mcmurry
Member
So I'm drawing a blank all around today. Isn't there a CD you can buy to upload information about the guns you own?
CD for gun inventory?
- Thread starter mcmurry
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I would suggest Google Sheets. It's free and it's a spreadsheet program. It is not only saved on your computer locally but on their servers so you don't have to worry about losing the information. And no, they're not likely to care enough to read it.
https://www.google.com/sheets/about/
I would also suggest you add the following columns:
1. Make
2. Model
3. Serial #
4. Condition (e.g. new, used, ...)
5. Date acquired
6. Where you acquired it
7. Cost
8. A column or several for photos (e.g. Left View, Right View, etc.)
https://www.google.com/sheets/about/
I would also suggest you add the following columns:
1. Make
2. Model
3. Serial #
4. Condition (e.g. new, used, ...)
5. Date acquired
6. Where you acquired it
7. Cost
8. A column or several for photos (e.g. Left View, Right View, etc.)
tommy.duncan
Member
CapnMac
Member
I built my own database file years ago.
Copies reside in my Google Files account (as Sheets does not "like" my database file.
The columns I use are:
Type (pistol, carbine,etc--this allows sorting)
Date purchased
Caliber
Model Name
Maker
Serial number
Paid
Cash
Trade In
Other
Who From
Company
Person
Replacement Cost
Comments
Now, because I built this as a data base, there's an axis for owned or not.
That axis has a Why (sold, traded, etc.); a How Much; a P/L column that compares How Much to Paid/2; Who To; and Location
I used to have other axes, which would make for interesting 3D graphing, but, the thing seem to get "flatter" every year (and may yet become a 2 axis spreadsheet).
Copies reside in my Google Files account (as Sheets does not "like" my database file.
The columns I use are:
Type (pistol, carbine,etc--this allows sorting)
Date purchased
Caliber
Model Name
Maker
Serial number
Paid
Cash
Trade In
Other
Who From
Company
Person
Replacement Cost
Comments
Now, because I built this as a data base, there's an axis for owned or not.
That axis has a Why (sold, traded, etc.); a How Much; a P/L column that compares How Much to Paid/2; Who To; and Location
I used to have other axes, which would make for interesting 3D graphing, but, the thing seem to get "flatter" every year (and may yet become a 2 axis spreadsheet).
OP
OP
mcmurry
Member
Thanks y'all.
CoalTrain49
Member
That's what I use. If the FBI/ATF kicks my door down in the middle of the night I can give them a copy of everything I've bought and sold in the last 20 years or so. You won't find anything on my property that isn't on that list. Y'all have a good night.
I also have a column for when it was sold and the name of the person who purchased the firearm.
herrwalther
Member
- Joined
- May 1, 2013
- Messages
- 8,130
I use an Excel template. I think I got it off THR from another member. It has areas for make, model, serial number. As well some large cells for pictures. I put where the firearm was bought and (if necessary) sold. I keep the most up to date copy on a secure flash drive.
Besides, if you keep it online the Feds don't have to kick down your door, they already have it from NSA ...
P.S. not really, I'm teasing here, damp down that paranoia ...
Guitarmike
Member
If anyone thinks non encrypted data online is secure and hasn`t been looked at by our government, I have a bridge to sell. Maybe two bridges.
If you do not want anyone looking at your data online, encrypt it.
If you do not want anyone looking at your data online, encrypt it.
Telekinesis
Member
I have a spreadsheet with all of my guns on it, I keep a bunch of stats as well as accessories (mags, night sights, date of night sights for replacement) and a whole bunch of other items that may or may not ever be useful (I do a lot of database analysis at work, so I tend to overthink these things).
I've thought about putting the list into Access (or Base for those of us on Linux) which would let me have a form/way to easily insert daily round counts etc, but I haven't gotten to it yet.
Guitarmike is right about data security though. If you have your data on a google drive it's only secure because you haven't been targeted yet. The government probably doesn't care too much (and if it gets to the point that they do, you're pretty much screwed unless you have good strong encryption...) but your general hacker could have some fun with a list of guns too.
