Do guns wear out? Do they end up in landfill? You always hear about guns being sold, but never about what happens to them at the end of their useful life.
Do guns wear out? Do they end up in landfill? You always hear about guns being sold, but never about what happens to them at the end of their useful life.
Technically I believe it is illegal to throw away a gun in the US because of it’s weapon status. That said, I’m sure it still happens. Guns, though, go on for a long time if properly maintained, and are often still in use even if they are not. Typically they’ll get repaired or turned into pieces of “art” and hung on the wall. In some cases they may get donated/sold to someone who works on guns for a living or a hobby. Mostly, they hang around and rust. All of this information is from my own experience growing up in the rural south, and YMMV depending on the area you are in and the moneyed status of the owner.
If you have it rendered permanently inoperable per ATF guidelines you can technically throw it away. Still alot of hassle when buybacks are a thing.
I’m unaware of any federal law on the mater (not really their jurisdiction) and check your own local law, but probably not. If anyone has a citation otherwise I’d be interested in reading it.
I wonder if it had been taken apart enough and/or hacksawed if it would still meet a definition of “gun” or “firearm”.
At least in the USA no. You can destroy a firearm with a hacksaw. Here’s a figure with approved forms of destruction. Note the width of the white lines represent removed material.