Responsible yet sad moment at the gunshop today

[kd7nqb]

I was in my favorite gun shop today just looking to burn up some extra cash I had. While I was in the store there was an older man (mid-80's) he had at least 7 or 8 guns that he was selling to the shop. From listening to the conversation he was having with the buyer at the store I gathered 3 things.

1. He was selling the guns because he has began to "forget things" and does not want to have guns in the house.

2. He did not have family to inherit the guns.

3. He seemed upset to let them go but he seemed to know that he was doing the right thing.

I dont know the details beyond that, weather he just had little family left or if none of the family wanted guns.

I did not pay attention to how much he was getting for each gun but they were all oder guns including at least 2 rifles that looked like they had seen a few hunts.

I found the whole situation sad because the guns will survive but the stories behind them will no longer be attached.

 

[Mannix]

There's a very simple solution, buy a couple of his guns and see if he'd be willing to share the stories with you. If he doesn't have much family, I'm sure he'll be happy to have someone to talk to.

Only if you're genuinely interested in the stories, of course. Otherwise it could come across wrong and offend him.

 

[kd7nqb]

Well that is a solution but currently looking at my checking account an $89 mosin wont fit into this paycheck so I dont think buying 7 guns would work at the moment. But believe me if I could have I would have, I know I could learn a lot from that man.

 

[crankshop1000]

The guy did the responsible thing.Kudos to him.

 

[stubbicatt]

This is a sad story. Next is his driver's license.

 

[Arc-Lite]

kd7....you learned more from this fellow...then you might now know.

 

[Walkalong]

Our day is coming.

I hope my kids, nephews, grandkids, or somebody is responsible enough for me to leave my guns to. I do have one ex-Marine nephew. I think he is on the right track.

 

[glockman19]

I wittneses a similar scene a few months ago at a local gun store. Older guy 80's selling a dozen or so guns. I've already talked with an older neighbor and told him and his wife I'd be priviledged to care for his collection if/when he felt the need to get rid of them.

 

[Cougfan2]

I have told my son, now 22, that if I ever get to the point that he doesn't think it is safe for me to have my guns around that he is to take them. He knows that they are all his anyway after I pass. He's a great son and I trust him. It's good to know that he will have my guns and my father's before him.

 

[silverlance]

dstorm's story comes to mind. hope he's doing well, whereever he is.
great guy, and a stunning collection of firearms. a lesson learned that one ought to be VERY careful choosing who we marry.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

"I hope my kids, nephews, grandkids, or somebody is responsible enough for me to leave my guns to."

Heck with that. I want to be buried with mine. I'd have to have a lot of extra pallbearers though...

 

[bluestarlizzard]

i have a similar thing with my dad. they are mine when he goes. i call it my legacy from the man that was the perfect father for a little girl. good part is he's got lots of years left so i still got time to learn everything about my future legacy so i can teach my children. well, now i've got tears in my eyes.
good luck to the old man, and i hope his trusty firearms find good homes.

 

[G_Lyons]

This just happened with my family my great grandfather lost his guns and his car in the last 6 months. to quote him "I am getting to old and they (my grandparents) have to take a way my freedom". when he worded it like that it was almost enough to make a guy cry. especially at 21 having just finished "earning" all my freedom.

 

[BlindJustice]

I became a Grandfather last March. So, I bought my
granddaughter her 21rst birthday present, an S&W MOdel
60 3" Bbl. I'll get her 11th birthday present next with
a Model 63 .22 LR to go with the 60 for some training
etc in her teen years.

My daughters and son-in-laws will get the other firearms
oh, and I am inheriting a scoped 7MM rifle that was my
uncle's hunting rifle. Wish I had heard more of his
hunting in the Great Northwest.

 

[Gustav]

This is something I have seen more than a few times, either an elderly person on his own brings a bundle of older guns into a shop and gets at best 50 cents on the dollar of what they are worth money wise.

Many times it is a wife or the kids or grandkids that are there to "help" him sell off his guns by bringing them in since he is getting too old to keep them or take care of them himself, never mind the fact he took care of himself and them for decades.:banghead:

IMO its better to have the firearms turned in and resold to those who will pay what they are worth and appreciate owning them and having them than to risk having someone who has no appreciation for them end up with them and let them go to seed or see them turned in or destroyed.

You may be surprised at what a grandparent aunt or uncle has tucked away asking never hurts and an interest shown can reveal allot more than you may ever think both about the person and any historical items they have saved.

One such incident comes to mind, years ago a guy I knew went to a yard sale being held by an elderly widow after the husband had recently passed away,he did not see much of interest except in the corner of the garage under a table he saw an old duffel bag that the elderly lady was selling.

He asked her how much for it after looking very briefly inside on the top as it seemed to be filled full of old US Navy clothes topped off by an old blanket.
He paid for it and left bringing it home and putting it in his garage not thinking much about it as he had chores to do kids to take care of and a wife asking him where he had been and what took him so long etc.

A couple of months went by until one day he remembered the old duffel bag he tossed in the back corner of his garage from months earlier.
So he decided what the heck its time to see what is in it since the kids are out and the wife is with her friends and the lawn mowing can wait.

