Selling firearms after passing

Pythons are going the way of Harleys. The old farts that appreciate fine craftsmanship and USA made are dying off. Why buy a Python when you can get a handfull of AK's for the same money. Then you can take all your bada** friends to the range and all do mag dumps together.

Do your guns still bring you pleasure? If so , do not sell them off while you are alive. (The exception would be if there was hardship/need for money in your family now , but I do not get the impression that this is the case from the OP.)
As a living person you have no obligation to deprive yourself of your worldly goods to save someone some inconvenience after you are gone. To do so would be morbid and depressing , if you ask me.

A short story: decades back my older brother lost a good friend. He died in the prime of life ; left behind a half dozen guns. The widow told my brother that she was going to accept a lump sum for the lot because she did not know what else to do with the firearms. My brother volunteered to sell them individually , and succeeded in generating a much better return for the widow. The widow asked my brother if he had a favorite among the lot of guns ; he said that he was partial to the 1947 Marlin lever. She nixed the sale on the Marlin and gave it to my brother out of gratitude.

Have you a good and trusted firearm savvy friend?

Real life example:
I own a 34 ft. , 55 year old sailboat. The market for older sailboats is real soft. I have seen guys pop off suddenly and stick their widow with a big old boat that they don't know what to do with - LOTS harder to sell than guns. Easy to rack up storage expense while mulling the situation. A boat smart friend , a bit younger and with a much better heart than mine , (literally) , has promised to take care of that matter in the event of MY popping off suddenly.

While I am alive I will continue to sail , shoot , and fully enjoy my time in the here and now.

FROGO207 said:

Pythons are going the way of Harleys. The old farts that appreciate fine craftsmanship and USA made are dying off. Why buy a Python when you can get a handfull of AK's for the same money. Then you can take all your bada** friends to the range and all do mag dumps together.

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You know, I two words I never thought I'd see in the same sentence are "Harley" and "craftsmanship".

Well you gotta admit they MIGHT work with each other. Guess you have to drink that koolaid though. I am just as bad as far as Jeeps go. Several pre 1950 works in progress.

bassjam said:

You know, I two words I never thought I'd see in the same sentence are "Harley" and "craftsmanship".

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Hey ! You tryin' to pick a fight ?

A spreadsheet, listing by serial number, caliber, etc.....and REAL value, should be emailed to TWO trusted friends, who are not related to you. Tell them to host an auction, they make pick ONE item for payment.

List scopes by serial numbers separate.

Harleys and fine craftsmanship

If you are in reasonably good health at the moment when should you consider liquidating your collection? I agree with not burdening a spouse or family with having to deal with the issues involved with selling firearms. So when do you start? Tell us your thoughts?

Bolt your safe to the floor do not give out the combination that way you can make your anti gun family members suffer for putting you through this pain.

Waveski said:

As a living person you have no obligation to deprive yourself of your worldly goods to save someone some inconvenience after you are gone. To do so would be morbid and depressing , if you ask me.

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South Prairie Jim said:

Bolt your safe to the floor do not give out the combination that way you can make your anti gun family members suffer for putting you through this pain.

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Make a plan to have a trusted friend , or your attorney , handle the situation after you are gone ... the plan should include a period of having the surviving family sweat out the problem of what to do with the bolted down no combo safe for a month or 2 ; that's what they get for giving you so little credibility and respect for your appreciation of firearms.

If you write a will leave all the proceeds to your dog.

Arf!

This subject has been discussed not too long ago but it's 01:48 and nothing I care to watch on TV.

So, my solution to this "problem" is selling everything myself, I know what it's worth, what I paid for it and what I should be able to get. The hard part, very hard, is that everytime I sell off a gun, I sell a part of myself, I try to find them good homes because I really want the guy that buys them to enjoy them as I did and I always take a loss but at least I know they are in good hands.
My last sale paid for my 2019 property tax so in essence, I'm keeping a different inheritance safe for whomever.
I'm keeping practical guns now, their values are quite easy to research and I will have them listed on my Will, itemized as to how research their value once I'm gone. I doubt I have more than $5k in my guns anymore and if "they get" $2500 bully for them.
So I say, unless you have a massive collection and specialty guns, sell them yourself and reinvest in real estate.
Otherwise list everything in your Will, what you paid for it, how to research current prices and let your inheritors worry.

We are hopefully a long way from making these decisions but already I have started telling my wife which firearms are important to me, and why, and which ones are commodity items. The vintage firearms are already of dubious value and in another 50 years they'll probably be worthless except as a mantle decoration. I would like my first revolver and maybe a few others to move down the line but I don't expect anyone else to care about the rest.

