I've been enjoying this forum for some time, but this is my first post.

Something occurred to me recently that I've been giving some thought to. I would like to hear some opinions, especially from the older guys on here.

I know we're all going to live forever but.....

Has anybody here given any thought to what they are going to do with their gun collections when it's time to cross that great big bridge to the other side?

My situation is this: I have two daughters, no sons. Don't really care too much for my sons-in-law, and they aren't into guns or shooting anyway. In fact, I'm the only one in my family that is. I know all the obvious answers, and no, I'm not giving you guys any

Do you have any local licensing requirements to own firearms. If so does your wife have a license.


I talked to a friend about this, he made sure his wife had a license (rifle in NYC) so she could have the time to dispose of the long guns w/o the city harrasing her. He's consigned to the fact that a local dealer (friend) will get the pistols and probably help to sell everything.

Rich

Rich,
No licensing problems, I live in Florida. My wife would be free to dispose of them in any way unless I tell her what I wish done with them.

If you have a sizable collection with rare and expensive guns, I would strongly consider a major auction house like RIA or Julia. I've seen many widows robbed by friends and relatives. Keep a updated list of all your weapons, Sn# and their estimated current value on your computer and make sure your wife knows where it is. If you have a friend or relative you trust discuss it with them and make your decision.-Rob

Spreadsheet with the value of all your stuff.


It is gonna get sold, might as well try to make sure your heirs know and get as close to the full value when they sell.

Our hang on till grandkids.

The smartest thing to do is sell them yourself as your health and interest starts to decline.

The next best thing is to give your wife specific suggestions on an auction house to send them to, Amoskeag, Julia, RIA etc.

It is also best to have a few very nice and desirable guns then to have tons of sub $500 guns to unload.

Your heirs aren't going to sell your guns one by one and get the best price, they are going to dump them. If they dump them at a dealer they are going to get 50 cents on the dollar or worse.

i'm planning on taking them all with me
there's gonna be lottsa game there

quote:

Has anybody here given any thought to what they are going to do with their gun collections

Every one of mine has a name attached to it.....It's my wish that the gun be given to that person.....that none of my guns are ever sold.....that the person that receives a free gun from me may only give it to someone else when he passes on.....

A few folks have their name on more than one gun!

I am blessed with sons and grandkids that do want my collection. Have a spreadsheet with names attached and an admonition that there will be no bickering ... trades are OK but no bickering.

A few are allocated to very special friends.

I believe the appropriate thing to do in your case is to consider your grandkids. Spending enough time with them to pass along the love of the field and the tools to support the habit would be the best intergenerational transfer of wealth possible!

quote:

I believe the appropriate thing to do in your case is to consider your grandkids. Spending enough time with them to pass along the love of the field and the tools to support the habit would be the best intergenerational transfer of wealth possible!

Well said Mike, fine idea. I myself have two daughters 7 and 5 as well as a son who is 6 months and named Colt, and we shoot and hunt as a family. As of this morning, it looks like I have another on the way and I am sure he or she will be there with us. In 15 years I get to begin the long process of breaking the grand kids in and each of them will receive part of my collection. Now if I can just manage to keep the big bore bug from biting any of them. There is a Winchester 88 here that will find its way into the fourth generation of my family when Colt is of age.

Joe

You've gotten sound advice so far. The list of guns with their approximate values and who's to get them will cut off a lot of squabbling and things disappearing. I've seen "enterprising" family members lay "claim" to guns before the deceased has even been buried.

If there's a local shop that you've done a lot of business with and does a lot of consignment sales, you might approach them about a discounted deal for consigning your whole collection. Many dealers would see a little old lady as ripe for the picking. But you might be able to in advance negotiate a discounted rate.

LWD

I have prepared a spread sheet showing fair market value of my guns. I have a couple designated for family and friends and have given my wife instructions to contact a dealer I trust and have him sell the remaining ones on consignment at 75% of market value. I have discussed this with the dealer and it is attractive to him and will head off possible problems down the road. The hard part is psychologically coming to grips with selling them for "less than they are worth". Ideally downsizing is a good option but they just keep following me home.

