# found gun



## mike4cobra (Oct 24, 2010)

I found a shotgun while pheasant hunting today. If you can tell me where i found it and what type it is then I will give you my contact info so you can get your gun back.


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## mike4cobra (Oct 24, 2010)

I found a shotgun while pheasant hunting today. If you can tell me where i found it and what type it is then I will give you my contact info so you can get your gun back.


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

Good on ya Mike!


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## jshuag (Jan 16, 2014)

Aren't the serial numbers on guns usually registered now?

You could check up on it and get it back to the owner. Assuming the current owner is tied to the serial number of course.


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## SlickWeo (Nov 21, 2014)

You may want to contact law enforcement and ask them to run the serial number. It may have been reported lost. Call and tell them the serial number, the make and model and they can tell you if it has been reported lost or stolen.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

Not quite like you see in the movies. And us regular folks are not privy to that type of information. You would need to give the gun to the local law enforcement agency. They would check to see if it had been reported to the NCIC as lost or stolen. If not, they would need to contact the BATFE, and they would need to find out from the manufacturer who they sent it to, that distributor, who they sent it to, that distributor who they sent it to, and the retailer would need to search their log book (and who knows how far back that might be) to find out who they sold the gun to. And if the gun is more than 20 years old, those files may not exist. 
Sorry to tell you this, but you are not going to find that info with a google search.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Loke said:


> Not quite like you see in the movies. And us regular folks are not privy to that type of information. You would need to give the gun to the local law enforcement agency. They would check to see if it had been reported to the NCIC as lost or stolen. If not, they would need to contact the BATFE, and they would need to find out from the manufacturer who they sent it to, that distributor, who they sent it to, that distributor who they sent it to, and the retailer would need to search their log book (and who knows how far back that might be) to find out who they sold the gun to. And if the gun is more than 20 years old, those files may not exist.
> Sorry to tell you this, but you are not going to find that info with a google search.


All of this is accurate but I have a question. When us brothers inherited a full-auto I was guaranteed that no one could look up the serial number or look to see if my brothers or I owned an automatic unless a crime was committed. Is this not true with "regular guns?


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## reb8600 (Sep 8, 2007)

Guns in Utah can only be tracked by the BATF starting with the manufacturer and tracking it to the point of sell. The papers you fill out are only for a background check and are not used to register guns. That paper work does not leave the store unless they go out of business. It is then shipped to the BATF and put on a shelf in the box. They do not input the information into any system.

They can track the full auto also. It is all registered with the tax stamp.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

that is the point I was trying to make. There isn't a government employee that thinks he has the spare time to track down the owner of a gun that has been found, even if it were legal for them to do so. The legal thing to do is turn it in to local law enforcement, and if the owner isn't found, you might get to keep it, provided you are willing to pay for the transfer.


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## massmanute (Apr 23, 2012)

Utah law on lost property says that you must try to find the owner. It does not require you to turn over lost property to law enforcement.

There are, or course, other reasons why you might want to turn the gun over to law enforcement, but it is not written into the law as a requirement.


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## CVHunter INACTIVE (May 28, 2013)

Trying to imagine how you loose your shotgun. 
Set it down to take a pee then continue hunting without your gun?


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## CVHunter INACTIVE (May 28, 2013)

Just kidding I do that all the time.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

CVHunter said:


> Trying to imagine how you loose your shotgun.
> Set it down to take a pee then continue hunting without your gun?


I have to admit that I have left a lot of things sitting on the ground, in a tree, or on the top of a bush but never a firearm.

Most lean their shotguns on the side of the truck while they are putting the rest of their gear away and forget about it until they get home and then the sick feeling comes over them and they hurry back to where they were hunting hoping that it will still be there. But once they get there they see that it is no longer there so they try to remember all the vehicles that they saw on the way in but can't.

They then should notify the manager of the area if there was one and the local Sheriffs department, local police or whoever else might be in control of the law enforcement for that area and then they just hope.

As for serial numbers on your firearms, how many of you actually have it written down where you can access it or even have it written down? I know that there are a lot of hunters and shooters that don't bother with it figuring that they will never need it and if they do then they can just look at the firearm.


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## CVHunter INACTIVE (May 28, 2013)

Ok now there is a scenario I can see. Thanks because I was pretty bamboozled by that story.


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

seen it happen quite a few times- but a fly rod was involved


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

Critter said:


> As for serial numbers on your firearms, how many of you actually have it written down where you can access it or even have it written down? I know that there are a lot of hunters and shooters that don't bother with it figuring that they will never need it and if they do then they can just look at the firearm.


I have mine written down and stored at another location along with photos of the gun.


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## Rspeters (Apr 4, 2013)

I take pictures of all my guns, including closeups of the serial numbers, and store them on an online storage account I have.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

bowgy said:


> I have mine written down and stored at another location along with photos of the gun.


Another good reason for this is insurance, I checked my home owners a few years back to make sure my firearms were covered, they said, sure for up to $1000.00, I said I have single guns worth more than that, the insurance wanted me to get a list so I could get additional coverage to cover my guns.

You may want to check your homeowners insurance to make sure your guns are covered.

Sorry for the hijack:focus:


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## duckilla (Nov 20, 2014)

There was a guy on Ksl that posted a ad about losing a shotgun you may want to check there


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