Sentimental?

[Cactus Jack Arizona]

I watch these Pawn shows every now and then and I am amazed at what people bring in. Not necessarily the items, per se, but from whom they were given said items. Let me explain. I openly admit to being a sentimental guy. That's right, I said it. My Grandparents are gone and my Mom and Dad aren't exactly spring chickens, as the saying goes. I treasure the time spent with my parents. They raised me well and I think the world of them. I even keep my Christmas and Birthday cards from them.

That said, they gave me a couple of guns recently. Neither one are old family heirlooms. In fact, the oldest firearm is about four years old. One is a pistol, the other a lever-action rifle. They're not bad firearms, but neither one is what I would have purchased for myself. Being sentimental, however, I am destined to keep both firearms.

Now, I've told you what I'm doing with the firearms, but what would you do? Would you keep them or would you sell them?

 

[Dnaltrop]

I have 2 100 year old and one 130 + .22 rifles that I'll keep till I'm too old to enjoy them properly, then they'll go to my kids with the stories of the grandparents who collected them in the first place.

 

[TIMC]

I voted yes I would keep it but there is also other circumstances not covered in the poll.
I recenly inereted a bunch of guns from my father; I did sell off quite a few. Almost all were duplicates of what I already had or in calibers I don't shoot. These were guns I didn't really consider to be heirlooms.
I did keep items like his deer rifle which he hunted with for many years and even had it rebuilt with a new barrel and scope to hand down to the grandchildren
Most of the really nice heirloom guns were handed down to me several years before he passed like my grandfathers 1st genreation Colt Peacemaker that is in mint condition and over 100 years old and my dad's Springfield 03 made in December of 41 that is in like new condition that my dad bought at the end of WWII and never fired. These will be kept pristine and handed down to my grandchildren.
The others I kept are just nice to have and odd collectables, most of which just sit since I already had a nice collection of my own so I just don't get around to shooting them.

 

[Olevern]

Sell a gift?

I was raised that it is rude to sell a gift. If you accept a gift, implicit in that acceptance is an acknowledgement that the gift will be valued and kept.

I remember when my son as a young adult needed a vehicle and I gave him one I was quite miffed when he immediately sold it....I could have sold it and kept the money just as easily as he did and the purpose of the gift ... that he would have it and use it, was negated by his actions when he turned it into mere spending cash.

 

[Smokey in PHX]

I have many guns that had been in both sides of my mother and father's families. I have documented in a book the history of these guns - who they belonged to, things they did with them, and anything that could be of interest. Both sides of my family were big on the outdoors and hunted extensively. It is just a way of passing on a little history.

 

[Snowbandit]

Guns are tools and my tools have to be useful or they don't stay around here very long regardless of who owned them before. To keep an old gun around, particularly one in an obsolete caliber or action type I don't use, doesn't make sense taking up room in my safe. Better for it to be in the hands of a collector who appreciates such things.

 

[Tim the student]

I wouldn't get rid of them, but I am sentimental too.

My dad has a Turkish O/U that he seems to enjoy. I don't particularly care for it, but it will eventually be passed down to my kids. If nothing else, it will come out for fun on occasion and will remind me of my dad and the time we spent shooting together when he is gone.

 

[Gordon_Freeman]

I also watch Pawn Stars and cringe when someone brings an old gun to sell that belonged to their father or grandfather. One guy brought in an extremely old gun and said his wife was making him sell because they have a new baby. Like the kid would even be able to figure out how to fire that antique gun.

 

[jmr40]

For the most part I'd never sell one that belonged to a family member, but there are exceptions. There are guns that have been in the family for 2-3 generations that have a history behind them. Those I would never consider selling.

Others, maybe. My grandfather bought a POS revolver late in his life to keep in the house. The gun was bought in the late 60's for probably well under $25 and is the very definition of Saturday Night Special. One of my Uncles found out about it and talked grand dad into trading him for something else he had. When grand dad died my Uncle got his gun back and he gave me the Saturday night special. It has no real history and is unsafe to shoot. I'd not shed a tear if it disappeared.

 

[MedWheeler]

I voted based not on what would be "given" to me, as that will never happen, but on what was "left" to me when my dad died. He left two guns, neither of which is particularly a "collectible" (Charter Arms Undercover, and Ruger Police Service Six.) But, they were carried by him as a deputy sheriff, and they are important to me. I have no intention of selling them.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I hate watching these fools come on Pawn Stars and such with a gun that has been in the family for generations and want to sell it. I don't care how much it's worth, it's family history, more than just some old gun.

I've only inherited one firearm, and that's only an Arisaka type 38. Not worth a lot, but it gives me a connection to the man who once owned it, whom I never got to meet.

My step-dads father was a tail gunner in a B-17 in WWII. After being shot down over Europe, he wound up on a hospital ship. Next time he saw land, he was on the island of Tarawa, on the other side of the world. He made bombing runs over Japan, and after the war, was stained in Japan as part of the Army of Occupation, which is when he picked up the Arisaka.
When the US Air Force was created as a separate service, he went over. He was also one of the first men promoted to the newly created rank of Chief Master Sergeant. He retired the day my step dad got his commission as a 2nd LT in the Army.

So to me, the Arisaka isn't just some old milsurp, it is a piece of family history.

