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

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Had a fun day at the range today, sighting in my new-to-me 1985 vintage Marlin Model 25, comparing it against my Savage MKII-G and Ruger 10/22 (that's the subject of another thread), and helping out another shooter who has issues with his .22LR pistol...

One of the other shooters was shooting his .22 revolvers, saw that I had a Savage Bolt action, and we got to discussing them, I mentioned that I wasn't happy with my Savage today, and was thinking of trading it and perhaps picking up a <higher end model>.

He said "I have one of those in my car, hold on, I'll go get it and you can try it"

He brings back a soft case containing a <data redacted> in .17HMR, I haven't shot .17HMR, so I was looking forward to it

He had the gun modded with an aftermarket trigger that was set with a one pound pull, you just think and it goes off, great gun, I shot a few one-holers with it, he tossed me a half box of ammo (20 rounds or so left) and said to finish it up, I finished up the rounds, complimented him on such a great gun, and put it back in the case for him setting it in the next stall over and letting him know I was all done with it, going back to my Marlin and Ruger rifles

As I was shooting, he decided he had had his fill of shooting for the day, and packed up to leave, then drove off to the gun store about 15 miles away

A couple minutes later, one of the other shooters walks over and asks me "did that guy just leave his gun behind?"

I looked over in the next stall, and sure enough, there was the soft case with the <data redacted>, he had left the range and forgotten his rifle!

Unfortunately, no one knows his phone number or e-mail address

So, the other guy takes my phone number down, and heads to the gunstore to see if he can track him down, a few minutes later, he calls, saying he couldn't find him, I stay at the range for a half hour or so beyond my normal time, waiting for him to show up or call, nothing, it's like he's vanished

So, I put up a note on the corkboard in the shooting hut, telling him to contact me, that he left his rifle behind, that I'm holding it for safe keeping (I left it deliberately vague, to root out scammer attempts) and he needs to pick it up ASAP

I also sent an email to the president of the range, with the same info, hoping that he can either get me the guy's contact info or contact me directly, if I don't hear from the owner by tomorrow, I'll try contacting <club name removed> directly and see if I can drop his rifle off with a club official for safekeeping, I don't like being the caretaker of another person's gun, but leaving it at the range was also *NOT* an option

What would you do in this situation? you're at the range, and discover another shooter has left their gun behind and you have no way of immediately contacting them
 
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Being the honest guy that I am, I would do just as you did and secure the weapon for him. He will surely be contacting the range at some time in a panic, and since he will associate that rifle with you, I would hold onto it myself, not turn it over to the range as once it's out of your control who knows what will happen to it.
 
Sounds to me like you've handled it properly.

Does your range keep a log of who was shooting on any given day or have security cameras on the parking area? The range I shoot at makes everyone fill out a card with their name, address and an emergency contact everyday.
 
After waiting that last half hour after you were finished I would have called the police to take charge of the weapon as missing property. Then try and contact the range management, tell him what you did and to tell the owner of the rifle to contact the police to recover his weapon.
 
Seems like you did what any decent person would do. Any reasonable shooter would likely go back to the last place they used a gun if lost. The gun store may also have his contact number if he bought a gun there before.
 
You did the right thing. I would have NOT got the police involved. The way some cops are now days, they might have tried to keep it or charge him with some kind of crime. Keep them out of it if at all possible.

Keep the info posted like you have, being vague to suppress scammers, and keep your ears open. In the meantime, clean the gun, and take care of it as if it were one of your own.
 
Writerinmo, that's what I was thinking, the fewer times the rifle changes possession the better, the only advantage I see with letting a range official take possession of it is if it could be secured in a locked part of the clubhouse
 
You handles it well. There is absolutely NO REASON to involve the police. (The only crime committed was him being cool and letting you shoot his rifle.) I would see if the range has a record of who shot there. You can turn it over to the range officials if you prefer. That's a judgement call depending on if you trust them. I would probably leave my contact information like you did.

Whenever, I shoot somebody else's stuff, I will physically put it back in their hands. It helps to cutdown mishaps such as this one..
 
Just so you don't have to chance it, I might remove information about the rifle from the original post--never know who here could be reading it and happen to go to the same range as you.
 
