My Pistol Got Stolen.

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"Dangit, I'm 22, and supposedly infinitely wise and immortal."

Now that you know one of those assumptions isn't true, time to give the other one some serious thought.;)

I hope you get it back.

DM
 
While I sympathize with people for their loss of property, I am flabbergasted when I read statements like this.

What exactly do you expect the police to do to recover your gun? Your list of possible suspects does not constitute probable cause for a search warrant. I suppose the police could ask them if they stole the gun but that doesn't seem likely to be productive.

Suppose the police showed up at your house and asked you if you had stolen a gun because the victim said you might be the thief. I doubt if you'd be happy with either the police or your "friend". I'm sure if they showed up with a search warrant you'd be even less happy.
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It could be worse. The police could recover it as the pistol that was used to shoot dead a few kids and since its your gun and never reported it...
 
WeedWhacker
Six of one, a half-dozen of the other. Unless you're implying that, by being a victim of theft, Dionysusigma should be punished for the illegal use of a tool which was stolen from him by a criminal...
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(sigh)

No, I am not saying that he should be legally punished.
I am questioning the cavalier habit of of leaving loaded guns in unlocked cars (even a locked door has just glass between a thief and the gun if it is unsecured).

I've seen many posts of folks complaining that their gun was stolen out of their car, and the victim (yes, I do agree they are the crime victim) usually not caring about how easy they made it for the criminal to get their gun in the first place, and instead just wanting to vent and get some solace from fellow gun folks.

In similar threads, many people have given the advice to carry the gun instead of leaving it in the car, or if you have to, get a lockbox for it (as low as $30). I agree with that.
If you can legally carry your gun, why not carry it with you?
Some folks wouldn't dream of leaving hundreds of dollars in their car, but for some reason feel the gun is safer to leave behind.

Do I think we need "secured gun" laws? No.

Do I want the theft victim to be held legally or monetarily responsible for the criminal's future misdeeds? No.

Do I think criminals have any business breaking into other people's property. No.

Does it suck that a legal gun owner got ripped off? Yes.

Does it suck that the "good guy" is down a gun, and the "bad guy" just got a free one for doing what bad guys do? Yes.

Do I think "hassle-hating" folks who leave their guns sitting unsecured in unattended cars are making it too easy for criminals to get a free gun? Yes.



I agree that a truly determined thief can eventually get to a secured gun (or the whole car), but most of these accounts seem to be of people just leaving it in the car "hidden" under the seat or in the glovebox for the casual thief to discover and take.

If you have a gun to protect yourself from people who don't choose to follow society's rules, what makes you think they'll obey the rule against breaking into your car?


.
 
torpid

well said.

Being a responsible gun owner means taking reasonable precautions to prevent your gun falling into the hands of miscreants.

To do otherwise is to give Antis more ammunition, and more motivation, to turn public opinion against the lawful firearms owner.

There are some fairly effective, very portable lock boxes out there...$50-60 gets you in the door.

PM me if you need further details. And no, I have no financial interest...just wish I'd thought of it first.
 
Torpid, orionengnr, I agree with you that we all need portable lockboxes in our vehicles, and I can't tell you how sick I was over my handgun being stolen from my vehicle when I didn't have a lockbox. Sick over the thought of MY handgun being used to possibly kill someone in a crime due to MY (what I've always thought of as ) carelessness. I was fortunate it turned out the way it did.
But, that being said, I think you may have read more into some of the posts about guns being stolen than was there.
Because I had a handgun stolen from my truck when I stepped into a store for a moment returning from the gun range made you think I WASN'T carrying when I went in the store? Why would you assume that? I WAS carrying what I normally carry, plus a little .380 in my pocket. You ever take more than one gun with you when you go target shooting? How many concealed handguns can/do you carry at a time?

Also I didn't take the original post as just looking for a reason to vent...as far as looking for solace, so what?
Sorry if I seem a little sensitive about that. I am. I was made a victim by a slimeball, and I blame myself on top of it.
 
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espanola, my post was aimed at folks in general.

That fact that you actually thought outside yourself and cared about what someone might do with your stolen gun is far and above some of the "*&*$@! stole my gun" posts that I've read here where the person only cares that they "lost" their gun, and don't we all feel sympathy toward their situation.

And suggesting that they might have contributed to the situation through carelessness is often condemned as blaming the victim by the "man, that sucks, bro" supporters.

.
 
... suggesting that they might have contributed to the situation through carelessness is often condemned as blaming the victim by the "man, that sucks, bro" supporters.
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I can't say I disagree. I was careless. I made the mistake of not making sure my doors were locked, a stupid and easily avoidable thing.

