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Shotguns stolen - public, youth shooting program, and BSA at risk


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These guns were in a safe in a locked room, in a locked building that was surrounded by a locked gate. I heard that on the weekend prior to the robbery a day or so before the ranger was out in camp handling another emergency issue when a scoutmaster insisted on returning the guns to the ranger because the s.m. wanted to leave early. the ranger explained he was busy and wasn't prepared to take the guns because as it was 10 pm and he wasn't prepared to check them in. so, he was trying to assist the scoutmaster and took them on the spot. he then took them to the safe, and realized he didn't have to key on him to lock it. it was very unfortunate that it wasn't done but I have been a this camp many times and I know this ranger, he's very on top of things always available and helpful and is devastated by this. A camp this size nearly 1200 acres normally has 2 rangers and this one is definitely cant be in every place at once. I also heard that the thieves had apparently climbed the fence and used a ladder to break in a window and started gathering scrap and small tools and most likely after a few minutes noticed the safe and the guns. so no one thinks the thieves knew they were there. The report said the sheriff is suspecting thieves that live near the area. Also, this is the first time the guns being stolen has happened, Mr. turner said someone had stolen copper form an ac unit before.

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The firearms were not secured. No whiny-boy excuses.

 

Camp buildings are not secure - remote and usually easy to kick in a door, break a window, or chain saw through a wall. A previous theft warning was ignored. Firearms not under our direct control should be stored in a secure vault . Add a alarm system and surveillance camera. I recommend a reinforced steel Fort Knox vault, a 19 yr kid who knows a 1000x more than I might recommend a Sentry sheet metal cabinet. :)

 

Off summer camp season, our camp stores all camp rifles and shotguns at a local gun shop. Personally I follow my own advice and added a dog whose apprehension record is 1-0.

 

My previous remark was an understatement.

 

Another tip from someone who is good 20 years past this new 45 year old expiration date.

Do not store bows with laminated limbs (archery) in outside steel storage trailers/lockers as the inside temps changes can cause the limbs to de-laminate. The bows, of course, are not strung.

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Tech2, welcome to the forums and thanks for the update. I agree with RS about the 'no excuses'. They were stolen by amateurs, for goodness sake. Even back in the 1960s when I was a boy, the rifles were stored in a real safe and the bolts were all removed and locked in a separate safe in another location. I'm sorry for that ranger but guns are a really sensitive item. The person returning them without securing them should be responsible for their replacement.

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Update Jan 8, http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/277...wn-stolen-guns

 

Deputies said unknown suspects broke into a storage facility at the Scout reservation and took 13 Marlin .22-caliber single-shot, bolt-action competition rifles; four Weatherby 12-gauge pump shotguns; one Remington 12-gauge pump shotgun; and three Remington 20-gauge pump shotguns worth a total of $14,400. :rolleyes: ( hmmm, must have some serious gold inlay? - RS)

 

The burglary happened sometime between 1 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 15 and 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17 2014.

 

Well when Mrs. RS asks me why I'm online with gunbroker again, I'll explain I'm looking for these stolen firearms. :D

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13 Marlin .22-caliber single-shot' date=' bolt-action competition rifles; four Weatherby 12-gauge pump shotguns; one Remington 12-gauge pump shotgun; and three Remington 20-gauge pump shotguns [b']worth a total of $14,400.[/b] :rolleyes: ( hmmm, must have some serious gold inlay? - RS)

 

The burglary happened sometime between 1 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 15 and 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17 2014.[/i]

 

Well when Mrs. RS asks me why I'm online with gunbroker again, I'll explain I'm looking for these stolen firearms. :D

 

Uhhhh, yeah, pricing at Bass Pro is $2,210 for the .22s, $1,440 for the Weatherbys, $330 fr the Remington 12, and $1,050 for the Remington 20s.

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What is your guess of the street value of a single shot, bolt action .22 rifle? I'm guessing the thieves would have been better off had they taken the four chain saws they left behind. I'm not a shooting sports guy, but aren't BSA shotguns modified so they only accept one shell at a time too?

 

If the dad in the report is really worried about the these guns being on the street, either he's an idiot or the producers did some judicious editing to create a little drama. I'm betting on the latter. You go after someone with a bolt-action .22 in McDowell County, your life expectancy is measured in nanoseconds.

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That shotgun modification, if it had been done, can be reversed and probably didn't matter to the boneheads who stole them. I can tell you that even here in SC, awash in guns that anyone can buy with no ID and take with them anywhere in the country, a single-shot 22 at the flea market will cost at least $100-150. I see plenty of 22s out there but most have magazines and go for more than $200. If the single-shot has peep sights, add about $30 to the price. If it is in nearly perfect condition, another $25 or so.

It wouldn't surprise me if some of those guns end up for sale here. It's like we are the supply depot for criminals in other parts of the country.

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Do you suppose' date=' maybe, they had the records for serial numbers on all those?[/quote'] I called and asked and yes, the serial numbers were provided on the spot. So the detectives are just waiting for one to show up in the national system.
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  • 1 month later...

Found this San Bernardino, California

http://cms.sbcounty.gov/sheriff/MediaCenter/SheriffPressReleases/PressReleasesfor2015/February/BigBearBurglaryBoyScoutCamp022315.aspx

 

On February 23, 2015, at approximately 11:15 a.m., Deputies Montbriand and McCracken from the Big Bear Sheriff’s Station responded to a burglary in progress at the Holcomb Valley Boy Scouts of America Campground. The deputies arrived at the location and contacted a male subject, later identified as Geoffry Brister. Brister did not have permission to be at the campgrounds and was found near several buildings that had been burglarized. Brister was armed with a .22 caliber rifle at the time he was contacted.

 

The investigation showed the suspect had broken into several buildings on the property and was in the process of stealing numerous items belonging to the Boy Scouts of America, including firearms used by the campers for target practice. Brister was found to be on felony probation for carrying a loaded firearm in public. Suspect Geoffry Brister was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Big Bear jail on felony charges of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and ammunition, Burglary, and Vandalism, as well as misdemeanor charges of being in Possession of Methamphetamine. Brister is being held in lieu of $60,000 bail with an arraignment hearing set for February 25th at San Bernardino County Superior Court.

 

No news regarding the firearms stolen from the McDowell County,NC scout camp, meanwhile as weather permits, the McDowell County 4-H Shooting program is in full gear.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/McDowell-County-4-H/254212425404

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  • 1 month later...

Update: April 3, 2015 Three arrested!!

 

http://www.kait8.com/story/28713008/guns-valued-at-14k-stolen-from-mcdowell-co-boy-scout-camp

 

The McDowell County Sheriff's Office said three men are facing charges after 21 firearms were stolen from a Boy Scout camp in December.

 

 Detective Andy Manis said Richard Eugene McKinney, 22, Joel Alan Smith, 42, and Sonny Isaiah Smith, 19, have been charged with felony breaking and entering and larceny after an incident that took place during the weekend of Dec. 15.

 

Manis said the three are accused of breaking into the Boy Scout reservation on Vein Mountain Road in Nebo and stealing the guns, valued at a total of $14,400. Firearms stolen during the break-in include 13 Marlin .22-caliber single-shot, bolt-action competition rifles, four Weatherby 12-gauge shotguns, a Remington 12-gauge shotgun and three Remington 20-gauge shotguns.

 

Twelve of the stolen guns have been recovered.

 

According to deputies, additional arrests related to the case are pending.

 

Scout salute to McDowell County Sheriff's Office

Edited by RememberSchiff
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