Ever get your stolen guns back??

[murf205]

I was just reading a post about having to go to check with the PD to get your gun back after it was recovered from a theft. I had 3 guns stolen in 2 separate instances, and actually got 2 of them back after the police in another town found what was left of the man/woman team of robbers. It took a while but I did get them back. The other one is still gone. Has anyone here been as fortunate to get theirs back- in shootable condition?

[shell70634]

My daughter had 20 or so stolen in east Texas about 5 years ago. They've gotten 5 or 6 back. One from Ohio. The SO gave them back within a couple days of receiving them. Still looking for the rest.

[FLINTNFIRE]

No , and local police are little to no help , this state is pretty far left and just the fact you own firearms is looked down on by most officers I have had dealings with . Why would you have that is the statement they make .

And they are pretty quick to take them from people and loathe to return them , have known several people who just let them keep their lawful property as it would have cost more in attorney fees to get them back with all the conditions and attitude they got dealing with local law enforcement .

Receipts for the firearm to prove you were the owner , and if you can get the batf to look up the purchase in the out of business repository for bound books , only police can ask for that so that ended getting that rifle back.

[lightload]

In my local area in Texas, the police notify owners who then get their property back. No hassle.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

My daughter got her Taurus 85 back after about 2 years.

[Cherokee]

No, stolen when in the shippers hands.

[Scrounge]

Nope, not in my case. Might not help that I had been out of state (and country) for several years before the theft was "discovered." Lost all my long guns from the supposedly safe storage company because the movers "put them in the office for safekeeping, and it got burgled that night." And not reported until it was time for my goods to come back out of storage. A T/C Hawken in .50 cal, a 1903/A3 Springfield, an Agawam Arms .22lr single-shot levergun, the first firearm I'd ever owned myself, my Christmas present in 1970. There were a couple others there that I don't even remember, anymore. Somewhere, I may still have the moving paperwork that lists the weapons and serial numbers, but I've not seen it in about 24 years. My brother gave me the Hawken, and he still remembers the serial number.

[Win94ae]

Well, yes... of course, the police weren't involved.

[Scrounge]

No, stolen when in the shippers hands.

I feel ya! USAF, myself. Left Shaw AFB, Sumter SC, for Lindsey AS, Wiesbaden, Germany. Never saw them again. Got less than $500 for "compensation" from Uncle Sam. Couldn't replace them for that even then.

[Winger Ed.]

I've had 2 stolen, never got them back.
A real nice Marlin 39 and a M1 carbine made by Rockola in perfect condition.

A buddy had a few stolen once. He got one rifle back.
It was recovered in Houston, and shipped by the Police back to Dallas where they called and he went & picked it up.

[Elkins45]

I have a Glenfield Model 60 that my mother gave me as a Christmas present that’s still floating around out there, along with a 7.35 Carcano. You can probably guess which one I would like to have back :) I got robbed in that same rental house twice but they caught they guys the first time and I got all my guns back.

I also lost a curricular saw, saber saw and drill that were also childhood gifts. They were older models that were all metal so I hated to lose them as well.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Yes i had a derringer stolen from a X girlfriend 15 years went by got a call from the police department that they found it in a crack house in Chicago so i went down and picked it up at my local police station they handed me my gun i put it in my pocket thanked them and left

[Biggin]

I'm still missing a blued ruger mark2 with the short 4inch? skinny barrel somebody stole out of my truck in college. Gift from my dad. Worst part is I've had a bunch of them over the years and it was the best shooter I ever owned. I probably got one that shoots just as good but I can't see like I did back then!! Lol!

[charlie b]

Military for 20 years and never risked shipping guns. I'd load them up in the car/truck/trailer with the wife and kids. I watched movers mark boxes that had guns in them. You can guess why they would do that.

In-laws had some guns stolen and never got them back. Never got any money from insurance for them either.

The only sure way you get your money back (if you don't get the guns) is to have itemized property insurance. It is quite expensive and you have to get a certified appraisal to be listed for each weapon with the insurance company.

[jonp]

Nope, had several stolen a number of years ago and they remained gone. Small state but none turned up. Filed a claim with the insurance guy for those and some tools and stuff. When he came to do the paperwork in person I ended up selling him a Sig P239

[Scrounge]

Military for 20 years and never risked shipping guns. I'd load them up in the car/truck/trailer with the wife and kids. I watched movers mark boxes that had guns in them. You can guess why they would do that.

