Christian Oerter rifle:

[Wingshot]

Saw a story that the FBI has recovered this rifle as well as others that were stolen 50? Years ago.

[J. Talbert]

Don’t know about “others” but the Oerter was recovered sometime back, perhaps a year ago.

Was some discussion on here back around that time.

Jeff

[Daniel Coats]

Hot topic that will get removed by the moderators when it gets political lets not go there.

[smart dog]

Hi Wingshot,
The rifle was recovered and the thief, who was very old. received a pretty light sentence with fines.  The original thread posted on the forum was locked because some members simply cannot refrain from discussing politics.  The original gun and an exact copy by Mitch Yates are on display in the Museum of the American Revolution, a museum that makes a trip to Philadelphia worth the effort.

dave

[Wingshot]

Thanks for that info. It’s only a 5 hour ride for me. I hope to get out there this coming year.

[DavidC]

Can't wait for the thief to weigh in on this one.

I'm curious as to the why and how of it though, not a subtle thing to steal. I'm surprised it hadn't made it's way to some Bezos-junior's collection.

[Top Jaw]

That’s how he got caught. He tried to sell it, after 50 yrs, and the buyer did some research and found it was stolen from the museum. Called the cops.  He reportedly had a barn full of other artifacts.

[DavidC]

Yeah, but he tried to sell for a low price to a more everyday type of guy.

Think about all of that high profile Nazi art that's still out there. Some of it turns up now and again.

Or that high profile art heist in Boston in 1990. You don't steal half a billion in art without some rich ---- who's going to display it in their little private collection.

[Tom Currie]

Is this the rifle that was stolen form the Valley Forge Museum many years ago ? I think that is noted in RCA #1.

[Mad Monk]

Is this the rifle that was stolen form the Valley Forge Museum many years ago ? I think that is noted in RCA #1.

The answer to that one is yes.  But in reality he had done a number of gun museum thefts.  This was the only one they could really prove.  When he was big in that business all of the stolen guns were being sold overseas.  Most went to rich collectors in the middle-east countries.  It is suspected that he had cleaned out a private collection in Oley, PA and then another that was seen as an Indian Museum located on he Philly Pike South of Reading, PA  just down the road from the road cut that goes over into Birdsborough.  There were also a number of collections stolen over in Lancaster county.  At that time there was little coordination between the little local police forces and the Pa State Police.  It helped him if there was an alarm on the building but art that time they were crude and limited and he would get around them.  With this recent arrest he could not be prosecuted for  any the the old prior thefts due to statutes of limitations on the type of crime involved.