spacecoast
New member
Hopefully this is obvious, but registering on an internet gun forum with your real name and city of residence makes it very easy to find your address. Hopefully that's not the case here.
ouch... Robbed in PA
- Thread starter Tom Matiska
- Start date
Hopefully this is obvious, but registering on an internet gun forum with your real name and city of residence makes it very easy to find your address. Hopefully that's not the case here.
In addition to an alarm system, a video surveillance system is relatively cheap and easy to install.
You can do a whole-house system with internet access, text alerts, full night-vision, indoor/outdoor, audio, etc, for well under $1000. Professional systems cost much more installed, but an DIY system is just a matter of running wires through an attic. There are also wireless options to cover outdoor spaces like a detached garage.
The police will be much more interested and able to find your thieves if they've got close-up hi-resolution imagery of their faces.
Heck, they sell 8-channel systems at Costco and Sams Club nowadays.
You can do a whole-house system with internet access, text alerts, full night-vision, indoor/outdoor, audio, etc, for well under $1000. Professional systems cost much more installed, but an DIY system is just a matter of running wires through an attic. There are also wireless options to cover outdoor spaces like a detached garage.
The police will be much more interested and able to find your thieves if they've got close-up hi-resolution imagery of their faces.
Heck, they sell 8-channel systems at Costco and Sams Club nowadays.
Mike Irwin wrote:
This is sort of how the burgalers who robbed my house were caught.
My home was burlarized back in 2002 and a Baby Browning was stolen...but the knuckleheads left the magazine behind. I left a printout I keep for all my guns (for insurance purposes) with a photo and the serial number of that Browning with all the local gun and pawnshops in my area.
A LGS had a guy come in about a week later asking if they had a magazine for it. The shop owner, to whom I eternally grateful, was clever enough to make up a story that there were two variations in the mags and that he would need to see the Browning to make sure the magazine would fit.
The guy returned with the Browning and the shop owner had an employee call the police while he dealt with the buyer. The police arrived within minutes and the serial number matched.
The dirtbag gave up two others involved in the burglary. Lucky? Maybe...
This is sort of how the burgalers who robbed my house were caught.
My home was burlarized back in 2002 and a Baby Browning was stolen...but the knuckleheads left the magazine behind. I left a printout I keep for all my guns (for insurance purposes) with a photo and the serial number of that Browning with all the local gun and pawnshops in my area.
A LGS had a guy come in about a week later asking if they had a magazine for it. The shop owner, to whom I eternally grateful, was clever enough to make up a story that there were two variations in the mags and that he would need to see the Browning to make sure the magazine would fit.
The guy returned with the Browning and the shop owner had an employee call the police while he dealt with the buyer. The police arrived within minutes and the serial number matched.
The dirtbag gave up two others involved in the burglary. Lucky? Maybe...
Mike Irwin
Staff
Nice story, Skadoosh.
Wish more ended that way.
My brother had the Ruger 9mm that I gave him stolen a couple of years ago. Everyone knows who did it -- friend's daughter's boyfriend -- but no way to proove it and it has never turned up.
Everything of value in the house was bypassed completely and they went right to the closet where it was hidden.
Wish more ended that way.
My brother had the Ruger 9mm that I gave him stolen a couple of years ago. Everyone knows who did it -- friend's daughter's boyfriend -- but no way to proove it and it has never turned up.
Everything of value in the house was bypassed completely and they went right to the closet where it was hidden.
Tom Matiska
New member
Seems everybody I tell my story to can tell me ones also. Retired state trooper a block from me had his guns stolen, and he has forgotten more about home security than I know.
My insurance guy had his stolen, but didn't notice it until hunting season, by which time they were sold legally twice.
My insurance guy had his stolen, but didn't notice it until hunting season, by which time they were sold legally twice.
Sorry to hear of your loss.
I had half a dozen handguns and rifles stolen years ago.
I received a call from the police about six months later saying they found one of my handguns outside a liqour store that had been robbed.
I went down to the station to the property room, and the officer handed me my Raven arms 25 auto!
It still had a loaded magazine, and a round in the chamber,which I thought was rather odd to hand someone a loaded weapon.
Of all the guns to get back it had to be the cheapest one! lol
I had half a dozen handguns and rifles stolen years ago.
I received a call from the police about six months later saying they found one of my handguns outside a liqour store that had been robbed.
I went down to the station to the property room, and the officer handed me my Raven arms 25 auto!
It still had a loaded magazine, and a round in the chamber,which I thought was rather odd to hand someone a loaded weapon.
Of all the guns to get back it had to be the cheapest one! lol
Tom Matiska
New member
Good point, but I don't think there is an internet connection here. He/they started with lifting my tools from the work bench...but with reloading gear, hunting stuff, deer mounts etc within sight, they figured I owned guns without help from a computer. Non-gun owners have been getting robbed also.
The thief handled my powder scale, but left it(wonder what he wanted to weigh with it?) if the cops come by to lift prints in the next few days I'll point it out to them.
It would be nice touch if his curiousity about the scale helps the case.
Major Dave (retired)
New member
Listing serial numbers with NCIC works...
but may take a few years.
I lost a nice pistol to a thief because I was stupid enough to describe it and where I kept it, during a casual conversation at work. I knew who did it, but couldn't prove it. After breaking the chain on my back patio door, he took only my pistol, and bypassed everything else of value.
Eight years later, I had the SN listed w/NCIC, and 12 years after that I received a call from a PD in a city 40 miles away. Seems they were moving their recovered weapons to a larger storage room (thank God they don't auction off or melt down every couple of years) , and ran all the SN's thru NCIC as a part of the move, and found my pistol in the process - 20 years after the theft.
