Found Firearm

[1911su16b870]

Turn it in to PD.

Just don't walk in like this when you go to turn it in:




"Excuse me gentlemen but I found this lost firearm..."

You do this only once...

[Ron-Solo]

I recently found a firearm left weeks after a match on a range in Kalifornia.
I have contacted the match director with identifying attributes of the firearm and he has issued a general email to his membership asking for someone to identify and claim this firearm.
I would like to see it returned to its proper owner, but:

1. Do I need to report finding it to any law enforcement agency?

Absolutely. Misappropriation of found property is a crime

2. The match director wants to take possession, is this a wise move?

Unless he is law enforcement for the jurisdiction where the match occurred, NO

3. If no one claims this firearm in a reasonable period (90 days?) can I keep it?

Not generally

4. What else should I be concerned about?

The rightful owner may have already reported it lost or stolen to their LE agency not realizing they left it at the match.

Also, the person who left it may have stolen it. With the best of intentions, you could be in possession of stolen property without realizing it.

What would you want someone to do if it was yours and you left it at a range?

[bigthaiboy]

A good friend of mine found one of these left behind when he worked as a RO at an army range. He managed to tracked down the soldiers who left it behind, and demanded 6 cases of beer (of his choice) if they wanted it back, and if they didn't want him to go through their CO. He got his beer.

L7A1

[cannon]

Give it to the rangemaster to return.

If it was your gun would you prefer to have the RO hand it back or go to court to get an order for the police to return it to you?

I also think you have a snowballs chance that if you give it to the police and no one claims it that you will get it back.

[CALI-gula]

1.) Report it lost/found to the police - GET A RECEIPT
2.) Follow-up regularly to make sure they are attempting to contact the owner.
3.) Claim the firearm for yourself if the original owner is not found. I believe a LEGR is required.
4.) DONT just "give" it to a LEO. This is an illegal transfer regardless of his LEO status.

THIS is the correct approach for you; and you let the rangemaster/ match-director know what and where the gun is if someone should decide to claim it. He can still tell the members where they can retrieve their gun - if they don't in some such amount of time... it's YOURS rather than someone else claiming it for you (like... the rangemaster/match director ). AND you would still be doing the right thing, contacting the same people, doing all you can to find the right owner - but if you don't, or they don't, YOU score the finders keepers.

And I see nothing wrong with that. If yo don't calim it but the police get hold of it, either it evetnaully gets auctioned off by them (depending on location/region/muncipality/department), or destroyed. Why not claim it if the rightful owner is never found?

.

[RTE]

Speaking from an AZ perspective

The range master should have found it first.
He didn't.
You should store it safely away till the owner is found.
Maybe run an internet APB on the Model and serial number?

[Ron-Solo]

Speaking from an AZ perspective

The range master should have found it first.
He didn't.
You should store it safely away till the owner is found.
Maybe run an internet APB on the Model and serial number?

Except this violates California law and if the value of the gun is over $400 could be prosecuted as a felony. Bad Idea.

[Turbinator]

Except this violates California law and if the value of the gun is over $400 could be prosecuted as a felony. Bad Idea.

So just curious, what do you recommend, from a LEO perspective?

Turby

[Ron-Solo]

So just curious, what do you recommend, from a LEO perspective?

Turby

Turn it in to the law enforcement agency of jurisdiction, get a receipt, if unclaimed, try to claim it if possible. The local LE agency can do a trace via BATF and try to locate the original owner. The actual owner will have to jump thru some hoops to get it back, but that might get them to be more careful with their guns in the future.

Besides being the legal thing to do, it's the right thing to do.

Aloha,

Ron

[aermotor]

Uhhh this is like the lost iPhone... turn it in to the police and forget about it. It's not yours. It's not your problem.

[leelaw]

You should turn it into the authorities. Have them deal with it.

Funny, all the "you 'found' the large-capacity magazines" folks seem to say otherwise...

To the OP - turn in the firearm to the local law enforcement organization so they may work on getting it back to the rightful owner.

[Josh3239]

Funny, all the "you 'found' the large-capacity magazines" folks seem to say otherwise...

[Mssr. Eleganté]

You should turn it into the authorities. Have them deal with it.

Funny, all the "you 'found' the large-capacity magazines" folks seem to say otherwise...

The law says you only have to turn found large capacity magazines over to the police if the total value is $100 or more.

[five.five-six]

see, this is why all guns should registered and licensed annually....it would solve problems like this in a snap!

[liberty08]

I would ask the RO if there is a "lost and found" box and place the gun in there. I'm sure someone will claim it.