In-laws had some guns stolen and never got them back. Never got any money from insurance for them either.

The only sure way you get your money back (if you don't get the guns) is to have itemized property insurance. It is quite expensive and you have to get a certified appraisal to be listed for each weapon with the insurance company.

Can't do that if you're going overseas, unless you can take some leave beforehand and take them someplace safe. I couldn't. Long drive from SC to CO and back, and no leave left so soon after getting back from Desert Storm. Only thing I didn't lose in that deal was the Stevens Favorite that had been my dads. Left it with him so my youngest sisters could learn to shoot with it on my way to South Carolina. Got it back after I got back from Germany, so shot out it's not usable anymore. And I'm not sure the sisters actually got to shoot it.

[knifemaker]

During my LEO career I probably have handled several hundred stolen firearms. Most law enforcement officers will run a check on all guns they encounter in their day to day work. You will be surprised on how many gun owners will not take the time to make a list of their firearms with make & model number. Caliber and serial number and keep that list in a safe place to provide law enforcement in the event they have a stolen gun. Of those several hundred I felt were stolen, less then 5 % were listed as stolen.
I hit a drug dealer one time with a search warrant and encountered 32 guns piled up in a corner in the house. I knew all of them were stolen as I had information the drug dealer was accepting stolen guns in payment for drugs. then he would take the guns to the Bay area and sell them off to a person that dealt in stolen guns.
Of those 32 guns, only 4 came back as stolen on a computer check and those owners got their guns back. If you fail to make out a list, you can just forget any chance of getting the gun or guns back.
I had one case where the burglars stole the victim's gun safe and about 15 guns that were inside. He had prepared a list of all his firearms and that list was inside the safe with the guns. No help there.
If you are too lazy to make out a list, do not blame law enforcement for not having any chance of getting your stolen gun back, blame that guy staring back at you in the mirror.

[DKG]

Thankfully no, but I do have a notebook with a list of everything; make, model, s/n and any accessories/optics that’s are on them. My scumbag cousin stole a pistol from his stepfather years ago and got busted with it, chose not to press charges.


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[Bazoo]

No theft here thankfully. I keep a list in my wallet and one in a notebook. I also can remember a few, my 30-30 winchester and my carry gun.

[buckshotshoey]

I have complete lists.... WITH PICTURES! It's so easy to do with a cell phone. Its not like you have to go get the film developed! But knock on wood, never had any stolen.

[murf205]

I have complete lists.... WITH PICTURES! It's so easy to do with a cell phone. Its not like you have to go get the film developed! But knock on wood, never had any stolen.

You beat me to it. I have photos of mine with the serial #'s. My iphone 6 does pretty good macro photos from about 2 1/2" away from the gun and you can zoom digitally after that and see the machine marks in the metal. Great for identifying unique marks to the guns. If you don't think that your meager gun collection has much value, just start replacing them at todays prices.

[Bookworm]

Had a Star 30M stolen back in 1994 or so. Reported it, had the serial number and a copy of the original sales receipt.

Several years later, the police from a nearby city called, they had the pistol.

I got it back, pretty much in the same condition as I last saw it. It even had the magazine full of my reloads in it. The cops wouldn't give me back the ammo, so I lost 15 rounds of reloads...

[lawdog941]

Around here in the unincorporated areas, people seem to leave their CCW in their vehicles and leave them unlocked. Then they don't have any serial numbers for follow up. Have to shake my head at the level of responsibility to own a firearm and to carelessly leave it unsecured. They even have garages to secure the vehicle in, but leave it outside.

[Petrol & Powder]

The BIGGEST problem I've seen is the total inability of gun owners to identify their own property.

If your gun is stolen and the only description you can provide to the police is, "it was a Remington 870 shotgun", the odds of you getting that gun back are somewhere between slim and none.
If you can tell the police that it was a Remington 870 in 12 gauge, with a 26" barrel and the serial number is XXYYZZX, the odds of that gun being returned someday are much better.

