A friend had a couple of guns stolen a few years back and the police tracked them down at several local pawnshops. Good news was the thieves got to go to jail. Bad news he had to buy his guns back at what the pawn shop paid out. That just aint right...

The son of one of my employees manages a pawn shop in the DFW area. I have passed this list on to him. I hope something comes of it. Good luck.

Right click, save as.
Man that sucks.

PLease make a spreadsheet listing all your guns SN, description etc.. once they are stolen it is too late. What we need is a story of a homeowner giving a theif leaks to make us all feel better.

I created a spreadsheet with all of the info I could put on it for each gun. I also have a hyperlink for each one that links to a picture of the gun. Main thing is to keep it up to date and have copies just in case the sorry bustards steel my laptop at the sametime.

I too have State Farm Insurance. They will not pay out on what they deem to be a "collection" of guns if they are stolen. If you read their policy it states that sporting goods are covered up to a certain amount ($2500 I think but I can't remember). However, you can itmeize the guns you have and take out a "personal articles" policy on them. The rates are very good and the extra coverage certainly gives me extra peace of mind about them being stolen or destroyed.
At one point I also made a choice to sell off several guns and buy a very nice and very secure safe. I am always surprised when I meet someone who has 20-$30k worth of guns in a $4-500 safe that isn't extreemly secure. I am by no means saying that this is what happened here..don't get me wrong.. all I am saying is don't skimp when you buy a safe. Unless someone is a true professional they should have no chance of getting inside.
I am sure that many of you have seen this video, but for those of you that haven't its a good one to watch. Click on the security for sale link on this page. http://www.graffundersafes.com/gallery.html

Should not have happened that way. The pawn shop received stolen property which should have been confiscated by the police and then turned over to the owner.

$2,500 is correct. I lost about $5,000 in firearms (plus other stuff) and got capped at $2.5K for the firearms. I too recommend additional coverage if your guns are greater than 2.5K in value.

Most pawn brokers are only slightly above a thief themselves. Ever try to trade or sell to one? A few good ones, but most will bend you over. Better read your home owners policy "before" you have a claim. A lot of these companies have exclusions in fine print. It is not always who is cheapest but who will pay off in the event of a claim.

That should be how it is but in my case the greedy Bastard pawnshop owners told me that they wouldnt give me back my property until I pad them what they loaned on it...

I had to take them to court in a proprty hearing and get the judge to order them to hand them over.

The one who cused me in court got pissed when i told him that any one who buys a Belgium browning sweet 16ga for $100 know damn well its stolen LOL

Dont mean to go on a rant here but after the experiences I had with 4 different pawnshops who purchased my stolen goods then tried every way in the world to keep them, Cussed me in open court when I tried to get them back and then I had to have a police escort to pic them up from the pawns shops..I changed my mind BIG TIME about pawnshops!

I recovered $5000 worth of guns in those court hearings, they paid a total of $800 for them; so with a 600% profit margin I would agree., they are either using people or knowingly buying stolen goods..at least in my case!

Here is a source for cheap gun insurance. You have to be a member of certain groups to purchase it. Even with the membership fee, it would be hard to find cheaper insurance.

I shoot sporting clays and am a member of National Sporting Clays Assoc. There a LOT of very expensive shotguns insured with these guys and from what I hear they pay off well.

The rate on their site is $1.25 per $100 of value.

Check them out.

http://www.siai.net/

that is a lot of guns... hope he gets them back.

Ill say it again. No one breaks into a house with the tools to crack a safe unless they know whats in there. Now if they were display type cases with glass disregard that statement.

I had some tools lifted from my truck 3 weeks ago at the hotel close to 3rd base in Arlington..

Kinda sad you have to fight a Pawn Shop for your property!!

that is an awesome collection of guns, hope he can get some of them back

Couple of Observations.

As mentioned INSIDE JOB.

Whomever posted the vid of them cracking the safe, that reason you put the safe in tight quarters and bolt it to the slab. Helps even better with with some German Shephards rolling around in the house.

On the Note of Pawnshops refusing to turn over stolen weapons, Call the Police, when they arive you should get it back. Should you have to go to court when you get the guns back File a Report with BATFE and they will be sorry. I'm not fond of the BATFE but when they smell blood they atack and there all to willing to drag there Sister Agency the IRS to the scene as well.

Guys take this as a Warning, I hear this all to often via Customers and LEO's sending BOLO's for certain guns this happens a lot. Be very careful with whom you tell what kind of guns you have and what people see safes and gun cases, not just your friends, but the wifes friends, and childrens friends. Most all cases where major collections like this are stolen are inside jobs meaning the person was in the house previuos and had the layout and security to a pat. Let me tell you if you think losing the guns is bad, Try sleeping in a house knowing others have been there, try leaving your wife or children there alone without you, it will eat you alive.

I agree that the pawn shop business by nature will attract some shady characters, but complaining because they bend you over on what they'll pay is ridiculous. If you go into a pawn shop expecting top dollar or even fair value, you're the idiot. That's an option of desperation or last resort.

That really blows,probably an inside job,my Fort Knox weighs about 500 lbs. good luck to the fool that thinks he can break in to that.

Our PD picks up pawn slips every week and compares serial numbers on the tickets to those listed on TCIC/NCIC, and not just on guns either. Once something comes back stolen, it is immediately taken by a Det who then communicates with the orginating agency and gives them the ID of the person who pawned the item or we start investigating if it was stolen from our jurisdiction. Depending on the item, it may stay in evidence or we contact the owner to come pickup. Yes, it can be time consuming but it's effective in getting scum off the street. It's why I always preached about putting down serial numbers in a safe place along with a photo of the gun or object, especially jewelry.