Firearms you find....

So every so often I peruse some forums on "Urban Exploration" which is an activity of.... varying legality, but basically exploring abandoned buildings, storm drains etc. I've never done this, but just like to see the pictures they post.

anyway this thread has a post about while scavving a sewer in Virginia the guy found a .25 raven semi auto in the drain.



Now this gun was probably non-functional but the guy who made that post had the cops come cart it away.

still if you were... not even exploring, lets say just going about your work or regular day and you find a hidden firearm stashed away, or obviously abandoned, are you breaking any laws by keeping it? (talking federal here) would you keep a gun you found that you believed to be abandoned?

EMNofSeattle said:

So every so often I peruse some forums on "Urban Exploration" which is an activity of.... varying legality, but basically exploring abandoned buildings, storm drains etc. I've never done this, but just like to see the pictures they post.

anyway this thread has a post about while scavving a sewer in Virginia the guy found a .25 raven semi auto in the drain.

Now this gun was probably non-functional but the guy who made that post had the cops come cart it away.

still if you were... not even exploring, lets say just going about your work or regular day and you find a hidden firearm stashed away, or obviously abandoned, are you breaking any laws by keeping it? (talking federal here) would you keep a gun you found that you believed to be abandoned?

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No. I would do what the guy in the article did -- call the police. The only reason I can think of for disposing of a firearm in that way is because it had been used in a crime and the perp did not want to be caught with it. Giving it to the police could help with solving that crime.

Most of the guns I find lying in the middle of the street I report to DPW, just like I report potholes. Unless they are really good guns - then I call BATFEieio to ask if they lost track of one, and if there is a reward for helping them get it back.

If the guns are in or near a playground I call a crowd of little kids around so they can practice "Stop! Don't touch! Call an adult (who will spaz out and be traumatized for life.")

When I find guns hidden in the walls of a house I just bought I sue the previous owners for the full cost of Haz-Mat mitigation, plus per diem waiting for the guns to be be removed and the walls washed down with "icky, gun!" remover.

Otherwise, there are laws governing the handling of discovered abandoned property that should be followed. Good luck getting back unclaimed guns or money.

I am, however, thoroughly and totally ashamed of how I let those guns in the back of the safe get rusted and pitted by not taking them out and performing routine maintenance/preservation.

/

stay safe.

Yeah, seems unlikely to me that someone would drop a handgun, or any firearm, down a storage drain, or anywhere else, and just decide to not go through the trouble of retrieving it. Much more likely it was placed there to ditch it. I would of course hope that any crimes related to the firearm would be solved, but also I wouldn't want to risk being in possession of a "hot" firearm.

Abandoned building or other certain locations could be an exception to the high likelihood of the firearm being involved in a crime, if the building wasn't already thoroughly trespassed and ransacked, making it more of a likely dumping ground. In undisturbed abandoned buildings, which I imagine are pretty rare, it could be much more likely that the firearm was simply left behind. Of course, I wouldn't advocate pilfering through an abandoned building, as that would in most cases be dangerous and illegal.

Sorry I am unaware of any federal laws on the subject. But, not knowing of a federal law that prohibits it doesn't really mean anything, right? Aren't there like, too many federal laws for anyone to really know what all is legal or illegal?

THAT'S where I left that! please mail it back to me at:

my name
my address
my state, ou812.

thanx!

My mother and wife 20 years ago found a grand in cash in an envelope in KMart. The dummies took it to the service counter, and the money vanished. Surprise Surprise!

That said I would turn a gun in, not worth going to jail for a stolen or crime gun.

Take the cash to the cops and make them voucher it.

I wouldn't take the gun to the cops. I'd call them and tell them where it is. I ain't touchin' it.

I concur with the general consensus of giving it to the police. Of course one could also just leave it where it was and pretend they never saw it. That way you wouldn't have to subject yourself to a round of questions from the cops.

thebigsd said:

I concur with the general consensus of giving it to the police. Of course one could also just leave it where it was and pretend they never saw it. That way you wouldn't have to subject yourself to a round of questions from the cops.

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That's a good point. Only issue I'd have with that is leaving the potential for a BG to come back later to get it (probably wouldn't if it looked like the gun in the OP) or the potential for a kid to find it and misuse it or have an accident with it. I guess you could try using a payphone and calling in an anonymous tip - might be a decent compromise.

What the hell is a payphone?

Here's a homework assignment for y'all (if you want to take it). Go looking for a payphone.