The movers' reaction to all my guns and ammo
- Thread starter The R Hawkeye
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Definatly do not allow movers to handle firearms and ammunition. Asside from avoiding the ackward position you found yourself in you would also avoid having some possibly "coulorfull" people from knowing that your house is a good place to find valuable and easily sellable firearms.
At least in my area moving companies have a habit of hiring "day labor" on many job. Now there are certainly some decent people doing this sort of work ( i was breifly one of them) but, they generally do not provide a calliber of individual that i would be comfortable with handling my stuff. (let alone my guns).
At least in my area moving companies have a habit of hiring "day labor" on many job. Now there are certainly some decent people doing this sort of work ( i was breifly one of them) but, they generally do not provide a calliber of individual that i would be comfortable with handling my stuff. (let alone my guns).
1911Tuner
Moderator Emeritus
Just a Word
Probably not a good idea to let strangers know too much about
what we have in the way of firearms and ammo. You could draw one of five types.
Type A...Doesn't give a rip what you have and minds his own business. A rare bird indeed.
Type B...A liberal-minded busybody who will have great concern over your
weapons, and may well be dropping a dime at this very minute to inform someone about "The nutcase with the arsenal."...complete with your
new address and possibly directions to your front door. Not uncommon for this type to embellish the story a bit. "He had a machinegun and ammo for it. I think that he had a few grenades too. Yes, yes. Always glad to be of service to the Department of Homeland Security."
Type C...A gun owner and RKBA supporter who will slow the move down a bit while he drools over your collection and describes his own. Good vibes.
Type D...A thief who knows what you have and where it'll be...May also
have other information pertaining to your work/home schedule.
Type E...In reality , this one is a Type D who pretends to be Type A, Type B, or Type C to put your mind at ease while he/she/it/they make a mental map of your new residence.
If they don't need to know, they SHOULDN'T know...and a little paranoia goes a long way toward keeping your life runnin' smoothly.
Just my nickel's worth...
Tuner
Probably not a good idea to let strangers know too much about
what we have in the way of firearms and ammo. You could draw one of five types.
Type A...Doesn't give a rip what you have and minds his own business. A rare bird indeed.
Type B...A liberal-minded busybody who will have great concern over your
weapons, and may well be dropping a dime at this very minute to inform someone about "The nutcase with the arsenal."...complete with your
new address and possibly directions to your front door. Not uncommon for this type to embellish the story a bit. "He had a machinegun and ammo for it. I think that he had a few grenades too. Yes, yes. Always glad to be of service to the Department of Homeland Security."
Type C...A gun owner and RKBA supporter who will slow the move down a bit while he drools over your collection and describes his own. Good vibes.
Type D...A thief who knows what you have and where it'll be...May also
have other information pertaining to your work/home schedule.
Type E...In reality , this one is a Type D who pretends to be Type A, Type B, or Type C to put your mind at ease while he/she/it/they make a mental map of your new residence.
If they don't need to know, they SHOULDN'T know...and a little paranoia goes a long way toward keeping your life runnin' smoothly.
Just my nickel's worth...
Tuner
The R Hawkeye
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All good comments. Thanks. Soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted the comment I made about my next door neighbor's house, but was happy that I did not specify which next door neighbor I was referring to. Really stupid to start with, though. I also hadn't given enough thought to the idea of theft, and/or informing thieves. Now I'm concerned. The guns that they transported were all locked in safes and wrapped in bubble wrap, with pillows stuffed in to keep them from moving much (the walls are also padded with foam). The only guns they saw were the ones that I am taking by car, which wouldn't fit in the safes (due to all the bubble wrap and pillows) and were leaning against the wall (mostly black powder and vintage type rifles). They knew there were guns in the safes too, but they didn't ever see them.
I also probably should not have told them what a friendly dog my pitbull is. Should have kept him locked away somewhere so they couldn't see his wagging tail, and then warned them not to go too close, as he's been known to jump fences and rip people's throats out. Oh well. Live and learn. I hope that this lesson doesn't come at a great price. Any praying types out there? Would appreciate some additional voices in regard to the safe arrival of my stuff.
I also probably should not have told them what a friendly dog my pitbull is. Should have kept him locked away somewhere so they couldn't see his wagging tail, and then warned them not to go too close, as he's been known to jump fences and rip people's throats out. Oh well. Live and learn. I hope that this lesson doesn't come at a great price. Any praying types out there? Would appreciate some additional voices in regard to the safe arrival of my stuff.