The recovering PD didn't know how they came into possession of it. The police captain speculated that one of their officers took it off of a DWI stop. He said his officers stake out parking lots of the bars in their city on Friday and Saturday nights, and arrest drunks that stagger out and drive away.
Works for me.
but may take a few years.
I lost a nice pistol to a thief because I was stupid enough to describe it and where I kept it, during a casual conversation at work. I knew who did it, but couldn't prove it. After breaking the chain on my back patio door, he took only my pistol, and bypassed everything else of value.
Eight years later, I had the SN listed w/NCIC, and 12 years after that I received a call from a PD in a city 40 miles away. Seems they were moving their recovered weapons to a larger storage room (thank God they don't auction off or melt down every couple of years) , and ran all the SN's thru NCIC as a part of the move, and found my pistol in the process - 20 years after the theft.
The recovering PD didn't know how they came into possession of it. The police captain speculated that one of their officers took it off of a DWI stop. He said his officers stake out parking lots of the bars in their city on Friday and Saturday nights, and arrest drunks that stagger out and drive away.
Works for me.
Tom Matiska
New member
Update.... the case seems to be withering on the vine. Cops expressed interest in lifting prints from the cabinet, but it ain't happening. Looks like the best I can hope for is a report for insurance purposes.... discouraging.
Considering the potential for the handguns to do harm I'd think the cops would like to know who the prints belong to.
Considering the potential for the handguns to do harm I'd think the cops would like to know who the prints belong to.
mikejonestkd
New member
I hope that you do manage to get them back, having a gun stolen is terrible loss. what kind of safe did you have and how did they get into it?
Tom Matiska
New member
Almost too embarrassed to admit some of the facts, but to serve as a lesson for others:
I did beef up the basement door with a deadbolt and reinforced lock strike plate, but over-estimated the door frame. Door was still properly locked when it was kicked off the hinges.
The "safe" was welded up by a machine shop in N Carolina. Heavy plate steel, two man job to move, ....but.... original plan to build a Greenleaf lock into the door fell through when the builder got sticker shock. I would up with a handle with a Master combo padlock on it. Plan b was to add a padlock cover over the lock to protect it from direct attack...but never got around to it.
End result is an unshielded mid grade combo padlock was picked. It probably would have been cut if it were more challenging. Thief did go through my work bench. Just dumb luck that my metal cutting blades weren't handy. A bolt cutter was in my toolbox if he looked harder.
In hindsight, the padlock was stupid. The extra $400 (20+ years ago)for the Greenleaf is a fraction of the theft loss. No excuse for not having at least a top end padlock with security cover. I made it too easy for him.
A legit safe is in the works. Alarm system too. House is unattended too many hours a day not to have one. Old "safe" now has an upgraded lock and will pull secondary duty for all the other items. Car and motorcycle keys, check book, camera, laptop, etc .... were all laying around and could have been gone just as easy.
Sure Shot Mc Gee
New member
I hope you recover them all Sir.
kilimanjaro
New member
We all hope you get 'em all back. Do call the Chief or the Sheriff personally and demand fingerprint testing. Or the local Prosecutor. That might work. It amazes me to see police sitting beside the road looking for a kid driving 8 miles over the limit, but no one will respond to forced entry, grand larceny, probably felon in possession of a firearm, etc.
Do take all the other guns out of the safe, right now, and disperse them in the house. Tomorrow, go buy a good safe. Your pending insurance payment will cover your cost. New guns, you can buy them later, get the safe now.
Do take all the other guns out of the safe, right now, and disperse them in the house. Tomorrow, go buy a good safe. Your pending insurance payment will cover your cost. New guns, you can buy them later, get the safe now.
Tom Matiska
New member
update.....break in plus 9.... detectives just came by to dust for prints, looks like no prints with enough points. Going to have to wait for the data base to score a victory. I'll hold on to my optimism for a while, but at some point will put a few hundred 307 and 358 brass up for sale.
Tom, sorry for your loss. I'd like to pass along a cop's suggestion which seems like a good idea to me: instead of a conspicuous gun safe, how about a dusty old file cabinet? Cut out most of the drawer floors but leave the rails so they can still open and close. Label the drawers something like "Kitty pictures" or "2010 receipts" and then just lock the cabinet. You can even fill the front halves of the drawers with actual cat pictures, receipts, or other worthless papers. This will give you enough room for 4-5 long guns in an easily-overlooked hiding place; a burglar short on time probably won't waste any breaking into a cheap looking file cabinet.
I have an idea if you have a collection of rifles and handguns and didn't have a safe handy. Run a length of chain through all the trigger guards and use a quality padlock. It makes it awkward to steal them and not make a lot of noises. They'll have to take the whole shebang if they want it which I think would be clumsy to do.
Also it would be wise to take the bolts and magazines out and store them somewhere else. That'll force the punks to seek parts for 'em (as proven above) and the list distributed to LGSes to look out for.
I look forward to the punks getting caught and stuff returned to rightful owners.
Also it would be wise to take the bolts and magazines out and store them somewhere else. That'll force the punks to seek parts for 'em (as proven above) and the list distributed to LGSes to look out for.
I look forward to the punks getting caught and stuff returned to rightful owners.
Oysterboy, only problem with your idea is that it would take just a few seconds with a bolt-cutter, or a few whacks with hammer and cold chisel, to get around the chain and lock. It would work for a teenager who kicks in a door or comes through a window, looking to grab stuff quickly, but not for a decent burglar.
Granted, safes can be cut into, with the right tools, but that would require more and better tools, and some degree of skill.
Granted, safes can be cut into, with the right tools, but that would require more and better tools, and some degree of skill.