Family Death - Ammo Disposal

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Sorry about your brother.

Once you decide to sell/ donate anything, you must let it go. I have sold things to folks who I believed would keep them or use them. For most people that is just a discount so they can upsell. Been there. We helped a family at church with some donations and later found out the dad just sold them. No more.

Now I either sell it for best highest price or donate to a legitimate charity. No more personal deals.
 
Sorry for your loss and the loss to the shooting community.

I agree with the others who suggested contacting his friends for help. If this does not work, then you can inventory everything and start accessing its value. Members here can help you price everything or you can spend some time on Gunbroker for prices. Pricing, selling and shipping is going to take up quite a bit of time!

His friends probably would willingly help and your wishes of it having a good home would most likely happen.

If the friends idea fails, you can rent a table at the next local gun show and move everything. It will cost you a weekend and maybe 50-100 dollars. Good Luck!
 
Sol said:
Your local PD or FD may be able to dispose of it for you.
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First off, a good flogging would be the only appropriate punishment for even suggesting the the idea.

To give another suggestion as I did not yet see it: Is there a business in you area that specializes in auctioning gun estates? I have been to gun auctions and just have no idea how they were organized. Any business will "want a cut", maybe a sizable cut, but "What's your time worth?". "Getting up to speed" to get prices even in the ballpark for a non-gun person will take time; otherwise you'll either be way over/under pricing everything.

Bottom line and just my opinion: If a "non-gun person" gained enough knowledge to accurately price the estate, then they would no longer be a "non-gun person" and would just want to keep everything.

chuck
 
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First, Condolences for the OP's loss. Words are never enough.

I'm a m/c guy as well. If you have the time, you can search online to get ideas on current ammo and equipment prices. It's chilly where you're located but a good bike ride to some stores to look at prices could help. I know it helps me process things and clear my mind a bit.

Many in the m/c community are into guns as well. If that's your comfort zone, then it's a good place to work out some deals.

First off, a good flogging would be the only appropriate punishment for even suggesting the the idea.
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I second that motion. Add some time in the pillory so we can all throw empty brass at him...the worn out stuff, of course.
 
Losing a brother is rough. I am sorry for your loss.

I like the idea of getting a few of his friends together if possible to go through and inventory the ammunition and supplies with some pizza and beer. That could make for a productive and heartwarming afternoon or evening, the kind of time that can have you all laughing through your tears.

I would be honored to help a brother of a friend try to make sense of the value of the deceased's firearm related 'stuff'. Two-to-four friends could surely help set a fair price on the items you wish to sell, and they, or someone they know, would qualify as the 'right' hands in which you wish the items to end up.
 
dodax2

I agree with many here. You should get ahold of the buddies and friends of you brother, and ask them for any advice. They may want some of it for sentimental purposes. They may also know of others that may want some good ammunition. If all fails, have an estate auction with a good auctioneer. My Uncles both were in the auction business and I have seen many a gun sold, as well as ammunition.

I want to also say I am sorry for you loss. Good luck and God Bless.
 
try a on-line auction!

Sorry for your loss of your brother.
I just went through a similar situation, and ended up being executor of the estate. I enlisted the help of an on-line auction house. They took all the pictures and did an inventory when I brought it in to them and collected all the money for thev items. It worked out very well, for the most part we got good money for the items and the stuff is gone, if there are any bad checks, I'm not stuck with the collection. There were a few items that could have better, but it's a good wash because I'm not saddled with trying to dispose of it at a higher price by myself.
 
You might check with these well reputed folks when it come time to sell the guns:
(They might have some ideas on the ammo and other stuff, too).
http://www.durysguns.com/
Also leave info with the gun clubs in your area for possible buyers.
Phoenix is loaded with gun clubs.
 
AzAmmo left and never returned after penning that first post. I think it's safe to assume that he found a buyer for that stuff locally.
 
Thanks everyone for the overwhelming feedback....Sorry for the delay. I fell off a ladder while fixing their garage door...snapped my kneed sideways. ER sent me home with brace and crutches, limited movement, MRI scheduled for this morning. I was right in the middle of cleaning his garage...damn, everything on hold for now.

1) The "contact his shooting friends" is not a good option. He was a pretty private guy and I discovered only a couple friends knew he even had guns. See bottom comment!
2) The "sell at a Gun Show" topic came up by his wife. I suspect that requires renting booth space and maybe a license or similar (will research this).
3) He became paralyzed 6 years ago, hasn't been to the shooting range in probably 8 years, which we now know is out of business.
4) Estate sale brokers wanted 30-40% depending on size of company. Most said there is not enough stuff for them to get involved. They want to liquidate full households. Wife decided to have a garage sale. Ammo will not be in that sale.

On a side note, one odd gun (I think a muzzle loader) was given by his wife to one of his friends. I learned this friend felt that to be a slap in the face because it wasn't one of the pricier weapons. His wife doesn't want to deal with any friends again regarding weapons/ammo. I understand her point.

When I'm more mobile and have an inventory list I will visit 3-4 local Phoenix ranges to see what those owners suggest.

