A hypothetical question

[Robin128]

The Police will require full details from hence they came.

[Alpha1]

Ring all my shooting buddies if none of them claimed it I would leave it well alone and tell the range warden were it was situated then naff of home.

[ovenpaa]

Here's another one for you:

You are last out of your range and you notice that someone has left a rifle in a slip. You don't know who it belongs to - you are not an RFD, there's no one else about. What do you do?

Vince

It happens as well! If it is an MoD range contact the Range Warden/Manager as he will still be on site waiting for you to clear off so he can lock up. If it is a private range and you cannot identify the owner you have no choice but to advise the police which will do nothing for the profile of the club or the owner of the rifle.

Regarding the handed in ammunition, it has happened to us, it was .22LR found in a garden shed and rightly or wrongly it was noted in the log book and shot shortly afterwards. If someone genuine that I know well hands me say a .22LR I would pull the bullet, oil the case and sling it in the scrap bin, the police have enough to deal with without me driving in, finding a parking place and then handing in a solitary .22LR I very much doubt someone who I did not know very well/trust would hand live ammunition to me as they would have no reason to. If they did choose to I would suggest they rang the control room (It is not a 999 call) told them what they had and then agree to meet up and hand it in.

One possible exception to this is say 100 rounds of historically significant ammunition was dug up in a lead case in the garden, I would have to seek advise at that point.

For anyone reading this, this is my take on the situation right or wrong and if in doubt ring the police and tell them what you have.

As an aside, my Grandfather who shot and owned pistols many years ago went to the police station one day and a lad in front was handing an old service issue revolver during an amnesty. The desk bobby instead of saying thanks and issuing a receipt was asking a lot of awkward questions. Granddad (Quite rightly I think) stepped in and pointed out that in was an amnesty and no questions as such should be asked. Same goes for ammunition found, it should be accepted with good grace if it is a genuine case however it is equally important to prove it is not the result of a criminal activity. A difficult call for all involved, the important thing is such items are kept off the street.

[targetman]

This has happened to me several times, plus in part of my job I go into the houses of people who have recently died and have found not just ammunition but in two cases firearms.......everything goes straight to my local RFD....

[dodgyrog]

FYI
I am a RFD and have had weapons surrendered to me 'anonymously'. I phoned the Firearms office at Police HQ and informed them that I had them and they were on my register. They took details (numbers and descriptions) and told me to hang on to them for a couple of weeks while they checked them out, after that time I could sell them.

[Gun Pimp]

The answer to my hypothetical question? (And there are no range wardens etc. to hand the rifle to).

You are entitled to take the rifle home with you - as long as you make urgent enquiries to find the owner - and get him/her to collect it without undue delay.

(If you have taken the NRA RO course you should know this as it is one of the questions)

Vince

[ovenpaa]

The answer to my hypothetical question? (And there are no range wardens etc. to hand the rifle to).

You are entitled to take the rifle home with you - as long as you make urgent enquiries to find the owner - and get him/her to collect it without undue delay.

(If you have taken the NRA RO course you should know this as it is one of the questions)

Vince

I think this is a grey area and I would have to base my decision on the venue/club/location, as much as I hate the idea of contacting the police because of the adverse publicity for all concerned it could be the safest way forward. Maybe I am just being overly cautious.

[Robin128]

Go by the book ovenpaa.

[Steve E]

As what to do with a firearm or ammunition found at the end of the day on a range, this has happened to me several times. First instance was on a MOD Range. At the end of day found a rifle in a slip plus ammunition at back of range. A quick check and I identified whose rifle/ammunition I had. I just contacted the owner that night and all was sorted quietly. Second instance was at Bisley. Firearm left in Short Siberia carpark. I handed Rifle into the Range office. An Investigation was carried out by the NRA to identify the owner. The Owner was contacted and was then subject to an NRA Disciplinary hearing, fined £200 and was banned from Bisley for a period of time. At no times were the police involved.
As for finding or being 'given' ammunition, if it is a calibre that i can possess no problem. If not it goes to the NRA armourer.

Steve