Kinda the opposite of locking one's keys in the car, but the stupid-feeling is the same. :banghead: Needless to say, I'll never leave the doors unlocked and a gun unsecured again. :banghead:
 
to keep track of your guns in case of future theft you could buy this software http://gunblast.com/Guntracker.htm or write the serial numbers, dates you bought them, et cetera in a notebook. My grandfather made a video of his gun collection. It probably was not easy to update it, if he ever did.
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An excellent suggestion. I have an Excel spreadsheet with everything I have on it. A copy resides on my computer, a backup CD on the bookshelf, and a backup CD in my briefcase (in case the house burns to the ground taking my collection and list with it). One of these days I'm going to get a decent digital camera and photograph everything and add that to the CDs.
 
Never leave firearms in auto w/o locks, etc.

Also, keep purchase receipt, video or digital photos, and a detailed list, using Excel. That is what I do.

Re: the individual who did not report firearm stolen, that leaves you open to allegations of wrong doing because you have no proof that it was not any longer in your legal possession.

ALWAYS report thefts.

How many of you have your firearms engraved with a notice of "belongs to", "from the collection of..."? Sure it lowers value, but promotes returns if lost/stolen. If you NEVER intend to sell it, who cares about "lowered value", right? All new firearms have serial numbers that are distinct, but how many have your name or driver's license number?

Just a thought.

Doc2005
 
So it's cool if I take it personally too, right? Let's see... you bought that gun on your birthday, and I got suckered into a K31 while you were doing your 4473. I do believe ten people learned to shoot on that pistol. I also recall a certain person enjoying it so much that he popped off 200 rounds without realizing it, and that was his first time.

*sigh*...

I also seem to recall that you had no intention of buying that pistol when we walked into the store. I remember you debating it, at length, and looking at me like I was supposed to have some kind of great advice about what to do. I guess we should maybe go looking for that Makarov you were after to begin with.
 
That's tough. I can understand your feelings, but not from personal experiance, thank goodness. And this is less than a week after you showed me this gun at your place of former-employment. Hey, what better place than a gun shop for standing in the aisle and handling one?

If you can afford to buy another, I saw a new one for $229 at Big Boys near Mustang. Or maybe your ex-boss will help you out with a very low price.

May the schooling and career never have any such low points for you, ever.

Bart Noir
 
I wonder if I missed something?
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Dionysusigma and I have been friends for quite some time now. We were roommates sophomore year.

And, of course, I put a couple hundred rounds through the pistol in question.
 
Sorry to hear about this brother, very sorry.

I would be pretty POed if some asshat stole my gun(s).


What part of OKC do you live in?

I reside in SW OKC, and the neighboorhood is falling apart. Fortunately, we have 5 dogs, and one of us is always home with the 870 at the ready with 1 00 buckshot in the chamber and 6 slugs in the magazine tube.

Stolen guns are rarely recovered. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, chalk this one up as a learning experience.
and while we're are at it, yet another one for the bad guys.
:fire:

lets hope and pray they accidentally blast themself in the genital region with it.
 
n 1993 I had a S&W469 stolen, I reported it to PD and insurance co. covered my loss, appx. 8 months later I got a call from the PD, they recovered my gun with many other items stolen in the area, I informed the PD I had been paid by insurance then the officer said he would like to have it, I said SURE, better in the hands of a LEO than a BG...during those 8 months I was REALLY worried someone would get shot with my gun in a crime.
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I'm pretty sure a crime occured there, and that once the insurance company covered the loss, the recovered gun became their property.

I'm fairly sure that the cop knew -- or should have known -- that, too. :(
 
making the statement "don't leave a gun in a car ever" is not very reasonable. The post office for example in a federal no carry zone. In Ohio many places are no-carry zones. Most hospitals for example, anyplace that serves alcohol, and churches to name a few.

This saturday my wife where going the a wedding and a hosptial to visit someone. I chosse not to carry that day knowing that I would be going to a lot on no-carry areas.

Get somekind of car safe. Cuz sooner or later you will have to leave it in the car.
 
I know this is a case of locking the barn doors after horse is gone, but here's what I have been doing instead of a lockbox (because I have no place to put one in my truck).
I use one of those cable locks (like Master makes, or you get for free from Operation Childsafe). I run the cable through the trigger guard of the gun and then wrap it around the seat mounting bracket where it bolts to the floor. If you want, drop the mag and feed it through the mag well or open the cylinder and put it through the frame and it's that much more secure. Lock it up tight. If your BG has bolt cutters then he's got it; but first he has to know it's there and most smash-n-run guys just want what they can grab in a hurry. And a lockbox can be defeated by a good crowbar. SO it's not like it is invincible to have a lockbox. Just make sure you wrap the cable lock around a part of the seat track or mount that is securely bolted to the vehicle.

