Gonna thin the herd - permanently - .... I think

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AlexanderA said:
To a true collector, use (shooting) has nothing to do with it. If you haven't shot a gun in years, so much the better -- shooting a gun means wear and tear, which in turn lessens condition, and value.

"Thinning the herd" because of non-use is not something that a dedicated collector would do. Quite the contrary.

We see in this thread the divide between the "collectors" and the "shooters."
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True to some extent. People have different ideas on what is collectible. Some collect old war horses and some collect other types. I have some which I consider collectibles that I wont let go of but I still shoot them from time to time. True collectors whether it be guns or cars don't sit on everything they have forever. There is always something new that catches your eye on the horizon so you let one go to get another. Not always but usually...
 
doubleh said:
What is all this " going to start giving up on guns because I'm in my 60s" stuff? I will have journeyed around the sun 84 times next month and am not anywhere close to being ready to throw in the towel on shooting yet. In fact I just got an upgrade in ability with cataract removal. It is amazing how well I can see iron sights now and have removed some aids like red dots and scopes (which I have never liked) from some pistols.
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Congrats and good for you. I hope I'm still around and shooting at 84. The problem is that no one knows for sure if tomorrow will come. I have learned to live life one day at a time. I will never give up shooting and gun related activity. Yeah I'm thinning out some only to do other things I always wanted to do. I did sell one for enough to pick up a new Christensen Mesa. I had to order it but hey I can't wait to get it to the range...
 
I'll be 54 next month. I've crept up to 13 firearms total. Yeah, not a lot, but my moderate-sized safe is pretty full. I pretty much put a self-imposed moratorium on adding to the collection--ESPECIALLY no new calibers (which is why I just picked up a Sphinx SDP so I'll have a 5th 9mm). If one comes in...one will go out. I've also avoided, barely, getting into vintage military firearms, which I *know* will lead to non-stop wallet-ectomies. Okay, I have a tacticool M1 carbine, a French MAC 50 9mm bring-back from Viet Nam I inherited from my departed FIL (with the war trophy certificate), and a pre-ban Galil (which is just sweet). But otherwise, modern stuff. I will have a plan for who gets what. I'm also pretty stocked in ammo, range and SD, with about 1.5 to 3k total for all major calibers and about 9k 22LR.
 
I identify with the OP 100%. Now 70 and my family consists of my wonderful wife and our pets. I have friends that appreciate good firearms but they are all about my age & in the same position. So yes, as much as I hate to part with most of mine I too need to "thin my herd" and maybe after I sell a few I might breakdown and get one of those newfangled plastic CC pistols everybody is always talking about.
 
JDeere said:
Congrats and good for you. I hope I'm still around and shooting at 84. The problem is that no one knows for sure if tomorrow will come. I have learned to live life one day at a time. I will never give up shooting and gun related activity. Yeah I'm thinning out some only to do other things I always wanted to do. I did sell one for enough to pick up a new Christensen Mesa. I had to order it but hey I can't wait to get it to the range...
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One thing about tomorrow, if it never comes you will not know it didn't and everyone only lives one day at a time whether they realise it or not. Enjoy every day as best you can is all we can do. I understand about selling an item to fund something else but the OP didn't mention doing that, just getting rid of some guns, apparently because of his age. I can understand that. My post was partly in jest and part serious pointing out I am going to keep doing what I enjoy as long as possible. My heirs can settle what I leave behind and most have already spoken for what they would like to have and I have already given some of their choices to them. If, God forbid, I become an invalid I will have them come and pick up the rest before I go. By the way, congratulations on your new Christensen Mesa..
 
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Hi...
I see we have another thread about divesting oneself of firearms primarily due to age.
I'm myself am nearing 67 years of age and as I may have mentioned previously have had some serious health issues.
I still go shooting regularly, generally every Sunday with my son.
I have no intention of getting rid of any of my firearms...in fact, I just bought a three screw SBH .44Magnum last week. Don' t really need it...I already have a New Model SBH and a half dozen other .44Magnum revolvers.
I wanted it...so I bought it and have every intention of shooting it regularly.
All of my firearms will go to my son upon my demise. He has an intense interest in all things gun related and is a reloader as well.

As I indicated, I have no interest in getting rid of any of my firearms and will continue to acquire more as long as I can. I would estimate that I have somewhere between 50-60 firearms and my son probably owns around 20 or so himself.
 
I'm 72 and my Heym-Ruger rifle is going to a friend next year. I've had a lot of pleasure out of that rifle and killed a lot of deer with it. Its going on the understanding that he passes it on when he gets to that time of life and that he helps dispose of all the remaining gun related stuff when I fall of my perch. I did give away a mass of dog training gear and assorted shot gun cartridges to a forestry/ hunting college a couple of months ago. I'm sure the students will get some use out of it. I down to one dog now and not intending to buy another. There comes a time in life where decisions have to be made.
I'll keep on shooting and hunting till I shake of this mortal coil. Can't die just yet as I have hunting abroad booked :thumbup:.
 
AlexanderA said:
To a true collector, use (shooting) has nothing to do with it. If you haven't shot a gun in years, so much the better -- shooting a gun means wear and tear, which in turn lessens condition, and value.

"Thinning the herd" because of non-use is not something that a dedicated collector would do. Quite the contrary.

We see in this thread the divide between the "collectors" and the "shooters."
Click to expand...
I’m a shooter...the only things I collect are hogs, grouper, sea bass, etc. They reside in my freezer until my wife and I eat them, or we gift them to friends and family.
 
