jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard) (08/29/86)
Article: 8:8 A couple of months ago one of my neighbors told me that there had been a rash of burglaries in the area. I promptly took my guns, including a several thousand dollar antique that belonged to my grandfather, to my parents house, and locked them in a gun cabinet there. It turned out to be a good move, as last week I was broken into. Upon finding my ammo, the perpetrator appeared to search relentlessly for the weapons that go with it. With hunting season coming up, I am going to need to keep my guns at home again. But how can I protect them from theft, in a fairly low cost way? I thought about running a bike lock through the trigger guards and around a pipe. But the only exposed pipes are in my rather damp basement. Is this a bad idea, moisture or not? Any other ideas? Please help. Alan Geist tektronix!shark!alang
jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard) (09/04/86)
In-Reply-To: <1196@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Article: 9:4
Alan, You need to hide your gunns and ammo. Try to find the Mother Earth News
that had a Water Heater Gun closet in it last year.
Rick
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/* This is the standard disclaimer that the above junk is mine alone. */
/* path={hplabs,ihnp4}!amdahl!wre */jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard) (09/10/86)
In-Reply-To: <1196@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Article: 9:8 In article <1196@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> you write: >Article: 8:8 > >With hunting season coming up, I am going to need to keep my guns at home >again. But how can I protect them from theft, in a fairly low cost way? One thing I've thought effective is to disassemble each gun somewhat. Something like removing and hiding the bolt from a bolt action rifle makes it unattractive to crooks. This won't work with everything but can help. Putting a sign on the gun rack advertising the disassembly also discourages theft. I keep the small parts that I remove from the guns in my car trunk -- who would steal a rifle bolt? Cheap enough for you? Bruce Jones
jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard) (09/10/86)
In-Reply-To: <1196@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Article: 9:9 In article <1196@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> you write: >Article: 8:8 > >A couple of months ago one of my neighbors told me that there had been a rash >of burglaries in the area. I promptly took my guns, including a several >thousand dollar antique that belonged to my grandfather, to my parents house, >and locked them in a gun cabinet there. It turned out to be a good move, as >last week I was broken into. Upon finding my ammo, the perpetrator appeared >to search relentlessly for the weapons that go with it. > >With hunting season coming up, I am going to need to keep my guns at home >again. But how can I protect them from theft, in a fairly low cost way? >I thought about running a bike lock through the trigger guards and around >a pipe. But the only exposed pipes are in my rather damp basement. Is this >a bad idea, moisture or not? Any other ideas? Please help. > >Alan Geist >tektronix!shark!alang A good friend of mine (and a professional gunsmith and former deputy) recommends the following: 1) Buy a gun safe. (I realize they're very expensive, and you may not be able to afford one at present, but they are certainly cheaper than replacing one's collection.) A little trick he also taught me is to stencil the words "DANGER: POWDER MAGAZINE DO NOT SUBJECT TO HEAT OR PERCUSSION--CONTAINS BLACK POWDER AND PERCUSSION CAPS" on the outside of it in both English and Spanish. Only someone very stupid or illiterate would then attempt to torch or "cut and peel" your safe open. Besides, if you reload (as I do), your warning could very well be true. 2) Until you can afford a safe, keep your bolts, actions or other small, detachable "critical mechanisms" separate from the rest of your firearms, definitely not in the same house. This makes your weapons unattractive for immediate criminal use, and fairly worth- less to a "fence." Locking your weapons to water pipes, etc., probably isn't such a good idea since a criminal in your home might have plenty of time to cut the lock or pipe unseen. Besides, I don't think I'd like to keep anything I cared about in a damp basement. 3) Insure, photograph, and record the serial numbers for all of your guns. There are no foolproof or cheap ways to prevent theft, but at least you may be able to salvage some monetary value from your collection and help the police in the event that it is stolen. Best wishes for a good hunt, Ralph Herbig
jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard) (09/17/86)
In-Reply-To: your article <1253@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Article: 9:20 RE: Who would steal a bolt? Maybe they won't steal your bolt, but what about your car? Also, many rifles must have the bolt fitted to the chamber at the factory. Jon Kaplowitz ihnp4!erc3ba!jfka