My first cannon !!!!

[Gary Drayton]

I found this gun recently water hunting in South Florida, I took a couple of photographs before handing it over to the beach police.
HH Gary
www.garydrayton.com

 

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[ivan salis]

typical 22 cal --el cheapo gun -- loved as "throw away" guns for robberys and back of the head "hit guns"--- used a lot in crimes --but also carried by lots of folks as a cheap "pocket sized" protection piece as well --was the clip with it or not ? no clip often means dumped into the sea on purpose -- if thrown into the sea as a dump--- often times the ammo clip is pulled and kept as a spare clip for another gun of the same type --gangbanger 101

 

[Mackaydon]

My eyes see 22 cal. Either way, there might be some interesting history associated.
I hope the police give you an update as to WON it was used in a crime.

 

[search and recovery]

You did the right thing with it. Still, a cool find

 

[ivan salis]

ops --corrected my post --its a 22 --macs right --seen way too many of em in 25 cal -- 22 model is most likely better than the 25 actually , for those lil saturday night special - pocket pistols

 

[Gary Drayton]

Jennings firearms .22 , there was no magazine.

 

[ivan salis]

clip strippedfrom gun for use with another one as a "spare" clip ---- since it can not be linked with the gun in any way. - classic gang banger type move for crime used dumped in the sea guns --saltwater tends to eat up those guns rather quickly -- so most likely recently used & dumped .

good call turning it in --might be "bodies" attached to it.

if the clip was in it --maybe a INNOCENT LOSS -- NO clip --not so innocent loss most likely.

 

[mts]

This would be a difficult decision for me. If I found a gun that looked freshly dropped/discarded then I'd turn it in to the police. But this gun looks like it has been rotting for a while (of course, it could be just the picture). I would assume that there isn't much the police can do with something like this. I would imagine that 99% of the time they are just going to destroy it without even looking at it (perhaps they'd at least try to find a serial number). Even if it was used in a crime, the odds are small that they would ever match it or that it would even have been used in the type of crime where finding the gun would be relevant. Let's face it, the police are busy and have better things to do than try and track down some random gun that may or may not have anything whatsoever to do with an outstanding case.

It's definitely a tough call because you want to be helpful if you can be. But if the odds are virtually zero that turning something like this in is actually going to do any good, then I'd be tempted to keep it. I realize that there are many differing opinions on this. Each instance would end up being a complete judgement call. But I think it is reasonable to sometimes "keep the gun" if it looks like there isn't going to be much the police can do with it anyway.

I'd be interested in hearing what some LEO's have to say about this. I have no experience in law enforcement so I could be seriously mistaken. I'd like to understand the reality of the situation instead of using wishful thinking or assumptions.

 

[ivan salis]

are you willing to possiblily be "found" by the cops -- with a gun with a "unknown" history that upon being fired or inspected could be found to have killed a person or many people for that matter?--if your found with the "murder weapon" --guess who is going to be #1 on the polices --you did it list-- thats right you thats who .-- hope you do not get "railroaded" and put in jail

and even if the gun gets matched up with the "real" murderer after your caught with it by cops --he could get off due to "reasonible doubt -"- uh it wasn't my client folks, the murders lawyer would say --see the cops found the gun on him ( pointing at * you) -- my client is being set up / framed. --a murderer could walk due to that.

 

[Mackaydon]

It’s an easy call; turn the gun in.

To keep the weapon and sit in judgment of the gun’s forensic value, based on only personal assumptions, would not make me feel comfortable, especially if by handing the weapon in might assist the authorities in solving a crime. I’ll let the authorities, not I, make the call on the forensic value of the weapon.

Put yourself in a theoretic victim’s position: Would you, as the victim, prefer I keep the weapon that may have injured you or would you prefer I hand it in? An easy call.
Don........

 

[mts]

It’s an easy call; turn the gun in.

To keep the weapon and sit in judgment of the gun’s forensic value, based on only personal assumptions, would not make me feel comfortable, especially if by handing the weapon in might assist the authorities in solving a crime. I’ll let the authorities, not I, make the call on the forensic value of the weapon.

Put yourself in a theoretic victim’s position: Would you, as the victim, prefer I keep the weapon that may have injured you or would you prefer I hand it in? An easy call.
Don........

It's an easy call; turn the ring in.

To keep the ring and sit in judgment of the ring's forensic value, based on only personal assumptions, would not make me feel comfortable, especially if by handing in the ring it might assist the authorities in solving a crime. I’ll let the authorities, not I, make the call on the forensic value of the ring.

Put yourself in a theoretic victim’s position: Would you, as the victim, prefer I keep the ring that may have been stolen from you or would you prefer I hand it in? An easy call.

Now repeat the above statement and substitute knife for ring.

I think the emotions of the item being a gun clouds our judgement and makes us believe that there is some miraculous possibility that a crime has been committed and can be solved by turning it in. In reality, just like with the ring, that gun when turned in is more than likely just going to disappear.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm being a bit facetious with my example. It is definitely true that a crime COULD be solved by turning in a gun. And as I said in my very first post, if the gun looks freshly dropped I would not hesitate to turn it in. But it is NOT an "easy call" from what I can tell.

If that gun was a cap and ball revolver would you turn it in? How about a flintlock musket? Why not? It could have been used in a crime back in the 1700's. Heck, it could have been used in a crime only yesterday. But most of us would not turn in what appears to be a very old gun in hopes that we would be potentially solving a crime. So again, there is some leeway on when to turn in a gun and when not to.

