Burglary last night

Sorry for your loss. I'd be devastated.

Seems like the newer WiFi garage doors would be easier to open than the older type. My Genie is 15 years old.

I have a camera on the main garage door and my side garage door.
 
I know two individuals that were victims of burglaries of their homes, while they were not there. The first guy (close to 20 years ago) had his gun cabinet destroyed by his own tools in the basement, and got all of his guns except one. A nice 3 screw 357 Blackhawk was under a pile of dirty clothes on the floor (not loaded)

Turns out it was his 15 year old daughter's boyfriend. We think boyfriend may have been in the home when he returned from the range or a hunting trip, saw some guns, and asked the right questions of the girl, to know when to do it.

The second guy had a much better safe and only lost jewelry and cash, but they worked his safe over good trying to get it open. His wife lost some sentimental pieces of her family's heirloom rings, bracelets and necklaces. He lost some power tools.

Guess what? Some of the jewelry and tools showed up at a pawn shop, and there was video and a drivers license copy,.........of his wife's nephew!

Both times, the thief was known to the victim and had intimate knowledge of the family's loot, schedules, and storage locations.

Both were young men in their late teens and trusted by the victims. (the boyfriend? maybe not trusted so much)

Both caught, but the guns were not pawned, most likely sold to their friends, maybe friends parents who didn't have a clue where they came from. Both bought alarm systems immediately after the break ins. :rolleyes:
 
Might be time to wire tie the carriage release on the GDO track if there is still a rope on it. You tube videos show a quick silent way to access a garage using the rope.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Inside Jobs

As some have said here, the burglar was probably known to the family. Don't trust anyone, particularly teenaged friends of your own children.There have been many threads here and in other forums dealing with safes. Safes are expensive but worth it. I'm no safe expert but I would recommend a thick-walled safe, one not easily attacked with an angle grinder. My safe is in the garage and I've constructed a false front for it from a flat screen TV carton. Viewed from the street, it looks like an old repurposed kitchen cabinet, the kind of thing you would expect to find in a garage. Under no circumstances is the safe opened when the overhead garage door is open. We have gardeners, home improvement contractors, delivery people etc. coming into the neighborhood. A casual glance into the open garage does not reveal anything worth a felony to obtain.
 
I never had a safe until a few years ago, we live in a nice, almost zero crime neighborhood and have a great alarm system but I had a few nightmares that my guns got stolen so I got a Redhead safe from BassPro. It's made by the same company that makes Brownings and has the S&G dial combination lock which is a little tricky at first to open even when you have the combination. I've opened it so many times now I'm pretty fast but someone with the combination would probably struggle their first time. I like the dial combination over digital buttons and most locksmiths will tell you it's MUCH more reliable long term.
 
federali said:
Needless to say, guns belong in safes. As I recently moved to a home in NC without a basement, I keep my tools in the garage also. I'm careful not to leave any tools that an intruder can use to further his crime. My large crowbars are in the attic.
Click to expand...

I keep the cutting head for my oxy-acetylene welding system in the gun safe. No sense leaving opening tools around. Any keys for the gun safe are kept in different areas, i.e. garage gun safe key is kept in kitchen cabinet over refrigerator, never in the same room with locked box.
 
Laws Need Change

A burglary as you suffer is not in my opinion a simple "property crime" Is is a social crime and should be punished as severely as RAPE. It takes a long time to begin to trust again when you don't know whether your neighbor or trusted "friend" is at the heart of it.
 
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Randy, Sorry for your loss, from your description, it was someone that was familiar with what you had.....It might be worth your time to check out any Flea markets/ Swap meets this weekend to see if any of your guns show up for sale.... Also look @ local for sale ads......Make sure the serial numbers get entered NCIC...

Often, the subject(s) who do this will stash the Guns/property in nearby bushes/ vegetation and come back for it at a later time... Check for this... Foot prints/ Tire tracks....

Check with neighbors to see if they noticed anyone coming or going or if they have surveillance cameras in use.

The best way to prevent this is thru layers of security, a protective Dog, Locked doors, Cameras that record and notify you, Canary, Blink etc.

Record description and serials and keep locked separate.
 
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Police?

The theft should be reported to the police and entered in the NCIC computer. There's no telling just where these guns might show up. and the NCIC is a national database.

I know, many people don't want to involve the police but odds are, they will recover some of your guns before you do. You can't make the assumption that the guns will remain in the area.
 
growr said:
My garage door got opened last night and thieves stole 11 of my handguns from my locked cabinet. They found the key or knew where it was.

Am very upset, especially over losing my dad's K-38 service revolver.

All 5 of my 1911A1's, my M&P's a CZ, my Springfield Armory XD's

Had to have been done while I was either sleeping or watching a movie and not hearing them.

