Anybody had their guns stolen

[Skeetin'870]

Recently (this morning) my gun was stolen i dont know what to do except tell the authorities and have them do their worthless dance trying to get it back. Now no ofence to leos but they arent ever there when you need them. Now i dont know what to do because im going through the little dance get my serial number from beretta, because of course i cant find it. Anyway any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
Walt

 

[jsp98m3]

Maybe the thief will at least get caught speeding. LEO is a pretty wide misnomer. TEO would be more like it. The reason WE need weapons is because its been a long, long, long, decades long, time since I've ever laid eyes on a cop actively doing anything besides traffic enforcement (armed tax collection politician's don't have the balls to impose by normal methods) and massed protection of doughnut shops.

Cops are worthless for property recovery. Unless you spy the thing YOURSELF at a pawn shop, its gone.

Now the next question is, how did it get stolen? You didn't leave it in a car or open to being picked up did you?

 

[Skeetin'870]

No they broke my window stole my oakleys and my backpack ive called every pawn shop in the phone book and have them on the lookout and this week every day im checking pawnshops. thats what im doing today checking pawnshops to see them sell it get their tag and get them arrested

 

[almark]

This isn't terribly helpful but for future reference, I store my serial numbers in my cell phone as phone numbers. That way (provided my phone isn't stolen as well) I always have access to them. My cell stays on me constantly so unless I'm actually mugged I'm okay.

It's also interesting when friends poke through my number list...
"Who's Ruger?"

 

[USP45usp]

Yet another reason that I pay no attention to the law and the postings of places that I can't carry. Now you have a gun owners worst dream, and an anti-gunners wet dream, a gun in the hands of a criminal on the streets.

I do hope that you had pictures and the serial of the gun on file. For all those here that don't have this, now is the time to get it done. No excuses. All my guns are listed on my home computer with a copy in my locker at the shooting range as well as the other place that I have some guns stored. I can give the LEO's, the ATFE (if they steal a C&R, which I have as "bait"), the pawn shops, etc... around the area all the information that they need. With pictures and with any "unique" marks.

I feel for you Skeetin'870, but you shouldn't have left the gun in the vehicle along with things like your Oakleys. If I carry my gun in my car, it goes where I go, signs or not (the gun, not the car). I also carry my radio face plate if I drive the Bird and with the newer cars now (some of them, my Impala has it), the radio is hooked into my computer, it's worthless if pulled out of the car, even with other Impala's. It's worthless on the black market.

Also, why didn't you have your car/vehicle wired? (alarmed). My Impala came with an alarm but I had to put one on my Bird. The alarm siren is 200db IIRC (I paid extra for the extra db's) and no one will just shug it off but will call the LEO's, due to the loudness of it (you can hear it over 1 mile away). Total cost was around $250. The extra $50 IIRC for the siren was well worth it (I've had one attempted robbery on my Bird, it shattered the thiefs eardrums, actually made them bleed .).

I hope that everything works out for you. That your gun is gotten before it can be used in a crime.

Good lesson to be learned here, if you carry a gun, it's your responsibility to care for it and that you have to decide for yourself if you will leave it in a position that it can be stolen, or if it's better to disobey the signs and carry it with you anyway so that you know that it is safe.

I'm not advocating breaking the law, that is a personal matter, what I'm saying is that it's your responsibility and if you don't wish to take that responsibility to ensure it's safe, maybe you should just leave it at home.

Sorry to come down on you like this, but this is a very serious matter. Hence the reason that I have my home guns in a locker in a safe that I pay for and the others elsewhere that they can be watched 24/7 and safed. Because I don't have the right equipment (a good safe) here in the house, I must remove them from me to ensure their safety until I do get the equipment needed to ensure that they are safe here at home.

Wayne

 

[Skeetin'870]

Oh dont feel bad i should be come down hard on i was lazy and sick and didnt think my oakleys are my sunglasses and the face plate was inside
Also the first thing i do is get a alarm installed

 

[jsp98m3]

If you have something other than a hatchback, throwing the backpack in the trunk would probably have prevented this.

When you get the alarm installed, make sure they wire it up so that the electrical trunk release is disabled when the alarm is set. Same for any gas flap release buttons.

 

[Casp_A]

Sorry that this is probably no confidence booster, but someone broke into my Father's appartment in the '70s and stole (among other non-firearm stuff) his .45lc Blackhawk and custom leather for it. He reported it to LE and hasn't seen it since.

 

[USP45usp]

Skeetin'870,

You did/do have the serial right? I know that you're young and that you feel badly about this. Not really about the loss of the gun but what it may be used for. (I think I said that right).

Lessons learned and shared with us, we thank you for that (teaching us a lesson and then letting us respond).

Go to the LEO's and have them put out the serial of the gun, the make/model and anything that you can remember that will allow them to recongized it on sight.

If it's used in a crime, you may very well lose it. Or if they grind off the serial, you may be able to get the ATFE to grant you a waiver if a gunsmith can reapply the serial or if they can bring it back out so that it's readable. Most likey, it will be destroyed.

Thank you for posting. It's a lesson to all of us, those that may become complaciant and to those that are doing so and didn't think about it. I apologize on coming down so hard on you, like you I am worried about a legal gun being in the hands of criminals and what they may do with it.

Wayne

 

[Jbar4Ranch]

I had a stainless Interarms Virginian Dragoon .44 mag, holster, gunbelt, & 31 rounds of ammo stolen from a locked vehicle (coathanger, pulled the knob up) in 1981 in East Helena, Montana. It was recovered about two months later when someone tried to pawn it in Denver, Colorado. Everything was returned to me in good shape except the ammo. At the time, the police said stolen firearms had a recovery rate of less than 10%.

 

[Skeetin'870]

If you have something other than a hatchback, throwing the backpack in the trunk would probably have prevented this.

Oh it was a taurus sho and USP dont feel bad i deserved what you said and trust me i got much worse from my coach. So now i need to replace it, oh darn time to go shopping again.
Also the gun has very distinguishing marks. From my poor handling dropped the stock once the blueing is coming off the works its very distinct.

 

[leadcounsel]

Skeetin'

I had an identical experience in January '05. I was at the gym and forgot my padlock for my locker (the only time I've ever done that). Without much thought, I left my bag in my front seat. I had alot of valuables in my bag including my Glock. I also had a .357 Python in the glove box, which I routinely carried in my truck as a backup.

Well, sure enough, that night a BG busted my window and stole all of my stuff, two guns, a full CD book, totalling thousands of $. I reported them stolen to the police immediately. Because I bought the python privately and never recorded the serial, I did not have it. I did have the Glock serial and gave it to LEO. Neither gun has been recovered and it's been 9 months. Luckily they were in a hurry and didn't find the spare valet key I USED to keep in my glove box! Boy was that stupid!

My insurance company covered most of my loss with my $1,000 deductible, but did not cover 200 cds or my broken window (I filed under my homeowners policy instead of my auto policy, the latter would not cover stolen items inside the truck and neither covres cds... go figure). I sued the property owner under premesis liability and won about $3,000.

Lesson learned: I never keep a gun in the car anymore. Since I always have one on my person, I don't see the need. And, I never keep anything of value in my car or if I do I hide it out of sight. And, I no longer keep the valet key in the truck either!

 

[Dtron]

After reading this thread, I've recorded the serial numbers of all 3 of my guns on my computer, my Pocket PC, my Cell Phone, and Wallet. I've also taken some good pic's of the full gun and some detailed pics of the serial to have even further proof. I feel better now.