Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Still trying to get gun used in BIL's suicide back

You can get your gun back. It will take some investment in time and maybe money.

No chit.I would torch that gun regardless of what its worth.

I like the idea of turning it in as stolen

That almost sounds like you agree with those that say guns cause crime!

IMHO..............

Don't throw away a shovel after you dig a grave with it...

Its an inanimate object.
Of some worth.
So sell it and donate the money to a worthy charity.

The handgun is not a sentient being, it has no ability to decide or act - an inanimate object - and it is your property. There is a bunch of good advice above. If you want it, go get it.

THIS!!!!!

Except that, if you read the Mass. Law regarding retention of evidence(posted earlier), he is entitled to have it returned, or it seems they have no right or obligation to retain it. If it is reported stolen and then 'found' you have to wait out another crime and trial process.......

7.03: Scope and Applicability
(1) Any governmental entity that is in possession of evidence or biological material that is
collected for its potential evidentiary value during the investigation of a crime, the prosecution
of which results in a conviction, shall retain evidence or biological material for the period of time
that a person remains in the custody of the Commonwealth, or under parole or probation
supervision in connection with the crime, without regard to whether the evidence or biological
material was introduced at trial.

The notion that cops take guns held in evidence and make them their own is archaic. These things are tracked so religiously today that even the most crooked of minds would have difficulty in snagging one.

If it is in fact a possession of the Massachusetts State Police it can be located and returned in minutes.

Hire an attorney and tell them you want the gun. You are the lawful owner. I would seek out an attorney that works in Massachusetts and specializes in the recovery of seized property.

It’s a thing.

If you have to have bona fides to comment on this thread, here are mine: I lost two brothers to suicide by firearm. Both rifles were seized as evidence by Vermont State Police. Suicides are investigated as crimes to verify that the decedent had motive to kill himself and to rule out accidental death. In both cases, I was given the name of the investigating detective or trooper. The Remington 760 in .300 Savage that my youngest brother used to administer the .30 cal cure in 2006 was our dad's; of course we wanted it back. The Remington 700 Mountain Rifle in .308 that my nearest-in-age brother used in 2011 was left in his will to his grandson; so we wanted it back as well. The VSP crime lab is/was so backed up that it took over a year to test the rifles for function and to match the empty case found in the chamber to the rifle. In both cases, I wrote regularly to the investigating detective/trooper letting him know that with all due respect to the required process, the family wanted the firearms returned. They were both eventually returned, along with the fired brass...hand delivered to my door by the investigating detective/trooper. That's how they roll in Vermont.

Massachusetts is a very corrupt state. The inner workings of MA state government at all levels, but particularly the MSP, is the stuff of legend; we're talking mafia-level tribalism. Sorry, but that Gold Cup is long gone: there is no documented "chain of title", which means you can't even "prove" you own it or have a right to claim it unless you have photos with serial numbers or the like. They will just bump it to the next level until enough time has gone by, then someone will look you in the eye and say, "I'm sorry, it has been lost or destroyed." It's in the safe of some trooper or officer who adopted it. The only person who knows he has it is the MSP armorer who owed him a favor and handed it to him. Sorry for your loss, Bill, but it's time to move on.

'...We have the bill of sale and box for the gun as proof of ownership...'

From the OP.................

I hope that helps. I'm not that hopeful.

I sent photos of both to the detective working the case last winter after he told me it was through ballistics. He seemed satisfied with that but it hasn't been reviewed by the DA yet.

I made some phone calls this morning to the NRA, the Holyoke DA and an attorney. Waiting to hear back..

Sounds like you need someone to help connect you to the right person. Might try reaching out to a local legislator, sheriff, attorney, or someone else with some juice in that area.

I guess it depends on the state. My buddy had a ruger blackhawk 357 stolen from him, ended up being used in a crime. When the case was done, dang it if they didn't give it back to him. 10 years between when it was stolen and when he got it back, what are the odds.

Usually a command officer of that department would have to sign off on releasing it. If they won't release it you may have to petition a local court and get a court order for release of property.
Believe it or not, a lot of departments have stringent rules on making every effort to return property, as the storage of years and years of seized items gets to be a burden.

not that archaic, back in the 2000s, we were buying some nice guns from a local deputy. He was taking them straight out of the evidence room. It was 23 guns or so total, we had bought 8 of them and he sold the others around town. But yes, he did eventually get caught. No telling how many more went missing that were never sold. I knew a deputy that had to oversee the destruction of confiscated weapons, no way they chopped all them up. Now in Ga, all confiscated weapons must go through a ffl auction house. Seen some nice guns ruined by evidence rooms just laying them on concrete, picked up a some nice shotguns with one side of them solid orange rust from soaking up all that moisture.


I hate to hear about your bil, but I sure hope they cleaned that gun well after they found it are its probably ruined anyway.

Digging a grave with a shovel is a lot different than beating someone to death with it.

They make new guns every day. Just give your mother in law $1200 if it's that important to you. I wouldn't want anything to do with a suicide gun...gross!

I’d agree with this. Just a matter of getting a lawwyah and spending the $. Maybe as much or more than the gun is actually worth. Me, I’d do it on principle. No juju, bad juju, whatever. You gimmee that fuggin gun back azzhats and if EYE want to, I’ll toss it off a bridge. MA sucks. Born and raised there.