Friendly reminder

[71chevellejohn]

Document your serial numbers.

Back in August, my truck was broken into and my Ruger P95 was stolen along with an ipod and whatever loose cash was in the console. I normally didn't leave it in the truck overnight but it slipped my mind that night. I called the cops as soon as I found out it was gone. When I gave them the serial#, they said most people don't their #'s written down or saved anywhere.

I had pretty much written the gun off. I had actually offered to give my brother the rest of my 9mm ammo because I didn't have anything that used it anymore. On Friday I got the call that my gun was recovered 2 counties over and I can go pick it up.

So, if you haven't done so lately(like since you received your 50 lowers in the last group buy ) - inventory your guns and keep the list in a safe place.

/PSA

[KBScobravert]

Excel spreadsheet and digital photos = check

[BlackGT]

I second this.
Had a guy come into Academy on Saturday wanting us to lookup the s/n of his pistol he bought from us back in 2012. His truck got broken into earlier that day while he was at a restaraunt eating after leaving the range.

[FATHERFORD]

I take multiple pictures(with numbers, parts, markings) of my firearms and keep them in 3 separate locations.

[Silverback]

I take multiple pictures(with numbers, parts, markings) of my firearms and keep them in 3 separate locations.

same

[Nash B.]

I keep mine, along with pictures and descriptions, in an encrypted (not RSA!) database and a custom client I wrote to view/edit it. I have a local copy, local network copy, a copy on 2 Flash drives, and another copy in my Google Documents.

[CJ]

Excel spreadsheet and digital photos = check

Same, and copy on google docs. I also catalog which guns I have sold and who I sold them to.

[Samhain]

I second this.

You sure did!

[FastFox]

I took pictures of every wall in my house, all furniture and appliances. I also took pictures of all the guns and recorded the serial numbers. Then I took pictures of all power tools and pictures of my tool chests with each drawer open. Next I put all pictures in a photo book along withe the serial numbers of the guns. Then I copied the pictures to a CD and put the CD in the photo book should I need to reprint pictures. Last thing I did was copy all pictures and data to an SD chip. The photos stay at my office, and the chip is in my brief case . My insurance man says that in case of fire or theft the adjuster will love me.

[shumpertdavid]

I keep a record or Make, Model, Caliber, and serial number. I should get pictures, never really thought about that.

[bigmuskie]

Appreciate the heads up.

Did they give you any details of how they recovered your firearm?

[71chevellejohn]

I've been out of town, so I haven't actually recovered it yet. I just spoke to the PD that has it and I've got to sit down with the Chief. I'll probably get it Thursday or Friday.

[Chili]

The same thing happened with my neighbor across the street (as far as getting his firearm back). His house was broken into one morning after he and his wife left for work. One of the items they got was a revolver. A few weeks later they busted the duo (male and female) on an unrelated burglary, and recovered his gun. He got it back a few days later.

[IHaveAMustang]

I need to re-document mine.

The last time I documented my firearms was back before I had a safe and I only had about 5 or 6.

Now I have 25 and two safes, so I need to get crackin.

I do maintain all the "Bill of Sales" I make people fill out when I sell my guns.

[71chevellejohn]

Well, I went and picked up my Ruger from the PD. There's a little bit of story, but light on details.

Per the Chief, there had been two shootings involving a pair of crackheads. No casualties or property damage from what he said. They received calls about a crackhead(A) shooting at another crackhead(B). At the first scene they found no casings. Crackhead (B) sent the police to talk to crackhead(A). When the police talked to crackhead (A), he only claimed to have a .25 cal pistol that didn't work. They checked that gun anyway and sure enough it was inoperable. They checked the area where the second shooting occurred and found 9mm brass. But since crackhead(A) didn't have a 9mm, they couldn't do anything. Crackhead(A) is a convicted felon, but the .25 cal was at his mom's house and technically not in his possession.

Later on, they received a call from the ex-GF of crackhead(A) that she found my gun under the mattress when changing the sheets. She had just gotten out of jail and freaked out when she found it. The PD knows that it was mine that was involved in the two shootings, but don't have enough to prosecute. They ran the serial# and found out it was stolen, called my local PD. They said my local PD didn't have any solid leads to make an arrest for the original theft.

Anyway, I got the gun, both mags and my holster back. Both mags were full, now there's only ~5 rounds left in one. It appears to be in working order, although it is pretty dirty.