> ## 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 2024 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k2-1-unlawful-receipt-possession-or-transportation-of-firearms-fy2024/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:06:30.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:06:30.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2024, the median prison term under §2K2.1 was 41 months for the people sent to prison, which is higher than the 30-month median for everyone sentenced in federal court that year. The Commission counted 7,742 people under this guideline. Of them, 50% 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: FY2024 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2024, the median prison term under §2K2.1 was 41 months for the people sent to prison, which is higher than the 30-month median for everyone sentenced in federal court that year. The Commission counted 7,742 people under this guideline. Of them, 50% 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 7,742 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024\. 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/). ## This Guideline Against All Federal Sentences in Fiscal Year 2024 Across every guideline, 61,678 people were sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024\. Their median prison term was 30 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 46% were sentenced within the guideline range. Under §2K2.1 the numbers were different. The median was 41 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and the share within the range was 50%. The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024\. Each count includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. ## What the Guideline Covers The Sentencing Guidelines Manual gives §2K2.1 the title "Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition; Prohibited Transactions Involving Firearms or Ammunition." It was the primary guideline for 7,742 people in this year, and the Commission lists all of them under its Firearms offense type. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count in a case. ## Who Went to Prison and for How Long Prison terms went to 7,270 people (94%), and 400 (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. One person received a life sentence. A quarter of those in prison received 70 months or more. A quarter received 24 months or less. The median of 41 months equals 3.4 years. These are imposed terms, not time served. ## Pleas and Trials A guilty plea was entered by 7,525 people, and 217 were convicted at trial. The median prison term was 41 months after a plea. After a trial it was 84 months, based on 215 people sent to prison. Written plea agreements covered 80% of the guilty pleas, and 20% were straight pleas. These are group medians. They cannot show what any plea or trial changed for one person. ## Position Against the Range and Other Orders Of 7,741 people with range information, 50% (3,864) were within the range and 6% (473) above it. A sentence below the range at the government's request went to 19% (1,449). Below the range with no such request: 25% (1,955). A mandatory minimum applied to 393 of 7,738 people with that information, or 5%. Supervised release was ordered for 7,203 people (93%), with a median term of 36 months. Fines went to 377 people (5%) and restitution to 208 (3%). In criminal history, 20% were in category I and 19% in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Neighboring Years and the Full Period In fiscal year 2023 there were 8,393 people under §2K2.1 and a median of 41 months. In fiscal year 2025 there were 7,706 people and a median of 42 months. From fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the guideline covers 74,599 people, with a median of 40 months. The table lists every year. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so only federal numbers are reported. The data does not show the facts of cases or why courts chose particular sentences. | 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% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2K2.1 (7,742), 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 2023](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k2-1-unlawful-receipt-possession-or-transportation-of-firearms-fy2023/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2K2.1 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2k2-1-unlawful-receipt-possession-or-transportation-of-firearms-fy2025/) (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.