Gun Theft Advice

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Bruno2

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I wanted to run a thread on this topic to inform people of what they don't know and probably haven't considered. I have had a few guns stolen before. My house was robbed once and my vehicles broken into a couple of times.

My best advice is this:
1) Record the serial numbers and include a description with caliber.
( a lot of different guns share the same serial no. I just recently got a S&W 642 back that was stolen 5-6 years ago. )

2) GET A GUN SAFE!!
(when my house was robbed the only guns they got were the 22 rifles I had out for cleaning. I had several thousand dollars of stuff in the safe that was untouched.)

3) Check with your insurance agent as to how much coverage you have for firearms. Most Homeowners policies only cover $1,000.00-$2,000.00 . Additional coverage can be purchased, but it usually isn't worth it.
(keep in mind that scopes, rings , bases, magazines, accessories and ammo is not part of the gun that is covered and the loss can be recovered with no limits on these items.

4) NRA members automatically have so much additional insurance coverage for firearms that are stolen.
( A claim can be made in addition to what your homeowners covers)


If anybody else has additional advice or experience please post it up!
 
(when my house was robbed the only guns they got were the 22 rifles I had out for cleaning. I had several thousand dollars of stuff in the safe that was untouched.)
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1. Your house was robbed, while you were cleaning your .22 rifles? Or,
2. you had them out on the table for cleaning, and you were elsewhere, and your home was burglarized?
 
No, we were gone. I used to leave guns out of the safe until cleaned them after a range trip, but not anymore.

Dogs always help for security rather they are big or small.
 
I've had cars stolen out of my drive way, house burglarized several times, robbed multiple times, but I've never had a gun stolen. But just for the sake of covering all my bases, I have replacement cost insurance, separate riders that cover all my guns. It doesn't matter what I paid for them, the insurance takes care of what it costs to replace them. I took my Dad's advice many years ago, to only buy replacement cost insurance, not the run of the mill type that only compensates at depreciated or used value.

GS
 
Something that most people overlook in the digital age (I had to learn the hard way).

If you own at least 3 firearms, YOU SHOULD OWN A SAFE.

Take pictures of new to you everything as it is brought into your house. If you can't prove you had it, you lose. It is hard to dispute a picture of something in YOUR HOUSE.

At least once a year update said pictures. YOU never realize how stuff multiplies when not looking.

Clean your house as if getting ready to sell it or the inlaws are coming. When everything is put away, walk through the house taking pictures of everything in its place. (TV's, nick nacks, bed tags, Alcohol bottles (yes, some insurance will cover a bottle of expensive alcohol), everything that you own)

Some insurance companies will not cover THEFT of firearms but will cover FIRE DAMAGE. It is up to you to prove it was a "Mint, Rare" firearm and not a wall hanger.

When we had a house fire, I lost a bunch of stuff because I couldn't prove I had it. Stamp collection, actual Movie posters, couple hundred dollars in small collectible bills and so on. But I kept my firearms locked in a safe so they were fine. My insurance payed me to detail clean my firearms so that they would not suffer smoke damage. That soot gets everywhere.
 
Concealed guns; travel....

There is some sage advice here already.
NRA coverage is a good benefit. I set up my new membership for $25.00 USD, I got a free gym bag too. :D

I'd add that you might want to take a few cell pics and/or DV of your concealed carry guns to store in your phone/tablet.
In case there is a issue with who owns the weapon or needing to prove ownership, you'll have it handy.

My state & city does not register firearm serial #s.

If some thug attempts to steal your firearm then claim it's his, you can show the LE officers your cell pics/warranty details/insurance policy.
 
Stolen Gun Action Items

1) Record all serial numbers along with make and model # in not less than 2 locations. If one is lost the second should survive.

2) Some type of secure storage container is a must. A fire resistant safe is best.

3) Report thefts immediately. Do not wait until day light no matter what the "police" may want to do.

4) Insure your serial #'s and descriptions are entered in to NCIC immediately! Some departments wait until all paperwork is complete to enter the numbers. The sooner they are entered, the more likely you are to have them recovered.
 
Record all S/Ns and other vital information, then take pictures of each firearm, scan receipts for firearms and then EMAIL them to yourself via a free service like yahoo or gmail. Keep email.

You will now have instant access to your firearms data any time and anywhere in the world.
 