Law enforcement across America recover firearms every day. Just because a gun was stolen doesn't mean the police KNOW it was stolen or who it was stolen from. It's impossible for law enforcement to return a stolen gun to its rightful owner if the no one knows the gun is stolen. Guns are recovered daily during arrests, search warrants, undercover buys, abandoned property, pawn shops and other methods.
It is imperative that gun owners be able to accurately describe their property to law enforcement after a theft.

I strongly urge all gun owners to photograph their guns, including close-up photos that clearly depict the make, model and serial number of the gun. Store those images somewhere away from where you store the guns. A trusted relative's home, a safe deposit box, an attorney's office, your office, etc. Someplace that the photos will not be lost in a common accident such as a fire or flood.

Those photos give you the ability to accurate describe your stolen property to the police after a theft. The photos also give you the ability to make a detailed insurance claim and the photos may even be important evidence at a trial...

[gwpercle]

Ruger Blackhawk 357 magnum 3 screw stolen from my office in Baton Rouge , La. 1995 .
Recovered from a pawnshop in Kingman Arizona in 2015 .
The officer, who made the initial report , called me to verify my address and brought it back to me
20 years later ... This case was one of his first ... and he was getting ready to retire .
The photo's and written description I had given him were still in the file .

Gun was returned in the same condition as it was stolen , even wearing the same faux ivory grips and it was still sighted in for my favorite handload .
I don't think it had been shot much in those 20 years it was missing . It wasn't rusty or damaged in any way .
It was the first centerfire handgun I had ever bought, I had never bought another and I was glad to have it back .
Every year or two the Department would call and ask if it was still stolen ... I would say yes and verify my contact information ... until that call came October 6, 2015 and the officer said ...
We recovered your stolen gun !

Read post #24...the part about photo's and description ...the officer said that proved I was the rightful owner and helped get it back to me .

P.S. Since I hadn't made an insurance claim the gun was mine...
If I had made an insurance claim... I would have had to buy it back from the insurance company .
Gary

[upnorthwis]

Had a TC Contender stolen from a motel room in 83. Hope they had fun trying to sell a .30 Herrett. Gave detective the serial number. Haven't seen it since.

[am44mag]

Had a TC Contender stolen from a motel room in 83. Hope they had fun trying to sell a .30 Herrett. Gave detective the serial number. Haven't seen it since.

I guess that's one of thing good things about owning weird guns in odd calibers. Outside of small niche groups like this one, they're hard to sell, hard to get ammo for, and very unlikely to get used in a crime.

[murf205]

I know a guy who had some people working for him that had a very spotty record of not showing up for work. After he had to replace them, one day his neighbor saw a white van pull into his back yard and thought it was somebody doing work for him. After a short time it left and they had broken into his downstairs, where his gun safe was and turned it over and drug/rolled or somehow got it to the van and loaded it into the back and left-quickly. The den carpet was torn up and the door frames it went through were knocked out and he lost the safe and every gun he had. After I heard this, I immediately drilled the floor and anchored my safes down. It might now keep a determined crook from getting them but they better be ready to work for it.

[Alstep]

Yes & no. About 35 years ago, my house was broken into, and 5 pistols & a shotgun were taken. 5 or so years later, I get a call from a BATF agent. They raided a place in NYC and found a bunch of guns, and one turned out to be mine. It was eventually returned to me. The rest are still out there. Checked with my local sheriff a few years ago, and the rest are still on the hot list after all this time.

[RickF]

Just out of curiosity, how did many of these guns get stolen? Thankfully I've never had one stolen but a friend did get a S&W 686 stolen out of his truck while parked in his driveway in the middle of the night that he left unlocked.

[Petrol & Powder]

I know a guy who had some people working for him that had a very spotty record of not showing up for work. After he had to replace them, one day his neighbor saw a white van pull into his back yard and thought it was somebody doing work for him. After a short time it left and they had broken into his downstairs, where his gun safe was and turned it over and drug/rolled or somehow got it to the van and loaded it into the back and left-quickly. The den carpet was torn up and the door frames it went through were knocked out and he lost the safe and every gun he had. After I heard this, I immediately drilled the floor and anchored my safes down. It might now keep a determined crook from getting them but they better be ready to work for it.

