> ## 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. # §2K2.1 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k2-1-unlawful-receipt-possession-or-transportation-of-firearms-fy2018/ - Published: 2026-11-04T09:52:03.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T09:52:03.000Z - Description: The Commission counted 7,032 people sentenced under §2K2.1 in fiscal year 2018, a higher count than in fiscal year 2017 (6,366) and lower than in fiscal year 2019 (7,952). The median prison term was 41 months (3.4 years). Of the 7,032, 97% pleaded guilty, and 55% were sentenced within the guideline - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2K2.1 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Fi](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k2-1-unlawful-receipt-possession-or-transportation-of-firearms/) › §2K2.1: FY2018 **In brief:** The Commission counted 7,032 people sentenced under §2K2.1 in fiscal year 2018, a higher count than in fiscal year 2017 (6,366) and lower than in fiscal year 2019 (7,952). The median prison term was 41 months (3.4 years). Of the 7,032, 97% pleaded guilty, and 55% were sentenced within the guideline range. 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 7,032 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018\. 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/). ## A Growing Count in the Firearms Guideline In fiscal year 2018, 7,032 people were sentenced in federal court with §2K2.1 as the primary guideline. The count was 6,366 in fiscal year 2017 and 7,952 in fiscal year 2019, so the 2018 count sits between them. The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles the guideline "Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition; Prohibited Transactions Involving Firearms or Ammunition". The Commission files the cases under its Firearms offense type. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018\. The records give the counts and do not give the reasons for the change from year to year. ## Prison Terms A prison term went to 6,675 people (95%), and 237 (3%) received probation only. For people sent to prison, the median prison term was 41 months (3.4 years). One quarter received 70 months or more, and one quarter received 24 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence. The median was 40 months in fiscal year 2017 and 40 months in fiscal year 2019, so 2018 was higher than both by the figures given. The all-guidelines median for fiscal year 2018 was 24 months, among 69,425 people. ## Plea Agreements, Guilty Pleas, and Trials Guilty pleas account for 6,811 of the cases (97%). Another 221 people were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 73% had a written plea agreement and 26% were straight pleas with no agreement. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 40 months. After a trial it was 87 months, based on 215 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records cannot show how the trial cases differed from the others. ## Range Position and Mandatory Minimums For the 7,032 people with the information, 55% (3,839) were sentenced within the guideline range. A sentence below the range without a government request applied to 25% (1,761), and below the range at the government's request to 15% (1,088). Above the range applied to 5% (344). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 482 of the 7,032 people with that information recorded (7%). The share within the range was 55% in fiscal year 2017 and 53% in fiscal year 2019\. For all guidelines in fiscal year 2018, it was 51%. ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution Supervised release was ordered for 6,555 people (93%), with a median term of 36 months. 1 person (less than 1%) received it for life. A fine was ordered for 348 people (5%), and restitution for 244 (3%). ## The Years in Context For all of fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the guideline covered 74,599 people. In that period 94% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 40 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 51% were sentenced within the range. The table gives the count, median, and plea rate for each year. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 5,707 | 42 months | 96% | | 2017 | 6,366 | 40 months | 96% | | 2018 | 7,032 | 41 months | 97% | | 2019 | 7,952 | 40 months | 97% | | 2020 | 7,091 | 37 months | 97% | | 2021 | 7,735 | 37 months | 98% | | 2022 | 8,875 | 40 months | 97% | | 2023 | 8,393 | 41 months | 97% | | 2024 | 7,742 | 41 months | 97% | | 2025 | 7,706 | 42 months | 97% | ## What the Records Do Not Show People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not in this data, because the Commission records only those convicted and sentenced. The prison terms shown are the sentences imposed and not the time actually served. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so this post reports the federal numbers on their own. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2K2.1 (7,032), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. 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) - [§2K2.1 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k2-1-unlawful-receipt-possession-or-transportation-of-firearms/) (overview) - [§2K2.1 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k2-1-unlawful-receipt-possession-or-transportation-of-firearms-fy2017/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2K2.1 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k2-1-unlawful-receipt-possession-or-transportation-of-firearms-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [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.