Was chasing a baseball odd the beaten path about 20 feet and he yelled, Hey look! I found a gun?

He's 6.

So we called the local police and they came and they took the gun for further evaluation.

If nobody claims or is tracked to the gun, do we get to keep it? It was actually in fairly good condition. Not loaded.

I thought this forum would have the most expertise in this matter.

In my experience, if someone steals YOUR gun, you report it immediately, and the police recover it the next week, you'll be lucky to ever see it again.

No, I doubt you get to keep it.

If it comes back as stolen or lost not a chance. Doesn't hurt to call and ask.

Southlake said:

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Was chasing a baseball odd the beaten path about 20 feet and he yelled, Hey look! I found a gun?

He's 6.

So we called the local police and they came and they took the gun for further evaluation.

If nobody claims or is tracked to the gun, do we get to keep it? It was actually in fairly good condition. Not loaded.

I thought this forum would have the most expertise in this matter.

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Was this in Southlake?

Yesterday said:

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Southlake said:

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Was chasing a baseball odd the beaten path about 20 feet and he yelled, Hey look! I found a gun?

He's 6.

So we called the local police and they came and they took the gun for further evaluation.

If nobody claims or is tracked to the gun, do we get to keep it? It was actually in fairly good condition. Not loaded.

I thought this forum would have the most expertise in this matter.

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Was this in Southlake?

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No, it was in the park. Why would Southlake have a gun inside him?

Hmmmm. Had I been in your shoes in that situation, I probably would have taken my grandson out for ice cream and added the gun to my safe.

SanAntoneAg said:

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Hmmmm. Had I been in your shoes in that situation, I probably would have taken my grandson out for ice cream and added the gun to my safe.

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After they arrest you for the stolen gun used in a robbery, your grandson would never forget that last ice cream with you.

tu ag said:

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SanAntoneAg said:

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Hmmmm. Had I been in your shoes in that situation, I probably would have taken my grandson out for ice cream and added the gun to my safe.

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After they arrest you for the stolen gun used in a robbery, your grandson would never forget that last ice cream with you.

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I'm sure he would be smart enough to grind the serial number off.

Claude! said:

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Yesterday said:

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Southlake said:

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Was chasing a baseball odd the beaten path about 20 feet and he yelled, Hey look! I found a gun?

He's 6.

So we called the local police and they came and they took the gun for further evaluation.

If nobody claims or is tracked to the gun, do we get to keep it? It was actually in fairly good condition. Not loaded.

I thought this forum would have the most expertise in this matter.

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Was this in Southlake?

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No, it was in the park. Why would Southlake have a gun inside him?

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SanAntoneAg said:

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Hmmmm. Had I been in your shoes in that situation, I probably would have taken my grandson out for ice cream and added the gun to my safe.

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This right here.

I have a friend that's found a couple guns in their life and never turned the in. You'll never see them again. If the serial is ground off then it's not of any use anyway and if it's not, you can see if it's been reported stolen or lost while retaining possession. If so, the id turn it in but if not, finders keepers.

I've dealt with too many police departments and cops to feel good about turning something like that in vs just enjoying it.

To answer the OP, you won't get to keep the gun. The cop you gave it to will. It's probably already at his house. They will never call you and if you call them they will be perpetually investigating it. The guys down at the lab are working in shifts and all that.

Had a Colt Series 80 stolen out of my truck working a boat show in Beaumont Texas. I had the serial number recorded so gave it to the cop that came to make out the report. Figured I'd never see it again.
Just a little over two years went by and I got a call from the Harris County Sheriff's office one day saying they had recovered my Colt and I could pick it up.
Only had to show my drivers license to get it. Surprisingly it was still in great condition as well.
My dad was a Leo for many years and had under his responsibility about 40 cops. It would be an immediate end to their career and criminal charges if they kept a known stolen firearm or one used at a crime scene.
My dad had no tolerance for any of his deputies insubordination of handling a found, stolen, recovered or firearm used at a crime scene.
It would mean immediate termination.
Of the many law enforcement agencies and officers I grew up with or known as an adult I never saw any of them add firearms to their collections by means of stolen or recovered firearms. If they had I would've been trying to buy them.