Just off the top of my head, they could report all of YOUR guns as stolen, so if you get stopped and the SN is run, you get arrested (they could also accelerate the process by saying "this guy at this address stole x gun..."). It wouldn't hold up, but it would make your life hell for several months and rack up some nice legal bills. There are people that think doing something like this to other people is fun - think a lower impact form of swatting.
How many of you use the same password for your google account and other accounts like THR?
Any XKCD fans? The comic on password reuse: https://xkcd.com/792/
I've thought about putting the list into Access (or Base for those of us on Linux) which would let me have a form/way to easily insert daily round counts etc, but I haven't gotten to it yet.
Guitarmike is right about data security though. If you have your data on a google drive it's only secure because you haven't been targeted yet. The government probably doesn't care too much (and if it gets to the point that they do, you're pretty much screwed unless you have good strong encryption...) but your general hacker could have some fun with a list of guns too.
Just off the top of my head, they could report all of YOUR guns as stolen, so if you get stopped and the SN is run, you get arrested (they could also accelerate the process by saying "this guy at this address stole x gun..."). It wouldn't hold up, but it would make your life hell for several months and rack up some nice legal bills. There are people that think doing something like this to other people is fun - think a lower impact form of swatting.
How many of you use the same password for your google account and other accounts like THR?
Any XKCD fans? The comic on password reuse: https://xkcd.com/792/
I'm not saying that it's secured and that they can't look at it, I'm saying they don't care unless you have other keywords along with it and even then, nothing will happen. Witness all of the various social media and other posts that actual criminals have posted and the authorities have done nothing in case after case. You would need to have some other corroborating documentation or other evidence for it to pop up in their systems.
I mean, if they cared about your little spreadsheet, what would they think of THR ? We'd all already have black helicopters following us to work!
Oops, gotta go, someone's banging on the door
somethingbenign
Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2017
- Messages
- 944
I use an app on my phone called Gun Tracker. Keep track of dates, prices, makes/models for firearms. Has a record of ammo on hand and keeps track of shots fired through different guns. There are some features for tracking range trips but I haven't messed with it yet. It is possible to password protect it if you feel inclined.
I do the same, but replacement cost is such a moving target, I generally do that once in a blue moon, on a rain soaked day...you get the drift.
I also have photos in my access file, does make it a little larger, but no biggie.
Just don't keep it only on your computer...if you lose your computer fire, theft, HD crash, you don't want the only copy of your "bound book" to be riding around in the back of someones van with all your firearms....I keep a cd at the inlaws.
theotherwaldo
Member
I use the freeware Ubuntu (a simplified version of Linux) on my old, recycled business computer at home. On this platform I have installed OpenOffice, which is more freeware. My records reside on the spreadsheet module of this program, with linked details and images on the word processing module.
Total price is under $100.00, although I'm about to move the hard drives to a newer recycled business computer.
This should allow me to use modern web cams to record gun pics.
I also have a remote back-up hard drive at an undisclosed location.
Total price is under $100.00, although I'm about to move the hard drives to a newer recycled business computer.
This should allow me to use modern web cams to record gun pics.
I also have a remote back-up hard drive at an undisclosed location.
CoalTrain49
Member
I'm not saying that it's secured and that they can't look at it, I'm saying they don't care unless you have other keywords along with it and even then, nothing will happen. Witness all of the various social media and other posts that actual criminals have posted and the authorities have done nothing in case after case. You would need to have some other corroborating documentation or other evidence for it to pop up in their systems.
I mean, if they cared about your little spreadsheet, what would they think of THR ? We'd all already have black helicopters following us to work!
Oops, gotta go, someone's banging on the door
They don't use black helicopters anymore, they use drones. My dog can hear them but I can't. Mostly they come at night and hover over my back deck. The ones I see during the day are toast. They don't come around much during the day.
