The purge

[theotherwaldo]

Now it's as if we're ashamed of our guns, and want to hide them from the world. Since attitudes precede actions, it looks like the antigunners are winning.

-I also lock up my gold and silver. my ancient coin and pre-coinage collections, my ancient weapons and anything else like that that I value... .

 

[AlexanderA]

I can understand the security value of having the guns in a safe. But this presupposes that people who shouldn't be there have access to your house (or the portion of your house where the guns are stored). The main line of defense should be the perimeter. I don't have small children, and I'm frankly paranoid about who comes into my house. Yes, I have a safe, but my gun collection long ago outgrew it. My whole house is a fortress! If the guns are outside the safe, they are nevertheless pretty secure.

Ironically, the only things of value that can be stolen are the guns themselves.

 

[Will Munny]

I can understand the security value of having the guns in a safe. But this presupposes that people who shouldn't be there have access to your house (or the portion of your house where the guns are stored). The main line of defense should be the perimeter. I don't have small children, and I'm frankly paranoid about who comes into my house. Yes, I have a safe, but my gun collection long ago outgrew it. My whole house is a fortress! If the guns are outside the safe, they are nevertheless pretty secure.

Ironically, the only things of value that can be stolen are the guns themselves.

The safe is mainly for when you are not home, as some of us do occasionally get groceries or go on vacations still.

 

[huntsman]

Own your stuff don’t let stuff own you

 

[Chuck R.]

In the past year I've let 3 go, so 65 remaining.

I've got plenty of room, no real financial need, but I'm also working to thin the herd. It's just "stuff" I've accumulated that I no longer bother to shoot. So I'm thinning and upgrading some of the guns I am using. I'm thinking of retiring (again) in about 21 months, so I'd like to get my "permanent" collection about "perfect" before I do. I'm also focusing more on hunts (while I can), rather than collecting.

 

[SSN Vet]

Wow, maybe you could have just joined a range or rod n gun club instead.
Just sayin'

 

[AlexanderA]

The safe is mainly for when you are not home, as some of us do occasionally get groceries or go on vacations still.

This is where secrecy is your friend. Thieves target a house either when they know that there is valuable stuff inside, or else because it generally looks prosperous. If you have a middling house in a middling neighborhood, which also looks like it's difficult to break into, they'll go somewhere else that's easier and/or more lucrative. Like the old joke says, if you and your buddy are being chased by a bear, you don't have to outrun the bear. You just have to outrun your buddy. But of course random things happen. All you can do is improve your odds.

 

[shafter]

When you limit yourself to what the masses use then you find yourself competing with the masses for ammo. Having a few unique oddballs around keeps things interesting.

 

[Will Munny]

This is where secrecy is your friend. Thieves target a house either when they know that there is valuable stuff inside, or else because it generally looks prosperous. If you have a middling house in a middling neighborhood, which also looks like it's difficult to break into, they'll go somewhere else that's easier and/or more lucrative. Like the old joke says, if you and your buddy are being chased by a bear, you don't have to outrun the bear. You just have to outrun your buddy. But of course random things happen. All you can do is improve your odds.

Eh, break ins happen randomly and without much cause in many cases. And any place that looks like a fortress is definitely going to attract unwanted attention. The benefit of a safe is that anyone who gets in cannot as quickly or easily get whatever you have. Its a layer of additional security.

 

[Ignition Override]

I recently sold about five guns which I had planned to keep for a few more years-not because they were no longer fun…

…but only due to the dormant & mostly-forgotten interest in possibly owning something really different : PTR-91 rifles (HK-91 clones).

Much of the appeal is the nice iron sights.
At age 66 I’ve never owned or Needed a scope, and want to exploit good aperture sights before it is too late. ARs never “grew on me”.

 

[citizenconn]

In reading this thread, I find repeated references to "gun safes." It seems that the conventional wisdom, now, is that every gun must be in a safe, and that if there is no more room in the safe(s), then the excess guns must be disposed of. I'm old enough to remember when the opposite attitude prevailed -- that guns should be on open display, in glass-front cases. This has been a sea-change. Now it's as if we're ashamed of our guns, and want to hide them from the world. Since attitudes precede actions, it looks like the antigunners are winning.

I am still of that old school mentality. I live alone, except for the 5 cats I serve, so I converted my den into a gun library/museum of sorts. Some of my guns are in a locked closet there but many are out so I can tinker with and admire them. If I ever have visitors I put up a barricade to the opening to that part of the house so no one even knows there is a room there. It also allowed me to keep my reloading stuff and ammo in a temperature controlled environment and to organize all my assembly parts and equipment where they are easy to find.
Any time I think of getting married, I ask myself - would she make me convert this room into a sewing or family room? That sober thought usually brings me back to my senses.

As far as selling guns, I let go my first gun in over 30 years when I recently traded a Winchester 1897 to a collector for a great, discontinued NIB law enforcement sniper rifle. I like the 1897, but I am left handed and just never got comfortable with its operation. I much prefer my Mossbergs.

