Home Forums Gear Free Classifieds STOLEN

We were burglarized on 28 Dec two years ago. My girlfriend came home after her swing shift job to three guys running down our driveway (I was off visiting my sis after the holidays). See chased them to a waiting Cadillac Escalade, and off they went. She must have surprised them as they left a three and a half foot crowbar, and sledge hammer behind.

They spent a fair amount of time prying on the gun safe door, but all they managed to do was screw up the paint, and leave a few dents...

They did manage to get off with about $35k worth of other stuff.

Others here are very correct. If the items are not specified on an insurance rider, your insurance company will most likely only pay you for the first $5k in loses, with receipts (of course)...

We were glad she did not catch them IN the house

I feel for the OP's buddy...

Reloading dies, tools, and components aren't your usual thief's targets. Makes you wonder if it wasn't an inside job by someone who is acquainted with the owner, like a housekeeper, gardener, plumber, etc.

Cross posting this to the other two firearms forums I am on. Many times stuff might very well migrate over here.
Posting now at WAguns.org and NorthWestfirearms.org

Hope they catch the guys and it does sound like an inside job. Do keep an eye on craigslist, armslist, ebay, and the pawn shops.

talking to the Det. last break in .he told me there is a loose group that are taking "orders"from a fence in Libby, they operate across the north and are most of them Heroin addicts buying smack from a mexican cartel that is set up in Spokane.
all i can say is warm up the backhoe

I think we are neighbors, this was my buddy that got robbed. Believe you live just north of me by a bit.

Why do the cops know this and haven't nailed them?

Hate to hear this. 2 or 3 trail cams filming the driveway and front and back doors have identified many a thief...cheap and effective.

I live in a rural area and worry about this. I keep the safe locked most of the time but if they have enough time they will get it open. Artworks and sculptures are tough to secure in a home. We have a trail camera set up when we leave for a few days. So far we have been very lucky.

Why didn't you get the gun back?

they got one guy and she is in prison. the rest are job security i think. not that i a cynic .
we voted in a new Sheriff this election and he is a straight arrow. the outgoing Sheriff as far as i am concerned could be named Hilliary.

update: so they had the balls to go to his bank in his truck and try to cash his personal checks, teller was very suspicious and asked for 2 forms of ID, when it took too long to get the cash he drove off, was id'd and now has 2 warrants out to include a previous one for probation violation. they had the nerve to sit in his house and eat his food and drink, they took everything, clothes, jewelry, all the food from freezer and then left it open for the rest to rot, chainsaws, generator, air compressor and all the other tools they could hall.. they left the wood chipper so I hope the cops catch them and not him!

I hope they throw the book at them. That kind of violation sticks with you

Alarm system are great, I had a friend who bought a new corvette against the wishes of his father who refused to leave his car outside. So he bought the best car alarm on the market and 2 weeks latter during a thunderous night the alarm kept going off he would go out check around then reset it this happened several times until he figured the alarm was malfunctioning so he left it off to wake up to a missing car the next morning, this can easily happen to a house alarm especially if it is not set up correctly.
What is nice about the simplisafe alarm system you don't have to have the siren activated (silent alarm) but many a crook beats feet when they hear it

I have had a break in 4 years ago on my other property, I installed the simplisafe system and it has had some problems it is a good sound system. I have the upgraded program of #25 month since i have much more control including temperature monitoring. The only problem I have its battery back up is only good for 8 hours and I am certain that the crooks know this so when I get a power outage text I get concerned.

If caught they need their hands chopped off. A pair of good dogs might have helped.

I gave my oldest son rifles. His house was broken into, Rapid City, SD.
My brother's house was broken into near Vermillion, SD. Stole all his guns including ones he inherited from dad.
Nothing was returned, no one was caught.
My insurance guy said insurance cost was about 50% the value of the guns... Every year.
He said one of his clients had a huge safe in his basement (in Iowa). His rifles:shotguns were worth about $30,000 each. The crooks broke in when he was on vacation. They took log chains down to his basement and pulled it up through the stairs of his house destroying the stairs, walls etc.
They rooted up his lawn where the 4x4's where connected to the chains, which was pulling the safe out. No one was caught. Nothing was found/returned.
You think you live where it's cold enough in the winter to keep the riff raff out but they're everywhere.
Get a good safe. Hide it. Bolt it down.

Gun safe, insurance, alarm, make a list with serial #'s take digital pics. Make copies of the pics and list. send them to someone you trust for back up with no personal info on the list or in the pics.

If your a NRA member there is a policy for stolen gun, I tried to file a claim from the guns that where taken but they claimed I missed the deadline for filing.
A friend of mine told me to store a glass bottle of ammonia and another with bleach drill a tiny hole in the plastic or steel cap so if they tip the safe on it side the two will mix and see how they take to the fumes

Bad stuff. A safe and a personal articles property policy via the home policy is a must if one owns such stuff. A bargain.

TWO WARNING SHOTS IN THE CHEST

I had a pistol stolen that was located by LE about 15 months later in Chicago - I was not given any details on how/where recovered. Local sheriff dept. called and asked if I wanted it returned and I said yes. They got it back two me just over two years later. Still have it. I expect there are issues with maintaining it as evidence for a period of time and then it is returned when they have free time (LOL) or get around to it. Considering it was Chicago I feel fortunate to have it.