Got no one to blame but myself . I mostly shoot on my own property but sometimes meet a friend at a public range and that's what I did Monday . Took my Uberti Colt Dragoon and 1860 Army cap and ball revolvers . After was done found out my son's truck was needing to go to shop so he asked if could drive my truck till it got out . No problem . I had put my revolvers in a NRA little bag and put them behind seat cause on way home needed to stop at store . After home and got tied up with talking to my son and followed him to shop to drop his truck off and he tool me back home . I had other stuff on my mind and didn't get my revolvers . I did call him and let him know they were behind the seat in my regular cab truck . Figured were safe behind seat and said will get them out after I got my truck back . When at the range I got tied up with helping my friend with his rifle . Thought he wanted to shoot mine but we never did so they were not sitting in truck needing cleaned . Got my truck back today . No guns . I know I locked my truck when stopped at store so had to of happened when son had my truck . My truck is plain Jane with no power windows or door locks so figure he didn't get it locked sometime when he had it and was out and about or at work . Sucks . The Dragoon was my favorite cap and ball revolver to shoot . The 1860 Army had it for long time and going to miss it to . Dang it I been beating my head against the wall . My son is not happy either , feels real bad about it but I told him was my fault . Filed report . Maybe will show up at a pawn shop and I can get them back . Not holding my breath . Guess could of been worse . The Dragoon was bought new and think gave $400 for it . The 1860 Army was bought at a gun auction and gave $90 think for it . Anyone else have guns get stolen .
Stolen guns
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soonerfan66
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18,099 Posts
Learned a lot of useful info from the trustee's that worked for me at the county.
1st place a thief looks for a gun, under the mattress, 2nd is back of the closet.
If you can't lock it up, remove the bolt to put somewhere else, or take it apart and do the same with the parts. Most won't waste their time with it, too hard to fence.
Cash and/or documents, first place is your Bible on the book shelf, then all the rest of the books, then on to all your dresser drawers.
My gun list was folded up in a ziploc, and under the cat box. Ex room mate was the only one that knew that. If he had left it there, I wouldn't have had a clue.
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141 Posts
In 1973 while I was out of the country thieves got into my parents house and stole four of my rifles that were displayed on a rack in my old bedroom. Among them was the SKS I brought back from Vietnam as a trophy. Fortunately they missed my pistols and a couple rifles stashed elsewhere.
In the mid 1980s thieves broke into my house and stole all of my pistols including a favorite, rare, single shot, dueling piece chambered for 44 Russian. Insurance replaced some. That was when I bought a safe and set it up in the basement with my collection of lead ingots filling the bottom 8 inches. Was reasonably sure the thief was the druggie son of a neighbor. Reported to police, to no avail. Now keep S/N list on several computers and printouts in different paper files at home and at my kid's houses.
In the mid 1980s thieves broke into my house and stole all of my pistols including a favorite, rare, single shot, dueling piece chambered for 44 Russian. Insurance replaced some. That was when I bought a safe and set it up in the basement with my collection of lead ingots filling the bottom 8 inches. Was reasonably sure the thief was the druggie son of a neighbor. Reported to police, to no avail. Now keep S/N list on several computers and printouts in different paper files at home and at my kid's houses.
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23 Posts
I had a Berreta 21A in .22 short I bought used in the 70's. I had it in my dorm room at college when you could do this if you were discrete. A guy who I thought was a friend stole it, of course I didn't put it toigether until it was too late. He didn't come back to school. I've been looking for him since, not sure what I'd do if I found him.....
One time, it was over 40 years ago. I had just gotten married and we moved into our mobile home a couple years before when it happened. It was broad daylight, my wife had been at her moms for a few hours only to return home to the front door kicked in.
The police caught them a few counties away the next night selling guns out of their trunk at bars. I got all but three guns back, but it was the three that meant the most. The first gun I ever bought, a Ithaca model 37 Deerslayer Deluxe, a Steven’s Favorite falling block single shot 22cal with full length scope and octagon barrel my grandpa gave me from his collection, and a Savage model 99 300sav. my first rifle. If we would’ve had today’s technology/internet I might have been able to find the buyers. They were sold in Clark County Indiana. Even to this day I look for them at local gun shows, the Ithaca and Favorite I could recognize easily. I still get pissed off thinking about to this day.
The police kept them all in an evidence locker for a year waiting on trial. I took gun cases in because they just threw them in a corner with all kinds of crap piled against them.
Never had anything stolen.
Everything goes into a gunsafe at home.