But I'm in my mid50s, with no kids and no siblings or close family, so the consideration has definitely reared it head as to what I will eventually do with what is an extensive, and growing, collection. Heck, I will be retiring within the next 10 years and sure don't plan to stay in the Houston area given how dangerous and crowded it has become in the almost 20 years I've been living here. So I am even at a loss as to how to move all these guns without inciting a full scale police panic.

 

[AlexanderA]

This choice of openly displaying guns versus hiding them away in safes may have something to do with the steep inflation in the value of the guns. Remember, back in the days when people had their guns in glass cabinets in their living rooms, most guns were modestly priced. And especially milsurps, in the 1960's, could be had for a song. So no great loss if they were stolen. Now a gun collection can be a major investment.

And the fact that a gun collection represents a major investment also means that when it becomes excess, the urge is to liquidate it rather than just keeping it around.

 

[Chuck R.]

In reading this thread, I find repeated references to "gun safes." It seems that the conventional wisdom, now, is that every gun must be in a safe, and that if there is no more room in the safe(s), then the excess guns must be disposed of. I'm old enough to remember when the opposite attitude prevailed -- that guns should be on open display, in glass-front cases. This has been a sea-change. Now it's as if we're ashamed of our guns, and want to hide them from the world. Since attitudes precede actions, it looks like the antigunners are winning.

Oh, I proudly display guns:




That remain behind a vault door:



Here's just one example of why. Take a few minutes it's an interesting read. Then imagine how much it cost in legal fees to get to the KS supreme court:

https://h2o.law.harvard.edu/cases/2475

A jury returned a verdict in favor of the Woods, finding the Grohs 10% at fault, Sarah 20% at fault, and Ed, who was not a party to the lawsuit, 70% at fault. The jury awarded $100,000 in damages to Sarah and $9,162.50 to her parents, Linda and Warren Wood. Judgment was, therefore, entered in favor of Sarah in the amount of $10,000 and in favor of Linda and Warren in the amount of $916.25.

The Woods raise two issues on appeal: (1) whether the district court erred in refusing to instruct the jury that the Grohs owed the highest degree of care in safeguarding a handgun; and (2) whether the district court erred by refusing to find the Grohs jointly and severally liable for the combined fault of themselves and their son. The Grohs raise three issues on cross-appeal: (1) whether the district court erred by refusing to impose sanctions for the Woods' post-trial filings; (2) whether the district court properly instructed the jury on the issue of negligent parental supervision of their son; and (3) whether the district court erred by instructing the jury that the Grohs could be found negligent for failing to prevent their son from breaking into a locked gun cabinet.

Recently, in Long v. Turk, 265 Kan. 855, 962 P.2d 1093 (1998), this court addressed the standard of care required when dealing with a dangerous instrumentality. In Long, the defendant's minor son, Matthew, was driving his car when he encountered the plaintiff's minor son, Tony, driving a van. Matthew and Tony shouted at each other while the vehicles drove side-by-side for a few blocks. Matthew eventually reached under the floor mat and pulled out his father's .357 Magnum handgun and fired one shot out the passenger [269 Kan. 425] side window. The hollow point slug went through the window of Tony's van, killing him.

Matthew's father owned several guns which were kept in a locked safe, although Matthew knew where the keys were kept. A.357 Magnum and the hollow point bullets for the gun were kept in a gun cabinet. Testimony conflicted as to whether Matthew had permission to take the gun out of the locked cabinet. After depositions were taken of Matthew and his father, Matthew's father moved for summary judgment, asking the court to dismiss the case. The district court granted the motion for summary judgment.

On appeal, this court reversed the summary judgment, concluding that genuine issues of material fact existed. We concluded that the .357 Magnum handgun was a dangerous instrumentality requiring the highest degree of care. 265 Kan. at 860. We examined the history in this state regarding the standard of care required in dealing with a dangerous instrumentality. Quoting from an earlier opinion of Wroth v. McKinney, 190 Kan. 127, 373 P.2d 216 (1962), we stated:

"'Kansas has long followed the rule that the highest degree of care is required of all responsible persons having ownership or control of dangerous explosives such as dynamite and firearms.... [T]he degree of care has to be commensurate with the dangerous character of the instrumentality and a duty to exercise the highest degree of care never ceases.'" 265 Kan. at 861.

In some cases, it doesn't matter what the law states, what matters is the opinion of your peers forming the jury.....

Everybody's free to do as they please. Based on my recent tax assessment, I'm sitting on a little over $1Mil in real-estate and I am to keep it.

 

[Will Munny]

This choice of openly displaying guns versus hiding them away in safes may have something to do with the steep inflation in the value of the guns. Remember, back in the days when people had their guns in glass cabinets in their living rooms, most guns were modestly priced. And especially milsurps, in the 1960's, could be had for a song. So no great loss if they were stolen. Now a gun collection can be a major investment.

And the fact that a gun collection represents a major investment also means that when it becomes excess, the urge is to liquidate it rather than just keeping it around.

A more significant factor would be the vast increase in crime since the 1950's, and a declining desire to punish those responsible. Back then many people did not bother to lock the door because society was in relatively good shape, now no sane person sleeps without a dead bolted door and loaded gun close at hand.