Good idea, pilgrim ;)

Model information has been removed

The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get, I didn't *want* this responsibility, I didn't *ask* for this responsibility, I have no problem keeping tabs on my own firearms, I shouldn't have to look after other people's firearms

It just amazes me that he not only didn't come racing back to the range minutes after driving off without his gun, heck, I feel nervous/guilty when I leave my gun(s) at my shooting station to go out to the car to grab more targets/ammo, I doubt I could leave any of my firearms unattended for longer than it takes to walk to the car, get the supplies and walk back, it's inconceivable that I could leave a firearm behind and drive off without it...

At what point do I have to think about involving law enforcement, I'd prefer to keep the cops out of the situation, but I also don't want to be erroneously charged with having a "stolen" gun, especially when it's NOT stolen, and I have made multiple efforts to contact the owner, and I DO NOT WANT to be in possession of the thing, it's not my gun, plain and simple

To be clear though, simply leaving it at the range, unattended, would not be an option, either

there's a condo development next door to the range, and they'd love *any* opportunity to shut the range down, an unattended firearm would definitely give them more "ammunition" as it were to get us shut down

oh, and no, there's no security cameras or sign in sheets, any and all personal info is only available to the club officers, perhaps member's phone numbers/emails should be available to other members, perhaps behind a password-protected section on the club's homepage
 
Just so you don't have to chance it, I might remove information about the rifle from the original post--never know who here could be reading it and happen to go to the same range as you.
Click to expand...

Don't chance what? He knows what the guy looks like, right? So let's say someone calls, claims to be the owner of the rifle. OP goes to meet the guy and return it. If he's not the owner, he doesn't get the rifle. There's no need to redact anything.
 
Posting a "found" bulletin should be enough. If you are worried about it, put something in the local paper with your phone number attached. Buy and keep a copy of that paper.

If/when that guy finds you and gets his gun back he will probably be very thankful.
 
You did the right thing. Getting more people involved like the police or management will just add in red tape. I'm sure he will get in touch with you in a few days.
 
If it is a private club I would contact the powers that be and give it to them; if not I would just post a note like you did with your information. Sounds to me like that is about all you can do.

It is a rifle, not a first born child... I wouldn't really see it as some kind of massive responsibility to be saddled with, or any reason to "redact info" since you know what the owner looks like anyway. I would make my best efforts to contact the owner, and those efforts would either be successful, or not. If you are not able to contact him, then, I don't know exactly what to do.
 
Don't chance what? He knows what the guy looks like, right? So let's say someone calls, claims to be the owner of the rifle. OP goes to meet the guy and return it. If he's not the owner, he doesn't get the rifle. There's no need to redact anything.
Click to expand...

If you wouldn't post the rifle info on the range, I wouldn't post it here either. Simple as that.

Why? What could possibly happen?
Click to expand...

It doesn't add anything to the thread, but could potentially present more problems in the way of people claiming to own the rifle. Are you 100% sure you could recognize someone you met only once, possibly a few weeks later, and not confuse them with someone else that might look similar?
 
I think you did right, but I also think it wouldn't have been wrong to turn it over to the police dept if you didn't want the responsibility. Besides, if the guy never contacts you, it's possible that he reports it stolen someday and then you've got a rifle with a hot serial number.

I used to frequent a quite remote military range used by the DEA. One day I arrived just as a carload of agents were leaving. I found one of their CAR-15s (this was in the 80s) when I went out to the benches. I handed it to the Rangemaster. (he was active duty military) :)
 
Man...
I used to frequent a quite remote military range used by the DEA. One day I arrived just as a carload of agents were leaving. I found one of their CAR-15s (this was in the 80s) when I went out to the benches.
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I bet that got some panties in a wad! :uhoh:
Joe
 
I truly can't believe someone would leave a rifle behind, not after going to the trouble of putting in a new trigger, etc., how can one be so reckless? Either that, or the guy has so much money, or guns, and these things don't mean squat to him. I mean, I've gone to the range and forgotten ammo before, but not the damned gun!:banghead:
 
I would secure the weapon and make every reasonable attempt to track the owner down. I also would NOT turn the weapon over to anyone but the owner, or a legally designated representative. There's no way I'd give it to the range, personally, I'd be much more comfortable handing it to the owner myself.

R
 
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