Riomouse911
Member
Whatever you do, add a batch of quality pictures to each entry...especially if they're pricy, rare, collectible, old and in great condition, etc. Having these things photographed well works great for insurance purposes, and for reporting purposes should some cretin steal your items.
Also, if you have the data on your computer, save a copy (or two) two on a removable memory stick(s) (aka: thumb drive) and keep them safe somewhere. You can be one short power surge or malware download away from losing everything you have on your computer.
One more thing; many insurance companies require a rider for additional coverage on a homeowners policy for firearms...especially valuable ones. You may want to inquire about the coverage you currently have to see if it will cover all of the firearms you own (or intend to) in case of theft/fire loss, etc. I had to add a rider to cover all of mine.
Stay safe!
Also, if you have the data on your computer, save a copy (or two) two on a removable memory stick(s) (aka: thumb drive) and keep them safe somewhere. You can be one short power surge or malware download away from losing everything you have on your computer.
One more thing; many insurance companies require a rider for additional coverage on a homeowners policy for firearms...especially valuable ones. You may want to inquire about the coverage you currently have to see if it will cover all of the firearms you own (or intend to) in case of theft/fire loss, etc. I had to add a rider to cover all of mine.
Stay safe!
I'm not saying that it's secured and that they can't look at it, I'm saying they don't care unless you have other keywords along with it and even then, nothing will happen. Witness all of the various social media and other posts that actual criminals have posted and the authorities have done nothing in case after case. You would need to have some other corroborating documentation or other evidence for it to pop up in their systems.
I mean, if they cared about your little spreadsheet, what would they think of THR ? We'd all already have black helicopters following us to work!
Oops, gotta go, someone's banging on the door
They don't care about criminals, they like to go after the law abiding.
FL-NC
Member
Easy/free way: Write serial # on 5x8 card w/ sharpy. Take photo of gun with card next to it. Email to self. Save in a folder. Delete it if you get rid of the gun. As long as you can access that email, you will have the info- even if your computer, disc, etc. is stolen, infected, destroyed, etc. In the event of theft or other loss, you can print the photos of the guns that were lost and ONLY those guns for the police, insurance company, etc.
Dudedog
Contributing Member
I'm old fashioned and prefer to keep my data where I can touch it.
I don't do anything fancy Excel works, Notepad for example, would work also just not as pretty (and no pics)
Open office used to be free and has a word processor, spreadsheet etc.
Being able to put pictures in the data file is handy.
If you have it in electronic form it's a good idea to make a copy, CD, DVD, Flashdrive etc, and put a copy in your gun safe in case of fire, computer theft etc.
Maybe another copy "offsite" with someone you can trust.
I don't do anything fancy Excel works, Notepad for example, would work also just not as pretty (and no pics)
Open office used to be free and has a word processor, spreadsheet etc.
Being able to put pictures in the data file is handy.
If you have it in electronic form it's a good idea to make a copy, CD, DVD, Flashdrive etc, and put a copy in your gun safe in case of fire, computer theft etc.
Maybe another copy "offsite" with someone you can trust.
I use an app called Gun Safe. It backs up to my Google drive. I also use Google sheets. In google Sheets it is east to link accessories to specific guns. It also allows me to separate Owned, Shortlist, Interested in but not on shortlist, Airguns, and accessories onto different tabs.
In the spreadsheet I track: Count, Manufacturer, Type, Model, Caliber, Serial #, Purchase price, Purchased date, Barrel (in.) Length, Overall length, Height, Thickness, Weight (oz.), Measured Weight (oz.).
Then for optics and accessories, I track: Manufacturer, Type, Model, SKU#, Own, S/L, Installed on?, Price, Purchased date, and Notes.
For shortlist it is similar to the others, only I have an added section for ranking. I can quickly see that my next purchase will be a CZ 455 American.
My interested, but not on shortlist, tab has a cell for why it is not on my shortlist.
I also have a tab for "not in my possession." This includes things like, at my fathers, at my friends who I frequently go shooting, and other reasons that a particular gun may not be in my possession
As far as photos, I keep them on a different website. There is no particular reason that I do, I have just found it to be a very easy website for photo hosting.