I know two guys who have gotten rid of small collections. One who accumulated the collection himself sold it all to Cabellas. The other, who inherited a bunch of not too valuble old single shots (mostly Stevens Favorites) invited all the hunters and shooters from work to come over and buy them for real low prices. What they had in common was that THEY DID NOT WANT TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEWSPAPER THAT THEY HAD A BUNCH OF GUNS IN THEIR HOUSE. Selling price to them was not as important as being sure they would not be robbed by some thugs brought in by an advertisement.

I think a lot of gun nuts (I consider myself one) have unrealistic views of how are kids or grandkids will cherish their guns.

If you have one or two guns that you love that aren't worth too much then yes they will keep them for sentimental reasons. The problem comes in when you turn over a 50 gun collection. That is a "bunch of guns" not grandpas "gun" if you know what I mean.

The other problem is with valuable guns. While we might be crazy enough to think a 5, 10 or 20K gun is a good value and reasonable there is a VERY good chance the grandpas guns will be sold immediately after finding out how valuable it is.

Trim it down to a couple guns and make them a gift instead of a burden.

Thanks for all of the valuable input guys. I do have a few nephews who will probably get some. My oldest daughter has given me 2 granddaughters. Too early to tell if they will show any interest. One is 5 the other one is only a few months old.

I'm not ready to cash in the chips yet since I'm only 61 but at this age you start thinking about those things. My collection built up over a lifetime is not worth mega-bucks, probably around 30K without the Evans 470 Nitro double which is probably worth considerably more I would imagine. So I especially appreciate the names of those auction-houses.

If your guns are a significant part of your estate (for some of the fellas on here, they certainly are.) then, by all means, make proper arrangements to sell them -- if you have an executor/trustee choses, discuss it w. them as well.

With that said, if the money doesn't matter that much, do you have any friends who would be suited to a particular gun? Again, it could be a cultural difference, but I do value guns that were carried by my family -- some for protection, others for many years of hunting, and one in defense of our nation. If some close friends who like shooting/hunting, and who you expect to survive you, they might be fond of those guns.

Again, that's just my personal feelings on the matter. If you do intend to give someone a gun as a rememberance, give carbon steel -- maybe stainless. My revolvers are the guns I cherish, and my Rohrbaugh is my favorite defensive piece.

I usually carry plastic, but it's soul-less.

Lyle Lovett did a song referring to his 45 as an "old friend by his side" -- if you have any guns which you think of as "old friends" you may want to ensure them a good home...

Bannor, that is a great question. I would think that your heirs would probabaly value cash more than guns if they have no interest in them. Not being knowledgeable about guns, they would probably also not know the value of them and hence would be more likely to be "fleeced".I would therefore start thinning the herd while you have several years left. As you get older you will probably not shoot as much anyway, but at least start selling the safe queens. Your question has got me to start thinking about this...
Thanks, Peter.

A friend of mine died and I volunteered to give the family a written ball park estimate of the value of his guns. There were about 20 long guns and about that many hand guns. His stuff ranged from $50 H&R shotguns to a few rifles and shotguns worth about $1k each. Several of the items he had told me about were gifts from old girl friends or were family heirlooms. One of them was a 1911 Colt that had belonged to his grandfather who had been a major general in WWII. It was pretty clear the family was on fire to sell the stuff. During my review they had asked about how to dispose of it. I told them there were several dealers around that would pay about fifty cents on the dollar.
A few days after I got through they loaded the stuff in the trunk of a car like cord wood and took it to a local dealer and sold most of it.
The dealer took the good stuff and declined the junky stuff. They offered me the left overs and I declined too.

first off... i don't have any kids.... or any relatives either.... i found out 3 yrs ago that i was adopted.... both of my adoptive parents are dead... so i have no family anywhere to assist in the disposal of any of my assets... i do have a charity that will benefit from my estate... the director of trust that benfits the charity is well-versed in disposing estates.... they'll get good prices....and west texas boys' ranch will get the benefits....

I've got two sons, so I'm all taken care of lol ... They each already have nice 270s (LH and RH Rem 700 BDLs), nice 22s (a 30 year old Browning auto and a Ruger 10/22). All I have left is my soon to be 500 Jeffery, my 1911 Springfield V16 in 45 Super, Ruger MK III 22 auto and my 20g Rem 1100 skeet grade B shotgun.