Among the contents he found an old Navy wool blanket a couple sets of uniforms including a complete class A dress uniform with the ribbons and insignias and rank all still on it, he also found allot of socks and a pair of shoes and near the bottom what turned out to be a May West life preserver that was wrapped around a pistol belt a knife and a holster.

In the holster was a Colt 1911A1 in mint condition still covered in a light coat of oil.

He also found an old photo album and some papers, it turns out her husband was a Navy fighter pilot who saw action in the Pacific.

He immediately went back to where she lived and told her he could not accept the items and she should keep them or give them to her own kids.
She told him that he could have them as none of her kid and grandkids wanted the old stuff especially the "gun" in their homes, he wrote her a check on the spot and paid her what the stuff was worth to him.

Allot of the WW II Korean War Viet Nam War and Gulf War veterans are either getting up in years or having health problems, if one is in your family I would highly recommend taking the time to learn (and if possible record) their stories and who knows what you may learn see or find out for yourself.

 

[bluestarlizzard]

isn't there a program or some such for maybe willing or donateing historical firearms/things a vetren brought home from war? i would think those things belong in a musuem, unless they have a family member to go to. we all should be able to see and try to understand what these men have done in the service to our contrey. those belongings are a part of that history.

 

[Professor Gun]

Gustav, your comment about how the vets from WWII, Korea, etc are disappearing and we should hear their stories and hopefully record them is so true.

I had a granduncle who lived with us when I was a boy; he was on the Phillipines when the Japanese attacked in December, 1941. He fought on Bataan, escaped to Corregidor when Bataan fell and fought there until Corregidor surrendered. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese and held as a prisoner from May, 1942 until September, 1945 when he was liberated (thanks to our bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). He went through some terrible things as a POW and never wanted to talk about any of it. If you have ever watched the movie "The Great Raid", that movie is based upon the prison camp my Uncle was kept in-he was shipped to Japan to work in a coal mine 6 weeks before the raid at the camp occurred.

As he got older and I got into my late 20's, I convinced him to write down some of his experiences as a POW for me because I thought it important to have that for our family and for history; I also always viewed him as a true hero. He died in 1986, I still have those letters that describe in sometimes graphic detail what our POWs experienced in the Japanese camps. A local high school a few years ago started a living history project and I gave them copies of my uncle's letters. Recently my 13 year old son started a writing project for his history class; he is writing about our Uncle's experiences fighting on Bataan, on Corregidor, and as a POW. This will be in a format that will be shared with all the class. I had to go through and line out (censor) some of the more salty stuff not relevant to the war experiences that my Uncle wrote (and he was a very salty old guy) before the copies of the letters went to the 8th grade class.

My son was astounded at the experiences my Uncle wrote about and has a new appreciation for the sacrifice, character, and heroism of my Uncle and the soldiers, Marines, and sailors who were in captivity with him. Getting my Uncle to write about his experiences was difficult but I am so glad that I kept nagging him to do it.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

Try donating them to the NRA Museum in Virginia or the Cody Museum in Wyoming.

 

[ROCKSHUND]

I recently presented a very nice , Magnum Gunsmithing built DSA receivered 50.00 pattern FAL, a case of FNM Port, a dozen nice mags, and a pile of accessories to my nephew. As a high school graduation gift.

I had grown to like him a lot, despite the miles between us. A very moral and solid young man, now attending a small university and on his way to becoming an emergency room doctor, his stated goal. I like his conservative views, too.

My reasoning goes like this:

I want to see some of my firearms legacy actually being enjoyed while I'm still here to participate in the fun. I am truly looking forward to scheduling a FAL shootoff with him this coming summer. I also feel that it is fundamentally important to allow someone who will one day become a responsible and respected member of his community, to understand what a "battle rifle" is, can do, and everything else that goes along with the experience.

When I presented him with his FAL, I also spent a couple hours going through the finer points of operation and maintenance of the same. Nephew absorbed it very well. He was overwhelmed by my gift.

He's expecting to deer hunt with it this season (I gave him a 5 round mag). My kind of guy.

When I did this, I blew a lot of minds in my family...but...I have made some converts to this way of thinking.

What I've MOST enjoyed about giving him that FAL (so far), is hearing from my father about when he, my brother, and my (same) nephew went to the local range the following weekend...to shoot that FAL. They all three shot the rifle, and unanimously LOVED it!!!

Now, THAT's what I'm talking about!!!!!!!!

Cheers, FNR...

p.s. I still have 2 more FAL's.

 

[k_dawg]

A few years ago, I helped out a friend-of-a-friend, a WWII Vet.


I was able to find out his outfit information, and there was a small museum dedicated to them. We were able to donate almost all of his miliary momento's. They were glad to have them, and what a better way for a man's legacy to be remembered for history?

 

[Corporal K]

I was in local curio/gun shop last year and I saw a Purple Heart in the medal case. I couldn't believe it! I asked the owner where it came from and he didn't know but he said they get them in all the time!

I bought it and gave it to my friend, an OIF vet, who should have gotten a Purple Heart, but didn't. I couldn't leave it there.

Just like the old man with the guns, some family members just have no clue and no appreciation.

My grandfather has a 98k Mauser that he took off a dead Nazi. I don't know if I'll get it, but if I do, I'll treat it like gold and pass it to my son or daughter.