You do not get to keep the rifle or pistol the military issued you, but keeping your gun after military service is entirely legal when the gun is your own personal property, and most veterans remain free to buy and own firearms as civilians after they separate. The exceptions matter: a Dishonorable Discharge, certain convictions, and a few other legal findings can bar you from owning a firearm for life.
Your Issued Weapon Goes Back
Every weapon the military hands you, from an M4 to an M9 to a crew-served machine gun, is serialized federal property tracked by your unit armory. No branch has a mechanism for a separating service member to purchase their issued weapon, no matter how many deployments it went on with you. Out-processing requires you to clear through supply and the arms room, and your DD-214 is not finalized until every issued item is accounted for.
Trying to leave with one is a federal crime. Under 18 U.S.C. 641, stealing or converting government property worth more than $1,000 carries up to ten years in prison, and a military firearm easily clears that threshold.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 641 – Public Money, Property or Records Active-duty members also face Article 121 of the UCMJ for larceny or wrongful appropriation, which can bring confinement and a punitive discharge at court-martial.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 U.S. Code 921 – Art. 121 Larceny and Wrongful Appropriation Either outcome would then permanently strip you of the right to own any firearm at all.
Personal Firearms Are Yours to Keep
Guns you bought with your own money are your property, and separation does not change that. The complication is how they are stored while you are still in uniform. Installation commanders set their own rules, but the general framework is consistent across the branches.
If you live in the barracks or a dormitory, your personal firearms typically must be registered with base security forces or the provost marshal and stored in the unit armory rather than in your room. Dormitories and lodging facilities are generally prohibited storage locations. Service members in on-base family housing usually have more flexibility, with many installations allowing registered firearms in the home if they are kept in a locked, tamper-resistant container, and with separate secured-storage rules for ammunition.3F.E. Warren Air Force Base. Privately Owned Weapons / Firearms
When you separate, you retrieve your firearms from wherever they are registered on base, clear through the appropriate office, and take them with you. From that point on, you are a civilian gun owner subject to federal and state law like anyone else.
Moving Your Guns Across State Lines
Separation often means a cross-country move, and driving personal firearms through several states creates real legal exposure. A gun that is legal at your old duty station may violate the laws of a state you pass through.
Federal law offers a safe-passage protection. If you are not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms, you can transport a gun from a place where you can legally have it to another place where you can legally have it. The firearm must be unloaded during transport, and neither the gun nor any ammunition can be readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In vehicles without a trunk, the firearm must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms The protection covers you while passing through. Extended stops in a restrictive state can put you outside it, and the provision does not override the laws at your origin or destination.
If you are flying, TSA requires firearms to travel as checked baggage only, inside a locked hard-sided container that fully prevents access. You must declare the firearm and any ammunition to the airline at the ticket counter.5Transportation Security Administration. Transporting Firearms and Ammunition TSA also warns that the case a firearm came in at purchase may not meet the standard, so a proper locking case is worth buying before the move.
When a Veteran Cannot Legally Own a Firearm
Leaving the service does not guarantee you can own guns afterward. Federal law lists several categories of people barred from possessing firearms or ammunition, and a few of them come up more often for veterans than for the general population.
Dishonorable Discharge
A person discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions is federally prohibited from possessing any firearm or ammunition.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Most federal courts have read that phrase to mean specifically a Dishonorable Discharge from a general court-martial, imposed for serious offenses like desertion, sexual assault, or murder.
An Other Than Honorable discharge, a Bad Conduct Discharge from a special court-martial, or a General Discharge under honorable conditions does not typically trigger the federal firearms prohibition. Some states impose their own restrictions based on discharge characterization, and a Bad Conduct Discharge from a general court-martial sits in a gray area where a lawyer’s advice is worth the money before you buy a gun.
Felony Convictions
Any conviction for a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, whether at court-martial or in civilian court, permanently bars firearm possession under federal law.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts The statute looks at the potential sentence, not what you actually served. A crime carrying a two-year maximum disqualifies you even if you got probation.
Domestic Violence Convictions
The Lautenberg Amendment prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing firearms.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts This one catches people off guard. It is a misdemeanor, not a felony, and it carries a lifetime firearms ban regardless of when the conviction happened or whether the person was in uniform at the time.
Mental Health Adjudications and Restraining Orders
A person adjudicated as mentally defective or involuntarily committed to a mental institution is also prohibited under federal law.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Separately, an active domestic violence restraining order that meets certain criteria, including a hearing with notice and a finding of credible threat, triggers the prohibition for as long as the order is in effect.
The VA Fiduciary Program No Longer Blocks Gun Ownership
For years, the VA automatically reported veterans in its fiduciary program to the FBI’s background check system, flagging them as prohibited persons because they needed help managing their VA benefits. That swept in veterans with traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, and other conditions who had never been found dangerous by any court.
That policy has ended. The VA concluded that assigning a fiduciary to help manage benefits does not meet the legal standard for stripping someone of firearm rights, which requires a decision by a judicial or quasi-judicial authority. Enrollment in the fiduciary program alone no longer prohibits a veteran from owning or buying a gun, and the VA is working with the FBI to remove past reports of veterans flagged solely on that basis.7Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Undoes Decades-Old Wrong and Protects Veterans Second Amendment Rights A separate court finding of mental incompetence or a qualifying restraining order would still trigger the prohibition through those independent channels.
Buying a Piece of Military History Through the CMP
You cannot keep the weapon you carried, but you can legally buy military-surplus firearms through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. The CMP is a federally chartered nonprofit whose mission includes selling surplus Army firearms, ammunition, and parts to qualified American citizens.8U.S. Government Accountability Office. Civilian Marksmanship Program: Information on the Sale of Surplus Army Firearms Inventory shifts over time. As of 2026, M1 Garands and 1911 pistols remain listed, along with M1903/M1903A3 rifles and some commercial .22 target rifles, though specific grades sell out.9The Civilian Marksmanship Program. CMP Rifle Sales
To buy from the CMP you must:
- Provide proof of U.S. citizenship and legal age.
- Pass a check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
- Belong to a CMP-affiliated shooting club.
- Show evidence of participation in a firearms-related activity, which can include prior military service or completion of a live-fire safety course.
Prior military service satisfies the marksmanship activity requirement, which makes the process simpler for veterans than for civilians who have never shot competitively.8U.S. Government Accountability Office. Civilian Marksmanship Program: Information on the Sale of Surplus Army Firearms
If You Are Prohibited, Restoring Your Rights
Federal law includes a mechanism for prohibited persons to apply to the Attorney General for relief from firearms disabilities. The Attorney General can grant relief if the applicant shows they are not a danger to public safety and that restoring rights would not be contrary to the public interest, and a denied applicant can petition a federal district court for review.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 925 – Exceptions, Relief From Disabilities
In practice, this path has been largely closed for decades. Congress has repeatedly included language in ATF appropriations bills prohibiting the agency from spending funds to investigate or process these applications. The statutory right exists, but the administrative pathway has been effectively frozen since the early 1990s. Some veterans have successfully petitioned federal courts directly, though that route is expensive and outcomes vary by circuit.
If your prohibition stems from a court-martial conviction, another option is a discharge upgrade through the military’s discharge review boards or the Board for Correction of Military Records. An upgrade from Dishonorable to a lesser characterization removes the federal firearms disability tied to discharge status. It does not, on its own, remove a prohibition tied to the underlying conviction if that conviction independently qualifies as a disqualifying felony.