Daniel T
Member
I've used movers many times. Never once did they see a gun.
It's just better that way.
It's just better that way.
jason10mm
Member
FWIW about "busybodies", I had a friend get the fed sicced on him when a housecleaner or some other service oriented person noticed that he had lots of radios in his house (big units on racks, not clock radios!), post 9/11. The ATF ripped apart his gun collection looking for infractions. Just pays to keep what you got away from curious, ignorant eyes. A sheet hanging in the right spot (or a closed door) could have saved him from LOTS of legal trouble.
Oh, as for my moving story, when I PCS'd from Hawaii, I packed everything into my Homak locker, secured it, and handed the movers the case. IIRC, they wanted a list of serial numbers, so I had to unpack everyhting right there. So it may behoove you to record this info BEFORE packing. Whether they have the "right" to such information is between you and the movers, I guess. Who is to say what is in a locked chest labled "Exercise equipment"? Thats how I'm moving my ammo next time.
Oh, as for my moving story, when I PCS'd from Hawaii, I packed everything into my Homak locker, secured it, and handed the movers the case. IIRC, they wanted a list of serial numbers, so I had to unpack everyhting right there. So it may behoove you to record this info BEFORE packing. Whether they have the "right" to such information is between you and the movers, I guess. Who is to say what is in a locked chest labled "Exercise equipment"? Thats how I'm moving my ammo next time.
This is why I will never hire a housecleaner. It probleay accored to your friend to hide or put any guns he had when the housecleaner came over, But he probley didn't think anything about the radios.
Keep in mind that cleaning companys are low paid deadend jobs. They have to petty much hire ANYBODY. The cleaning person could be a thief or casing your place for other thiefs.
If you have to have a service person be there, hide anything of value as well as anything that could attrack attention to yourself, such as the boxes of MRE in the corner...
-Bill
Langenator
Member
I've seen them as small as 8'x8'. Cute little connex cubes.
joab
Member
I have been in pest control for 20 years and can tell you that what Tuner says is absolutly true.
I have lasted this long because I have an uncanny ability not to give a damn what is in somebody'y house, but I have seen and heard many many stories
Be safe hide your stuff, especially from the bug guy or anybody that visits your home on a routine basis. We know better than anyone when you are home and what your security measures are
I have lasted this long because I have an uncanny ability not to give a damn what is in somebody'y house, but I have seen and heard many many stories
Be safe hide your stuff, especially from the bug guy or anybody that visits your home on a routine basis. We know better than anyone when you are home and what your security measures are
Warren
Member
All that about moving people, cleaners and such is true.
I don't like having non-family in my house. Close friends, okay. But not "friends from work" or "the neighbors" none of that crap.
So I don't even have guests come over. If my kids want to play with some other kids they can go to the park.
I don't like having non-family in my house. Close friends, okay. But not "friends from work" or "the neighbors" none of that crap.
So I don't even have guests come over. If my kids want to play with some other kids they can go to the park.
YIKES
From your second post, I guess they are already in transit. I hope for the best. I would be prepared to file criminal charges if anything were to fall off the moving truck. You might also review any material the company has regarding liability with regard to your stuff, their personnel, etc.
fingers crossed...
The R Hawkeye
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Kulika, thanks for the crossed fingers. Every little bit counts. LOL.
P.S. How's Fran and Ollie?
P.S. How's Fran and Ollie?
Muzzleflash
member
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Heck yeah. I've done that. Past three years of my life have been partly occupied moving (didn't take too long, many many many months though) from TN to NY- and now we're going back.
Ah well. Things change. I want to see if this can get handled in one move, though, instead of 2-5 trips. Uhaul got semi trailer sized trucks?
I have a thing for walk in closets. They can be camo'd so well, behind a folding door there could be the steel door and access code panel of your walk in gunsafe.
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The logistics of moving staggers me. Moving three safes and plenty o' guns and all the ammo? Little wonder you called for movers. Why hurt your own back?
Be sure they're bonded and videotape everything before they get there. Do a lot of still shots and pan very very slowly. Pause when panning for those still shots. I'd also do an excel spread sheet to show what you've got.
