Best way to inventory gun collection?

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Kingcreek

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i spent a good part of a day taking pics and recording serial numbers, details, history, and approx value on all my firearms. Right now it’s pics on a flash drive and paper but I would like to put it all on a flash drive and keep in the safe deposit box. I don’t have excel but have a windows laptop. Any suggestions for freeware or ?
Somebody suggested mygundb.com but the free version is only 10 guns max. I need quite a bit more and would also like to list some custom knives too.
Thanks in advance
 
Google Documents is free and you can access your content anywhere you have an internet connection. You can download the documents to whatever device you happen to be using.
 
Sadly, the easiest way is one at a time. (Yeah, duh.)

I've never found an off the shelf version that did what my built-to-suit spreadsheet one does.

Now, for 2¢, were I starting over, I'd set up a spreadsheet with a summary first page, and a workseet for each firearm. This would help manage the data a bit better. You'd want to design the worksheets so that the same cell always had things like price paid, trade-in, if-sold value, replacement value, etc., to make the summary easier. Only down side there is that the worksheets would be slightly harder to "group" by features (like "pistol," "revolver," carbine, etc.) Not impossible, just a tad more complicated than using a Sort function.

Now, storing such thing in Google Docs or iCloud, or DropBox, can make sense--just, please, encrypt those files first, please.
 
CapnMac has the right Idea. That is what I did, with a minimum of 8 high quality photos showing distinguishing features, SN, etc. I recorded other data I wanted to save as well on the drives. I have three thumb drives at three distant secure locations for storage. If all three of them and my laptop disappear at once worrying about any firearms will not be on the radar. It is nice when the local authorities want info on a stolen item you have it all there on a portable drive almost instantly. I learned this the hard way and had to back track some to get a SN for them once. Now I can just Email the info.
 
I like LibreOffice. Works like Word and Excel and it is free.
I also use Libre Office.
It's just like Excel and it's free.
If you'd like (or anybody) I can email a program that I wrote that
tracks my guns, ammo and reloading supplies with a running total of $$.
 

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CapnMac has the right Idea. That is what I did, with a minimum of 8 high quality photos showing distinguishing features, SN, etc. I recorded other data I wanted to save as well on the drives. I have three thumb drives at three distant secure locations for storage. If all three of them and my laptop disappear at once worrying about any firearms will not be on the radar. It is nice when the local authorities want info on a stolen item you have it all there on a portable drive almost instantly. I learned this the hard way and had to back track some to get a SN for them once. Now I can just Email the info.

Would you mind sharing an example?
 
I wonder how hard it would be to create a app that constantly searches gunbroker and updates values, it may be a good to show your wife look honey I spent 40k in guns but now they are worth 60k.
 
I wonder how hard it would be to create a app that constantly searches gunbroker and updates values, it may be a good to show your wife look honey I spent 40k in guns but now they are worth 60k.

Making a webscraping program isn't hard (lots of them are already out there). The difficult part is making sure you're looking at the right values and the right guns, and then have the program do a good analysis.

You'd need to control for key words in the description as well - things like round count, wear, age, and especially things that make a gun "special" and sell for more than a normal version. Things like a connection to a notable figure, a rare stainless version, etc.

Ideally, you'd build an advanced analytical program that would correate ask and sale price with words in the description and potentially image recognition which would key off of signs of wear.

Getting the data is easy, describing what it means is more difficult.

OP, Libre Office is a good alternative to Excel. Very similar, just not quite as easy to navigate and has some quirks on the more advanced features, but none of that should cause issues. I would highly recommend you keep the data local and not upload it to a cloud server or google docs unless it is encrypted.
 
Google Documents is free and you can access your content anywhere you have an internet connection. You can download the documents to whatever device you happen to be using.
Dont use Google Docs if you want it to be secure. Google looks at everything plus it is on the cloud. Nothing on the cloud is secure.

Open Office is a free download and works very well, spreadsheets and everything Excel and Word does.
 
Send yourself an email with everything as well as keep the drive someplace safe.
 
I also use Libre Office. It's just like Excel and it's free..
Also use the free spreadsheet in Libre Office. (it can be password protected)
simple one line per gun format.
also take pictures of each one including its serial number.
Those two ways are enough for me.

George P, you must encrypt the emails to yourself, but I would not go that route.
 
Make a list of the gun, date of acquisition, price paid, and serial number on a piece of notebook paper. Take several pictures of each gun, including a close-up of the serial number. Print out the pictures at your local drug store. Put the photographs and list in a manila envelope and stick the envelope in your safe deposit box.

Done.

No need to worry about indexing software, electronic media, whether the format will be compatible when you need to read the images or any of that; just a contemporaneous written record accompanied by photographs.

If you used a digital camera to take the pictures, you can, of course, download the pictures onto a flash drive, but if you're really concerned about longevity then you also need to burn a DVD of the images so that you don't have to worry about electromagnetic pulses wiping the flash drive.
 
I did it the old fashioned way. I just typed up a list. It includes make, model, caliber, sn, any distinguishing features and any info like inherences, gifts to/from ect. Also, some of my scopes and binoculars have serial numbers that are also listed.
 
I use a Google sheet.. I have one page for what I have:
Count, Manufacturer, Type, Model, Caliber, Serial #, Purchase price, Purchase Date, Purchased From, Barrel (in.), Length, Hight, Thickness, Weight (oz.), Measured Weight (oz.)

Then I have a couple other worksheets, one for accessories:
Manufacturer, Type, Model, SKU#, Own-S/L (do I own it or is it a short list accessory), Installed on?, Price, Purchase Date, Notes:

Then I have my shortlist of guns I am looking at, this helps keep me focused.
Manufacturer, Type, Model, Caliber, Stock #, price, Order of Interest, Comment:

And one more fo guns that I am interested in for some reason, but they are not on my shortlist:
Manufacturer, Type, Model, Caliber, Stock #, price, Reason not Short-Listed

Them I have a sheet for sold and one for "not in possession" this is things like a 22lr that I loaned my sister and a rifle at a friends that I put in his safe when I was leaving the country several decades ago. t also is where I list stolen firearms.
 
Does everyone trust Google to keep your stuff secure? Remember anything that is free means that "you are the product". Whatever product you use, you have to maintain security over it, be it a program, a file, or even a picture. If someone has a spreadsheet they think works well, save a copy, remove your data, maybe input example data, and then upload it so others can check it out. Why should so many have to re-invent the wheel.
 
I have zero issues with Google. My spreadsheets include all relevant info for my guns, but the guns are still stored securely. All actual pictures (which includes serial numbers where it's convenient to do so) of my guns stay on local hard drives.
 
I use excel. Firearms are broken down into categories. Each firearms data is linked to attached photos. The live document is kept in excel my copies are converted to PDF.
 
Does everyone trust Google to keep your stuff secure? Remember anything that is free means that "you are the product". Whatever product you use, you have to maintain security over it, be it a program, a file, or even a picture. If someone has a spreadsheet they think works well, save a copy, remove your data, maybe input example data, and then upload it so others can check it out. Why should so many have to re-invent the wheel.
Here you go, a copy of what I use, with some example data. It is set to view only. To use it you will need to make a copy.
 
Take a pic, send it to yourself as an email with the serial #, and store in a folder. If you do it one at a time, you can delete any guns you get rid of. Its foolproof, and even if your computer gets stolen the record will still exist.
 
Sending yourself an email opens that data up to external/government scrutiny -- despite any laws of privacy.
At least encrypt it, but even that is suspect.
 
I would not trust Google with owned firearm data. Keep an Excel or some other spreadsheet offline and back it up using multiple thumb drives kept in different locations.
 
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