> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-montana/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:08:31.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:08:31.000Z - Description: The District of Montana sentenced 786 people for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 29.5 months (2.5 years), compared with 42 months for this offense type in all 94 districts, and 10% received probation only. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-montana/) › Firearms: District of Montana **In brief:** The District of Montana sentenced 786 people for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 29.5 months (2.5 years), compared with 42 months for this offense type in all 94 districts, and 10% received probation only. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 786 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Prison Terms Were Shorter Than the National Figure Of the 786 people sentenced for firearms offenses, 696 (89%) received a prison term. Among them, the median prison term was 29.5 months. A quarter received 40.2 months or more, and a quarter received 15.1 months or less. In all 94 districts, 78,851 people were sentenced for firearms offenses, 94% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 42 months. The Montana median is lower. For all offenses in the District of Montana, the median was 40 months. ## Probation Only and Mandatory Minimums Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 80 people (10%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 19 of the 786 people, which is 2%. Firearms cases were 22% of the 3,524 people sentenced in the district during the period. Nearly all of them, 769, were sentenced under §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition). A total of 6 were sentenced under §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials), and 4 under §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility). ## Sentences Against the Guideline Range A total of 383 people (49%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 84 (11%) received a term below the range at the government's request, and 312 (40%) received a term below the range without that request. A total of 7 people (less than 1%) were sentenced above the range. For this offense type in all districts, 52% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in Montana, the share was 33%. ## Pleas and Trials In all, 763 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 23 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 28 months after a guilty plea and 33 months after a trial, based on 22 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among the guilty pleas, 57% had a written plea agreement, and 42% were straight pleas with no agreement. A straight plea was less common in drug trafficking cases in the same district. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History Supervised release after prison was ordered for 690 people (88%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 24 people (3%), and restitution for 36 (5%). In criminal history category I, the lowest, 14% of the group were placed, and 16% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Year-by-Year Counts Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 284 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 502 people. The yearly medians in the table are between 24 months and 31.5 months. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 57 | 31 months | 88% | | 2017 | 68 | 30 months | 99% | | 2018 | 81 | 31.5 months | 99% | | 2019 | 78 | 24 months | 99% | | 2020 | 66 | 30 months | 94% | | 2021 | 91 | 26 months | 97% | | 2022 | 92 | 25.9 months | 99% | | 2023 | 80 | 24 months | 98% | | 2024 | 77 | 30 months | 100% | | 2025 | 96 | 30 months | 97% | ## What Is Not Covered Malmstrom AFB, Montana, is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The federal figures are reported on their own. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The records do not describe the facts of any case. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Montana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Montana") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (786). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records. ### What to Keep in Mind **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. **Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-montana/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-montana/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-montana/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Assault Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-district-of-montana/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the District of Montana, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-district-of-montana/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) **About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.