Yes, at a certain point keeping records becomes its own game, and there is nothing wrong with that game either.
In the spreadsheet I track: Count, Manufacturer, Type, Model, Caliber, Serial #, Purchase price, Purchased date, Barrel (in.) Length, Overall length, Height, Thickness, Weight (oz.), Measured Weight (oz.).
Then for optics and accessories, I track: Manufacturer, Type, Model, SKU#, Own, S/L, Installed on?, Price, Purchased date, and Notes.
For shortlist it is similar to the others, only I have an added section for ranking. I can quickly see that my next purchase will be a CZ 455 American.
My interested, but not on shortlist, tab has a cell for why it is not on my shortlist.
I also have a tab for "not in my possession." This includes things like, at my fathers, at my friends who I frequently go shooting, and other reasons that a particular gun may not be in my possession
As far as photos, I keep them on a different website. There is no particular reason that I do, I have just found it to be a very easy website for photo hosting.
Yes, at a certain point keeping records becomes its own game, and there is nothing wrong with that game either.
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The easiest is to use a word processor list and add pictures, excel or its clones works as well. If you want pictures, then you must learn how to insert them into the file though and you need to use compressed files such as jpeg.
Linux is an option and runs quite well on an old computer--recommend Ubuntu or Mint as the easiest way to start for free if you know some basics about computers and installing operating systems. OpenOffice in Linux works pretty well and as noted above is free. It has a database program as well as a spreadsheet and word processor. You could even use its powerpoint clone to make a easy database with each slide containing information. It is fairly easy to import pictures into these. OpenOffice is or at least was available for free downloads in Windows as well.
If you are not technically proficient, buy a cheap tablet computer with a camera, use a phone and email contact database (comes standard with a lot of tablets) to list your firearms and notes and include pictures taken with your tablet as the contact.
If you want secure backup, you can use a cheap thumbdrive (usb memory stick) and you can encrypt just the thumbdrive with your firearm's database. Do regular backups and put it somewhere safe from fire and theft.
Linux is an option and runs quite well on an old computer--recommend Ubuntu or Mint as the easiest way to start for free if you know some basics about computers and installing operating systems. OpenOffice in Linux works pretty well and as noted above is free. It has a database program as well as a spreadsheet and word processor. You could even use its powerpoint clone to make a easy database with each slide containing information. It is fairly easy to import pictures into these. OpenOffice is or at least was available for free downloads in Windows as well.
If you are not technically proficient, buy a cheap tablet computer with a camera, use a phone and email contact database (comes standard with a lot of tablets) to list your firearms and notes and include pictures taken with your tablet as the contact.
If you want secure backup, you can use a cheap thumbdrive (usb memory stick) and you can encrypt just the thumbdrive with your firearm's database. Do regular backups and put it somewhere safe from fire and theft.
For years, I used a spreadsheet for my firearms inventory. A couple of years ago I found a data base software package called "Your Second Amendment Firearms Database". It comes in 3 different versions from $30 to $70. It has data fields for everything imaginable for each gun recorded, including free-form text field for additional notes, multiple pictures for each gun record, full print options, etc. The best feature of the entire program is that everything installs in it's own sub-directory. Nothing gets installed or scattered in various Windows directories. The entire directory can be copied to any other device, such as a thumb drive, and can then run from that device. So you can take the program with you anywhere you go, plug it in and run it.
I was a computer programmer/analyst for 35 years and this is the most impressive program I have ever seen. Extremely well thought out and designed. I have no interest in this program, financial or otherwise, but I highly recommend it. Lastly, it is designed, written and maintained by a U. S. Army war veteran. http://www.yoursecondamendment.com/
I was a computer programmer/analyst for 35 years and this is the most impressive program I have ever seen. Extremely well thought out and designed. I have no interest in this program, financial or otherwise, but I highly recommend it. Lastly, it is designed, written and maintained by a U. S. Army war veteran. http://www.yoursecondamendment.com/
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