doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How Should A Spouse Handle A Gun Collection?

All one needs is 3 rifles, 2 or 3 shotguns, and couple of handguns. Larger number is simply money pit. I know couple of guys who have > 50 which is simply . I can't imagine great vacations missed, less luxurious table fare,......

Post deleted by Run With The Fox

If I publicly asked a question like this, I might find myself deceased before my time. My wife and sons are way more tenacious than I am concerning keeping the guns. All the guns, all the reloading stuff, all the hunting related equipment, the knife collection, ( all the fishing stuff, by the way,)the decoy collection, the trophys, all my stuff will NEVER be for sale. The grandaughters are being imbued with the traditions of hunting, shooting, and collecting even at the early age of six, and four. My old model 70s, my Supers, my Smiths, all my favorite toys, will be passed down through future generations for my heirs to enjoy just as I have. Grant.

Once they discover Wee supra, Superstation extreme,......your guns will be sold for 50c on a dollar or less (if they take it to a GYPSY shop aka pawn shop).

This is what I'm doing: changing my will to assign particular items, including guns, to family members and friends who have an interest in them. That's pure satisfaction for me, a pleasure to see things going to where they belong.

The remaining guns except for a few doubles and rifles will be sold to put cream on yearly travels overseas of my wife Nancy and me. That's more satisfaction.

When I get old---I'm starting my 77th year today---I'll give my favourite guns to my younger gunning family and friends, the most pleasure of all. No hassle, no pain for me, Nancy or others, just having our cake and eating it, too.

I must confess to be one of the worse accumulators on this site. My gun room, to many, would look like ten lifetimes collections of shooters, low to middle grade guns and duplications of one purchase after another. It became a gun room after the third safe was too full to close and I got tired of buying larger safes.

I gave the two oldest children each a gun safe and let them choose 20 guns each to put into it. Some where first .22's, first shotguns and others were more valuable gun from a money viewpoint. Never thought my daughter noticed the Diana Browning before she reached out and picked that one. Live and learn as they say.

My three youngest children are years away from their turn so I have taken certain other precautions for them. A list of guns, for each kid, is in my will. Write it down or it is not official. Next is that every gun I own has been logged into a log book that has where and when it was bought, priced paid and how much it is worth, major or minor problems that I have found, etc.... Special comments if I like the gun and wish it to stay in the family. After the kids are taken care of that rest goes to auction. Let others deal with the selling and let the market set the price. Pay for the expert to sell them for a decent price and be happy. I sure was while I owned them and my wife will when she gets the check.

I did add up the numbers a few months ago and must say that if my wife knew how much was in the gun room I might meet with a nasty accident. You never grasp how much money can be stashed into guns without your realizing it. Buy a single $500-1,000.00 gun and you can tell others, at once, how much your collection is worth. Buy one at $500.00, then another at $800.00, then another at $1,000.00 then another and another and before you know it you have a tidy nest egg if you buy solid guns at a decent price. Do it for years and you can end up with ten of thousands of dollars. Just do not do it as an investment, there are many others which are much better.

Daryl, I didn't know that what type of firearms a person had, had anything to do with the best method of getting rid of them, but here goes:

4 English SxS's, 2 L C Smith's, 3 Parkers, 1 Spanish SxS Best Gun , 2 Fox SxS's, 1 Remington 1900 SxS, 2 Knickerbockers SxS's, 1 1187 Premier Trap, 1 H&K O&U Max II. Most 12ga, and over 100 yrs old except for the obvious.

2 Custom 1911's, 1 Kimber 1911

I am trying to get this set up so it will be easier on her if I should pass. I just bought a Holland and Holland, 1890 Royal Ejector from a guy that passed the day after he shipped it to me, so it has got me to thinking.

binko

1 H91 308 and a couple misc. pistols.

I have thought a little about this and plan to leave a list of who to send the guns for consignment ie. she should send my Krieghoff to Paxton and my Spanish guns to John Boyd. I have a smattering of 1911s that I will probably spread out among my sons. Whatever knives I have can be put on ebay.

Don't worry, you're just over twice as bad as myself.

It's been something I've been thinking about.
An older friend of mine passed away with a fair amount of registered guns, some of which are unsalable here in rural Manitoba, such as drillings in 16ga 9.3 x72 R, and a pile of "prohibited" handguns, which only folks like me can own with a licence for prohibited handguns, and there is not many of us.
It was a pain in the butt, his daughter asked me to help, I did as the family are friends, I had to pick up all the prohibited pistols, 4' bbl or less and one prohibited rifle, a FN SLR, Ishapore version, and put them in my safe as I can legally store them.
Then we sent the whole lot off to a gun auction house in Red Deer, Alberta. They made about half what they were worth after commissions, etc, but at least the daughter got rid of them of them. The son wanted to keep the Ishapore FN, so I had to arrange for a gunsmith to legally disable it permanently.
The daughter was grumbling continually about the mess her dad left her in, and what sould she have done without me to help her, whom she could trust?
Quite by chance I was thinking about this today, to have a big cull of the safe of which I do not, or never have shot. I do not want to have my wife worrying about my guns when I kick the bucket, or suddenly friendly local yokels wandering by to see if she might have a gun for sale?
I have no sons, one grandson who would not qualify, his mum is bringing him up in Vancouver and he will graduate as a West Coast Twit, unfortunately, no interest in fishing or hunting or even wildlife, just hockey, vicariously, on TV with his video games. My daughters are not interested in the guns, either, so the vast majority must be sold off, some shotguns left to sons of friends who hunt with me, all the pistols sold, or dumped in the dugout, think Ruby Extra 38 special, all the pistol ammo ditto, just one 1914 Webley Mk IV 455, my grand father's cavalry pistol from WW1, strong sentimental attachment, to be buried with me. If some guy could get buried in his Cadillac, surely I can take Gramps Webley along?
But serioisly I am glad this subject is raise and as we are generally an older group her, get this important matter resolved earlier rather then later.
Today, funnily enough, a very old neighbour farmer couple in their nineties were thinking about a farm sale and mentioned guns they had, soo I went over and rescued a mint S&W 38 Victory model revolver and a High Standard 22 Taget pistol with box and papers also in mint condition. Neither registered. They had no idea what to do with them. Two years ago I had another elderly neighbour arrive on my doorstep with a whole box of registered legal target guns. He said that they were moving into town to an old folks home and the manager would not let him take the pistols into the new home!
So plan ahead, I's starting tomorrow, save the wife the aggravation of having to deal with a nasty mess, especially if you have legally owned handguns in Canada the police will be involved, so get organised now. Bit long winded, but I think this must be discussed.
Mike