How to avoid firearm theft?

J

Jeff Thomas

New member
Don't mean to embarrass anyone, but I'm curious about firearm thefts. Seems to be fairly common, and I'm wondering about the common mistakes that make thefts more likely.

I assume a good, hidden safe prevents many thefts. In lieu of a safe, are any 'hiding places' bad ideas (or good ideas) for one reason or another?

And, I presume 'loose lips sink ships', so keeping a collection to yourself is generally a good idea. Is it best to frequent ranges with only 1 or 2 firearms at a time a good idea from a security standpoint (i.e. drawing less attention to yourself)?

Any other suggestions, learned the hard way or otherwise?

Thanks. Regards from AZ
 
We can have our President propose a law against stealing firearms. This will virtually eliminate all firearm thefts.

Seriously.
Whenever transporting firearms in my hard cases, I don't tell any strangers/neighbors what's in them. I'll say "It's a guitar" or "That's my keyboard" (electric piano). In reality, the only proficiency I have with music is sticking the CD in the player. :)

For my HD stuff, I want to build a hinged panel under the box spring of the bed for easy access storage. You will literally have to be laying on the floor to see the thing.
 
I wasn't aware of it at the time it supposedly happened back in the 80's, but was told this story a few years ago:
A local gunshop owner did appraisals of high grade gun collections for insurance purposes, etc. If you let him come to your house, see the safes, the whole collection and house layout, within a month or two your whole collection would be stolen by very professional burglars. He came under suspicion only after the burglary of a safe that was hidden so that only the owner knew about it until he had an appraisal by this fellow.
The guy was never convicted for his role in the thefts, nobody else either. The burglaries stopped after the police figured out he was involved.
I cannot verify that this story is really true, but I would not let appraisers into my home. I'd take the collection to them.
 
Dog. Big ugly, viscious, biting, nasty tempered, large toothed dog. :D
Seriously it is a good start.

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Gunslinger

We live in a time in which attitudes and deeds once respected as courageous and honorable are now scorned as being antiquated and subversive.
 
Wife. Big ugly, viscious, biting, nasty tempered, large toothed wife. Just joking. ;)

Halffast

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"I say that big talk is worth doodly-squat." Granny Hawkins from the Outlaw Josey Wales
 
Well, move to where there isn't much crime. I know it's a cop out answer but where I'm at, burglaries are rare and firearms theft is even rarer. It's still legal here in ND to keep a rifle in the gun rack in the pickup and a lot of people do without any problems.
 
(US) Government answer: Don't own any.

Keep it (them) on you at all times.

Any amount of passive defense (fence, alarm, walls, safe, hiding, ...) can be overwhelmed eventually (find your Xmas presents your parents hid?) - apart fom making access by yourself difficult.
 
Until such time as I get a safe - which is on the "to do" list, honest, probably before the year's out, I use the "20 minute rule." What's that? Most burglars want to be in and out of your house in no more than 20 minutes - and usually much less than that, especially if your alarm is going off (the alarm won't keep them from breaking in, it'll just reduce the amount of time they're willing to spend looking for your "goodies"). So, what I do is hide things in such a way they can't be found quickly. Let's face it - if we can think of a hiding place, the BG's can (& probably have) too, but they can't check everywhere. An information source I've found to be excellent is the book "How to Hide Almost Anything" available from Paladin Press. The actual ideas in it I didn't find to be all that useful/practical, but it kind of gives your brain a jump start in thinking in the right direction.

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"...and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."
Luke 22:36
"An armed society is a polite society."
Robert Heinlein
 
Just a thought. Except for your defense weapon keep the bolts locked in a tool box away from the weapons. Imagine the look on some SOB's face when they try to shoot or sell the thing. How about in a cracker box in the kitchen cabinet.
 
Get a safe, any safe, for guns not being relied on in other areas of the home for defense. All my guns are handguns that fit in a standard office type safe bolted to the framing of the house. (I'm lucky enough to have relatives with long guns.)

The safe is definitely a two man affair to carry: weighs something like two hundred pounds with contents. Cost less than $200 on sale at an office supply store. Plenty good enough for me for now for what I have inside.
 