 

[plunge]

pawn stars isn't real, so that is the biggest part of the problem. it is staged. a couple of my friends went to that pawn shop and the people on tv don't work there and people randomly come around and ask if people would like to be on the show. they give them the stuff to pawn and the story about it. apparently the guys on the show are pretty rude too. my buddy saw chumly and tried to get his autograph and he just blew him off.

 

[orionengnr]

Well, my dad introduced me to pistol shooting with his WWII 1911 about age eight or so. In all reality, I probably only put one mag worth through it.

I sure would have liked to inherit it, but he sold it in order to finance a modest dinner for his parents' 50th anniversary...this was 1967 or so. He probably got $50 for that 1911, and in those days, it bought a decent lobster dimnner. IMHO, he spent it wisely.

He passed on in 1996. I would like to have had that 1911, but in all honesty, I believe it brought more joy to more people the way it all worked out.

I have since bought and sold a number of 1911s. I still own several, and will own more before I am planted.

What my father passed on was the legacy, the appreciation of the 1911. The fact that I will never own his 1911 is okay...the fact that I will never be without a 1911 is his legacy.

 

[willymc]

My grandfather passed on an H&R 929 .22 revolver to my dad. My dad passed it on to me and this last Christmas I passed it on to my son in law. They're working on having kids, so I hope it'll keep going down the generations.

 

[Inebriated]

I definitely would. I'm pretty sentimental.

 

[mljdeckard]

Mostly. One exception. My dad had a (I believe) Mossberg bolt-action 20 ga. We never took it out when I was a kid, there were no hunting memories associated with it, and it barely worked. I saw no value as a shooter or as a restoration project. When I was about 16, I took it out and shot half a box of shells through it. When my dad recently died, I made it clear that I laid no claim to it. My little brother said he would take it and keep it as a conversation piece if nothing else.

Other than that one, never. A couple of my sisters put claim on a couple of the guns, and I didn't argue other than to stipulate that they were never to be sold, and that if at any point their households were either unsafe or illegal to have a firearm in them, they would be returned. (One has crazy kids and a husband whose felony expungment isn't totally black and white.) My strongest memories of my grandfather are from hunting with him, and now I own those guns. I will never sell them.

 

[2ndAmFan]

I'd keep them. Quite a few people in my family who have a gun or two for defense or hunting but not too many who collect them so it's not likely I'll inherit more than a couple at most.

 

[forindooruseonly]

I would keep them. I've kept all the others I've been given over the years. I'm pretty sentimental myself.

 

[The-Reaver]

I put yes, but its not 100%
The only person to give me a firearm is my dad, we have what we call the " safe bracket "
and that is the bracket that means no matter how in trouble we are, it wont get sold.
Others, free game.

 

[CajunBass]

I've got my dad's Sears-Roebuck 12 ga shotgun. It's just a shotgun to me (it's not even particularly old). I probably wouldn't sell it, but then it wouldn't bring anything if I did, so why bother?

I don't care what my boys do with my guns when I'm gone.

 

[skoro]

Would you keep firearms given to you by your Parents/Grandparents?

Yes. And they'll be passed on to my son at some point in the near future. In my case, these particular firearms are heirlooms that have been in the family for nearly a century.

 

[thunder173]

I lost my Pop in 1979. He was only 56. All I have to remember him by is a few old photo's,..and his guns. I cherish those, and would never ever sell them. I still use them occasionally, and they will ultimately be passed on to my children and grandchildren with the admonishment that they must NEVER be sold,...but passed on to the kids that exhibit the interest in hunting and shooting,..and the maturity to understand the value of these guns. None are high end guns,....the most expensive being a Pre-64 Winchester 94 that Pop carried when he and I last hunted together. I still remember that hunt like it was yesterday......

 

[Sav .250]

One man`s treasure is another man`s ...........

To think all family members have the same appreciation as the owner is like thinking the tooth fairy owes you money.
Your are blessed if you can pass weapons on knowing they won`t be sold
for pennies on the dollar.
Family demographics change over the long haul leaving "passed down" gun ownership, no matter the personal value, always in doubt.
Example, how many times have you read on gun forums that a spouse didn`t want "a weapon in the house" for...... what ever reason?

To the folks who have a "safe-keeper" of a family treasure .....great!

The the other folks, sell them now and take a family vacation.

 

[FROGO207]

Most of what either of my grandfathers had were spread out to the extended family. Everyone got to pick one and if they all wanted the same one names were put into a hat and winner drawn. Losers got another choice. I however was presented with the Underwood 30 carbine that I had always liked a few years before that grandfather died. This was the first gun that I had ever fired and that happened when I was 4 years old. This would not be sold for sure and I will hand it down with the history that I have. All the rest are tools and I value them for the accuracy/utility but they would be sold for a greater need. I feel that I need only one pocket knife, rifle, and one pistol and all the others are enhancements. That said I could finance my retirement with all the iron and reloading stuff that I have accumulated so far.
Just went back and voted. Said maybe. I have several other that I have inherited and those are disposable but keep in mind that I have only sold or traded 5 guns so far and that is a .01% or so average. Well I like my guns

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Yes and no.
If it were something that my dad had recently went out and bought, then it really wouldn't have any sentimental value. But there are a few that hold special places. He has an old Springfield pump 12-gauge that my mother bought him in the 60s for almost nothing at Western Auto that will never be sold. I have an old Winchester single shot 16-gauge that my grandfather traded a beagle for in the 40s. I'm the third Paul to have that one and hopefully not the last. It's ironic that the ones that will never get sold are the ones with little monetary value.