You did the right thing. Common sense would dictate that.
Would someone really think a Glock would just be lost by someone……" Oh honey I was out walking and when I got home I realized my Glock was gone"….Really? Rest assured there was a reason it was lying where it was.
You did the right thing and set a good example for your son. Good dad.

So where is this park? And does anybody have a link to that metal detecting thread? Asking for a friend…

I had a locksmith break into my home and into my safe. They could see pick marks on all the locks. Had a bunch of guns stolen.

Fast forward about 10 yrs and one of my guns ended up in a pawn shop and I got it back. Its a Ruger Redhawk Hunter 44 mag that my Dad gave to me for my high school graduation. Only that got stolen that I was deeply upset about and I was over the moon to have it back. I have shot a train load of deer with it and it is my go to for deer hunting. I put a scope on it after recovery to change up any bad juju of its time away from home. The pawn shop owner is out the money but he was genuinely happy that it got back where it belongs.

You did the right thing. Hopefully there is a trail for that gun that makes it back the the original owner. Great example set.

If you need a Glock 17 so bad as to keep the one your 6 year old finds in a park then I dont think you should be on your phone on TexAgs. You should be mowing yards or delivering pizzas. Come awn guys.....be better than this.

Southlake said:

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Was chasing a baseball odd the beaten path about 20 feet and he yelled, Hey look! I found a gun?

He's 6.

So we called the local police and they came and they took the gun for further evaluation.

If nobody claims or is tracked to the gun, do we get to keep it? It was actually in fairly good condition. Not loaded.

I thought this forum would have the most expertise in this matter.

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No, the local LEO that arrived and took the gun will keep it.

I have plenty of guns. I sure as hell don't need the risk of keeping a "found" gun. Turn it it.

Gunny456 said:

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Had a Colt Series 80 stolen out of my truck working a boat show in Beaumont Texas. I had the serial number recorded so gave it to the cop that came to make out the report. Figured I'd never see it again.
Just a little over two years went by and I got a call from the Harris County Sheriff's office one day saying they had recovered my Colt and I could pick it up.
Only had to show my drivers license to get it. Surprisingly it was still in great condition as well.
My dad was a Leo for many years and had under his responsibility about 40 cops. It would be an immediate end to their career and criminal charges if they kept a known stolen firearm or one used at a crime scene.
My dad had no tolerance for any of his deputies insubordination of handling a found, stolen, recovered or firearm used at a crime scene.
It would mean immediate termination.
Of the many law enforcement agencies and officers I grew up with or known as an adult I never saw any of them add firearms to their collections by means of stolen or recovered firearms. If they had I would've been trying to buy them.

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Same thing happened to Miz R. Someone broke into her house before we even knew each other and stole a Colt 1911. She gave the SAPD officer the serial number. About 5 years later, after we were married she got a call from SAPD that they had recovered it and we went down and picked it up.

That Glock 17 would make a great throw-down gun. You know, if you ever need to take care of a problem and your wood chipper is in the shop.

This reminds me when I was unloading my truck and handed my son my buckmark .22 semi auto and he got distracted taking stuff in and left it on my tailgate. A little later I drove to the store and deposited it a few houses down in the middle of the street. I did not realize until later seeing of FB that a gun was found and police came out and recovered it. A lot of people freaking out. I had to make the walk of shame at the police department property recovery. I did own up on FB and got the oddest responses. Most folks were understanding but the odd thing was that people understood what happened but some were surprised that I had a gun at all, like I even owned guns in our neighborhood.

If someone ditched a gun in a park there is probably a reason that they didn't want to be caught with it & you don't want that bad mojo around you.

High likely hood that its at least stolen, & probably used in a crime.

Once in my correctional officer days we had to go walk the FM road by Buffalo Ranch in Burleson County. LEO had been chasing someone and saw them throwing guns/stuff out of the window. It was a bigger deal here because Buffalo Ranch was worked primarily by convict labor.

