here's my problem; i have taken the castle and made a nice little storage area for myself.

but my settlers kept taking my stuff. mainly weapons. i say kept because i moved house to home plate in diamond city.

and i had a unique minigun (NOT legendary) that did additional fire damage. 15 i think.

anyway, i felt like using this gun again and i looked for it in my weapons/armor storage. and it was gone.

i was understandably pissed so i went back to the castle to check the inventory of every npc in there and i found a legendary plasma gun (ignores armor) and my silver submachine gun.

but not my unique minigun. so i figured that a provisioner must have taken it. how do i find that provisioner ? like whats the best way ?

could a settler/provisioner have taken the gun and gotten killed in an attack ? and then the body disseapeared ? (my castle is attacked alot) can settlers even be killed in attacks ?

i have only seen them go down like essential npc's do but on the internet people have said they actually can die.

does anyone have any advice ? or an outright solution ? i play on the ps4 so console commands are not an option.

update/edit----

i did not store it in an already existing container. i made the container i stored it in myself.

and i am not going to use my workshops to store my stuff because i simply dont want to.

Did you put it in a container that was already in-game, or one you made?

Because if you put it in one that was already in-game, the game most likely deleted the minigun when it decided to reset the container.

If you are on PC you can get it back trough console commands

Just use your workshop to store your stuff. You leave your stuff in existing containers and it can be taken and/or disappear.

i did not put it in an existing container. just ones i built.

im really sorry, but did you even read my entire post ?

Did you store ammo together with the guns? I've been storing armor and weapons in containers I've build for a long time and nothing ever gets taken. Now, I heard that if you store ammo with the guns, some companions and/or settlers might help themselves. I've never experienced that though, since I never store ammo.

If companions live in that settlement where your minigun disappeared from, check their inventory, too.

they take it even without ammo. because i never store ammo anymore and it still got taken. (never ever stored minigun ammo btw)

to find provisioners you can either wairt for a quest that needs you to talk to them and they'll get an icon on the map or ring the bell at whatever settlement and wait for them to come back. I hear they will start back but it will take them a long time depending where they're coming from. The ashmaker is unique and technically legendary even though its a reward. I didnt think the settlers die on their own. They can be kidnapped and I assmue if you dont rescue them they disappear along with the stuff they have. They may be able to outright die in settlement attacks you dont defend. If you're in the area I am under the assumption they wont die from enemies but only from your stray fire. That guns a bit weak for what it is anyway but it is cool.They could have also acquired the legendary plasma rifle and other stuff on their own but it could have been from your stuff.

Guess I'm lucky my stash has never been dipped into. I use the old house from pre-war Sanctuary, and I guess that's safe since NPCs never wander into your bedroom. Can't help you now, but try to find a spot where either nobody goes or that is inaccessible to anyone but you for your stash.

I'm confused why anyone would use a stash for anything important when the game provides you with one that only you can open. The workshop.

Sorry this is happening to you.

I have over 80 hours logged, and I've been storing stuff in self-built containers since the first hour of the game, with no problems.

Might I suggest you stick to storing stuff in Sacturary hills? As the person above suggested, its safe there. I have 3 containers, and I have hundreds of items stored, and nothing ever goes missing.