I never leave a firearm unattended. Meaning if I have a rifle on my work bench and I step outside the firearm goes into the safe. If firearms are going to the range and I'm putting firearms and shooting gear in the truck I don't walk away without locking the truck. If firearms are in the truck overnight, they are cased and under a blanket with windows closed and doors locked.
Everything goes into a gunsafe at home.
I never leave a firearm unattended. Meaning if I have a rifle on my work bench and I step outside the firearm goes into the safe. If firearms are going to the range and I'm putting firearms and shooting gear in the truck I don't walk away without locking the truck. If firearms are in the truck overnight, they are cased and under a blanket with windows closed and doors locked.
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371 Posts
Take comfort in the fact that, when a month goes by and the thieves haven't cleaned them the guns will be ruined.
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248 Posts
Are you saying that wanting a deal on something makes me a bad person ?
Are you saying that people don't steal simply because they covert their neighbor's goods ?
I have no use for thieves or liars either. But I think that you're just plain wrong to say that the reason that we have thieves is because honest people are looking for deals.
I dunno, I feel like I've gotten some good deals on a couple of guns (and other things) that I've bought in my life. I've never bought a gun out of the trunk of some guy's car or in a back alley and I don't think that many honest people would.
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15,405 Posts
No but if you didn't want a deal on something then thieves would have less incentive. If they can't make money on something they have less inclination to steal.
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13,102 Posts
You are 100% correct. If something is worth $100 and someone sales it for $80 for a quick sale seems legit. If that same thing is offered for $20 your radar should be up. Either it’s hot, the person is woefully ignorant or in such a bind that they are forced to be taken advantage of. I ain’t doing it. I would and have given people more money than they are asking for something if I believe they are in a bind. Stolen the cops will be on their tail. It’s the way I was raised, I suspect most of you are the same.
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899 Posts
When someone KNOWS that something they're buying is stolen or MOST LIKELY stolen, then he/she is a thief. My opinion.
We had a flea market here in Columbus decades ago. There were always a couple of booths that sold used car stereos, used cb radios, etc... anyone with a couple brain cells knew the stuff was stolen. I stayed the heck away from those booths.
We had a flea market here in Columbus decades ago. There were always a couple of booths that sold used car stereos, used cb radios, etc... anyone with a couple brain cells knew the stuff was stolen. I stayed the heck away from those booths.
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11,566 Posts
Spot on about where thieves look first. Before I bought a good gun safe I used to hide my guns in the attick behind the rafters or in the crawl space behind the floor joists where none were visible. That was a tip from a Police Detective.
I like the idea of bolting your safe to the cement floor and loading it up with lead ingots. Given enough time a thief can get into anything, but you want to make it as hard as possible for them.
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13,102 Posts
Now hide the safe and you have done as much as is practical for us people of modest means.
The main drawback to the attic and crawl space other than the inconvenience is the harsh conditions that can reek havoc on your firearms.
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11,566 Posts
The attick and crawl space measures were temporary until I could afford a good vault. You are absolutely correct about the harsh enviornments - the firearms stored like that even temporarily require frequent cleaning and oiling. Long term you want to get the very best safe/vault you can afford - but just remember that even the best safe can be opened if the thief has enough time to get in to it.
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248 Posts
Interesting discussion, but, I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree. I understand that many thieves steal things to re-sell them. I simply disagree that the majority of those sales are to "honest" people.
Like I said I feel like I've gotten some good deals on things that I've bought over the years, including guns. As far as I can tell, I have not bought anything that was stolen.
The only way that you can be sure that you're not buying stolen property would to be buy it all new from major retailers or buy it used from someone who has the receipt where they bought it new from a major retailer. Otherwise, there's always that chance that your buying stolen property and are, therefore, part of the problem.
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13,102 Posts
I’ve used the attic when leaving for a few weeks when things were very dicey here after hurricane Michael brought vermin to the area. They stole from short, shoddy and incomplete work and their light fingers made off with anything that was an easy target.
Put some guns in Apache cases, put in desiccant bags and buried them under insulation in low hard to access corners of the attic. Desperate times, desperate measures.
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28,849 Posts
I'm not sure i'd take that much comfort in that, cause if any were to be recovered i'd get back a ruined gun!
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7,539 Posts
If is any comfort it's the thought of some dope head with 2 brain cells trying to figure out how to load shells in them cap and ball revolvers .
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28,849 Posts
I can't wait to see him go buy ammo for it.
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8,118 Posts
Rather see them try to unload it.
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