In the state of Texas....if a firearm is turned in as "found" it becomes classified by the handling law enforcement agency as "abandoned property" and technically belongs to no one. The law enforcement agency will then tag it and report the serial number (if it still has one) and enter this number into a database of reported stolen firearms. It will also be reported to NIBIN ( National Integrated Ballistic Information Network) which is a national data base that is used by law enforcement to link firearms to crimes and crime scenes by ballistic information of that particular firearm.
The firearm is then documented by locale and location found, caliber, and specs of that particular firearm and placed into an evidence room storage for a minimum period of two and up to five years, depending on what results the above data bases show or match....or ongoing investigations that are linked to the weapon.
At the end of that time, providing the firearm has not been linked to a crime or reported stolen, the law enforcement agency is required to go to a district judge and obtain a court order to have the firearm disposed of. With that signed court order the judge may designate the firearm to be destroyed, auctioned, or sold to a local FFL Dealer.
The above procedure is what my dad did for many years with firearms that came in possession of his department.

I again commend you for doing the right thing. Just think if that firearm leads to a link to a murder or crime that leads to the arrest and conviction of a criminal that hurt a innocent family or person and your honest action could be the one thing that facilitated that.

You guys that are worried about the gun being used in a crime are hilarious. You think david caruso is running ballistics tests on every bullet that gets pulled out of a gangbanger? Even so, it's a Glock. Throw away the barrel and toss a new one in. The real concern is that the serial number is reported stolen and you get caught with a stolen weapon. That's why I'd turn it in. Or just sell it to another gangbanger for a hundo to help power the ol self cleaning oven (kidding about this)

This thread reminded me to make my annual-ish call to harris county pd to see if my s&w model 60-9 has turned up (stolen with my car 4 years ago). Surprisingly I actually got someone on the phone, she asked my case number. I didn't have it, she helped me look it up, she asked me the serial number, I was like "it's not in the report?" She said no it just says Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum. I said so does that mean it's not in nics and it could have been solid legally 4 times by now? She said no because the serial number wasn't in the report, but she could add it and then the detective assigned to the case can put it in nics. I gave it to her and thanked her profusely but it didn't help my opinion of Harris Countys finest, after I stood there with the deputies reporting my stolen car, on the phone with my wife walking her through where to find the serial number and have it to them so they could get my gun in the database asap. Guessing it went into the collection of one of those crooked cops who's been busted since then for working with the car theft rings.
Since who knows when asap might happen for that detective I called BATF to try and get the info in nics asap but of course couldn't reach anyone and left a message explaining the situation. Not holding my breath.

Gunny456 said:

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Just think if that firearm leads to a link to a murder or crime that leads to the arrest and conviction of a criminal that hurt a innocent family or person and your honest action could be the one thing that facilitated that.

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This is why I would turn it in. I don't care about juju or whatever. Don't care about possession of a stolen firearm. I do care about turds getting convicted of their crimes.

There are crooked people in every profession or job. At the end of the day the vast majority of law enforcement are very dedicated folks who do a thankless job. For every bad cop I can name hundreds that are not.

I agree that not all cops are crooked. I just stated that there have been a bunch of Houston cops busted in the last few years for aiding auto theft rings, and it seemed like an amazing coincidence that my car was recovered-completely stripped-just hours after it was stolen and nobody was ever busted for it

Charismatic Megafauna said:

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You guys that are worried about the gun being used in a crime are hilarious. You think david caruso is running ballistics tests on every bullet that gets pulled out of a gangbanger? Even so, it's a Glock. Throw away the barrel and toss a new one in. The real concern is that the serial number is reported stolen and you get caught with a stolen weapon. That's why I'd turn it in. Or just sell it to another gangbanger for a hundo to help power the ol self cleaning oven (kidding about this)

