What would you do in this situation (another shooter at the range forgets his rifle)

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you did fine.. was the owner of the gun range not trustworthy? Normally if someone leaves anything at my range I keep it here until the panicky owner calls (like 1 hour) then I tease him about being an airhead and he comes for it. usually the embarrassed gunowner returns same day. :D
 
The range is basically self-policing, it's a private range, requiring paid membership, the club officers are never really there in an "official" capacity, so there was no official there to release custody of the rifle to

I'm gonna stop at the range after work to see if the owner is there, i doubt je will be, I'm also going to stop at the gun store tonight to see if they can track him down via the serial number, I'm 98% sure he got it there, he said he bought it used there

I'm doing everything I can to get this gun back to it's owner, I'm kinda using this thread as documentation of my efforts, just to CMA…
 
You do the same thing you would do if the guy left-behind any other expensive piece of property.

You make reasonable efforts to return the item to the owner.

The fact that it is a gun, and is possibly "traceable" by serial number, adds one more layer to your moral obligation. If reasonable efforts to contact the owner are unsuccessful, you get the cops involved.

Some states have a procedure for a "finder" to obtain clear title to found property if the true owner cannot be located by any ordinary means. I suspect you will find the owner of the rifle before the finders-keepers law will allow you to keep the rifle.

I left a very expensive rifle at a range one day when I was nearly delirious from heat exhaustion. After 20 minutes-or-so in the A/C in the car, I realized my error and returned to the range. A fella had taken custody of my rifle. Now, while I am 1000% sure he had no intent to deprive me of my rifle, I thought he was a bit too cute in the way he handled the return of the rifle, especially considering the circumstances of how the blunder occurred.

Don't be THAT guy.
 
Gun store should have a 4473 if he bought it there. At some point you will have to draw a line in the sand as far as how long you are willing to hang on to it before reporting it as found to PD. At least they will be able to trace from source (manufacturer) to last 4473 filed and possibly come up with the owner. Sounds like you are doing everything you can to find the owner. Nice job doing the right thing.

I think we would all like to hear how this turns out.
 
Sensitive item check. :D

Ok, a few giggles, but this also serves to remind us that we need to be more focused on the range than anywhere else. We pay close attention to the little things so that the big things don't get away from us.

Um, yeah, that's exactly what I would do, and they guy is lucky that there are honest people in the world. You know what? That's the beautiful thing about shooters and ranges, this kind of behavior is very much the rule more than the exception, at a range, I can expect most people to do the right thing, pretty much all of the time.

Of course if I did it, my note would say something like; "Find me on facebook", where he would see pics of me gleefully posing with his gun. :)
 
I think that you did the right thing.
I had almost the same thing happen at a public rifle range a few years ago. A guy was sighting in a couple of hunting rifles for deer season and there were probably 3 other shooters there. The deer hunter left with his guns sitting in the rack at his shooting station. After about 20 minutes the two guys shooting SKS's (badly) asked if I thought the guy had left his rifles and what I thought we should do. I told them that I would be there for another hour or so and would hang around. I planned on leaving a vague note for the owner to call me about the rifles if he hadn't showed up before I left. Luckily the guy raced back about an hour later. He was stressed, embarrassed and very happy that no one walked away with his rilfes.
 
I stopped at the range, no joy, no signs of the owner....

The gunstore has been called, they have the ser# on record, and will be relaying my contact info to that person, they wouldn't give me his personal info (I understand why due to privacy issues), hopefully, I will be getting a call from him ASAP

I'm thinking it'd be best to transfer the gun back to the owner at the gunshop, mainly so I can verify his ownership of the gun via the 4473, or the gunshop guys vouching for him based on the 4473
 
HAPPY NEWS!!!

The owner of the gun just called me, thanking me profusely for holding onto his gun, we will meet back at the range on Sunday where he will bring his proof of purchase and driver's licence to verify ownership and I will release the gun back to him

:)

Problem solved, everyone's happy :D
 
Were do you get a proof of purchase. I only have them on a few guns.

If it was bought at a gun shop the receipt should be all that's needed. The make, model and serial number will be on the receipt. For a private sale/buy I would make two documents with the same information as a store receipt and have both parties sign them.

If I was in a state that requires the gun to be transferred through a FFL (I was before moving to SC) then the receipt from that should do fine.
 
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If your member-only range is like mine, they put out a newsletter via email with minutes from that month's board meeting, a calendar with upcoming events, a for sale/trade section, and any announcements. If it happened again, the thing to do would be to ask the boardmembers to post it in the newsletter.
 
I left my 41 smith out at the range and was caled up by and told to come get it. Hang on to it, post a note at the range/FOUND . . . . . he will definitely find you. Most gun owners are honest folks.
 
I'd do exactly what you did......................

In fact, it happened to me just 3 weeks ago except I never saw who left their rifle at the range. It was there when I arrived. I shot for 3 hours or more and he never showed so I, too, called the club Pres., Vice pres. and the club treasuror. They said to put it in the lock-up in the club house (which only members have access to).
I left a note on the bulletin board with a very generic description of the rifle (no caliber, make or model).
Not much else can be done.
A contact card inside of your case would sure help in those situations!
 
It's like the old saying about evil and good men doing nothing, today you were one of those good men, who did something for a fellow human being. You could have done nothing,you chose not to, Play it forward.
It's a big deal now a days when someone does the right thing, enjoy the feeling it is a fleeting moment, but one that should be remembered.
 
It doesn't have to be a rare occurrence to do the right thing. Hopefully MacTech's actions will inspire others.
 
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