Not only should a safe be securely bolted down (to prevent the entire safe from being removed AND to make attacking the door more difficult); the safe should be hidden. A safe should be placed on a small pedestal of 3" - 5" to protect it from minor flooding and prevent condensation inside the safe. After a safe is installed in a room, closet or other concealed location, consider making the door to the room smaller than the safe. You can't steal an entire safe that you cannot fit through the door to the room it's in!
Another tactic is to build a frame around the safe that allows the safe door to open but doesn't allow the safe to be removed from the framework. This not only makes it difficult to remove the safe but it makes attacking the safe difficult.
Don't think that because the thing is heavy that it can't possibly be stolen. If the thieves get the safe out of the building, they can spend hours or days attacking it to get it open. Time is only on your side if they can't just take the whole thing with them.

[GregLaROCHE]

If I remember correctly, I’ve lost seven to theft over my lifetime. One happened to be a M1 Carbine manufactured by Rockola, like the one mentioned earlier. I think it’s an extremely rare occurrence, when a stolen firearm gets recovered and returned to its owner. Is there a hotline for gun dealers and pawn shops today, that a serial number can be checked quickly ?

[murf205]

AND......don't post on social media about your schedule and time away from home. A friend of mine posted about his upcoming vacation and even gave an itinerary, which told the world when he and his wife would be returning. He got cleaned out. They even broke into his shop and hooked to a diesel welder mounted on a trailer and took it to.

[knifemaker]

Greg no hot line I am aware of. In CA. pawn shops are required to send a copy of all firearms taken in by their business to the local law enforcement agency, sheriff or city police. That law enforcement agency then will run the serial numbers for a stolen check state and federal wide. Speed of getting the stolen forearm into the state & federal computer systems is very important. If the victim fails to provide the needed information in time, the stolen gun taken in by a pawn shop will come back as not being stolen because the check was ran before the victim provided the needed information to the LEO that took the burglary report.

[John Boy]

Best policy against theft: a lockable room with a safe and the NRA and supplemental insurance policies with an Excel spreadsheet with full detains including purchase price and supporting invoices

[Petrol & Powder]

Best policy against theft: a lockable room with a safe and the NRA and supplemental insurance policies with an Excel spreadsheet with full detains including purchase price and supporting invoices

All good advice. And keep that spreadsheet (or photos of valuables) someplace else. I will not help you if the computer files (or photos, or log book) burn up or are stolen along with the property.

[Land Owner]

My shooting and reloading mentor had a fire in his apartment (started in an adjacent apartment) in the late 60's. He was wiped out and his cherished firearms, for the most part, were destroyed. Two days later, a fireman from the incident returned "with bloody knuckles" and an undamaged revolver. Turned out the fireman had observed someone on scene at the incident take the revolver from the wreckage (a "trusted" someone who should have KNOWN better). The fireman's metal was tested in retrieving what did not belong to the thief and returning it to its owner.

[dragon813gt]

All good advice. And keep that spreadsheet (or photos of valuables) someplace else. I will not help you if the computer files (or photos, or log book) burn up or are stolen along with the property.

You should practice the 3-2-1 backup rule. At a minimum one is none an two is one. As much as I’m not a fan of cloud storage solutions an encrypted and password secured copy on one of them is peace of mind.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Also don't trust family - Had a family member find all my lists and then steal too many firearms; Hard to report them when (a) you were stuck in bed, injured, and (b) they'd stolen your lists. Idiot did themselves in with alcoholism, but hurt me a bit there. No need or call for that baloney behavior...

[murf205]

Just out of curiosity, how did many of these guns get stolen? Thankfully I've never had one stolen but a friend did get a S&W 686 stolen out of his truck while parked in his driveway in the middle of the night that he left unlocked.

My first 2 were stolen from my locked truck, they pried the window open and got my 2" nickel Colt Cobra and a New Mod Bkhawk. The other one was a S&W Model 15 that was in my wife's car they got the whole car. Police found it 2 weeks later without the swivel bucket seat and my gun was/is gone.

[Petrol & Powder]

Never leave ANYTHING in a vehicle that you are not willing to lose.

