Initials or names on your gun

Maybe it was Simo Häyhä's cross-eyed brother Kukko's rifle.

"I don't understand it, Simo hit everything he shoots at. I literally can miss a barn shooting from inside it!"

Collectors love provenance like that, and it's probably worth more than you think.

I only have my name on one of my guns, my SBR, but that was required...

I bought a S&W 19 once. When doing the paperwork I took the grips off. There was a Drivers License number engraved under the grip. I didn't think it would bother me so I completed the sale. Even though you couldn't see the engraving with the grips on I ended up trading it. It was a nice gun, but I couldn't get past the engraving.

No initials engraved, but I often take off buttplates and put a piece of paper there with my name and date.

I've listed several consignment guns that had names, initials, and even social security numbers etched on them. It can make a big dent in the resale value.

I forgot this:

Hoyte said:

View attachment 957718 Found a gold gun with my initials on it , then realized it was Hitlers. No, I didn’t buy it. Anyone else here have initials or names on their guns?

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LOL!! The wife saw the OPs picture and exclaimed "I want that one!!, its so pretty and has my initials on it..."

I told her, " you might be right...."LOL!!

....... it is sorta "pretty".....LOL!

Names and initials on accessories or easily removed common parts don't count.
That means that any part of an AR except the lower receiver can be marked... .

I have no interest at all in putting my initials on any of my firearms. The one possible exception is when I finally get around to having a custom flintlock long rifle made for me, I would consider having my initials inlaid with silver. I probably won't have that done, but it's the one situation in which I wouldn't consider it tacky.

I have some very nice personal rifles I would consider so identifying. I'm no one famous, but my offspring might see some connection.

However, anything like that I do will not be done in a mark all of them, willy-nilly, fashion. Nor like the SSAN craze of some years ago. But something tasteful and artsy might appeal in certain cases.

there are a few bubba'ed long guns in the pawn shop that I imagine the seller got a lot less for than had he not vibro-etched his initials in the stock.

JERRY said:

there are a few bubba'ed long guns in the pawn shop that I imagine the seller got a lot less for than had he not vibro-etched his initials in the stock.

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I have a Second Model .44 Hand Ejector (same basic chassis as the 1917 S&W) with genuine "Texas Pawn Shop Engraving" (no offense intended to any members of the Grand Republic; this was how it was represented to me). It did take some off the collector quality price. As did cutting the barrel back to 4.5 inches and having it nickeled in a bumper shop.

Shoots better than it looks.

The only two I carved (and I mean that losesly) are my m70 lower handguard and the grip of bulg Mak. The m70 is my username which means something in my language and looks like there already a brief initial on makrov when I got it. Just put mine next it. I not going to sell them so the value means diddly de to me.

Mullo98 said:

I not going to sell them so the value means diddly de to me.

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Yep. As I said, my initials are engraved in gold on the side of my .45-110 Shiloh Sharps (like Quigley's) that my wife ordered for me for our 25th wedding anniversary - 24 years ago. And I had my wife's initials engraved on the side of her first gun, a 20 gauge Stevens 311 that I bought for her in 1972. The resale value of either of those two guns means "diddly" to me too. But I'd bet good money that my wife's and my initials on those two guns will mean a lot to our grandkids someday.

One of the first "collector" guns I bought was a Winchester model 1907. I was told that it came out of a collection from western Oklahoma when in lived in the Texas panhandle in the early 1980's and it had the stock and forearm decorated with silver studs and a masonic mother of pearl inlay with an initial in the center. Don't have any idea who it was but it is a beautiful weapon. Just be sure your left forefinger doesn't find its way under the cap of the charging handle........

.308 Norma said:

But I'd bet good money that my wife's and my initials on those two guns will mean a lot to our grandkids someday.

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Yeppers!

One of the meanings of Life, Pass it on!

Bought a buffed and reblued Colt’s Bisley 38-40 from 1908 at a show several years ago, and when I first took it apart to clean it I discovered a guys name and the name of a camp somewhere in Oregon.
Just out of curiosity I started Googling the name and location and found out that they appear on quite a few repop grips for made for Bisleys.
Got a good chuckle out of that.

I didn't know that Hitler was actually a super pimp. Or wait, maybe he was a James Bond villain.

None of my guns have initials and none ever will.

Had my SBR etched with the info required by law. That’s the only way I’ll ever mark one up

None of my firearms have my name or initials on them. Nothing wrong with people who do that but it isn’t me.

I've never done my initals on any of my firearms. Don't see myself doing so either.

However I do own 2 revolvers, one from each grandfather given to me by an uncle on each side of the family after they were given to them. On those, I eventually want to get the grips engraved with their names along with their rank at discharge from the military (one Army, one Navy Reserves) and either dates of service or years of birth and death. I also have a .308 casing from my paternal grandfather's military ceremony at graveside, I want to get that engraved similarly and put it in a shadowbox.

The nice thing with doing grips is if my descendants ever want/need to sell them, they can be swapped out and not destroy value.

BigBL87 said:

I also have a .308 casing from my paternal grandfather's military ceremony at graveside, I want to get that engraved similarly and put it in a shadowbox.

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That would be a nice tribute to your grandfather. I usually work the military honors thing for Veteran funerals for my post of the American Legion. We use M-1 Garands, and after the 3 volleys and Taps, we just do a "right" or "left" face (depending on how things are set up) and march off the field - leaving all of the spent cases behind. It's good to hear that a few of those cases might mean something to someone.

.308 Norma said:

That would be a nice tribute to your grandfather. I usually work the military honors thing for Veteran funerals for my post of the American Legion. We use M-1 Garands, and after the 3 volleys and Taps, we just do a "right" or "left" face (depending on how things are set up) and march off the field - leaving all of the spent cases behind. It's good to hear that a few of those cases might mean something to someone.

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Thanks, it was actually one of my uncles (a Navy veteran himself) that gathered what he could find and gave them to grandchildren. Given my hobby interest I'm probably the one it meant the most to but it was a really cool thing to do for all of us. They used M-14s/M1As for the detail.

Thank you for your service, and for your continued service for your fellow veterans.

Larry Ashcraft said:

I've engraved those. Make sure you find an engraver with a good reputation. Those can be tricky.

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Thanks. I was going to talk to our local jeweler and see if they'd do it or if they could recommend someone.

I would not engrave my initials or anything else personal on my guns. I don't want anyone fifty years from now wondering what the heck was engraved on the gun they just bought.