Get rid of those "Protected by favorite firearm brand" signs. They really read "wait until the owner leaves, there are guns in here!"
 
Thieves are not above using a chain saw to cut around a safe secured to the wall and floor of a wood framed house.
 
hide in plain sight
you could have an old console TV in the rumpus room that still worked but had a locked stash

attach a lock box to your breakerbox in the basement and run cables to it

2x4 wall space on an interior wall has enough room to stash a shotgun

i want the Shakespere bust that folds back to reveal the red button that opens the bat cave

dZ
 
Reminds me of a few days ago, when I drove through a wildlife sanctuary. It was a drive through affair. There was a sign that said "No firearms". I laughed thinking that they would expect me to throw my guns out the window and pick them up on the way out.
 
The one time I lost any guns was right after I had a small heart attack. My wife took my carry piece and hers and dropped them into the bedside table drawer with the house gun. As fate would have it, a few days later, while I was still in the hospital, our home was broken into and the creeps found my pistols. I had never left them out and unlocked before this time nor ever again. It just goes to show what can happen when your guard is down.
 
The best bet is to keep your lips sealed about what you have and deal with an equally secure individual for what you need or buy away from were you live. Dont wear the t-shirts, beltbuckles, hats, coats and other forms of clothing advertisments....as already mentioned dont advertise on your vehicle--even such well intended stuff as "Im the Nra and I vote"". When you go to buy a safe talk to the owner in private were his helpers cant overhear what your doing and go and pick it up with a friend, dont let them in y0ur home or know were you live. One thing most folks dont realize is that your mail is seen by at least two people and likely more, your normal carrier and their sub....things that are considered unusual are what people use to identify others...like--oh you know the guy that gets the gun magazines.
Dont come on the internet and tell the world what type of firearms you have, or how big a gun safe you have. Im sure that if a govt computer can be hacked so can your address, especially if you give the area or town that you live.
Occasionaly, especially if you feel its know that you have firearms, let it be known that youve sold them and wont have the money to replace them or youve changed your mind about having them around. Do what Ive done in the past and sell them at gunshows...
Most importantly secure them, in out of the way places, I wont tell you were....I dont know how you live.
Oh yeah, keep quiet about owning them.....
My personal favorite is an obvious safe or a poorly concealed cabinet type of safe (homak, or something similar), have a sks, enfield, 3030,a carcano an odd pistol or two-----Ive a friend who uses this technique and has gone as far as inscribing his name in the guns, his good stuff is hidden differently.

---Ive heard but have never verified this story, so its a story, abouta home owner who went on vacation and came home to find one wall of his home destoyed and his guns and safe missing....the safe had been built into the wall and the thieves had used a metal detector to find it.....who told em he had one?
jmo....be safe...fubsy.
 
Lots of good comments above. I'll strongly suport the idea of removing bolts from rifles and locking them away from their "homes". If nothing else, it makes them pretty much useless as weapons for the thief.

You can extend this to pistols and take-down shotguns, as well.

Another stop-gap measure, helpful against the juvenile hit-and-run types: The eyebolt with screw-threads, some chain or plastic-coated steel cable, and two locks. If cable, make a tight bend in each end and double-clamp them into "eyes". Screw the eye-screws into the back of a closet wall. Run the chain or the cable through the actions or trigger guards. Lock each end of the chain or cable to the eye-screws. You could also put in a false end-wall to further hide them.

You can reinforce a closet-door with pins on the hinge side. 3/4" plywood over the center, held with carriage bolts, makes the door much stronger. Add a dead-bolt. Last, cut the heads off 20d nails; drill holes into the stud above each door-hinge-pin; drive in the nails--can't readily pop the hinge pins.

Stop-gap.

You might think about buying a cheaper car and spending the difference on a better safe...Priorities.

If you really have a problem in your area with burglaries, and you really want to have collectible possessions, rethink your situation. New job? New area?

Is it carved in stone that you must always and forever be where you are, and doing what you're doing?

FWIW, Art

[This message has been edited by Art Eatman (edited March 14, 2000).]
 
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