[DKG]

My first 2 were stolen from my locked truck, they pried the window open and got my 2" nickel Colt Cobra and a New Mod Bkhawk. The other one was a S&W Model 15 that was in my wife's car they got the whole car. Police found it 2 weeks later without the swivel bucket seat and my gun was/is gone.

A friend of mine was on his way back from the range about 10 years ago, went in to pay for gas and grab a drink. Came back out someone smashed out his rear window and stolen the case with his AR in it, all in a matter of 2 minutes. Reported it stolen and he stumbled across it a month later in a gun shop on the used rack. Called the police and found out the guy who stole it had his girlfriend sell it to the shop because he had a record. She wound up going to jail.


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[Bookworm]

Just out of curiosity, how did many of these guns get stolen? Thankfully I've never had one stolen but a friend did get a S&W 686 stolen out of his truck while parked in his driveway in the middle of the night that he left unlocked.

My house was broken into and ransacked. I'm almost certain who did it. There was a perfect palm print on the window from which entry was gained.

Sheriff wasn't interested in investigating. I did the report by phone.

[Lloyd Smale]

had a stainless bdl 300 weatherby model 700 stolen from the house. I got a check from my insurance company to replace it and two years later got a call from the police that it was recovered. When I told them I had gotten an insurance pay out they told me by law I had to give it to the insurance company. So I did. I asked them what they did with them and he told me they are auctioned and as the original owner I had the right to buy it for one dollar more then the high bid if I was interested. I figured what the heck let me know how much and ill decide them. I forgot all about it and got a phone call about 6 months later from the insurance company. They said high bid was 300 bucks. The thing had a vari x III 2.5x8 leupold on it that was worth that!!! So I told them id surely go 301 and they said pick it up tomarrow. probably the best deal on a gun I ever got. I had replaced it with the same thing so had two but the original shot better so I kept that one and sold the other for 700 bucks and bought a Kimber with the money.

[KYCaster]

I have a friend who is a HUGE Glock fan boy. He's also a wannabe gunsmith. He can't resist working on his own guns.
He took all of his broken and Bubba'd parts, put them into two M17's and sent them to Glock for rebuilds. They disappeared in transit.

About 6 months later he got a call from Little Rock, AR PD telling him they recovered one of his guns involved in a car jacking. Car was stopped at a traffic light, perp jerks the door open, sticks the Glock in the driver's face and pulls the trigger! He got a CLICK instead of the BANG he was expecting.
Quick thinking driver pulls his own gun, sticks it in the perp's face, pulls the trigger and gets the expected BANG!

No charges were filed. My friend eventually got his gun back.

Don't you love a happy ending?
Jerry

[FLINTNFIRE]

I do love that story ,that is such a happy ending , what the perp deserved

[murf205]

Greg no hot line I am aware of. In CA. pawn shops are required to send a copy of all firearms taken in by their business to the local law enforcement agency, sheriff or city police. That law enforcement agency then will run the serial numbers for a stolen check state and federal wide. Speed of getting the stolen forearm into the state & federal computer systems is very important. If the victim fails to provide the needed information in time, the stolen gun taken in by a pawn shop will come back as not being stolen because the check was ran before the victim provided the needed information to the LEO that took the burglary report.

It sure would be a great service to normal people if you could, as an individual, call a phone number and ask if a gun was on the list of stolen guns. There is not always a LEO around when an chance to buy or trade a gun happens, like at a gun show. I am firmly convinced that the vast majority of gun guys do not want a stolen gun nor do they want to unintentionally trade or sell one.

[Idz]

I heard an interesting comment from the Albuquerque PD. They said because of the (dumb) laws in New Mexico people are forced to leave their firearms in vehicles when going into bars, some restaurants and businesses, and anywhere a No Guns sign is displayed. The criminals know that and target those areas for vehicle break-ins, gun theft, and armed robbery because the victims are likely unarmed.

[GregLaROCHE]

I have a friend who is a HUGE Glock fan boy. He's also a wannabe gunsmith. He can't resist working on his own guns.
He took all of his broken and Bubba'd parts, put them into two M17's and sent them to Glock for rebuilds. They disappeared in transit.


About 6 months later he got a call from Little Rock, AR PD telling him they recovered one of his guns involved in a car jacking. Car was stopped at a traffic light, perp jerks the door open, sticks the Glock in the driver's face and pulls the trigger! He got a CLICK instead of the BANG he was expecting.
Quick thinking driver pulls his own gun, sticks it in the perp's face, pulls the trigger and gets the expected BANG!