Be sure they're bonded and videotape everything before they get there. Do a lot of still shots and pan very very slowly. Pause when panning for those still shots. I'd also do an excel spread sheet to show what you've got.
Good Mover
I have moved with Tiny Moyer and Sons about 4 times. Each time my gun collection has increased and they have moved them without a scratch or problem. There a good bunch, which from the posts may be an anomaly in this day. They have employees that have worked for them over 20 yrs plus a lot of times your going to get one of the sons or grandsons drvinig the trucks and superviseing your load and unload. I packed everything in the gun safe and gave them a copy of serial numbers and when I unpacked it everything is in tip top shape.
They are out of Montgomery, Md at 800-726-1817.
Can't say enough good things about this company. But, anything that you feel can't be replaced if lost or broken you should move yourself.
I have moved with Tiny Moyer and Sons about 4 times. Each time my gun collection has increased and they have moved them without a scratch or problem. There a good bunch, which from the posts may be an anomaly in this day. They have employees that have worked for them over 20 yrs plus a lot of times your going to get one of the sons or grandsons drvinig the trucks and superviseing your load and unload. I packed everything in the gun safe and gave them a copy of serial numbers and when I unpacked it everything is in tip top shape.
They are out of Montgomery, Md at 800-726-1817.
Can't say enough good things about this company. But, anything that you feel can't be replaced if lost or broken you should move yourself.
CONEX boxes
They do indeed come in semi-trailer size, as well as a number of sizes in between.
As far as shipping them goes, most goods going overseas or by rail are packed into them. You might even be able to get a cheaper rate if they can ship the thing by rail rather than by truck all the way. When I moved overseas and when I came back my stuff was packed into one.
Heck, the military has offices-ina-CONEX setup. You open up the door, and there's your shop (network in my case).
They do indeed come in semi-trailer size, as well as a number of sizes in between.
As far as shipping them goes, most goods going overseas or by rail are packed into them. You might even be able to get a cheaper rate if they can ship the thing by rail rather than by truck all the way. When I moved overseas and when I came back my stuff was packed into one.
Heck, the military has offices-ina-CONEX setup. You open up the door, and there's your shop (network in my case).
GrayBear
Member
Cool?
LOL, the cool thing would be if the neighbor was actually anti-gun. Then he'd have a burglary and the residual thought he had no way to defend himself.
Remember that a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged. A supporter of self-defense might be an anti-gun person who's been burglarized?
A burglary converted my wife to pro-Home Self Defense, but cost me a move to a gated community for her peace of mind. Not bad, eventually made a few bucks on the deal. Bought guns with the profit, in fact.
BTW, I rented a small van and moved my own "critical" stuff plus a few pricey antique pieces.
GrayBear
LOL, the cool thing would be if the neighbor was actually anti-gun. Then he'd have a burglary and the residual thought he had no way to defend himself.
Remember that a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged. A supporter of self-defense might be an anti-gun person who's been burglarized?
A burglary converted my wife to pro-Home Self Defense, but cost me a move to a gated community for her peace of mind. Not bad, eventually made a few bucks on the deal. Bought guns with the profit, in fact.
BTW, I rented a small van and moved my own "critical" stuff plus a few pricey antique pieces.
GrayBear
larry_minn
Member
ONe question on safe.... Does it have a relocker type thing if somone drills/smashes the lock it drops a bar? IF I understand my safe ther is a glass thing that will jam the works if brute force is used on lock. OR it is bumped/jarred hard. The lock will NOT open safe. So it is recomended to move with door UNLOCKED as if it happens with door unlocked a $20 repair (if you bring it to safe place) but if closed/locked you could just buy a new safe if it was empty instead of paying for opening.
I move myself. Have a 25' Penske on order. I also have a 20' enclosed trailer for smaller stuff. (the Penske was such a deal ($400 for one way from FL to MN)
I move myself. Have a 25' Penske on order. I also have a 20' enclosed trailer for smaller stuff. (the Penske was such a deal ($400 for one way from FL to MN)
MeekandMild
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You need to remember that movers are not necessarily screened for criminal background checks nor are they graduate students in ethics. I agee wholeheartedly with the idea of renting a truck to move your guns/valuables. We did that on our recent move and found it much more tolerable than having a couple of boxes of guns diverted to support some guy's cocaine habit. Our movers moved heavy furniture and endless boxes of books but they didn't move anything which could be remotely considered profitable if stolen. 
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