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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-le ... e-33842109

Keith Sutton, from Leicester and District Small-bore Rifle and Pistol Club, said the thieves may attempt to sell the guns to other enthusiasts.

Black market more like.

OK, who are those people who are for storing guns at the club again.......

Just wondering why they weren't in a proper safe like a Fort Knox - you don't get into those easy.

From what I've been told it was a very thorough robbery that planning, knowledge, forethough and purpose, I don't think that this would have been done by people who hadn't thought through the disposal of the plunder prior to the robbery.

Stealing them to then try and sell them on piecemeal to individual shooters seems to me like a high risk strategy, still not being a banker, corporate director a thief I don't have a criminal mind so could be completely wrong on my speculation.

I think it is totally disingenuous for it to suggested that the law abiding legal firearms owning populace is the intended recipients of this crime. Even although there maybe the odd rogue FAC holder who may be tempted they are unlikey to account for the disposal market for all these guns.

I agree, I thought it was a shameful statement to make about the shooting community.

I was surprised to see the blocks were laid upright instead of flat, especially as there is no reinforcing mesh inside. We certainly would not have got away with such a construction for RFD purposes here in my part of Lincolnshire.

I assume/hope the club was not section 7.3, anyone?

This is the list my club has just circulated to all members...


Rimfire Rifles

Make Model Serial No. User Comments

Anschutz 1403 1038368 L&D With dioptre sights

Anschutz 1407 176961x L&D With dioptre sights

Anschutz 1407 87842 L&D With scope

BSA 12 R13215 L&D With dioptre sights

BSA ISU FG0260 L&D With dioptre sights

BSA ISU FH0346 L&D Left Handed - with dioptre sights

BSA Mk 11 Lightweight FC1545X L&D With dioptre sights

BSA Mk 111 UF3361 L&D With scope in rack

BSA Mk 11 UF7974X L&D With dioptre sights

BSA Mk 11 UE6595X L&D With dioptre sights

BSA Mk 111 UF3344 L&D With scope in large case

BSA Mk 111 UF1354 L&D In small brown case

Anschutz 1413 139942 H Wells In back case in safe with dioptre sights

Anschutz 2007 3105064 R Moss In black Anschutz case with Gehmann adjustable front sight and rearsight iris 551

Aschutz 1807 235479 K M Chambers In back case in safe with dioptre sights

BSA Mk 111 UF2115 K Hardy In rack -- with dioptre sights

Anschutz 1807 181313X I Smith In back case in safe with dioptre sights

Walther KKK 13956 D Headley In back case in safe with dioptre sights

Airguns

Air Arms Alfa Pro 4471201205 L&D In black plastic case

FWB Model 80 Pistol 206646 L&D In strongroom in black case

FWB Model P34 61512 L&D Ex D Killick - In Aluminium case in strongroom

Steyr LP1 717798 C Brown In strongroom in black briefcase

Steyr LP10 733774 L&D In strongroom in black case

Walther LP 300 11053 N Brittan In strongroom in black case

Steyr LP10 ??????? J D Fudge In strongroom in brown case

Air Arms S400 SuperLite 103505 I Smith In strongroom - in black case

Air Arms Model 400 MPR 068420 L Martin In strongroom - in black case

Air Arms EV2 MK3 47869 L&D In Large black case Iin strongroom

Air Arms TX200 95631 L&D In Walther case Iin strongroom

Walther LG300XT 24902 L&D In rack in strongroom

BSA Airsporter S ?????? Ralph for sale In rack in strongroom - 0.22

ovenpaa wrote: I assume/hope the club was not section 7.3, anyone?

Club website makes no mention of it (though would it?).

Local paper is here:
http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/30-gu ... story.html

From that story it's not clear whether the rifles were within another safe in the strongroom or not. From discussions about the ammunition I think the reporter is calling the strongroom a safe in its own right.

Interestingly,

The club's firearms secretary, Keith Sutton, said: "They broke through the wall, which has metal strengthening bars in it, and made a hole to climb through before passing the weapons out.

Sounds like it was reinforced to some extent- possibly an old standard as I'm fairly sure from when I looked at constructing a gun room mesh was specifically mentioned (though that was obviously more from the standpoint of hardening an existing room rather than a new construction).

My take on it is (posted on another forum):

99% sure that the rimfires will be at the bottom of a canal/ditch once the thieves realise what they've nicked.

Airguns probably appearing on gumtree/at the local carboot in a few weeks.

I suspect he probably meant they could be "offered" to FAC holders (for example, ad on guntrader or shooting forum) rather than suggesting an FAC holder would actually buy one*. As a bit of backstory, these are all apparently single shot "heavy" rifles (I'm guessing prone rifle sort of thing) so are about as unattractive for criminal use as it is possible to be.

I still think it's more likely the thieves couldn't tell the difference at 3am between a rimfire rifle and an air rifle and cleared the lot out of the safe(s), and if/when they realise at least some of the guns are hotter than they expected the rimfires at least will be dumped.

Essentially, I don't believe that there wasn't a better target they could have picked if they wanted the firearms for criminal usage. More likely local idiots looking for a quick buck with the air rifles.

I'd suspect the thieves will have visited the club as "potential members" to locate where the rifles are and then cleaned the lot out (note one was found abandoned outside the club by all accounts.

*As an aside, I understand these rifles will now be flagged as stolen on NFLMS so any movement into the legitimate trade should immediately trigger a flag.

dromia wrote:From what I've been told it was a very thorough robbery that planning, knowledge, forethough and purpose, I don't think that this would have been done by people who hadn't thought through the disposal of the plunder prior to the robbery.

Stealing them to then try and sell them on piecemeal to individual shooters seems to me like a high risk strategy, still not being a banker, corporate director a thief I don't have a criminal mind so could be completely wrong on my speculation.

I think it is totally disingenuous for it to suggested that the law abiding legal firearms owning populace is the intended recipients of this crime. Even although there maybe the odd rogue FAC holder who may be tempted they are unlikey to account for the disposal market for all these guns.

Years ago all of us at a clay shoot I used to attend regularly went for a trip to Bisley clay lay out.......during a pint in the pub the subject turned to illegal firearms and this guy said and I quote "well we all have guns in our cabinets not on our tickets" to which after everyone had recovered said no we do not! I couldn't believe my ears! We never seen him again after that!

I'd bet that a certain online websales auction site sees a flood of anschutz sights & accessories in the near future....as a "best case scenario"

My worst case scenario....given the demographic of the area. ...even single shot .22s would cause mayhem in the wrong hands.
Hope it WAS opportunist criminals & not a terrorist cell planning a Mumbai type walkabout.

The Allies dropped single shot pistols to resistance groups in WW2....the idea being to shoot it once then inherit whatever weapons the now deceased/injured soldier was carrying.

FP-45 Liberator?