No charges were filed. My friend eventually got his gun back.

Don't you love a happy ending?
Jerry

I like stories like that with happy endings!

[Scrounge]

had a stainless bdl 300 weatherby model 700 stolen from the house. I got a check from my insurance company to replace it and two years later got a call from the police that it was recovered. When I told them I had gotten an insurance pay out they told me by law I had to give it to the insurance company. So I did. I asked them what they did with them and he told me they are auctioned and as the original owner I had the right to buy it for one dollar more then the high bid if I was interested. I figured what the heck let me know how much and ill decide them. I forgot all about it and got a phone call about 6 months later from the insurance company. They said high bid was 300 bucks. The thing had a vari x III 2.5x8 leupold on it that was worth that!!! So I told them id surely go 301 and they said pick it up tomarrow. probably the best deal on a gun I ever got. I had replaced it with the same thing so had two but the original shot better so I kept that one and sold the other for 700 bucks and bought a Kimber with the money.

That sounds like a happy ending, too. Wish I had one like that. While I'm digging though stuff to find what I can do without anymore, I'm looking for the moving paperwork that has the serial numbers for the guns I lost in 1991. Fortunately, my brother remembers the number off the Thompson Center Hawken .50 cal he gave me many years ago. 56571. It's sad, I don't even remember what all I had in there besides the Hawken, my 1903/a3, and the Agawam Arms .22 single-shot levergun that was my first rifle. Those are the ones I really want back. I'm thinking there should be one or two more, but can't remember. I've had two hip replacement since then, and a lot of narcotic pain meds before the surgeries, so my CRS has gotten really bad.

Bill

[Drm50]

In 1972 I sent a new S&W 29-2, 4” back to S&W for 6.5” barrel. HWD with FFL handled shipping etc for me. The gun was stolen from the HWD store when it came back from S&W. Employee put it in display case where it was shop lifted. Years went by, I got married and moved to another town in another county. It was over 10yrs later when PD from Texas called me to inform me they had my gun seized in felony arrest. There was an employee of the HWD that quit and moved to Texas in same town gun was found. That explained the funny story of the theft. This kind of thing just didn’t happen in small town Ohio in 72. Locals were the customers. Any way the policeman was a Dect Sgt who I was talking to. Seems the crooks redid the barrel to short with hacksaw and gun was beat up and grips taped together. Long story short gave it to the cop who said he was going to have it fixed up and refinished.

[HATCH]

I had two pistols stolen while I was in Fla. One of them turned up 11 years later. It was the more expensive one and besides needing a good cleaning it was exactly how it was when it was taken besides missing the ammo.

[murf205]

I do love that story ,that is such a happy ending , what the perp deserved

You will love this one too. The #$%& who stole my Colt Cobra and Ruger BLHWK went to Mobile and were robbing a convenience store with one of my guns but guess what--the clerk had a gun on his hip and shot the boyfriend in the noggin, ending his problems, pronto. The girlfriend froze after seeing her boyfriend loose that encounter and the cops arrested her and I got my guns back. Kinda' drives home the notion that armed robbery is a dangerous profession.

[megasupermagnum]

Around here in the unincorporated areas, people seem to leave their CCW in their vehicles and leave them unlocked. Then they don't have any serial numbers for follow up. Have to shake my head at the level of responsibility to own a firearm and to carelessly leave it unsecured. They even have garages to secure the vehicle in, but leave it outside.

Have you ever tried to break into the common car safes? I always had one until one day it reset the combo on it's own. I'm not kidding, it took me all of 3 seconds with a screw driver to get it open. I'm sure there is a super expensive safe out there that works, but anything that fits under a car seat is pointless. As far as I'm concerned, those lock boxes are not even a false security, they are wasted space. I'm guessing a glove box is the most common, however, they are even worse than a lock box.

I now have a secret hiding spot I built (although not locked), and a decoy case under the seat. Leaving firearms in a car is reality for carrying a weapon. I'd rather wear it, but sometimes you cant. Especially if you have a job that has you rolling on concrete, or soaked in oil all night.

