Older guys - when/how do you decide to sell your guns?

[Debbie Downer] When its time to make them be gone, you're going to lose significant money on the deal. And it will be A LOT OF WORK. [/downer]

Well - I suspect many, like myself, didn't accumulate for the ROI (return-on-investment) of it all**. Although I suppose some did...

And yeah - it will be a lot of work* - FOR SOMEBODY ELSE...
:rofl:

Not so much for me myself if I liquidate before expiring. I know what I paid and roughly what it's worth. I also have a good LGS that would give me fair market value without a bunch of hassle (at least for now).

Just surprised an old pawn shop Marlin .30-30 for under $200 would be worth a good $900 today.


** Fun fact - in some cases the ammo appreciated as well or better than the guns (!)
* Hence the aforementioned 'list'. To try to help on that front.
 
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Do a test, sell your least used/liked and see how you feel after a bit. I'm downsizing. There's no emotional connection to an inanimate object, they can't love you back or hate you for neglecting them. I donated the proceeds to our local animal shelter.

Also very true.
I'd trade most if not all of them for just one family member back.

Or even my beloved doggie!
 
I was thinking about this thread, thinking about how many lifetimes worth of stuff we have down at the farm. One cabin still has my Grandparents clothes in some of the drawers.

Then I instantly switched where Mrs. Morris and all her friends were sitting around trying to figure out what to do with all of their purses and shoes, to not burden their husbands with them.... and broke out laughing.

I suppose if my collection were a very high percentage of our net worth, I might think about it but it's not. If someone is really after money, they are just trinkets. Especially the ones that mean something to me.
 
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Also, I am up in age. I have some guns decorating the inside of my safe. I will always keep my CC and at least one rifle. But the others, I don't know

I'm not sure age would be the only factor. I could see how it and esp health might weigh the decision. I know guys pushing 80 that are buying :)

To me if you get enjoyment out of it and its not a money thing keep on doing it. If you are not having fun with them and its extra baggage move them out. No age requirement to having fun

I have a few that are safe riderss and are of limited value. I have not shot them in 10+ years. Time to move them out and make space for something fun.

-Jeff
 
My wife and I have been going through the clothes collection - seeing what doesn't fit and what we could give to charity. Most junk there than the gun collection. My heirs don't need to deal with hundreds and hundreds of blouses and shoes. AMVets will get the call.
 
Not having anyone much in your life that really gives a hoot about your collection complicates things a bit.
I think that's very true. As I've said many times before though (almost every time one of these types of threads shows up on THR), having someone in your life (like my wife) who likes guns, hunting and shooting every bit as much as you do, complicates things too - and more than a "bit." ;)
To complicate things even worse, my wife has as many guns as I do (maybe more) and some of them are of great sentimental value to her. Therefore, those guns have "great sentimental" value to me as well.
One example would be my wife's 6" Ruger "Super Blackhawk" .44 Mag. At one time, that revolver had a 10.5" barrel, and Ruger called it a "Super Silhouette" because with its 10.5" barrel, it was very good for tipping over distant steel silhouettes in IHMSA competitions. That's what my wife used it (and another 10.5" Super Silhouette just like it) for. She sold one of the 10.5" revolvers after we quit IHMSA (because we'd allowed competition shooting to become more like a job than a hobby) and shipped the other back to Ruger to have a more "practical" 6" barrel screwed on.
At any rate, I'd bet my wife hasn't put more than a two dozen rounds through that 6" Super "Silhouette" (or Super "Blackhawk") since we quit IHMSA, and that's been 40 years! She keeps it around for sentimental reasons - just like the shelf lined with trophies in the spare bedroom in the basement. My wife won those trophies by tipping over distant steel silhouettes with her "Ruger Super Silhouette" (and its twin brother) back in the early '80s.
At any rate, if my wife goes before me, I have no idea what I'm going to do with some of her guns, much less some of her trophies. For that matter, we each have a few "trophy" mule deer racks in the basement too.
I feel my wife would be in the same situation if I'm the one that goes first. I've told the story far too many times about how my wife fully approved of my ordering a custom-built .308 Norma Magnum rifle built as my retirement gift to myself when I turned 62. She knew (because I told her) that I'd wanted a custom-built .308 Norma Magnum since I was 16, and my then-girlfriend's dad had one. That girlfriend was gone before I was 17, but I've had my custom .308 Norma Magnum for 14 years now. And my gun loving wife has been with me since I was 23 - that's 53 years and counting! :D
 
