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

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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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I am ahead of you by 5 years of age and had been contemplating the same issue. As I was an only child, I ended up handling both my father and mothers arrangements and probate. Fortunately for me they both had cemetery plots, caskets and all funeral arrangements in place. They did this shortly after retirement, but both live well into their 90's.

My wife and I elected to do the same to ease the burden on our children and actually sat them down and discussed what each of them would be interested in when our time occurs. None of them were interested at that time, in any of the firearms. That was about 10 years ago and shortly there after, our youngest son married someone that works for the Department of Corrections. As she needed to attend gun training and needed to shoot frequently, she would go with my wife to practice at the range on her days off. My youngest son got interested in guns and reloading shortly afterwards and is now somewhat interested in the guns in our collection, many of which are heirlooms of my wife and my fathers. This has been a bit of a relief and I truly understand where making choices like this are tuff. Before the youngest son got into guns and reloading, my wife and I had decided to hang on to them, as they mean a lot to us and bring us enjoyment. We both feel we have paid our dues and need to continue to enjoy life the way we are accustomed, so keeping things the same is our choice, rather than dispose of them.

Life's choices and decisions don't get easier as we get older, just rustier.
 
LOL Having read all the posts, I think you all are thinking to much about dying. Forget that s...t. Go read a book by a Swedish author titled "The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared". It is a hoot!
First I am 82 on Aug 10. Secondly, yes you may want to thin the herd especially right now due to the pandemic scare. I sold off about 1/2 of my collection rifles, pistols and revolvers. Stuff I had duplicates of or did not shoot and made way more than I originally paid for them. FWIW, I sold them through my LGS.
Having said all of that, I still go to my club's range about once a week to practice my CCW drill and then target shoot pistols, revolvers and rifles. I reload of course.
Remember this: You are only as old as you think you are and when you do die you will not care what happens to your stuff.
 
epags said:
I think you all are thinking to much about dying.
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Not "all" of us, man.;)
There’s a commercial for senior life insurance about every 10 minutes on television. If I was really all that worried about my wife having to deal with getting rid of my guns after I’m gone (if I go first), and I really wanted to act magnanimously, I'd sell off a few of my guns and get me some of that $9.95 a month life insurance.:D
Seriously, my wife and I already have funeral insurance policies, and while we’re not rich, we don’t owe a lot either. Besides, as I’ve said before, my wife likes guns, shooting and hunting as much as I do. So she has as many guns as I do, and if she goes first, I’m the one that’s going to be faced with getting rid of her guns.
Regardless, I don’t think my wife worries about me selling her guns “for pennies on the dollar” or any other such nonsense if she goes first. I don’t worry about my wife selling my guns “for pennies on the dollar” if I go first either. I think more of my wife than that for crying out loud! We’ve been married for 50 years, and if either of us was that foolish with our money, we sure wouldn’t have as many nice guns as we do.;)
 
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I've been very fortunate to not have been affected by the wildfires up here in BC and decided to donate a rifle and accessories to my local gun store to sell on consignment. They're part of an initiative to raise money for relief for the people that have been displaced by the fires. All donations are being matched by the federal and provincial government so its a 3x donation.
The herd has been thinned by one.
 
My dad will be 88 in a week. Pretty good health. He has a bunch of stuff. Was able after a year to turn in my application for a pistol permit. All his will be on my permit. He wants me to start storing most of them at my house. He can’t really shoot long guns too much anymore. Bad shoulder. I haven’t encouraged him to do anything except let it be known his wishes.
 
dh1633pm said:
My dad will be 88 in a week. Pretty good health. He has a bunch of stuff. Was able after a year to turn in my application for a pistol permit. All his will be on my permit. He wants me to start storing most of them at my house. He can’t really shoot long guns too much anymore. Bad shoulder. I haven’t encouraged him to do anything except let it be known his wishes.
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Wouldn't it be better if you didn't transfer records?
 
Poper - depending on where you are in Arizona, it might be wiser to keep those guns. Nobody knows when the border will fall and those guns will be needed.

That being said, several years ago, my mother re-did her will and trust and convinced me to get one as well as I have no kids or spouse. In that paperwork for the trust are six pages of various handguns and long guns that are to go to my grand-nephew with one exception. I only have about 18 firearms but after 40 years of collecting, inheriting, and enjoying, I want for the nephew to get a "head start". I just have to last 5-7 years until he comes of age.
 
I am adding, not thinning. 67 and counting at the moment (years, not guns) and don't have any thoughts of the "beyond" at this point, still hunting, riding motorcycles, spend the majority of my time outdoors. No kids, so no real heirs other than a niece and nephew (opposite sides of the family) that we are close to. Whatever represents nostalgia and history to me will only mean dollars to whoever is left, I have no idealistic ideals about the "next generation". My wife always just tells me she wants to go first so she doesn't have to deal with all my crap which is probably a good thing. Hopefully that works out for her! If not she is smart and knows exactly what I have and has a good sense of values as well as knowing the kind of people to help her. Most of our estate will be left to non profits anyway such as local animal rescue, local VFD, RMEF, community kitchens, etc. The concept of taking it with you is so beyond selfish and stupid to my thinking as to not be any part of the equation for me.
 
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In general, leaving heirs a pile of stuff that they don't want and have no idea how to value is not a great idea. I mean, you could do that, but why would you want to?

Give them away to people who would appreciate them. If you don't have a relative, maybe there's a person at your range or club that you know that might. Can you imagine how great it would be to surprise someone who would appreciate it with a gift like that?

Or just keep one or two to shoot and sell the rest and make sure your family gets the right amount for them.
 
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