This thread reminded me to make my annual-ish call to harris county pd to see if my s&w model 60-9 has turned up (stolen with my car 4 years ago). Surprisingly I actually got someone on the phone, she asked my case number. I didn't have it, she helped me look it up, she asked me the serial number, I was like "it's not in the report?" She said no it just says Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum. I said so does that mean it's not in nics and it could have been solid legally 4 times by now? She said no because the serial number wasn't in the report, but she could add it and then the detective assigned to the case can put it in nics. I gave it to her and thanked her profusely but it didn't help my opinion of Harris Countys finest, after I stood there with the deputies reporting my stolen car, on the phone with my wife walking her through where to find the serial number and have it to them so they could get my gun in the database asap. Guessing it went into the collection of one of those crooked cops who's been busted since then for working with the car theft rings.
Since who knows when asap might happen for that detective I called BATF to try and get the info in nics asap but of course couldn't reach anyone and left a message explaining the situation. Not holding my breath.

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It was literally found in a park. Criminals ditch guns, especially if they are being chased.

Yes, you can change the barrel and all of that, I get it. That doesn't change the fact that you are hanging on to something with that kind of bad karma on it. Odds are you could hang on to it your entire lifetime and no one would ever know. But you would know.

You don't have to turn it in. You don't have to give it to them to make that happen. They can run a serial in plain sight if they have reason to.

This way I maintain control of my property and it is my property until I determine otherwise. I would never in a million years depend on LE to do the right thing, and even if they do, as Gunny posted, the firearm will never come back to the guy who turned it in

If it has no serial, I won't buy it and if I find one without a serial, I would turn that in.

If I find one, I have the serial run to find out it's status. I always wait for a week and then just "phone a friend' at the PD and tell them I'm considering buying a firearm private sale and want a serial run. They have always come back clean. Maybe they are lying and never actually run it but it cleans my conscience well enough.

Understand. My wife had a 1990 big Bronco stolen from her office parking lot in SA. It was there at noon but gone that afternoon.
SAPD investigator came and took all her info….but told her it was probably in Mexico by then.
That September ( four months later) I was in the Valley for our annual Aggie roommate white wing hunt.
No white wing hunt is complete without going across the border for dinner.
We were standing outside the cantina waiting for a taxi when I see my wife's bronco being driven by a bunch of dudes go buy.
I went over to a Mexican cop standing at the corner and told him in Spanish that that was my truck and it had been stolen in Texas.
He looked at me a shrugged his shoulders and said…." No le hace".
Never saw it again.

Now thats a CRAZY story.

A gun, found ditched in a park?

You are allowed to keep it.

But, you're required to fire it sideways from here on out.

I still get the call every three years or so from PD asking about my stolen rifle. The first two times I thought it was going to be that they found it. I know I will never see it again, it's just an odd phone call every time.

When I lived in Montana, we would hunt south of Bozeman in Sourdough Canyon. BLM had lots of public areas and I got in with a group of guys that had been hunting that area for 20 some years. We would make a camp and pretty much leave it up through the season because hauling everything in on foot was really difficult. Long story short...I was left by two others one weekend because I shot a mule deer on Sunday morning, I had to call in to work so I could clean quarter and pack out. Three trips to the parking area. My third trip out I was beat, my lightest load and felt like I could break new trail and get out quicker with a more direct path to truck. I was doing great and then hit so much thick brush and trees I had to backtrack a little. In the opposite direction off the path I see old flagging on a branch it's almost unnoticeable. And my eye catches a backpack on the ground. I go through it and finally come up with some stuff that had a name on it. I add it to my haul and am about to take off and then I see the rifle in the tree. A flintlock. Someone just couldn't find their way back even with flagging. I get back to the truck with excitement and renewed energy. Get the phonebook out...yes I know, it's 95', and start asking questions. That dude was a happy camper and thanked me with about a hundred dollars of beer and some really good stories hunting up there. Karma boys! I believe in it. Do the right thing, every time!
I remember the brand since it's easy Hatfield 45cal. It was not in great shape and he said it was lost since 1989. But he would clean it up. I always thought of the movie Jeremiah Johnson when he found the frozen dude.

Cool story!

Meh, it's a Glock, not a Staccato or a Dan Wesson. Not worth the bad ju-ju, OP did the right thing.