I find myself in a similar situation to that of the OP. Even the one son who was an LEO has no interest in owning even a single gun. But for me the situation is simpler. I never had a very large "collection", and all of my guns (other than one) have no "sentimental" value to me. They are useful tools, and nothing more. I am 76 and do not shoot nearly as often (or well) as I used to and I have sold off several of my guns and have not regretted a single sale. I am now down to a few for home and personal defense, a good 22LR handgun for fun at the range, and since I don't hunt, a pump 12 gauge as a "just in case" gun. Over the next year or two I will sell off all of the guns that I no longer need or regularly shoot. The one gun that I am "attached" to is my S&W Model 19 Nickel, 4 inch, and that one I will give to my youngest son, the only one in the family that I am not sure should own ANY gun, but it is what it is.

AlexanderA said:

Name a trusted executor that knows something about firearms.

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The OP has gotten lot of good info so I can't resist

He is concerned about after he passes he doesn't want an executor to speed up the process and take his guns

(I know what you mean)

I guess that I'm in a different situation then the OP. My Family is firearms friendly and my guns are in my will. I have a detailed list with the SN's and important info listed. I am going to sell a few this year that the boys are not interested in. Maybe turn 8 or 10 into 1 or 2 that I will shoot more often and that will be of greater interest to the boys. I've already listed a few for auction.

To answer the original question, I would put a plan in place with a trusted and knowledgeable friend. A detailed list would still be important.

This is sad.


I just bought a 6.5 CM Xbolt Hunter for my daughters to fight over when I die. If their lucky I'll be able to afford a few more cool rifles before the day comes otherwise one of them will have to settle for the Marlin 336..

Now my Savage 24 .22/410... I'm not sure which one is getting that gun. That's the most heirloom gun that I own.

When a close friend was reaching the end of his life in hospice, a few of us got together to help his wife handle this issue. My friend had already created a list of the guns he owned and wanted sold, along with a realistic selling price (as well as allowing for a few of us to choose specific guns from among his collection that would have meaning to us).

After some calls and discussions among us we decided it was best to appoint one of us to handle the arrangements, which was done through a local specialty gun store that handled estate evaluations and sales of firearms, swords and other collector items. The gun store was owned by an old friend of the family, so it was easy to set up the arrangements, and all proceeds of the estate sale went to the widow. Let's just say that the customer base of the business (appt/invitation only) was such that the prices listed were non-negotiable to potential buyers. He had quite an interesting collection. It was very sad time for all of us.

I used to work at the LGS. Occasionally we would have a son/daughter that was totally disinterested in guns bring in an armload and dump them on the counter like a pile of junk. They would take whatever they could get.

For whatever reason, guys think their heirs will enjoy their guns, old cars, coin collection, whatever as much as they do. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I know a guy that screwed a widow out of a 1st Generation Colt SAA for $400. It was worth maybe $6,000. He was all kinds of proud of himself. Jackass.

I’m 69 and have sold off nearly all of what I had. I’ve kept the few that I actually use. You never own anything. You simply have the opportunity to use it for whatever time you are on earth. Many of my guns were previously owned by someone else, and will be again

I’d rather make sure they go to someone that will appreciate them.

About 15 years ago my wife and i arrived at the local flea market very early. There was a lady with three or four nice shotguns. The beautiful high grade Browning automatic was priced at about $250. Immediately told the lady to put her guns away because the prices were much too low. The lady's late husband had a large firearms collection, mostly shotguns, including several Winchester model 21s. Put the lady in contact with a collector i knew; He inventoried and valued the guns. Most were sold by an auction house, the proceeds were in excess of $150,000. For my trouble i was awarded a nice old side hammer shotgun.

Want to leave something of value for your spouse and family: Sell the darn guns and buy real estate. God stopped making land some time ago and it will only increase in value.

alsaqr said:

Sell them while you are alive.

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And use the money to take a vacation.

alsaqr said:

Sell the darn guns and buy real estate.

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No.
My "darn guns" give me pleasure of ownership and operation , historical significance , craftsmanship - otherwise I would not have acquired the darn things to begin with.

"I'm Not Dead Yet!" Monty Python

sell your guns that you don't use now and enjoy the money they bring for yourself. leave the rest to somebody who would appreciate them and appreciate your gesture to them. I'll be darned if I'm going to stress over what others in my family think about my guns. they don't like them, they don't need to get the proceeds from their sale either. plenty of folks out them would appreciate them.