stolen ammo

cbsuguy1

is it possible to prove that some stolen ammo might be yours if you think you know who stole it? i mean, i have some random boxes that would not fit in the cans that got stolen... possibly lot numbers or anything?

chiefr

Doubt it unless it is special stuff or reloads. 

mark christian

Lot numbers don't function in the same fashion as serial numbers. In the event of possible problems with a production run of ammunition (say underloading with powder)  lot numbers are used so that the entire lot can be recalled. There will be many thousands of boxes of ammunition bearing the same lot number. In any case, the lot number is never recorded at time of sale, so there will be no paper trail leading to the end buyer. 

Sad to say, but you are essentially out of luck. With ammo in short supply and in high demand, I would expect more of this sort of thing to occur. 

cbsuguy1

my own fault for not being organized. but , shoot, people shouldnt be that way.

US Military Guy

Place a public notice that you made an error while reloading and the ammunition is UNSAFE.

At least then, you will know the thief did not have the satisfaction of shooting them.

bpost

There is a huge difference in the law.  One is knowing for 100% for sure of the guilty and then proving it beyond a reasonable doubt in court.  The accused is considered and is innocent UNTIL proven guilty in our way of Constitutional Law.  Unless you have PROOF of the ammo being stolen it can not be proven, hence the guy walks.

It sucks but also is a brilliant concept.  One can not prove a negative, our system demands you prove the positive.

hillbille

If you know who may have taken it, confront them, you may just make them feel guilty enough to return it, if not, nothing lost

TRAP55

US Military Guy said:

Place a public notice that you made an error while reloading and the ammunition is UNSAFE.

At least then, you will know the thief did not have the satisfaction of shooting them.

Had a couple of lowlifes poach a Roe Deer from a small city park zoo. Zookeepers never said a word about the medication it was full of. Culprits and their BBQ friends ended up in the ER puking their guts up.

cbsuguy1, maybe the thief would have to explain your fingerprints all over those ammo boxes?

mark christian

hillbille said:

If you know who may have taken it, confront them, you may just make them feel guilty enough to return it, if not, nothing lost

I agree. You have nothing to lose, so get in the guy's face. He might have a conscious. You don't know.

select-fire

Say nothing. Bait the trap and set up a camera.  I can handle a liar but a thief gets special treatment. No law involved.

mohawk600

The ammo is probably not identifiable until it is fired.........unless there are fingerprints on it. Ammo is pretty generic.

Ditch-Runner

 best of luck 
 a friend of mine had all his guns stolen while he was away on a business trip 
he was 99.9999 sure who did it a ex- brother in law took  them and a  safe  1500 pounds worth and even guns no one else knew about or would have found  that were hidden away his ex BIL knew about  . also knew he was going to be away for a month 
   even his ex wife and family pleaded for him to not harm the POS I mean fellow , who had took off to another state 
 last time I talked to him it was sorry about your luck from the investigation side of proving it . 
 I retired shortly after so lost touch with him I do not know if he ever received  any thing or any guns back hopefully  maybe insurance . and I am sure his ex BIL still stays miles away ,

gruntled2

US Military Guy said:

Place a public notice that you made an error while reloading and the ammunition is UNSAFE.

At least then, you will know the thief did not have the satisfaction of shooting them.

Reminds me of the farmer who put a sign in his watermelon patch that read, "One of these melons is poisoned." Then one night someone crossed out the one & added a two.

pickenup

I don't know where you live, but good luck getting the police involved, even if you can prove who did it.

Many police departments will only take a "report" over the phone or online for "minor" crimes. They will not send an officer out for the "small stuff" (I was told, it is not worth their time) they will give you a case # and that is the end of it for them. Getting them to run fingerprints for a petty crime, like I said, good luck. This does not apply to ALL police departments.

If you can give them a serial number or some kind of identifying attribute ( don't see how you can on ammo) and they happen to confiscate it because of another crime, they may give it back to you. Had a firearm returned to me once this way, because I gave them the serial number from a burglary.

Confronting the guilty party "may" be the course of action you could take. Do you know if they would be the "violent" kind of person when confronted?

chollagardens

cbsuguy1 postedi
Is it possible to prove that some stolen ammo might be yours if you think you know who stole it?
Mabe. Set a trap. Put more ammo out. The thief may come back.
US Military Guy posted
Place a public notice that you made an error while reloading and the ammunition is UNSAFE.
I know of a person that set a trap with HOT ammo but there could be liability.

rob223

You can never fix the criminal minded. I once had a box of 9mm snagged from me during a yard sale. I didn't catch it. But another patron noticed him take it. But, was gone before we were able to do anything.

I also unknowingly bought some stolen gun parts online. Apparently, a person working in a police confiscation room and was taking some of these items he didn't think would be noticed. Basically they were marked for destruction and figured he could somehow sneak them out and sell them. Myself and a few others had bought some if the items. They (FBI) had trailed his sales. And retrieved them. They actually called me up and asked to meet them to relinquish the items. Did explain all the information regarding the how and why. They were polite and explained that I wasn't in any trouble. I of course wasn't able to be refunded for the items.

roswellnative

You need a camera and another opportunity for the thief 

dok2u

Sorry to hear about your situation.  I understand your pain.  I moved in 2013 and rented a place from a woman who said she'd "never had any problems with break ins."    Shortly afterwards had dozens of cases of ammo and other stuff stolen.  Over the years, I had worked for several sporting goods companies and when each of them was in the process of going bankrupt, I bought as much ammo as I could in the hope of starting my own store some day.  The bad guys hit the mother load with my stuff.  Discovered the break-in the morning after it happened.  The township cop who showed up turned out to be Barney Pfife's dumber cousin.  I told him about the ammo and he was just stared at me like what was he supposed to do and then asked "what... like a box or two for a couple bucks?"  I explained, no it was "like" 40+ cases of ammo, optics, cleaning and reloading supplies!  He just continued to stare and yawn.  Didn't ask any more questions, just got in his car and left.  An hour later, I discovered in the course of my own investigation that a neighbor down the street had his van stolen.  The bad guys evidently stole his van to carry off my ammo.  I even managed to follow their trail for a few miles as they had thrown some of my stuff out of the window as they made their getaway.  A little more work on my part and I discovered the druggies steal stuff on this particular night because there was a little local flea market that specialized in stolen stuff the next day.  Beat my feet over there about 30 minutes too late.  In asking around, I learned that "yeah, there were a couple of guys here selling ammo....  wanna see what I got for a dollar a box?"  Turned in a full report of everything that was stolen, including a new Swarovski spotting scope and a half dozen Leupold rifle and handgun scopes.   Cops could not have cared less.  Hope you have better luck.

kannoneer

The watermelon story reminded me about the guy who had a hot bowl of soup with friends in a very expensive restaurant. He needed to go to the restroom but was afraid his friends would eat some of his soup. so he made a little sign that said "I have spit in this soup". When he came back, someone had added "So did I".