What I did with one of my vehicles was make a plate out of 3/8" stainless steel scrap I got from work, the plate was about 3" wide and 5" long. I drilled a 1" hole in one end of the plate. I drilled three holes in the other end in a triangular pattern, the holes were about .390" diameter for 3/8" bolts. I used 3/8"x1.5" stainless steel bolts, with lock washers. I bent the plate up at a 45 degree angle in the middle. I drilled three .390" holes in the floor of my Jeep under the seat and then bolted the plate to the floor with fender washers under the floorpan for strength, then spot welded the nuts to the bolts. I put one under each of the front seats. I used this to chain my toolbox, circular saw, chainsaw, guns, etc. when I was out in the boonies, that way they would not walk out of my Jeep with the top off when I wasn't looking.

Advice: get a copy of the polie report relating to the theft and plan on keeping it indefinitely. The gun may turn up in the hands of some meth head or rock slinger someday but don't count on that. Write it off. If you really like Bersa then look at the Bersa Thunder .380's again.
 
Dionysusigma, I beg you to please file your theft report with your local police agency, and let them put the pistol's serial number into NCIC. The faster you do so, the better. Pawn shops regularly have their firearms' serial numbers checked. I know of at least one family member who recovered a beloved pistol (also burgled from a car) this way, a year after it was stolen.

There's nothing more frustrating, as a law enforcement officer, then having the public that you serve insist that you will do nothing, and prevent you from even trying to help, when you actually have the tools to give it a good shot.
 
Matt G: Dionysusigma, I beg you to please file your theft report with your local police agency...
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See Posts #13 and 17. ;)

There's nothing more frustrating, as a law enforcement officer, then having the public that you serve insist that you will do nothing, and prevent you from even trying to help, when you actually have the tools to give it a good shot.
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I never agreed with exar, and I don't. I hope the police find it... but if they don't, it's not like I can hold it against them. The theif might accidentally drop it in a lake or somewhere it wouldn't be recoverable, and I can't ask anybody to dredge every single lake and river in the country to find a pistol of relatively little significance.

If it is lost forever, I hope it's not before it's been used in a crime. I'd rather that nobody have it than it be in the hands of a BG, kinda like in Lord of the Rings. Granted, the Bersa isn't magically evil and I never disappeared when I got into stance... :scrutiny: :rolleyes:
 
Sorry about that. General's a big forum, and sometimes I skim. :eek:

Hope it gets found, because that will increase the chance that the thief gets busted (and you'll get your gun back!).
 
ouch

Doors not locked, well, that's an easy one to fix in the future.

As far as coming home from the range goes, I resist the temptation to "just stop at Home Depot" or "make a quick stop at 7-11" while in transit to or from the range.

Right after I moved here the news ran a story about a guy whose SUV got stolen. He had stopped at Home Depot on the way home from the range and there were multiple weapons in the SUV. Watching that story pretty much anchored that policy in stone for me.

Turns out the guy was scamming the insurance company, and got caught. Score one for the good guys.

Still, lesson learned.
 
in 1993 I had a S&W469 stolen, I reported it to PD and insurance co. covered my loss, appx. 8 months later I got a call from the PD, they recovered my gun with many other items stolen in the area, I informed the PD I had been paid by insurance then the officer said he would like to have it, I said SURE, better in the hands of a LEO than a BG...during those 8 months I was REALLY worried someone would get shot with my gun in a crime.
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WOW! That is really wrong. The property room is the biggest source of police corruption, according to my sources.
 
The fear of something like this is the reason that I installed a purpose-made lock box for my CCWs in my pickup. It is riveted to the back wall of the cab behind the seat where it cannot be seen from any window angle. Also why the doors are locked no matter where I'm parked or how quickly I'm planning to be back, even when the box is empty (usually).

The main reason for the box is that I must occasionally go somewhere where my weapon is forbidden by law to go with me. It also has to stay there when I'm at my workplace, as it's more secure there than in my locker and much less conspicuous to boot.

The latter policy comes from the sad experience of a former co-worker whose shiney new Silverado (unlocked, key in his pocket) was stolen while he was inside paying for gas. It was pretty much trashed and gutted by the time it was finally recovered.
 
Well, look on the bright side, at least it wasn't $2000 custom 1911 or something. ;)

Still, even a relatively inexpensive $200 Bersa is a hard loss to swallow, I feel for you. :(
 
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