Bum Swollen Knee!
mw4pli.jpg
 
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Seriously am sorry for your loss. And hope your knee is better quickly. Ouch.

My advice : just consign them to a dealer to sell. I have done this myself because of the time and hassle factors. The fee was not huge. Certainly way less than estate seller.
 
On a side note, I noticed many didn't mention Craiglist...probably because I stated we're trying to find the "right" people. However, in the last 6 weeks we've sold 11 out of 12 of his healthcare items to the very first lead (electric wheelchair, hospital bed, hoyer body lift, etc.). Everybody was pleasant to deal with and very honest. Just curious if CL is worth consideration for ammo sales.
 
Find a close non profit gun club, offer them a percentage, if they don't already have a set amount, and they should be able to get most of the stuff sold quickly.
 
Ouch. As a fall victim and friend of fall victims and hospital roommate of fall victims, I sympathize with you and your pranged knee.

I have no experience with Craigslist, but since you now do, give it a try.
I would only sell factory loads, tools and accessories. A bad reload could get you sued.
I think there are people on this board who are in your area and can help with the reloads.

Note that this board has an advertising section for guns and gear worth the shipping.


I was in on the dispersal of one collection and informed on another. Selling off somebody's guns and other personal durable goods is a chore, but the heirs seldom know as much about it as they would need to know to get good value.
 
AZAmmo said:
On a side note, I noticed many didn't mention Craiglist...probably because I stated we're trying to find the "right" people. However, in the last 6 weeks we've sold 11 out of 12 of his healthcare items to the very first lead (electric wheelchair, hospital bed, hoyer body lift, etc.). Everybody was pleasant to deal with and very honest. Just curious if CL is worth consideration for ammo sales.
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Very sorry for your loss.

I believe ammo sales are against the Craigslist's TOS.
 
I've been giving a lot of thought to this type situation lately, for myself. I'm pending surgery for removal of a kidney on which a tumor (95% likely that it is cancerous) was found during a CAT scan for another issue (I guess I am lucky, if having cancer can ever be considered lucky). My wife is about as anti-gun as anyone can be, and none of my grown children are into guns at all. So my plan now, just in case I am facing my own demise in the near future, is to write out specific information for one of my kids to use to sell everything at a local gun show. I plan on giving them a detailed list of what each gun is likely worth and what I would consider a bottom end sell price that they should accept if need be. All of my ammo is factory ammo so I am suggesting just reducing the marked retail price by 20%, which should be enough to quickly sell most or all of it. I also just recently bought a full set-up for reloading, and if I don't get to use I would hope that it can be sold as a package deal by setting a price of about 30% less than I paid retail for the loading press and all of the stuff that goes with it.

If I survive this latest medical challenge, my plan is to will each of my guns to my now very young grandchildren, which will really irritate my grown kids, but that will be their moral quandary to deal with after I am dead. I have very little sentimental attachment to any of my guns, other than a beautiful nickel plated 4-inch S&W Model 19 that I really hope stays within the family someday.

Good luck, and my condolences on the loss of your brother.
 
Here's a way to see that our guns go to "the right people" if there's no one in the family who would want them or the hassle of dealing with them:
Donate them to a local gun club to be raffled off to their members, with the proceeds going to a local charity.
 
another suggestion would have a list of the guns and call Durysguns.com. I have not personally delt with them on a sale but have a couple of friends who have. A gun shop is going to make money, they have to or they won't stay in business. Durys and other good shops will tell you what they are worth, what they will put them on consignment for, and what they will give you outright. Durys is one of the shops that will send boxes prepaid so no out of pocket expense for you. Again sorry for your loss and hope you leg heals quickly.
 
Ultimately, if you just want to be done with the guns, hit up a shop and ask if they'd be interested in any of them. Take whatever they offer.

Everyone likes getting a good deal, even people who own businesses.

Also, if *anything* is at all appealing to you, hang on to it. You can always sell it later.

Holsters etc - take to the gun shop too, and say its next stop is the garbage dump. Just give them whatever they want and let 'em get what they can for it.

"Charity" doesn't have to just be with big organizations and great causes. I'm sure your brother would be just fine with someone owning something of his, and enjoying it. Even if it had to go through a shop as an intermediary.
 
There was a good example of firearms estate planning here.
Dan was a collector of Carolina and Alabama muzzleloading rifles, and he had a bunch of good ones.
He kept an inventory up to date, complete with resale value for each and the name of an interested contact who would likely pay it. When he expired, his wife referred to the inventory and started making calls. She was able to bury him and pay off all bills including the mortgage, with a good bit left over for her retirement.

We should all do as well.
 
I too am sorry for your loss. As has been said, if there is going to be an estate auction, most reputable auctioneers have experience with the selling and the transfer of guns, ammo and shooting supplies. Selling everything at once and having a clear record of how much it sold for and to who, makes for a easier job of finalizing the estate, especially if there is other family involved. This way no one gets accused of "givin' someone a deal" or "takin' advntage". Having been the representative for several estates, I have found that letting folks outside the estate put value on items works better than folks that will be getting or think they will be getting a part of the estate.
 
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