GI firearms kept in the family

Richard

Richard

Final Approach
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Ack...city life
Has any had or heard of a problem with bringing handed down military sidearms to shooting ranges?

I have several WWI, WWII, and Viet Nam era shootin irons which, ahem, are still on loan from the US military. Off and on I have wondered if I brought them to a range some guy would want make an issue leading to confiscation. I fire em but not at any official ranges.
 
The US Navy has 'taken back' a plane or two after they returned from overseas, I dont think they ever consider something as 'not theirs' no matter who has possession of it. I doubt that there are property records available on every piece of hardware that disappeared after the respective wars. Just make sure it's not covered by NFA or any of the other byzantine ATF regulations.
 
The only weapons the military knows it owns are the ones on inventory. If these weapons have not appeared on any inventory recently the military does not know it owns them, they have long been surveyed off the records.
 
It's very common - I've never heard of anyone having an issue. I wouldn't be worried about it.
 
jesse said:
It's very common - I've never heard of anyone having an issue. I wouldn't be worried about it.
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Neither Have I , but I'm sure if you took them back they would take them.:)

I did the audits on the armory here back in the days I was shooting pistol team.
God help ya if you were missing a 1911-A1, or a M1 Grand
 
Tom-D said:
Neither Have I , but I'm sure if you took them back they would take them.:)

I did the audits on the armory here back in the days I was shooting pistol team.
God help ya if you were missing a 1911-A1, or a M1 Grand
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A gazillion of which are floating around now.
 
I wouldn't worry about it, but wouldn't advertise it either.
 
If you want an M1 Garand, the US Government will sell you one. And if you take into account the condition of the rifle and the fact that it was refurbished before they sell it to you, they actually sell it for really really cheap.

And on top of that, they mail it to you via USPS with no FFL involved.

Civilian Marksmanship Program

--Carlos V.
 
Thanks for the CMP link. I had neer been there. I just ordered the Garand Bayonet M5A1 with M8A1 Scabbard -Unissued (new) .
 
back when I bought my Garand, the DCM (now CMP) policy was "one a lifetime" ... I see that's changed ... as well as the price :D I paid $96 plus shipping and fees - something like $135ish for a good condition H&R
 
I am just trying to imagine you being at a gun range, with a fully loaded weapon, blasting away at things in fact - and some guy comes along wanting to wrest your gun from you.
Imagination fail. Go ahead to the range!
Maybe if he had a badge, but still that seems far fetched.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I am just trying to imagine you being at a gun range, with a fully loaded weapon, blasting away at things in fact - and some guy comes along wanting to wrest your gun from you.
Imagination fail. Go ahead to the range!
Maybe if he had a badge, but still that seems far fetched.
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Imagine this:

Hey, nice gun, where'd ya get it?

Um, from my (family member).

That's what I thought. Is it registered to you?

Not really.

Hand it over.


I've been to only two ranges. Both had almost the same BSF (badges per sq ft) as a 10-4 donuts shop. That one was across the hiway from the Sherf hive probably explains that.
 
Richard said:
Imagine this:
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Having a hard time.
Maybe it's a state differences thing?
At the only range I go to, at the first sign of such questioning I'd think there would either be trouble or a sudden parting of ways.
 
dmccormack said:
Imagine VFWs all over the country glumly returning 105mm towed guns, M48 tanks, and F86 fighters.

:sad:
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I believe those weapons are de-milled before they get donated. except the snow cannons the sates use to clear avalanches.
 
Richard said:
Imagine this:

Hey, nice gun, where'd ya get it?

Um, from my (family member).

That's what I thought. Is it registered to you?

Not really.

Hand it over.


I've been to only two ranges. Both had almost the same BSF (badges per sq ft) as a 10-4 donuts shop. That one was across the hiway from the Sherf hive probably explains that.
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Although you never know, I don't think you really need to worry about that.

First, unless people are pretty into both history and firearms, they're probably not going to know what you've got (unless we're talking something like an MG, and then there are certain legal things you need to worry about) - the hot items these days are space guns, and your average person at a gun range, except for somebody working for the BATF, is probably not going to know a Springfield or an M1 from a hunting rifle.

Second, there are plenty of both perfectly legal (not to suggest that you're not entirely legal - but I don't know that for a fact) military-looking weapons floating around, and there's no reason to suspect anything different with yours (again, unless it's machine gun or something like that). For instance, the group that took Springfield Armory's name makes clones of both the Garand and the M-14, and there are some other companies out there making at least the latter (and I think the Garand too, but am not as sure).

Third, even if someone asked and you told them the complete story, the reaction would probably be "cool," except from the world's biggest jerk.

But, here's what I'd be concerned about (and I'm not even sure how realistic it is): depending on what you've got, it might have some pretty serious value to it (from a variety of perspectives, including a lack of traceability to a particular person). Sometimes word gets around.

