keep the guns forever? send them on their way someday?

[aarondhgraham]

Every now and then,,,

I look into my cabinet and think,,,
I really do not need all of these handguns.

But then I think that even though some of them only get shot once a year,,,
It really doesn't cost me a darn thing to have them sitting around,,,
Okay, maybe someday I might have to buy another cabinet,,,
But even then it's a small price to keep owning my toys.

The pleasure I got last year from the one time I took out my .357 cowboy revolvers,,,
Made up for any inconvenience they might be by taking up space in my cabinet,,,

They don't eat, need litter, or cost me any tax money so I'll keep em.

Aarond

 

[pgdion]

aarond & globemaster, great ideas ... thanks! I'm going to do something like that too. At least a little something on why I bought the gun, what made it special to me, and some fond memory to go with it. Then it's not just 'this gun your grandfather owned' or stuff like that. I don't have to worry if the family will want them. All 3 sons are interested in guns and 2 of them already have some of there own. My oldest just got his first CF pistol last fall .... a Beretta 92FS just like Dads. I'm so proud [wiping tear from eye].

 

[Eghad]

I don't have any kids but I do have two nephews. I have also started selling off guns to friends who will appreciate and care for them.

 

[lee n. field]

I was just wondering people's thoughts on the guns they own. Are they a part of the family, or I should rephrase: are they lifetime purchases?

Yes and no.

I own no handguns now that I owned before 2000. My handgun collection churns slowly over time, but I think I'm to a point now that if nothing could change from here on out, I'd be OK with it.

If I have to sell off possessions, I'll face the "what one gun" question when it comes.

 

[Rembrandt]

The collection will be given away as birthday & Christmas gifts to my kids & grand kids.....in a way, I've already got my future Christmas shopping done.

 

[ZeroJunk]

If I kept every gun I have owned I would have a hard time getting in my house. Well, maybe not quite that bad. I have a couple that I'm attached to.

 

[8shot357]

That's like asking how your grandma smells.

Sorry, that's what comes to mind.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Fact is "guns grandpa owned" have no sentimental value to most families. What value they have to the desendants is in dollars only. But, often times the families do think that because "it was grandpa's" it is worth more. Not so. When I had my gunshop a lot of guns came in hoping I would buy them. Many times, I suspect, grandpa wasn't even cold yet. And about half the time the gun in question was an H&R single barrel 12 ga. shotgun that rattled like an old Jenny and wasn't worth the gas to bring it to town. Personal case in point. I mounted a small .32 revolver in a frame, very nicely if I say so myself, that belonged to my grandfather (I'm now 72) and gave it to my son. He was completely disinteresed and it is packed away somewhere. I thought it would hang on a wall as a sort of sentimental item. Nope. Couldn't care less. Believe me, when the body is cold life moves on and most of the time the dollars left behind are all that count.

 

[ZeroJunk]

Lot of truth there. I'm from a big family. And, out of all of the guns in those families there was one nice Sterlingworth and a nice Remington 241. Other than that there are some house brand Crescents sawed off for bird guns, Iver Johnson Champions, single shot 22's, that type of thing. A shame I didn't have any rich relatives.

 

[Nisei]

One side of the family, they don't care for guns. Too scary to have in the house. The other side... let's just say we're still fighting for Grandpa's revolver after several years.

For me, I will pass my guns down to younger ones I meet at the range when I know my time is coming. If I pass it down to kids/grand-kids, who knows where those guns will end up. Give it to a young, avid shooter and I know they will end up in a good safe or a even a EDC holster. If the kids/grand-kids become avid shooters then obviously they will come before the strangers.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I have no kids and I was the only one in my family with an interest in guns. I really have no idea where they will end up. But I do have a current value sheet for all of them, in the event I go before the wife, because I hate the idea of her being cheated. Of course, it will be up to her if she settles for less, and how much, because if everybody walks away happy, it really is best. I'm 55 now, and I might start selling off some of the ones I no longer shoot, I just don't know. I've only sold 2 guns in my life and don't miss either, but that's a rarity.

 

[JerryM]

My guns are just tools. I enjoy them, but not married to any of them.They are not part of my family, and so I don't mind parting with them if I need to.

Jerry

 

[C7AR15]

Selling OK

I have bought 35-40 guns in my life. Have sold about 24 of them.

once I have sold a gun I don"t miss it. Usually I spend the money on another gun. A better gun.

Guns keep getting better - better steels , better machining methods,etc
You can buy Sub MOA rifles under $1000 easily today.
Handguns too are much better than the "good old days".

If you regret selling something you can always buy it again!

A quote from Wall street

"A wife you keep forever, stocks you buy and sell" - same goes for guns.

Enjoy them, buy Em sell Em and definitely shoot them JD

 

[Sport45]

If I don't care to shoot it or don't think one of my boys will want it I have no trouble selling them.

The guns I'll never sell and will most definately pass on to the boys were the ones given to me by my dad or passed down through the family.

 

[Scout]

I used to buy and sell guns on a regular basis. Then I got married and had a couple of kids. Now, my wife tells me, "Those guns belong to the boys." So, I never sell them now. The down side is that I'm running out of room for more guns.

 

[youngunz4life]

C7AR15

Thank You for the quote. I wrote it down. Someday I would like to give one of my HD handguns or shotguns to one of my children when they marry and get a home. I also did get rid of one firearm. It was a semi that had some issues when I bought it, so I was able to return it. The man on the phone said I had 7 days to return it if I hadn't fired it. He told me point blank that he didn't know who I was & to show up sometime and just tell whoever was working that it hadn't been fired. I did the next day(basspro shops). Besides that, I like to keep my fireamrs. That one was also in the grey area of not being mine yet.

 

[JC57]

I've sold or traded a fair number over the years. There's maybe two or three I really regret selling now, but the rest are not missed.

My current plan is to never sell another one. I don't have anyone to leave them to other than my wife, so eventually they'll be treasures for some lucky soul at my estate sale!

 

[shaunpain]

Only two guns I have purchased I no longer possess. The Beretta, along with lots of nice electronics, were pilfered from my home by some *******.

The other was gifted to my brother. He is younger and just recently got into guns (real guns, he's always had the toys like me) and I decided to give him my beater 70's German .38 with a box of way-too-expensive HPs. It may not have been expensive, but, hell, I've never been GIVEN much of anything, much less a pill thrower. Now that's a good gift!

 

[Uncle Buck]

Honestly? My plan is to keep all my guns until I get rid of them. (Sorry)

I buy guns that I like or that I might be able to use as trading stock for something else. But the ones I really like, I have no intentions of getting rid of them.

Last night while cleaning pistols my nephew asked me what was going to happen to my guns when I died. I told him they would be divided amongst my brother, his cousin and himself. He started in by saying "Well I want these ones here and they can have the others." In my will they each get to pick a gun, once they each pick a gun, they get to start over and pick another one, until they are all gone. The biggest caveat is that my wife will decide who picks and who picks first. So if any of them really get her mad, she can exclude them from the picking.
(He has been really nice towards his aunt.)

 

[P97]

All my guns that I've had over a year are lifetime purchases. I have sold and traded guns that didn't meet my standards, but any gun I've had for a while, I'll keep, and pass down to decedents.