Whether you are a collector or not if there are no heirs to inherit your guns it's best to sell them or give them away before you go. If I had youngsters in my family that were interested in firearms I would gladly pass them on but some of us are not that lucky. Usually women live longer than we do and I would not want to leave my wife behind with a bunch of guns to sell so I too am seriously thinking about selling a few. It's hard to part with guns that we treasure but we can't take them with us, what else can we do?
 
Poper said:
Like a lot of the older members here, I have been contemplating end of life scenarios. At age 66 I find none of my immediate kin are gun people. They hunt and fish and plink occasionally, but that's about it. I am the "gun guy" everybody peppers with their gun questions in hunting camp. I am the only one in hunting camp or my immediate family that loads his own ammo.

I have 4 rifles and 2 pistols in .22LR. (down from 7 rifles and 4 handguns at the peak)
The safe also contains 11 highpower rifles from .222 Rem. to .300WSM. multiple handguns (revolvers) in .38 Special, .357 Mag., .44 Special, .41 Mag., etc. and 3 shotguns - (2) 12ga, (1) 16ga.
I load for everything except the 16 ga. shotgun. The powder stock is more than I will shoot if I live to be 100, several thousand primers and brass coming out my ears. For .22lr, (after today) I am down to about 22,000 rounds. (4 full cases plus a few odds and ends bricks) :uhoh: Give or take a few boxes. Much more than I can possibly shoot in the time I probably have left. (I have nightmares about a fire or other incident that gathers media attention - I can see it now "The man's arsenal contained more than 30 firearms and in excess of 25 thousand rounds of ammunition and supplies to load several thousand more! :what::eek:o_O)

Soooooooooo, I am contemplating selling everything not .22LR, keeping 2 HP rifles (the Tikka .270 and a .243), one shotgun and 2 handguns. Well, maybe 3 handguns - 1 for the truck (.44 Special), 1 for cc (.38 Special) and one for fun (.38/.357).

Because I loath Gunbroker (we had a falling out a few year back AND the GB fees have become more than what I consider reasonable and fair), I think I will list most of the stuff I decide to sell here on THR. Some of you have odd tastes like I do and I might reach out to particular individuals with what I consider "discriminating taste" for a couple of those. :)

Any other ideas from folks on this board are very welcome, indeed. :thumbup:
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Got anything in 6.5swede?
 
At 63 I feel I have plenty of life left in me LOL. If I had a buck for every time a doctor had said that I wasn't going to make it in the past I could afford the best steak dinner anywhere with a bottle of the most expensive wine. Or a couple of us could have some really good ones.
I have a substantial accumulation of firearms that I still can enjoy today. If I get to a point of not being able or have money problems then I can surely liquidate some. I plan on keeping at least a set of SD firearms as long as possible. There are others in the family that might want any of my gun or reloading stuff should I expire before I sell things off.
 
Charlie Martinez said:
Whether you are a collector or not if there are no heirs to inherit your guns it's best to sell them or give them away before you go. If I had youngsters in my family that were interested in firearms I would gladly pass them on but some of us are not that lucky. Usually women live longer than we do and I would not want to leave my wife behind with a bunch of guns to sell so I too am seriously thinking about selling a few. It's hard to part with guns that we treasure but we can't take them with us, what else can we do?
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This is my view as well.

I went through similar a few years ago when my mom passed leaving an extensive doll collection. We spent days researching values and still ended up giving the whole package to an auction house, who ended up taking a significant cut.

Fast forward to day, co-worker and friend of mine had a stroke a couple weeks ago and is not making good progress. Should things go down hill his family will be sorting through not only his gun collection, but a pretty extensive militaria collection, with some pieces worth thousands.

My thoughts are not sticking my wife with the same dilemma, just cause I like to count and fondle things...it's slowly going to go before I do.
 
daniel craig said:
Ooof I bet both are pricey
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Well, I plan on keeping the Tikka for sure. It's one of my favorite rifles.
The Sako is the M85 Hunter. It's an excellent shooter and is a pretty thing to boot. Everything Sako seems to be expensive. Just the bases and rings cost in excess of $120. I mounted a Vortex Viper 6.5-24x50 30mm tube scope on it, too. That was a bit over $600 if IIRC. If someone wanted just the rifle, I would probably let it go for around $1,500. I bought it through Eurooptic and the list that same rifle now for $1,988. (https://www.eurooptic.com/Sako-85-Hunter-65-x-55-SE.aspx) I have fire about 300 rounds through it so far. It seems to like the 108 gr Lapua Scenar and 130 gr Berger bullets.

The price of quality bolt action rifles does not appear to be coming down in the future. I think $1,500 would be fair for the Sako.

ETA: There I go waffling again! Yes, I would part with the Tikka, too. It is a T3 Hunter (wood and blued) and it also has the Vortex Viper 6.5-24x50 30mm tube scope. This Tikka has been my primary high power rifle silhouette gun for the last 3 or 4 years. A great shooter with probably 800 rounds through it. I have been using 108 gr. Lapua Scenar bullets for silhouette in this one. 1" groups at 200 meters is easy with those Scenars!
 
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Waveski said:
How's that for practical?
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Perfectly practical as long as you put a decent sound system in it. Then built a small block or LS engine that's louder than the sound system.

Rubone said:
Sorry, but the idea of taking something with you to the afterlife just doesn't work like that....:rofl:
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Who are you to go around bursting bubbles and raining on parades? If I'm dying, and my last wish is to have my gun buried with me, humor me for crying out loud. Otherwise you ain't invited.
 
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