Family Death - Ammo Disposal

[AZAmmo]

Hi All,

I apologize but I couldn't find the best thread for our topic.

My Brother passed, his deal was guns, mine was motorcycles. He knew little about bikes, and I know little about guns. I'm trying to find the best way to sell 3 crates of ammo and other shooting equipment to people that will actually use it, preferably not resell it. The crates contain boxes of unused ammo for handguns, some ammo is longer obviously for rifles. It's all probably between 6-10 years old if that makes a difference.

There's also cleaning kits, ear muffs, leather shoulder holsters, plastic rifle cases, and other odds and ends. He would go to the local shooting range often...and in the desert. There are also some boxes and bags of used brass shell casings and some reloading equipment. I have not taken a deep look into the boxes or started any sort of inventory. A quick glance noticed .44 ammo. We are in Phoenix AZ.

This stuff, most certainly the ammo, is something I do not want to sell at a garage or estate sale. I want it to get in the "right" hands. Any insight would be appreciated. We will be disposing of the guns later, when we know the best approach for those.

 

[tnxdshooter]

Hi All,

I apologize but I couldn't find the best thread for our topic.

My Brother passed, his deal was guns, mine was motorcycles. He knew little about bikes, and I know little about guns. I'm trying to find the best way to sell 3 crates of ammo and other shooting equipment to people that will actually use it, preferably not resell it. The crates contain boxes of unused ammo for handguns, some ammo is longer obviously for rifles. It's all probably between 6-10 years old if that makes a difference.

There's also cleaning kits, ear muffs, leather shoulder holsters, plastic rifle cases, and other odds and ends. He would go to the local shooting range often...and in the desert. There are also some boxes and bags of used brass shell casings and some reloading equipment. I have not taken a deep look into the boxes or started any sort of inventory. A quick glance noticed .44 ammo. We are in Phoenix AZ.

This stuff, most certainly the ammo, is something I do not want to sell at a garage or estate sale. I want it to get in the "right" hands. Any insight would be appreciated. We will be disposing of the guns later, when we know the best approach for those.

The only two ways you are going to be able to ship ammo is FedEx and UPS with UPS probably being the cheapest and it's going to have to be shipped from the hub not UPS stores or FedEx store locations. Take an inventory and let us know what you've got on here. I'm looking for .40 caliber pistol, 7.62x39 rifle, 12 gauge shotgun, 20 gauge shotgun, and .22 lr (long rifle) ammo.

 

[hamp sandwich]

UPS will pick up ammo shipments too in many areas. I arrange the pickup with my UPS online account, and mark the box ORMD.

More importantly, I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Longhorn 76]

Take it to a gun show, and you can sell it all.

 

[krimmie]

If your brother had any shooting friends, contact them for help. My condolences to you and your family.

 

[jrdolall]

I would try to contact his friends as well. If he was a gun guy then he probably hung around with other gun guys and they will want to buy the ammo. If you have plenty of time then you can probably max out the money on GB or at a gun show but face to face will be simple and quick.

 

[hamp sandwich]

The guys make a very solid point about contacting his friends. If something happened to me, that's what I would want my wife to do. They would at least know a good avenue in your area.

 

[bikerdoc]

Take an inventory and let us know what you've got on here

Take an inventory, yes.

Sell it here NO, you do not yet qualify to sell in the trading post and selling in the forums is a banable offence.

Find a local mentor, gun store, whatever and heed their advice, about gun shows and local sales. we have several AZ members who may respond to your need.

Condolences and good luck.

 

[jrdolall]

Banable?

 

[frankenstein406]

Please just take pictures of everything, many people could give you a ball park price on items. Maybe if you get lucky someone might even buy the entire lot.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I wouldn't worry about selling factory ammo. It is money in the bank. Advertise in your local trading post paper, on a gun trader or FB gun page in your area.

 

[Jim Watson]

I am sorry for your loss.

I agree with the recommendation to get in touch with his regular shooting partners, because...

Ammunition 6-10 years old is fine for shooting, no worry on that score.
But old stock FACTORY AMMUNITION does not have a high resale value unless it is some obscure caliber. That will do well, if you can get it to somebody with that obscure caliber gun.
Leftover RELOADED AMMUNITION is different. The usual recommendation is to pull it down to reuse the bullets and brass, discarding the powder; no way of knowing what the actual load is. His best bud and regular shooting partner might consider his stuff to be of good quality and willing to use it... or not. As a stranger, I would not.

Reloading equipment does not have a high resale value, either, except for Dillon which has a permanent guarantee to any user.
Reloading components - brass and bullets - are like old stock ammo, it will only move if cheap. Many people are scared of powder in an opened can or primers in an opened box because they cannot be sure the contents match the label. I have taken the chance a few times and come out OK.

Used shooting accessories are even worse, the sort of kibble you could sell off slowly and cheaply at gun shows.

 

[Sol]

Your local PD or FD may be able to dispose of it for you.

You won't get any $$$ if you go that route though.