1. Home security system
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Better yet is surveillance (ideally, both). With the low cost of video surveillance these days, I can't think of a good reason to not have one.

A very common tactic of the burglar is to pose as a door-to-door salesman, some kind of repair man or other seemingly benign individual. They come to your door and knock, accomplishing two things:

1) close up of the primary entrance; they can see what kind of security you do or do not have

2) they're able to knock on the door without raising much suspicion if someone happens to be home.

It's a simple and effective tactic, but it is easily countered (to a degree) with surveillance systems. When posing as a salesman, repairman, etc, the crook is not going to have his/her face covered with a mask; obviously that would cause alarm bells to go off like crazy. As such, they've exposed their faces to a camera when casing your home in this manner. Once aware that they've been seen by the digital eye, they're pretty unlikely to return, as even if wearing a mask at the time of the actual crime, their mug was digitally stored when they were casing, and they will be very much a person of interest to investigators.

I run several cameras and store footage both in a DVR and to a remote server, so even if the crooks came in and jacked the DVR unit, they've still been "caught on tape", and it's footage they cannot delete or steal.
 
Ditto on the Video system. I have one in my home with 8 cameras total, 4 wired and 4 wireless including one at face height inside the front door looking out the side window next to the door. The others cover the exterior including two inside the house at face level that are inside things. It is interesting to see all the Video's of robbers out there now with cameras mounted on the ceiling and giving excellent shots of the top of the hats of the perps. No faces are seen. We also have 6 cameras at the entrance to our hood that capture everything including the tag of every exiting car day or night. Video properly installed really rules.
 
Record all S/Ns and other vital information, then take pictures of each firearm, scan receipts for firearms and then EMAIL them to yourself via a free service like yahoo or gmail. Keep email.

NSA will now have instant access to your firearms data any time and anywhere in the world.
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There...fixed it for you. ;)
 
Might I also add a description/photographs of any unique physical characteristics, such as scratches, engravings, manufacturing marks, and blemishes both interior and exterior to the weapon. First thing to go on a stolen gun are any serial numbers. Other identifying marks can be used to positively ID a stolen gun.
 
Might I also add a description/photographs of any unique physical characteristics, such as scratches, engravings, manufacturing marks, and blemishes both interior and exterior to the weapon. First thing to go on a stolen gun are any serial numbers. Other identifying marks can be used to positively ID a stolen gun.
Click to expand...

Good idea, but once the serial numbers are defaced it is a crime for anyone to possess it. Can't imagine one would get that back.
 
It might also be worth mentioning that if you ever do have a loss, be sure the police enter the numbers into the NCIC system. Otherwise you will probably never see them again, even if they are recovered.

Also, ask the listing department how often they purge their NCIC records. I found out last week that our local Sheriff's department purges numbers after ten years unless they can confirm the gun has not been recovered and returned to you. Stay on top of that!
 
Make sure your insurance company will accept pictures. I have had thefts more than once and Allstate and Nationwide would not accept pictures, they required the receipts/invoices.
Also e-mailing yourself scans of receipts/invoices is not a reliable backup method, just ask those of us who MSN/Hotmail sent the "sorry we lost all your mail" a few years ago.
 
It might be better to have at least two printed copies: 1 in your possession (safe) and 2 with a trusted friend/relative.
Burn the pictures and plain text document to a CD for the same reasons.
Finally, keep copies on a thumb/USB drive just a little bigger than the info stored on it. This way you won't be likely to use it for anything else.
 
USAA Insurance only seems to require serial numbers, descriptions, est. value etc.

A buddy who went to a funeral was burglarized five min. after he left his home in Collierville TN. The small, lightweight safe containing his guns was taken. No insurance.

The security camera only recorded the front of the vehicle which was exposed.
These career criminals learn to only go fwd. into the driveway, then back out far enough to keep the license plates (in TN only on the car's rear end) out of view.
 
Last edited:
JTHunter said:
It might be better to have at least two printed copies: 1 in your possession (safe) and 2 with a trusted friend/relative.
Burn the pictures and plain text document to a CD for the same reasons.
Finally, keep copies on a thumb/USB drive just a little bigger than the info stored on it. This way you won't be likely to use it for anything else.
Click to expand...

Heh!

In today's day and age, who the heck even sells a thumb drive "just a little bigger than the info stored on it" when it comes to this kind of stuff?

;)
 
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