Gun Show Theft

[Rockrivr1]

I was at the Big E Gun Show yesterday in Massachusetts. It's typically the biggest gun show in the area and it's in the western part of the state. Having a big show in the eastern part of the state is pretty much an impossibility.

The show closes at 3PM and the last two hours is when you can really wheel and deal with some of the more hungrier vendors. Right before 2PM an announcement was played asking for the person who was looking at a Beretta 380 to please return it to the table they took it from. This brought a chorus of chuckles from the people I was standing around. I didn't think it was to funny.

About 15 minutes later the same person announces that the Beretta was stolen and that all vendors need to pay attention to thier tables. This got me thinking as I looked around. Most tables had groups of people around the guns and I wonder how many times during a show this happens. Unfortunately I could easily see how it happened. I picked up a Sig 220 at a table and it wasn't even noticed by the owner as he was in a negotiation with another guy at the other end of the table. If I was a thief, I probably could of just walked away from the table with it. This was after the announced theft was broadcasted.

Massachusetts is a very liberal state and I would bet the gun grabbers are just looking for a reason to shut these shows down. Thefts like this definitely do not help our cause.

 

[Bear Gulch]

Yep while accidents can happen, it is waise to be aware. I have seen folks leave their tables to get food, use the john etc., that has always seemed like bad practice to me!

 

[PMDW]

A guy at the show I was at had an AR15 stolen. We keep all our handguns in glass cases, and the rifles tied to the rack via steel cable. I don't see why people don't spend $10 for some cable and $5 for a lock and risk having $800+ guns stolen.

Had a suppressor stolen once, and night security has taken a few handguns before. About it.

 

[boofus]

Apparently it happens at even the biggest gun show of them all. Some Knight's Armament Company employees at the SHOT Show said someone made off with one of their SR-25 silencers, other vendors say they have had ACOGs stolen off demo rifles. I don't see the point of making off with the suppressor, just having it is a free ticket to a 10-year taxpayer funded vacation.

 

[Bear Gulch]

Oh, you mean crimnals wouldn't want that because it's illegal?

 

[cgv69]

We keep all our handguns in glass cases, and the rifles tied to the rack via steel cable. I don't see why people don't spend $10 for some cable and $5 for a lock and risk having $800+ guns stolen.

Do you guys work the Sharonville show? If so I bought a Surefire light off of you guys at the last one show!

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

a few weeks ago in South Carolina a Class III Dealer had a HK MP5/10 mm submachine gun stolen right off his table at a gun show. rumor is, as i was not there, was that he did not have the weapon cabled down or secured in any way and that it happened during show hours (not after hours or during non-business hours).

just having a cabled "alarm" system isn't 100% effective either. if you have a large enough setup, organized groups can have a "decoy" unplug your cable in one area (accidentally of course, he picks up the rifle and shoulders it causing the cable to separate) to divert your attention while another "thief" on the other end unplugs the cable and steals something else. that is why i recommend to all dealers that do not hire employees to consider having a few extra sets of eyes around the table to watch for this. when the alarm goes off, scan all of your tables, not just the most obvious one.

 

[LiquidTension]

What show did that occur at in SC? I've never seen an MP5/10 at a show here in Columbia, but I don't go to as many as I used to. I do know that BDL, Ltd. had a rifle stolen during a show a few years ago...I've bought two rifles from that guy so I talk to him whenever I see him. A buddy of mine is a gunsmith so he has dealer samples of Uzis and Stens on his table, but he doesn't leave them unattended....

 

[english kanigit]

Kansas gunshows=not-so-boring (in a bad way)

Every now and then I help a family friend watch his table. Never had anything stolen but once in a while some jerkov will walk around with an assortment of live cartridges and when nobody's looking they will slip one into a gun and move off. Before too long, somebody else will come pick up the gun and cycle the action (not paying attention of course ) and pull the trigger. Thankfully when this happened, the trigger puller was pointing at the ceiling, next time we may not be so lucky. It's these dipwads of questionable parentage that are trying to get gunshows shut down in our area, I believe they are hoping somebody will get killed...
:banghead:

 

[PMDW]

Before too long, somebody else will come pick up the gun and cycle the action (not paying attention of course ) and pull the trigger.

Invest in some glass cases, that way no one can touch a gun unless they ask you. When they have a gun, don't walk away from them or take your eyes off them.

If someone wants to take a closer look at a gun, inspect the chamber and be sure it's clear before handing it to them.

Problem solved.

 

[english kanigit]

It wasn't our table, problem solved.