I inventory every year and go over Fjestad's book of Gun Values and make a seller's list of prices accordingly. When I go over my Heirs can have a guideline of what they are worth. Holsters and magazines too. A big one is ammunition. Small gold mine there when you think about it. That 6 Cent's a round Military Surplus is worth ten tomes that amount now. At 50 cent's a round for .45 ACP you have a lot of money tied up that needs to be figured in. Probably not going to be fun, but my Grandkids will need college tuition and this will help.
 
[Debbie Downer] When its time to make them be gone, you're going to lose significant money on the deal. And it will be A LOT OF WORK. [/downer]
Not with Military Surplus, you won't. Those $120.00 Yugoslavian SKS rifles I bought go for $650.00 and up. Handguns too. The modern stuff sure, but not a large amount depending on what it is. Taurus? Nah, Colt, S&W, CZ, not so much.
 
I try to not sell guns if at all possible. When I was young and broke I would sell one to buy another or swap.
Got rid of alot of guns that I wish I still had today!
 
I'm 82 and still buying.
Never sold a gun and don't see any reason to start doing so now.
I'm only 76. However, as I've written in many other posts on THR, my wife has as many guns as I do (maybe more) and we don't have room in our gun safes/cabinets for any more guns, we don't have room in our house for any more gun safes/cabinets, and at our respective ages, we're sure as heck not going to buy a bigger house and move.
Therefore, when either my wife or I want a new/different gun nowadays, we try to decide which gun (or guns) we're going to sell. It doesn't always work - sometimes we just buy the new/different gun anyway and look for a place to store it once we get it home. :D
 
I have moved to a semi urban area, at least compared to where I used to live. Also, I am up in age. I have some guns decorating the inside of my safe. I will always keep my CC and at least one rifle. But the others, I don't know. The money I could get from them might serve me better in other applications.

How does one decide when the right time is?
When they start forming rust.
 
All mine are in a trust! I have a list of what I paid and an amount they worth as of a date given. The executor - trustee of the trust can figure what to sell them for or give to family. I do not need the money and I enjoy looking, shooting and cleaning them a whole lot more that looking at my bank statement :cool:
 
At some point they will all go to a consignor for sale at auction.
Don't know when, but with no heirs, any that still are in my possession when I die will likely be destroyed or sold for the benefit of the state
 
At some point they will all go to a consignor for sale at auction.
Don't know when, but with no heirs, any that still are in my possession when I die will likely be destroyed or sold for the benefit of the state
Donate them in a will to NRA, Winchester Museum or some other pro 2nd amendment organization! To heck with letting the gubermint have'em . Just IMHO not even worth $0.02
 
I am almost 75. I am keeping the total number under 10. I still shoot about twice a month, and occasionally go to a class or school. The Gunsite "Seasoned Citizen" 250 "Defensive Pistol Course" was superb, with a little less physically demanding activity than the regular 250. I might go to Gunsite one more time if I feel spry.

I will probably keep at least one gun until the bitter end, for self-defense; probably a revolver. My age dictates that the autos I have now must have slides I can grip and cycle easily (the P320s, SFT9, Colt Govt Model 1911, etc. all fit that requirement).

The plan is, if I go first, my wife will take the guns, put them in their original boxes, and get them to a reputable gun dealer/FFL for placement in the consignment case. They are all in good shape and I reckon will bring 50-60% of their original value. I have a serial number and price list in my "key documents" file. Not going to pass along any as inheritances to the kids or grandkids.

If I go after my wife, or my demise is slow but progressive, I will personally sell the guns off (except the one final SD piece) myself, using an internet gun board or the consignment case as a LGS.

The guns have been a lot of fun and I've enjoyed them.
 
Kids don't appreciate anything GOOD anyway. They'll just trade your $5000 trap gun for a pile of black plastic and kydex.
 
If I am looking to purge things that would be useless to others, that $60 Marlin 60 I shoot once every few years probably wouldn't be the first thing to go.

Wonder what the market is on a $100 four function calculator is?

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I have much more useless and worthless stuff than firearms that I wouldn't miss at all.
 
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