[FLINTNFIRE]

You will love this one too. The #$%& who stole my Colt Cobra and Ruger BLHWK went to Mobile and were robbing a convenience store with one of my guns but guess what--the clerk had a gun on his hip and shot the boyfriend in the noggin, ending his problems, pronto. The girlfriend froze after seeing her boyfriend loose that encounter and the cops arrested her and I got my guns back. Kinda' drives home the notion that armed robbery is a dangerous profession.

I do think that is funny as the #$%& got exactly what he deserved , I am glad you got your guns back .

[Lloyd Smale]

there was some stupidity involved in my gun deal too. Come to find out the kid who stole it was a low life my daughter brought into the house to help her get some furniture I was giving her. He saw them sitting out and came back days later when I was at work and took them. He wasn't the brightest tack. come to find out he kept it for a year and was going to use it to hunt with and found out it kicked to much. So he tried to sell it to a bar owner for 250 bucks. Now I know this bar owner and hes kind of a gun guy himself and 250 bucks lit off all kinds of lights in his brain. he knew something was wrong. So he gave the kind 250 bucks and took it right to the police and they ran the number saw it was stolen. Picked the kind up two hours later and made him give back the money. Only sad thing is the procecuter let him plee it away because when they pulled him over he had a sack of weed and they busted him for that. Let him off from a felony theft to give him a 100 dollar fine and probation!!
That sounds like a happy ending, too. Wish I had one like that. While I'm digging though stuff to find what I can do without anymore, I'm looking for the moving paperwork that has the serial numbers for the guns I lost in 1991. Fortunately, my brother remembers the number off the Thompson Center Hawken .50 cal he gave me many years ago. 56571. It's sad, I don't even remember what all I had in there besides the Hawken, my 1903/a3, and the Agawam Arms .22 single-shot levergun that was my first rifle. Those are the ones I really want back. I'm thinking there should be one or two more, but can't remember. I've had two hip replacement since then, and a lot of narcotic pain meds before the surgeries, so my CRS has gotten really bad.

Bill

[lightman]

A friend had his entire pistol collection stolen 10 years ago and has not gotten any of them back. This was from his drug addicted step son! He had some really nice guns and he thinks the police dept may be keeping some of them. I'm not sure why he suspects that but he has some pretty good local knowledge.

[murf205]

there was some stupidity involved in my gun deal too. Come to find out the kid who stole it was a low life my daughter brought into the house to help her get some furniture I was giving her. He saw them sitting out and came back days later when I was at work and took them. He wasn't the brightest tack. come to find out he kept it for a year and was going to use it to hunt with and found out it kicked to much. So he tried to sell it to a bar owner for 250 bucks. Now I know this bar owner and hes kind of a gun guy himself and 250 bucks lit off all kinds of lights in his brain. he knew something was wrong. So he gave the kind 250 bucks and took it right to the police and they ran the number saw it was stolen. Picked the kind up two hours later and made him give back the money. Only sad thing is the procecuter let him plee it away because when they pulled him over he had a sack of weed and they busted him for that. Let him off from a felony theft to give him a 100 dollar fine and probation!!

Lloyd, next time you see that bar owner, buy him a beer for me and thank him for being a stand up guy. For the life of me, I cannot wrap my mind around why a prosecutor will let people like that plea a deal for the more serious crime and let them walk with a $100 fine. No wonder these clowns become career criminals.

[Petrol & Powder]

So we can see some common themes in this thread.

Guns are stolen from vehicles ....A LOT ! Sometimes the entire vehicle with the gun inside is stolen. There's a false perception that a vehicle is somehow an extension of your home; it is not. Never leave anything in a vehicle you are not willing to lose.

Guns stolen from residences are often stolen by family members or people known to the gun owner. Often those guns are displayed inside the home or left in unsecured locations in the home.

Stolen guns are far more likely to be recovered and returned to the rightful owner if the owner can accurately and quickly identify the stolen gun to law enforcement. Being able to provide the make, model and serial number of a stolen gun is critical not only to the possible recovery of the stolen gun but also to the prosecution of the thief.


Don't leave guns in vehicles.
Secure guns in the home.
Record the make, model and serial numbers of all guns.

