Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Chadwick View Post
A general question about US law and so-called "bringbacks".

A US rifle is issued to a US serviceman.
It is not given to him.
It does not become his personal property.
It is placed in his possession to be used as required by the service.

If he leaves the service, he no longer has any reason or entitlement to possess the weapon.
He cannot give it away or take it with him. It is not his property and he has no rights over it.
It remains the property of the US armed forces.

The service can dispose of the weapon as it pleases.
The serviceman cannot dispose of it at all.

Right or wrong?
Your statements are accurate insofar as they go.

Soldiers, however, and especially officers, have been allowed to take their personal weapons to war with them, and especially when those weapons were issue-type service rifles that fired standard military ammunition. There's a reasonable chance that the rifle in the Gunbroker auction is a pre-WWI sales rifle and was the personal property of Corporal Conover. In that case, Corporal Conover was entirely within his rights to pass the rifle to his buddy and have the rifle sent home.

For what it's worth.

J.B.