum? Possibly something else?

 

[armoredman]

Well, I wouldn't be talking about it here....


Honestly, if it were truly illegal to own, as you say, an unregistered MP-40 WWII bring back souvenir found in a foot locker, I would have to have PD take possession of it as soon as I discovered the item while I worked to see if I could get it to a museum. Something that is registerable, such as a pre NFA SBS/SBR, etc, I would do the same - have PD take possession with receipt and see if I could legally register it to regain possession. Of course, I live in a very firearms friendly state, and the chances of being arrested to do the right thing really isn't that high. I'm sure people who find MP-40s in their closets in New Jersey "donate" them to the sea ASAP.

 

[BigBore44]

I would immediately surrender it to the proper authorities for destruction. Wait, never mind. No I wouldn't. If it has significant family history or a gun with significant historical standing, I'd consider donating it to a museum, or I'd keep it and only bring it out to show to, or shoot with, people I trusted.

 

[Berger.Fan222]

Dunno. Depends on the details I guess. With regard to the short barreled shotgun, I wonder if it would be legal simply to separate the barrel from the action. Have one relative keep one part in a separate location, while the other part stays at home. Is a short shotgun barrel illegal if the action is somewhere else? Is a shotgun action illegal if the barrel is short, but the two are not together? This approach would preserve the value without destruction since the parts could be brought back together in a time and location where it would be legal to have them together.

 

[bannockburn]

I would probably do what armoredman suggested: turn it over to the local PD and then see what, if any, options are available to preserve the firearm in some way (i.e. possibly have it deactivated and donated to a museum). Just wouldn't feel comfortable having possession of it, even if I kept in total secrecy hidden in my home somewhere.

 

[Officers'Wife]

Keep in mind that nothing ruins a family legacy as quickly as a felony. The next generation may not be as informed as you are and find themselves in more trouble than they can deal with. Case in point a few years ago after a death in the family the rather ditzy granddaughter decided to sell a fully automatic carbine at a garage sale.

 

[wojownik]

Depending on what makes it "illegal," thought it might be possible to somehow keep or donate the article, I would immediately confer with a qualified attorney, and work from there. Thinking of my county PD and sheriff's office, turning over an NFA arm to them would require many thousands dollars in legal fees and a court order to get it released. And, even then, they are likely to have somehow damaged or defaced the item.

 

[Bad Ninja]

The most important thing is to avoid comitting a felony.
No gun or heirloom is worth a felony.

That said, I would research your legal options beforehand.

IF you can LEGALLY send the heirloom to a family member in an area where it can be legally maintained and stored, that sounds like the best option.

 

[AndyP]

There are lawyers who specialize in chasing down the legality or not of old guns, most of their work is old NFA or pre NFA guns. They work within the bounds of attorney/ client privilege so they can not be forced to disclose any of your information. I would hire one of these and follow their recommendations. I fear if you'd surrender the gun to the authorities that would be the last time you ever saw it.

 

[tark]

I think that an un-registered NFA firearm would be a real problem. I'm no expert. I know you just can't donate it to a museum, they wouldn't take it, and it would constitute a transfer of ownership of an NFA weapon. You know what THAT means. If you haven't received it yet, refuse to do so and tell the person who has it what the situation is.

The most important thing is to avoid comitting a felony.
No gun or heirloom is worth a felony.

AMEN to that

 

[MistWolf]

In this case, the advice of a good lawyer familiar with firearms regulations is priceless.

For what it's worth, what I would do is separate the barrels from the receiver and store them at different locations. Without the barrels, the receiver is NOT an NFA item. Then, I would research the shotgun to see what category it fits in, Short Barreled Shotgun, Any Other Weapon or Firearm (like the Mossberg Shockwave). You will have to research the different categories because I'm not knowledgeable enough to describe them.

Assuming the shotgun does fit an NFA category (SBS or AOW) and I could not move to an NFA friendly state, I would transfer the receiver alone to a relative who lives in an NFA friendly state. I would check with a lawyer who is versed in the laws of that state to see about setting up a trust naming that relative and myself as trustees and would initiate the paperwork needed to register the receiver as required (SBS or AOW). When the paperwork and stamp is approved, send the barrels and reassemble.

If you take the shotgun to your local PD, you will never see it again

 

[Jim Watson]

Depends on what makes it illegal where.
Sawn off barrels <18": Separate locations for barrels and action until you decide whether it is worth the great expense of having new barrels made or find out from a lawyer that it can be registered as an SBS by the maneuver described by MistWolf.
Sawn off barrels >18" but less than some state or local limit: Give to a relative in a more congenial jurisdiction.
Buttstock cut off to pistol grip for "whippet." Restock if barrels are legal or can be made legal, leave alone if to be SBS.

It is my opinion that the large majority of illegal "family guns" simply retreat to the back of the closet for the next generation to worry about. The 1911 boards do not go a week without somebody turning up a "scrubbed" service pistol that Grandpa pilfered from his Army outfit.

 

[Tommygunn]

Happened to a coworker 30 years ago in another state. WW2 vet father died and while helping him clear the father's house we found.....




A WW2 model 1928 Thompson.
All wrapped up, in a rather large size footlocker. Oh, and a Colt 1911 too. And uniforms.
I told my friend, " GET A LAWYER--QUICK!"

I don't know what happened....I moved to Alabama shortly after.

 

[The Bushmaster]

It depends on what you consider "illegal"...I know of NO firearm that is illegal. I do know of people being "illegal".

 

[Robert]

Discussion of illegal activities is not acceptable on THR.