[remy3424]

P&P has some very good information in his posts here. I keep my "insurance policy" current (vaults locks). No guns stole here.

[bigdog454]

in the late 70's had a colt peacemaker stolen and a coustom 6.5 X308 rifle with a HK Winland special made brl with a 1-11 1/2 inch twist along with some other guns. The sheriff dept called me about a month late and had recovered some of the guns along with the rifle which they described to a tee. I went to pick them up the next day and low and behold the rifle had come up missing. Come to find out a year later one of the officers was cought selling guns out of the property room. "honest cops"!! Never did find the colt or the rifle.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Another common theme , cops are not always trustworthy , and plea deals , I had some stolen , police plea dealed the low life on drug charges there and I have not gotten them back , serial number and description .

No vehicles involved as that is asking for it to be stolen , car prowling seems to be almost a new olympic sport , and family members and their friends can be the main ones if they have addictions .

Work sometimes with a low life trash liberal , brags about stealing a ruger mark2 stainless from a summer cabin in alaska when he was young , claims they put it back , I think as he describes the gun he still has it , trash is trash .

Well serial numbers photos and safes are all good , but it is society that has no moral compass and its anti gun attitude , as they blame guns instead the real issues that have become the norm in our country today .

[Petrol & Powder]

Another common theme , cops are not always trustworthy , and plea deals , I had some stolen , police plea dealed the low life on drug charges there and I have not gotten them back ,......... .

Police don't make plea agreements, prosecutors do. Put the blame where it belongs.

[FLINTNFIRE]

No police did not pursue it as they busted him for dope , blame is where it belongs , prosecutor is as anti gun as police .

[Winger Ed.]

he had a sack of weed and they busted him for that. Let him off from a felony theft to give him a 100 dollar fine and probation!!

That's pretty common.

They didn't want the expense of keeping him in jail, and with the $100 fine- the local govt. got to keep it.

Rather than the expense of keeping a non-violent offender in jail, they made a few bucks.

[Petrol & Powder]

No police did not pursue it as they busted him for dope , blame is where it belongs , prosecutor is as anti gun as police .

He likely got more time for the drug charge than he would for the larceny. And if the guns were already gone (like traded for drugs??) then the drug charge is a stronger charge anyway. And they can't return guns to the owner if the guns are gone. The drug charge may have been their best shot and not actually a bad plea agreement.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Why not hang them for both is my thought , I do understand the plea arrangements , it saves a lot of prosecution time and money , it is a matter of priorities .
I live in a state where the Governor hates firearms except for the ruling class and their security , same for Attorney General and most of the densely populated Puget Sound area , even the east side of the states bigger cities are turning or have turned lib.

[Petrol & Powder]

Why not hang them for both is my thought , I do understand the plea arrangements , it saves a lot of prosecution time and money , it is a matter of priorities . .........

You answered your own question. Plea agreements often do save time and money. Plea agreements also offer certainty. The old proverb that "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" applies to plea agreements. The outcome of a trial is not a certain thing, even when the state possesses strong evidence. With a plea agreement the prosecution is guaranteed a conviction and the defendant often knows what his fate will be. Both sides gain some certainty as to the outcome.
There's also the risk verses benefit decision of a trial. Adding a larceny charge to a drug charge isn't likely to increase the total sentence if the defendant is found guilty and you run the risk of a not guilty verdict in which the prosecution has lost everything.

It sounds like in your case the police found the person responsible for the larceny but didn't recover the guns. That is very common when illegal drugs are involved. The stolen guns (or jewelry, or tools, or cash, or whatever) is almost instantly sold/traded for drugs. Once that stolen property is in the criminal network it is nearly untraceable. So the drug charge may have been the best bet to secure some justice. It's sort of like knowing Al Capone kills people but prosecuting him for tax evasion because that's your stronger case.

As for the political climate of your state, I'm in the same boat. Virginia was once a great place but the liberals have gained control and are destroying our state. Like a lot of states, we have densely populated urban areas that control the tone of the government.

[50target]

Had a Colt 45 LW Commander stolen in 1982 in Marietta, Ga. Shopping center had so many break ins, PD had a precinct there. I renew the police report for the PD every year to keep it in computer. Reading about some of these recoveries does give me hope.