[Trteamer]

A lawyer would cost me a heck of a lot more than a new shotgun.

[Old Student]

"A lawyer would cost me a heck of a lot more than a new shotgun."

Sure, but then the sheriff gets away with stealing the gun again. Which just encourages them to do it again, and again. You need to make the point, forcefully, that you bought the gun legally, and if possible get a quit-claim from the person who it was originally stolen from. You're going to be busy as heck on this project anyway, you might as well add that into the process. Someone else suggested small-claims court, I'd follow up on that, as well. What they did may not be illegal, but it did leave you holding stolen property.