 

[Jim Watson]

I don't know about that.
I had a quantity of ammo damaged by smoke and water after the house fire of The Incident, and neither the PD or FD would undertake to dispose of it.
So I tested it. Any batch that gave no more than 10% misfires, I have been shooting in practice. More and it got pulled down to salvage the bullets and brass.

I put some spoiled .22s in the trash. I never heard of a garbage volcano at the local landfill, so I got away with that. There were not many, the .22s held up better than most centerfires.

 

[hso]

He would go to the local shooting range often.

I'd start there. Post that you have your brother's shooting supplies and would like help from his "shoot'n pals" in identifying what's there.

Double check that they're actually pals instead of parasites.

Get a couple of them and some beer and pizza and inventory what's there and establish prices.

Ask if you can post them at the range and sell what folks want at 80% of estimated value.

If you have a bunch left, buy table space at a local gun show and sell it off for 30%.

Same for the guns.

 

[WestKentucky]

Guns and bikes...my kind of people as I'm bitten by both bugs. Hate to hear of your loss, but this is also an opportunity for you to remember your brother by learning what he enjoyed about shooting. Reloading and bike tinkering have some similarities as do shooting and riding. Before you sell off his stuff you may want to give it a test - drive and make sure your brother didn't leave you a new hobby to remember him by.

 

[Warp]

I'd start there. Post that you have your brother's shooting supplies and would like help from his "shoot'n pals" in identifying what's there.

Double check that they're actually pals instead of parasites.

Get a couple of them and some beer and pizza and inventory what's there and establish prices.

Ask if you can post them at the range and sell what folks want at 80% of estimated value.

If you have a bunch left, buy table space at a local gun show and sell it off for 30%.

Same for the guns.

Something like this. I assume you don't have other family close enough and knowledgeable enough (and willing enough) to do this.

You really want to get somebody that has a good general knowledge base so you don't get ripped off, or accidentally rip off anybody else.

And you never know when there might be something rare or rather valuable.

 

[splattergun]

Your local PD or FD may be able to dispose of it for you.

You won't get any $$$ if you go that route though.

He said he wanted it to get into the right hands

 

[psyopspec]

I'm terribly sorry for your loss.

I'll be in Phoenix over Christmas. Up front, I am not in the market for, and will not purchase or in anyway receive, any of the items that were your brother's. If you want a pair of eyes to check anything out and suggest prices I can try to help, but you'd have to come to me (balancing family + work obligations). Not a reloader, but ammo is relatively easy and holsters generally won't fetch a lot used, though that depends greatly on the builder, quality, and condition.

In the midst of all this, I hope you can keep an item or two as a memento for yourself, or in the family. Thoughts are with you.

 

[oneounceload]

Contact his friends and have them buy or help

 

[Twiki357]

Sorry for your loss.

First don’t take the guns into the police. You won’t get anything for them and here in AZ they are required to sell them off to FFL’s for resale. Getting help from his shooting buddies is a good idea, but was previously posted, be sure they are friends and not parasites. Also, you don’t want to take them to a gun store or you will only get 50%+/- of the market value and probably nothing for the ammo, especially if it’s his reloads.

Now that all the out-of-staters have posted good advice.

Once you inventory all the guns, ammo, etc. you can post the items on a website for “Private party” sale. For the Phoenix area, I would recommend backpage.com. It’s extremely active for AZ listings.

If you would like, you can email me at [email protected] with your phone number (Or questions) and I would be glad to give you advice on how to list and sell them in AZ. I’m up in Prescott Valley.

 

[Field Tester]

I'd also contact the local Boy Scouts, Wounded Patriots and Women On Target to see if they can use any for their programs.

 

[danez71]

1st, Im sorry for your loss.

As others have said, try to contact some of his friends or maybe you have other friends.

There are some AZ residents here. I don't normally do this but Nom de Forum is a member here and I believes lives in Scottsdale. Maybe PM him...maybe he can suggest some other ideas or maybe a good gun shop to contact and see where it takes you.

AS odd as it may seem, .22LR is in short supply so if you have an abundance, don't let someone say 'I'll give you $2 per box'.

Before you do anything, maybe take a shooting trip and see where that takes you too.

 

[jr_roosa]

You don't mention it, but if there are guns you want to sell, you should touch base with Cabela's. They have a service for that where they will give you estimates and a fair price to buy estate guns. There's a Cabela's out on the West side of town. Give them a call and see what they say.

-J.

Postscript: Expect about 60% of market value or so no matter what you do if you are selling several guns. 100% of market value is what you get when you have all the time in the world and good knowledge of the market and values. Also, the used gun market is a little flooded right now, especially with ARs and whatnot as people are trying to unload what they bought in the last panic at hugely marked up prices.

 

[Nom de Forum]

AZAmmo,

I can readily sympathize with your situation as I am still settling the estates of my grandmother and mother-in-law who both passed this year. If you would like to send me a PM I will see what I can do to help. I live in Scottsdale. Depending on what you have I may be interested in purchasing it for myself.