So, legal issues aside, I just wouldn't advertise it.
 
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Tom-D said:
I believe those weapons are de-milled before they get donated. except the snow cannons the sates use to clear avalanches.
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I keep telling CDOT that if they wanted to make some serious money, they should sell tickets to pull the lanyard. If you had a 6-yo, talk about a great birthday present - I could see people ponying up $100 for a lottery-type system.
 
rotorhead1026 said:
If this is really going on where you shoot, then you need to find another place to shoot.



Sounds like a lot of ****0!e$ per square foot, too. Geez!
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No, it is not going on anywhere. Did you read this whole thread? I asked if anyone knew of this happening. Off and on...just read the thread...from the top.
 
Richard said:
No, it is not going on anywhere. Did you read this whole thread? I asked if anyone knew of this happening. Off and on...just read the thread...from the top.
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As long as it's not full auto or grenade launcher, you are under no compulsion to tell anyone where you got them.

Gun registration in the US generally does not exist because it's prohibited by law (except automatic weapons). The only thing the cops can do is track down who the first person to buy the gun new was. After that, the gun can change private hands 100 times legally and that's perfectly legal.

If somebody asks if a gun is registered to you, politely tell them to go away.
 
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You did not say what kind of ex US military arms... Full auto? Pistols?

Anything full auto is going to get you time in a federal prison - guaranteed...

Any any short gun that requires registering as a concealed weapon and which you have not registered per state law will be trouble *IF* someone with LEO authority asks questions, whether it was military or not...

Other than that, how would anyone know if the gun used to belong to the government just by walking past?

denny-o
 
Richard said:
Has any had or heard of a problem with bringing handed down military sidearms to shooting ranges?

I have several WWI, WWII, and Viet Nam era shootin irons which, ahem, are still on loan from the US military. Off and on I have wondered if I brought them to a range some guy would want make an issue leading to confiscation. I fire em but not at any official ranges.
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I take my 1903A3 Springfield and my Mk1 Lee-Enfield and my son's Mosin Nagant to the range all the time with absolutely no issues. If any of yours are even capable of full auto fire, I would recommend leaving them at home though!
 
Dr. O said:
...Any any short gun that requires registering as a concealed weapon and which you have not registered per state law will be trouble *IF* someone with LEO authority asks questions, whether it was military or not...

....
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As my free bit of legal advice for the day, the 5th Amendment is an incredibly valuable thing.

So is just walking away. :yes:
 
Dr. O said:
You did not say what kind of ex US military arms... Full auto? Pistols?

Anything full auto is going to get you time in a federal prison - guaranteed...

Any any short gun that requires registering as a concealed weapon and which you have not registered per state law will be trouble *IF* someone with LEO authority asks questions, whether it was military or not...

Other than that, how would anyone know if the gun used to belong to the government just by walking past?

denny-o
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You don't register short guns - you register the person who's permitted to carry concealed.
 
Dr. O said:
Any any short gun that requires registering as a concealed weapon and which you have not registered per state law will be trouble *IF* someone with LEO authority asks questions, whether it was military or not...

denny-o
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Hunh?


Which state? Connecticut? New York?

The rest of us out here in hick-land enjoy our freedom.
 
TMetzinger said:
You don't register short guns - you register the person who's permitted to carry concealed.
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Depends. Omaha Nebraska has required registration of the actual handgun with their police department that you intend on carrying WITH your permit. The state has said over and over that doing so is against the law but they did it anyways. Not sure if they quit yet.
 
jesse said:
Depends. Omaha Nebraska has required registration of the actual handgun with their police department that you intend on carrying WITH your permit. The state has said over and over that doing so is against the law but they did it anyways. Not sure if they quit yet.
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Ah - once upon a time there were municipalities in VA that did that. State passed a law that set up concealed weapons permits as "shall issue", clearly defined the disqualifying things, and then ruled that municipalities could NOT pass or enforce any weapons laws and that all previous laws were void. I recall reading about a judge and a sheriff getting arrested by state police for trying to add some sort of registration requirement to the concealed carry process. The stats show the rate of gun-related crimes committed by concealed carry permit holders in Virginia is very very low, and I believe that is the same pretty much everywhere.
 
Dr. O said:
You did not say what kind of ex US military arms... Full auto? Pistols?

Anything full auto is going to get you time in a federal prison - guaranteed...

Any any short gun that requires registering as a concealed weapon and which you have not registered per state law will be trouble *IF* someone with LEO authority asks questions, whether it was military or not...

Other than that, how would anyone know if the gun used to belong to the government just by walking past?

denny-o
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What gun requires registering as a concealed weapon? It is a concealed weapon if you carry it concealed. Just because it can be, doesn't mean that it is. If you transport it in a non-concealed manner, which in most states, is unloaded, in a case or box that is not readily accessible, ie trunk, then you have nothing to worry about.
 
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