Regards,

Chuck

I would just start to slowly break up the collection and spend the money you make on you wife
why not have a little fun while you are at it

I told the wife they're going to buried with me, along with my dog. Lou

You can donate them to the NRA to be sold by them to keep up the fight!

I agree that starting now to sell them slowly is one of the better ideas, but somebody needs to come up with a solution to one following me home everytime I sell another one.

Thanks a lot for all of the thoughts guys, I really appreciate it.

quote:

i do have a charity that will benefit from my estate..

Good move jimatcat! Bannor, you just a hit a nerve.
Peter.

I am 75 years of age and have given this much thought. As a result I have written a letter of instructions to be placed with my trust document adressing this. In it I listed those firearms I have that are of personal significence to me like for eaxample the rifle I shot my first African game with and the one I took my first elephant with. I left request that certain children and grandchildren get certain firearms and the rest be divided among them if they so choose. They may in fact wish to sell what ever remains after my death and just split the money. So be it as that is their discision and theirs only. As of this summer I am starting to give selected guns to certain of my heirs so I can be sure they get them. If they then wish to sell or trade them agian so be it. I only have 30 or so guns and none of extreme collector value,only sentimental value to me personally. These guns have given me much pleasure in the owning over the years and I would hope they could give some pleasure of ownership to my children,grandchildren,and great-grandchildren but I know they don't all hold the same values and likes I have and will in all likelyhood sell them and buy something they do value. Again so be it. If I have not instilled values in them I feel important I shall not try to dictate to them after my death. Just one old man's opinion of course.

Good thread.
I had never considered the subject but when I think of some of the comments over the years from relatives I need to put some thought into whats going to happen when I shuffle off.

Great post, and very valuable information. I never thought what my heir might do with ~50 guns (and I'm only in my 40's). I would hope he keeps them forever, but it may not be practical. My best friend has graciously offered to handle any gun transactions for my wife. He said he would pay her the $3-400 I told her they were worth

This post has raised another question in my mind. How would I assign a fair market value to a custom gun?

Bryan

I ponder this from time to time too. I have several inherited guns which I think should be passed on to mine as they were passed on to me. Most of the rest (minus one or two somewhat ugly pieces they may appreciate because I built them) would be better converted to liquid assets as directed in my will. Also, I have one rifle built by three American Masters that I think should be donated to the NRA museum. There is one that I would like my best friend to have, assuming he survives me. So there's really no single answer for me.

quote:

Originally posted by Bryan W:
Great post, and very valuable information. I never thought what my heir might do with ~50 guns (and I'm only in my 40's). I would hope he keeps them forever, but it may not be practical. My best friend has graciously offered to handle any gun transactions for my wife. He said he would pay her the $3-400 I told her they were worth

This post has raised another question in my mind. How would I assign a fair market value to a custom gun?

Bryan

You're assuming your friend will survive you which may not be the case. Or at least not before your survivors decide to act. I think we should put specific instructions on how to dispose of them in our wills, even if you have to write a complete tutorial on how to maximize the return.

I have dealt with a number of estates and disposition of assets of those estates.

Based on my experience - NO ONE VALUES YOUR STUFF LIKE YOU WISH THEY WOULD.

Sentimentality is tossed into the garbage when money is involved. It does not matter if it is your favorite grandmother's wedding ring. It will get sold if the money is needed or more than expected. The exact same thing goes for guns.

Your guns will be sold within a year of your death.

The only way to see that you enjoy seeing a loved one own and appreciate your "gun" is to give it to them yourself while you are alive. Better yet, do it and take them hunting.

If you have a valuable collection, sell it now and take your loved ones on a trip they will never forget.

It is not the "gun" or the deer head that is important and what will keep your memory alive - it is the experience of doing something with your loved ones.

Good luck


PS - On a personal note, your photo albums and "momentos" all get tossed as well. Do not lose sleep over "who gets what". It does not matter and your stuff will be gone pretty quick. Leave memories, not stuff..