 

[mts]

are you willing to possiblily be "found" by the cops -- with a gun with a "unknown" history that upon being fired or inspected could be found to have killed a person or many people for that matter?--if your found with the "murder weapon" --guess who is going to be #1 on the polices --you did it list-- thats right you thats who .-- hope you do not get "railroaded" and put in jail

and even if the gun gets matched up with the "real" murderer after your caught with it by cops --he could get off due to "reasonible doubt -"- uh it wasn't my client folks, the murders lawyer would say --see the cops found the gun on him ( pointing at * you) -- my client is being set up / framed. --a murderer could walk due to that.

Like I said, if it was a freshly dropped gun I would turn it in. But this gun looks corroded. I don't think I'd have any problem with convincing the cops that I found it metal detecting. I think you've been watching a few too many movies. Having the murder weapon does not prove that I committed the crime. They would also want to be able to prove motive as well as prove that I had the opportunity. That doesn't mean that I couldn't potentially be convicted. But the odds would be astronomically against me going to jail for murdering some random person with no connection when I potentially had an alibi anyway.

Use the ring example above. Would you want to be caught with that stolen ring? Aren't you afraid of going to jail for stealing it? After all, the odds of finding a lost ring that had originally been stolen are probably no less than finding a gun that was used in a murder. In fact, I'd bet that many of us have rings in our possesion that were indeed stolen but very few of us have guns that were used as murder weapons. So why aren't you turning in all of your rings to the police? Perhaps it's because you've taken a good look at the odds, weighed the risk, and decided that it wasn't worth worrying about.

I think there are cases where you could come to the same conclusion with an old rusty gun and not lose any sleep over it. My chances of going to jail for possessing that old rusty gun are probably less than me being killed in a car accident tonight on my way to dinner. So I don't think I'd lose too much sleep over it.

 

[mts]

One more thing that I want to make perfectly clear is that I am in no way trying to cast judgement on whether or not Gary should have turned in this particular gun. He found it and decided to turn it in. His judgement on the matter is good enough for me. I'm sure that was the right thing to do. Without holding the gun and knowing where and how it was found there is no way that I could make any assumptions about it.

My main point is that I think it is sometimes reasonable to not turn in a gun based on its condition, where it was found, and how it was found. In most cases I would probably error on the side of caution. If there is any doubt in my mind I would turn it in. But I think that sometimes a lot of people sensationalise the issue and convince themselves that all guns must be turned in.... except of course, when they shouldn't.

Congrats to Gary on such a cool find!

 

[dld]

often times the ammo clip is pulled and kept as a spare clip for another gun of the same type --gangbanger 101

sorry to be picky but a clip and a magazine are two different items, like calling a dime a penny, they are both coins but are different

this is a clip (stripper clip)

this is a magazine

 

[ivan salis]

magazine * you get the gist of what I'm trying to convey .-- they strip the "ammo holder' to reuse as a spare for a similar make & model of gun.

 

[davest]

with the amount of barnacles and ocean dwellers living on the slide, I'm pretty certain the inside of the barrel will never be traced to anything, no matter how many movies you might have seen.

 

[Deedubya1973]

Always turn it in.

The weapon could have been stolen and turning it in would "recover" the weapon and allow it to be taken out of the system. Stolen firearms remain in the system forever. With the firearm in that condition, it would be difficult to determine if it had ever been used in a crime, but eventually the firearm will find new life as part of a manhole cover, etc, as most police departments destroy them at foundries.

 

[mts]

Always turn it in.

The weapon could have been stolen and turning it in would "recover" the weapon and allow it to be taken out of the system. Stolen firearms remain in the system forever. With the firearm in that condition, it would be difficult to determine if it had ever been used in a crime, but eventually the firearm will find new life as part of a manhole cover, etc, as most police departments destroy them at foundries.

Do you also always turn in knives? Candlesticks? Ropes? Lead pipes? Wrenches? Why not? Aren't these also potentially stolen or used in a murder. What if the serial number on the gun can't be seen because it is rusted off and there is no way the weapon will be "recovered" anyway?

I guess the issue I have is with the word "Always". It seems to me that most people who say "always turn it in" would in fact not turn it in themselves if there was no chance that it would be recovered, identified, or if they didn't feel that it was potentially used in a murder.

But out of respect for the OP I'll get down off of my soapbox now.

 

[s.c.shooter]

They can always run the gun through ATF who can determine the original dealer and try to backtrace it from there. Chances are the serial # won't rust off and even if it's been filed off there are ways to bring it back out. Turning it in is the right move. It might be the final link in taking one of these thugs off the street.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Ok, I'll add a couple cents here. I have an old rifle I found under a house here hanging on my wall. I talked to a police officer friend about it. He had a look at it and told me that given its condition, (major rust damage, barrel rusted shut) they would just chuck into a barrel and melt it down with all the other confiscated guns. They really are only interested in guns that can be traced or ballistically matched to a crime.

If I had found the gun in question on this post, I would have tried to determine if it were in the system as stolen or not. If you are friendly with local cops, you maybe able to have them run the serial number for you. If it had been reported stolen, well, I'd probably turn it in just to not have a stolen gun in my home. If not, I'd keep it. This one looks to be in good enough shape to dismantle and rebuild. Which is something I might take on as a spare time project. Or just clean it up and have a paperweight.

While it's true that we may find items that were stolen at some point, I think it's just up to each individual to make the judgement call on what to do with them.