I was actually taking a break. I had just called my dad on the pay phone to discuss a purchase when I heard the shot. I believe the ND came from a mauser or a mosin, my dad heard it over the phone and was like ***?
The pavilion is a fairly large enclosed space and that didn't help things either. There was this nice, resounding BOOM...

 

[MillCreek]

Perhaps I am being foolishly naive, in my mid-40's and all, but I never in a million years would have thought about someone slipping a live cartridge into a chamber at a gunshow just for the hell of it. The world we live in......

 

[Bear Gulch]

Heck, I never thought some would have the stone to lift a class III or that they're security would be so bad!

 

[Parallax]

Never had anything stolen but once in a while some jerkov will walk around with an assortment of live cartridges and when nobody's looking they will slip one into a gun and move off.

That is unbelievable

At the gun show I always go to, everyone has their guns locked up with cables so theft isn't an issue.

 

[thorn726]

i kinda wondered about this= i have a number of friends who sell other stuff, art and such , at festivals/etc where it is the same type of eset up, tables in a big room. they always have a lot of trouble with thieves, pretty much have to hire someone just for watching out cause while you sell to one custy, andother rips you off.

it is tough doing business in those types of shows, i bet these guys get robbed a lot for small stuff.

really sucks people steal.

 

[Art Eatman]

It's nothing new for some doofus to slip a live round into a gun. It happened to me, back some 30 years ago. .30-30 round into a Win 94. A "tire-kicker" cranked the lever, and out came a cartridge!

Art

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

well....as far as SC, i don't know exactly which show it was but if you search on www.sturmgewehr.com you may find it in the archives. that's where i read it.

i think the Class III items are more attractive to steal, since either they are (1) too high dollar (transferable) or (2) it is not possible to buy one (post-sample). i mean heck you're going to get busted if you steal a $20 saturday night special or an MP5 so the reward is obviously greater for a machine gun vs. the risk you take.

for me the Class III weapons are always behind glass and watched over like a hawk. if its a post sample you have to have a police ID to handle it. i get all kinds of people demanding to see it regardless of the sign that says if they are not LE with credentials do not ask to handle it. people get offended, but if i had someone a post sample, (1) i cant sell it to them, (2) i have to wait for them to hand it back to me, which can take a very long time after everyone gets to hold it, and all the while (3) losing business because i can't go off and help other customers who want to buy something since i have to get my post sample back.

at least with an officer, if their dept is looking to buy they will take my card back to the dept and i potentially can earn business. however i have found that the guy asking to buy the Glock 18 out in the parking lot is just a big waste of time!

 

[Zundfolge]

Perhaps I am being foolishly naive, in my mid-40's and all, but I never in a million years would have thought about someone slipping a live cartridge into a chamber at a gunshow just for the hell of it.

Not "for the hell of it" but with a very goal in mind; to shut down gun shows. The anti-gun movement is entirely built on the deaths of innocent people.

More proof that antis really just want to see as many of us dead as possible.

 

[knowledgegreen]

a few weeks ago in South Carolina a Class III Dealer had a HK MP5/10 mm submachine gun stolen right off his table at a gun show. rumor is, as i was not there, was that he did not have the weapon cabled down or secured in any way and that it happened during show hours (not after hours or during non-business hours).

The theft didn't occur in South Carolina, it was at the Charlotte show. It was an MP5/10mm and there weren't any cables running through the trigger guards. I actually walked up to talk to the guy about 20 minutes after the theft occured. Needless to say the dealer wasn't happy! He wanted the show sponsors to seal off the building but alas that never happend. The only good thing about it is MP-5/10 magazines probably aren't that easy to come by. Right after the theft, he placed all class III weapons behind the counter.

On a side note, won't he have to notify ATF of the theft? Aren't class III dealers supposed to secure these weps' at all times?

 

[ralphie98]

I saw a guy at one show who seemed to have some sort of security on his guns. He had them all laid out on his table with what I thought at first glance was cable. When I wanted to take a look at one, he picked up the gun and handed it to me, and all he had "securing" it was a piece of yarn tied to the trigger guard. The other end wasn't even attached to anything, just hanging off the inside edge of the table as to look like it was secured. It kinda gave me a chuckle but as I went through the show I realized that he's better off with that than a lot of others are. It seemed like it would be way too easy to make off with a gun from one of those tables.

Having worked a few sports card shows with my uncle, I learned the value of casing up anything you don't want stolen and making sure the case is locked shut. Had a Nolan Ryan rookie card taken from the inside of a case that we had propped up. That was the last show I was allowed to work with him :banghead: