SentenceCalc

Using a Gun During a Crime (§924(c)) Sentence Calculator

This page covers cases where a person used or carried a gun or explosive during another crime. Federal sentences for using a gun during a crime (§924(c)) are calculated under §2K2.4 of the Sentencing Guidelines. Answer the questions below to see the range for a specific case.

Verified Checked against the manual text in at least five AI-assisted review rounds. Not yet reviewed by an attorney. Guidelines Manual effective November 1, 2025Updated October 4, 2026

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Starting level and typical ranges

For this charge the guideline sentence is the prison term the statute requires. Role, criminal history and plea adjustments do not change it, and it usually runs on top of any other sentence.

SituationGuideline sentence
18 U.S.C. §924(c): gun possessed, carried or used5 years
§924(c): gun brandished7 years
§924(c): gun discharged10 years
§924(c): short-barreled rifle or shotgun, or semiautomatic assault weapon10 years
§924(c): machinegun, destructive device or silencer30 years
§924(c): second conviction, after an earlier §924(c) conviction became final25 years
18 U.S.C. §929(a): armor-piercing ammunition during a violent or drug trafficking crime5 years
18 U.S.C. §844(h): used fire or an explosive to commit a federal felony, or carried an explosive during one, first offense10 years
18 U.S.C. §844(h): second or later offense20 years

Important details

  • This sentence must run consecutively, meaning it is added on top of the sentence for any other crime, including the underlying drug or violent crime.
  • Each §924(c), §929(a) or §844(h) count carries its own term, and each term runs consecutively. This calculator shows the term for one count.
  • Role adjustments, acceptance of responsibility and criminal history do not change this count. The term is set by the statute (§2K2.4(a), (b) and note 5).
  • If this conviction makes the person a career offender, the guideline range comes from §4B1.1(c) instead: the career offender table in §4B1.1(c)(3), which only acceptance of responsibility can lower, or, with other counts, the greater of that table and the other counts' range plus the consecutive term (§2K2.4(c)). The calculator applies this when the career offender box under Criminal record is ticked.
  • When this count is sentenced along with the underlying crime, the weapon increases in the underlying crime's guideline are not applied. That includes increases for possessing, brandishing, using or firing a gun or explosive, the drug guideline's violence increase (§2D1.1(b)(2)), and the other-felony increases in §2K1.3(b)(3) and §2K2.1(b)(7)(B) (§2K2.4, note 4).
  • If there is also a federal conviction for the underlying crime, the fine is set by the fine guideline that would apply to that crime alone (§2K2.4(d)).
  • The §924(c) terms other than the 5-year example come from 18 U.S.C. §924(c)(1) as summarized in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 2024 robbery primer; the manual itself gives only the 5-year example (§2K2.4, note 2).
  • A second or later §924(c) conviction involving a machinegun, destructive device or silencer carries mandatory life in prison (18 U.S.C. §924(c)(1)(C)(ii)). That case is not one of the options above.

Frequently asked questions

Is the calculator accurate for using a gun during a crime (§924(c))?

It follows §2K2.4 of the Guidelines Manual effective November 1, 2025. It passed 5 review rounds, each comparing every number, rule and label with the manual text, and its last round found nothing to correct. Those reviews were done with AI tools, not by lawyers, and it has not yet been reviewed by an attorney, so mistakes are possible. The guidelines are advisory, and a lawyer who knows the case can tell you what actually applies.