I Found A Gun In the Wild Today....

[JM]

As I was heading south out of town this morning, I caught a glimpse of something on the side of the highway that looked familiar. I was up to speed & had a few cars behind me, so it took a while to pull over. This highway is divided two lane & there wasn't any crossover for several miles. After a few reverse sprints along the shoulder between bunches of traffic, I pulled alongside exactly what I thought I had seen. There was a revolver on the shoulder about 3' from the line. I reported it to the local Sheriff's office & awaited their arrival. They showed up quickly, asked a few questions, took pics & picked it up. It was a fairly common .38 Special or .357M snub type of revolver. Looked like it was fairly nice condition before it hit the asphalt at 65mph or so. I asked the officer what the chances were of me receiving the firearm if it wasn't stolen or it remained unclaimed. Didn't sound very positive. I suspect 100 or more people must have passed by the time I saw it. Interesting way to start the day.

[contender]

I once had a .22 fall out of a truck I was riding in when my buddy & I stopped to answer the call of nature. Lonely dirt back road. About 15 minutes later,, I saw a single vehicle come through,, and knew the guys. A little after that,, I went to get my .22 and it was gone. We went to the other guys house,, and they had found my .22 HS semi. To say I was very relieved is an understatement.

But to find one like that,, it'd be interesting. I would get details on the gun, w/o touching it, then call the LEO's. That way,,, if it didn't come back as stolen or used in a crime,, in most states, you can claim it.

[bigbrowndog]

I was stopped on the shoulder of a road in rural Texas one evening with a girl admiring the sunset, when a local LEO pulled up and asked if we were OK. We had been sitting on the tailgate and as I walked up to his window. I told him to please notice my hands and remain calm, there stuck under his light bar was a small revolver. I told him about it and backed away from his car, hands in plain sight. He was relieved and very thankful, it was his back up piece. It had apparently been there for an hour or so, wedged under the light bar and its attachment to the roof of the car.

Trapr

[JM]

Sept 23, 2024 9:39:07 GMT -5 contender said:

...in most states, you can claim it.

Any idea how that process is started?

Thank you

[contender]

I know in NC,, if you turn in an item of value,, the LEO's are supposed to write a report. You can request a copy of that report. But,, as I mentioned,, I would have taken pictures of the firearm prior to allowing LEO's to take possession.
I'd suggest you research your state laws & discuss it with the Sheriff directly. File a formal written request about it too.

But if your state has different laws,, then you may be out of luck.

[LeverGunner]

I know a guy that has a 9mm Beretta (as he describes it) he found in the road. He talks fondly of the roundabout where it was found, along with a plethora of other things he's picked up. I'd be worried that the gun would come back as stolen should it ever be checked.

[parallaxbill]

Sept 25, 2024 22:17:08 GMT -5 contender said:

I know in NC,, if you turn in an item of value,, the LEO's are supposed to write a report. You can request a copy of that report. But,, as I mentioned,, I would have taken pictures of the firearm prior to allowing LEO's to take possession.
I'd suggest you research your state laws & discuss it with the Sheriff directly. File a formal written request about it too.

But if your state has different laws,, then you may be out of luck.

Years ago, my military firearms collectors club was gathering for a match at a public range in Chester County, SC. On arrival, we found a nice Ithaca Model 37 shotgun propped up on one of the benches. Since we arrived near dawn, we figured it had been left there the previous day.
I contacted the Chester Sheriff's Department, and they sent a deputy out to retrieve it. Of course, he said we did the right thing and thanked us for calling.

After he was gone, we got to thinking that the owner of that shotgun would never see it again. We placed a note on the bench to let the owner know where his shotgun was. I called the Sheriff's Dept. a couple of days later to ask about it and was told that they had never heard anything about it. We did the right thing, but that deputy may have had a different idea.

Lesson learned, we should have gotten the deputies name.

[Gunny268]

parallax...I'm sorry, but your post really presses one of my buttons. So, the following (my apologies) is just my RANT. Everyone needs to know this and follow a simple rule. Ask and get the report/incident number from the officer as soon as you can, i.e. before he leaves. If he refuses or doesn't give you one, contact the dept's OPR (Office of Professional Responsibility) or IA (Internal Affairs). Please, go through the effort of filing a complaint noting the date, time, and location of the service call. Dispatch will have the record of the officer dispatched to the call. I'm just a retired street cop, but I can tell you that there needs to be a constant, ongoing effort in the weeding process to get those who demonstrate a lack of integrity and professionalism out of law enforcement and into a more appropriate (for them) line of work. Once again, sorry people, rant's over.

[JM]

I took a pic when I was waiting for LEO to arrive. Fortunately the gun was laying correctly to display the Ser#, as I didn't touch it. I have the report# & a call into the officer's voicemail. I have not received a reply yet.

[cas]

A guy up the street found a Glock on the front lawn one morning. Gas station robbery, foot chase and apprehention a hundred yards up the street the night before. Would have thought the K9 units would have found it, maybe the dog did but his handler didn't catch on.

[Gunny268]

JM... With a report number it would be best to make a call to an expert. The dept's "Property Control Clerk/Evidence Tech" would know all the ins and outs (insider pun intended) of the "Recovered Property-Lost/Stolen" game.

[bula]

Interesting stuff here. Good to know stuff. Thanks !