No sign of forced entry on the garage door....officer seems to think that they were using a universal remote and see what might open.

I am sure that the perp is someone known to me.
Click to expand...
Pretty damn bold thieves to do that while you slept, but it does sound like someone with some inside knowledge. Assuming the key was well-hidden and that the lock is not an easy one to pick, it sounds ultra-suspicious. :( I hope you are well-insured even though it will not help with your special family heirloom piece. :(

That said, there are lessons here for us to pay attention to. This is not the first large gun theft from a garage... and gun cabinets, while kid safe and meeting safe storage laws, are not in the same class as decent gun safes (i.e., a UL-listed Residential Security Containers).

But I know of the attraction of garage storage... concrete floors (no weight concerns) and no serious humidity or potential flooding issues associated with basement placement. I am struggling with that dilemma myself for our retirement place. :o

Unfortunately, there are no perfect answers. :o
 
Sorry for you being robbed. I am with the crowd that thinks it was some kind of inside deal.

If I was going to lock up all my tools capable of breaking open a safe I would need a reinforced conex box. I have at least a dozen grinders, cutting torch setups and multiple heads, 5 or 6 sledge hammers and at least 5 bid pry bars, a couple porta powers etc. But, hiding your tools isn't really going to do much good if they really want in.

Even a safe with 1/4" thick AR plate walls wouldn't take 30 minutes to chop a big hole in the side with a portable grinder, some .045 6" disks and a couple batteries.

Now, if that steel had steer horns on the inside tying it to a couple inches of steel reinforced concrete it would take considerably more time to finish the job. If I suspected that, I would chop open the front right at the door seam and cut the bars that lock the door. The safe with something besides steel is what will slow a thief down.

If I wanted a secure safe. I would pour a small room with 8" steel reinforce concrete. The doorway would be formed with 3/8" steel that had nelson studs so that when the poor was made they would be cast into the concrete. Them make a heavy steel door and have the lock bars hollow with another bar inside that would spin free inside the outer.


If it was a dead nuts serious safe with serious loot, I always thought the thing to do would be wear a SCBA and wheel in a bottle of liquid Nitrogen, hose the door down real good, drop it down to a minus 300f then let it have it with a 20# sledge.

To me most safes are just another piece of steel. Until it gets real thick it is easy to cut up if you have the tools and know how.

Even a $5000 safe will only keep out the casual thief and buy some time for discovery. UL's Residential Security Container (RSC) certification: 8M10 means it only have to stand up to a 5 minute attack.
 
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steelslaver said:
Sorry for you being robbed. I am with the crowd that thinks it was some kind of inside deal.

If I was going to lock up all my tools capable of breaking open a safe I would need a reinforced conex box. I have at least a dozen grinders, cutting torch setups and multiple heads, 5 or 6 sledge hammers and at least 5 bid pry bars, a couple porta powers etc. But, hiding your tools isn't really going to do much good if they really want in.

Even a safe with 1/4" thick AR plate walls wouldn't take 30 minutes to chop a big hole in the side with a portable grinder, some .045 6" disks and a couple batteries.

Now, if that steel had steer horns on the inside tying it to a couple inches of steel reinforced concrete it would take considerably more time to finish the job. If I suspected that, I would chop open the front right at the door seam and cut the bars that lock the door. The safe with something besides steel is what will slow a thief down.

If I wanted a secure safe. I would pour a small room with 8" steel reinforce concrete. The doorway would be formed with 3/8" steel that had nelson studs so that when the poor was made they would be cast into the concrete. Them make a heavy steel door and have the lock bars hollow with another bar inside that would spin free inside the outer.


If it was a dead nuts serious safe with serious loot, I always thought the thing to do would be wear a SCBA and wheel in a bottle of liquid Nitrogen, hose the door down real good, drop it down to a minus 300f then let it have it with a 20# sledge.

To me most safes are just another piece of steel. Until it gets real thick it is easy to cut up if you have the tools and know how.

Even a $5000 safe will only keep out the casual thief and buy some time for discovery. UL's Residential Security Container (RSC) certification: 8M10 means it only have to stand up to a 5 minute attack.
Click to expand...
Pretty depressing (and seemingly hopeless) when you lay it all out like that. :( But I know you are speaking from experience. Safes are just another piece of steel... nothing magic. :(

I find it ironic what some of us go through to buy these expensive, super-massive safes when they can be defeated so easily with the right tools. :o
 
Just wondering. Is your garage attached to the house?
Can the vault be seen from the street if the big door's open?
How close to the vault did you stash the key?
Shut off switch for the over head door available?
Any off spring or relatives living with you who have friends over?
How about the next door neighbors? Do you trust them? Did they know you had a gun vault in the garage?
I'm betting it's someone who knows you or about you. Not a random theft.
 
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