I don't know Kentucky law but in CA, just being kept overnight, let alone for 72 hours on a mental health hold (5150 H&S in our state) is enough to prohibit you from owning, purchasing or possessing firearms for 5 years. Arizona has a 10-year prohibition.

The federal law section that you will want to Google is 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4) which prohibits a person who is adjudged a mental defective from owning or possessing a firearm. Different states can have different laws so you will want to have your friend check with an attorney.

As far as reporting (again, I'm not sure how Kentucky does it but), in CA, any mental health facility is required by law to report anybody being kept overnight for observation to the state Dept. of Justice which maintains a separate mental health database and checks that database whenever anybody tries to buy a gun in CA and they are run through the background.

Within the last year or two, the CA legislature appropriated several million $$ to DOJ to send agents out to investigate each person reported by a mental health facility and who shows in the gun registry system as having a gun registered to them.

Since Kentucky could be quite different, your friend really should talk to an attorney. If Kentucky law is similar to CA law, he will be prohibited from owning firearms (including black powder) for at least a few years or more, depending on Kentucky law.

Aside from advising your friend to consult an attorney, he should not ever fake a suicide threat if he likes owning firearms as that is NOT a smart idea. Good luck.