Chances of recovering stolen heirloom

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Plan2Live

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About 6 years ago while I was in the middle of a divorce and at the advice of my attorney, I had a friend store all of my guns so the ex couldn't claim I was maintainng an unsafe environment around my sons. My friend's new wife had a drug addicted son living with them unknown to me. The crackhead stole my Winchester Model 1890 .22 short pump rifle. This was an heirloom from my grandfather. The gun was in okay condition, not collector quality but was priceless to me. My friend filed a Police report but the crackhead would not admit to the theft or say who he sold it to. The deputy says the serial number was entered into the database. A year or two ago I asked the Sherriff to check to see if it was still in the computer and I was told they couldn't do that. I regularly check the gun shows and would gladly buy it back, no questions asked. Anyone ever had a stolen weapon returned?
 
I would get some sort of verification that the sn was given to the police. Such as a copy of the report that was filed. There should be no reason the police or county sheriff cannot verify that the sn is in the system as long as you have a police report to support your request.

If they checked for numbers in the database for any schmo, they could potentially hurt their ability to recover a stolen weapon or one used in a crime.
 
The Sherriff claimed that if they run an inquiry the Feds want to know if they have the weapon and if not, why were they looking.
 
Stolen guns are sometimes recovered, but it is pretty rare. I have a friend who had a Smith 27 stolen and got a call 5-6 years later informing him that it had been recovered.

The policy on asking about stolen guns may have changed, or may be different in different parts of the country. I purchased a used handgun several years ago and wanted to take it on a cross country trip. I asked a friend in LE to run the SN just to make sure it was not stolen. He did it for me, but told me he was not supposed to do so unless he actually had the gun in hand because if it came up as stolen, and he could not produce the gun to his boss, he'd be in big trouble. He told me if it did come up stolen he would be at my house in 5 minutes to get it.
 
The Sherriff claimed that if they run an inquiry the Feds want to know if they have the weapon and if not, why were they looking
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The Sheriff (Deputy I hope) is full of it. Our records staff is questioned yearly if a weapon is still missing by our county SO records staff. This way the NCIC "computer" is cleaned of clutter.
 
In 1985 I had 23 guns stolen in a residential burglary. Three were recovered within a couple months (all in the possession of career criminals). Another was confiscated from a drug dealer 17 years later.

I have hope, but I do not hold my breath waiting for others to come home.
 
Thank you for the link, I'll try that. The LEO in question was an active deputy running for (and subsequently elected) Sherriff.

The secondary crime here is that divorce courts are so anti-male that you have to take such steps.
 
Our house had the mack daddy security system in it being that we owned the security company but the one time that did not get turned on was the time they broke in all cleaned out all the guns. This was 10 years ago. None were ever recovered.
 
I got 5 guns stolen in 1996. Have gotten two back. Here is the problem I had. Guns were stolen. Went back to sheriff office in 2001 to inquire if they had been found. One of the five numbers not in the system. They put it back in. 6 months later get a call from the local police that they have recovered a gun(same one that the number had been taken out of the system). Officer tells me they recovered it in '97. Why did you not call me then? Hmmm. So I go back every year and do the same inquiry. Checked today, one number not in system. Nobody know who took it out but it was marked recovered. No gun. I can understand making a mistake sometimes but they are 40% on me. Anybody else had this problem?
 
First, I would check every 3.6 9,12 months if possible! Make sure the number is in there. Second, you need to check with state, local, and sheriff. They do not communicate with each other nor, do they communicate with different locals!! They do recover guns, from people using them in a crime, from B&E's ,confiscating during a bust etc. and the buy backs of guns!!! Ask when buy backs take place in your state, and be sure to contact them the next day before they're distroyed! I pray you get results!!
 
I just got a pistol back last week that was stolen 14 years ago. The local police dept called me to tell me they had some of my property and I needed to come & claim it. No problem. I was amazed, to say the least. :)
 
Well, I tried the link kyhuntsman offered. No record found. Now, that was a Florida link and I am in SC. Since local LEO already said they couldn't/wouldn't check, what now?
 
My buddy was quail hunting in the Sonoran desert with his 1956 Browning O/U and accidentally drove off with it on the back bumper which lead to it falling off(it was in the hard case). Just for the sake of insirance purposes he listed it in the news paper as lost and recieved a call from someone that said they knew who found it, almost a year later. It was returned to him in the same mint condition. So yes, there are still some honest people left in our society.
 
If you have the serial numbers I think the chances of recovering it are decent. I am a LEO and most people dont know the serial numbers to their stolen guns.

Now I would bet you might have to wait until someone sells that rifle to a shop as those typres of weapons dont really come in contact with LEOs to often.
 
It can also depend on where you are (Or what LE agency) recovers it. If it’s ever recovered by Los Angeles PD, forget it. It’s right in their policy to never return a recovered firearm. They will lie right to your face that they didn’t recover it.

When I had two guns stolen in a burglary, the detective swore that my guns were not recovered. Burglary was about 3:00 PM and the perps were caught the next morning when LAPD raided a fence while the guys were in there selling my stuff. I will never believe that they didn’t recover my guns. The only way to ever get them back from LAPD is to file a lawsuit which would probably cost a lot more than replacing the guns.
 
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