I have guns that have been/will be passed down to me. I am struggling with sentimentality verses guilt, and trying to figure out why I am attached to some guns, not to others. To be fair, I have never really, wanted to get rid of a gun, and have only sold 4? I think that were in my possession at some point, one I will get back one day, one I shouldn't have gotten rid of, two I had or have something else that does the same job as good or better, and so I don't miss. I kind of limit myself to what can fit in the safe, (I have young kids) and I don't let myself have any more guns than I am old (another rule I made up to control numbers). Anyway, I have a few guns that were Christmas presents from my Dad when I was a teen and started hunting. I have one that I got from my Dads aunt that means more to me than any of those, and means more to me than my granddads shotgun, (1912 winchester), because I don't know that I had even ever seen that gun until he went into a nursing home. My Dad has a couple guns that I remember fondly, and there is a Fox double gun out there that my great uncle shot himself with that I would buy back if I could find it. I guess all this to say, what do you consider a "sacred gun" one you can't get rid of, one you have to keep forever, no matter what? Should I feel guilty for wanting to sell a 1912 winchester because I have no attachment to it just because it belonged to my granddad? Is sentiment the same as guilt, or is this all just some bizarre hoarding instinct?
What makes a Firearm have Sentimental Value?
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Kingofthehill
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My dad came to this country in 1962. When he got here he was able to do something he couldn't do before in his home country. Buy a firearm and protect himself and his family.
The gun he bought was a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver airweight.
That gun will never leave my possesion untill it goes to my kid when i have kids later in life.
JOe
The gun he bought was a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver airweight.
That gun will never leave my possesion untill it goes to my kid when i have kids later in life.
JOe
In 1967 my single working Mother scraped together $8.00 to purchase my well used JC Higgins .22 single shot rifle. I hunted the Wasatch foot hills with that rifle until we moved in 1970.
That rifle means a lot to me and it will stay with me until I feed the peaches.
That rifle means a lot to me and it will stay with me until I feed the peaches.
When my grandfather died, he passed his guns down to his two sons (my father and uncle). When dad and uncle die, grandpa's guns will be passed to my brother and me. All of us have the strongest sentimental attachments to different guns, for different reasons.
I say hang on to the ones you aren't particularly attached to, and pass them down to your kids when/if the time is right. They might like the chance to own one of grandpa's guns, and may take a shine to one that you would be inclined to get rid of.
I say hang on to the ones you aren't particularly attached to, and pass them down to your kids when/if the time is right. They might like the chance to own one of grandpa's guns, and may take a shine to one that you would be inclined to get rid of.
hogshead
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I've got my dads 35 rem. that he hunted with. He gave it to me before he died. He told me to hunt with it because thats what it was made for. I have carried it for 10 years now killed a lot of game with it. Tried to retire it twice even buying another 35 just like it. Just wasnt the same, no connection. Took a nice 10 pt this year with that 35. Less than a quarter mile from the house I grew up in. Somehow the deer meant so much more to me because I used his gun. Yep its a keeper .
earlthegoat2
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If a particular firearm has ever saved the life of you or a loved one......
X-Rap
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My dad and I have a lot of guns between us, many have no story at all and are just tools never used by us. Many however have been brought down through the family and more are added all the time by hunting exploits, PD carry, gifts within the family. These and the stories are what differentiates simple tool to that of sentimental value.
ARCTICJEW
Member
If you have a gun or guns that you aren't using then take photos of them and sell the guns. You'll have money to buy a gun that you will use today. There must be a gun that you've been wanting to purchase. You won't feel "guilty" and you'll have a picture on your fridge to remind you what a great guy grandpa was. And finally, go ahead and hoard all you want..........on ammo.
huntsman
Member
Firearms are just objects, and at best they can be a door to the past through stories and memories of loved ones and friends.
I heard a quote on the TV show that said: possessions that we keep after their usefulness is gone end up possessing us (paraphrased).
My old man told me once never be a slave to you gun collection, he told me this after I asked him one day why he got rid of most of his collection.
effengee
Member
Old Bessie...
This reminds me of one in my collection I lovingly call "Old Bessie"
She's a 1917 Birmingham Small Arms, Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield. Number one Mark three with a rework asterisk stamp. Chambered in .303 British. Not a single number matches on any of her parts and the stock marking disc has been removed and replaced by a Bicentennial quarter that the
idiot who owned her before me glued in. The cleaning kit is long gone and her action is still smooth as butter and her bore is well-used but still good. I replaced the cracked forestock and upper handguard a few years ago. I haven't had ammo for her in years and she just rests now with her friends in silent slumber. Bessie might be an actual war hero for all I know and very likely she's seen more assaults than my Kalashniclone ever will!
Every so often, I pull her out and just hold her and daydream about her first date with a doughboy on the edge of the Ardennes...
But, she's also a thing that has cash value, and most of my guns are sellable if the need arises, because there's been times when feeding my kids/paying a bill is more important than keeping a dust collection...
About a year ago, I tried to sell her so that a few other guns wouldn't have to stand in line and found that Bessie ain't worth all that much to a gunshop, and nobody's willing to pay all that much for them on a person-to-person basis either...
My oldest son asked if he could have her, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather see her be with.
I have finally obtained a Kalashniclone and a Colt 1911 and I have written in my will that they should be buried with me.
I always loved the 1911 and when I cocked my finger as a little boy I didn't pull back on my thumb, I racked my index finger like a slide
I own a .45 acp for no real reason other than the fact that my heroes have always been soldiers, and when I was a kid, our boys carried the 1911.
The Kalashniclone is/always was a simple obsession.
You can feed her cheaply, treat her rough and dirty, ride her hard and put her away wet, and she still acts like a lady
My wife owns two guns.
Both are .22 caliber. One is a marlin model 60 that was purchased brand-new by her grandfather, passed down to her father, and has been used by pretty much every member of her family. It was given to her by her father as a housewarming gift when we bought our house.
The other is a Charter Arms revolver that we bought from her brother when he needed a little extra cash. Both are hers and hers alone and she will NEVER sell either one.
The have a priceless sentimental value to her and she plans on handing them down to our daughters.
P.S. Please excuse my use of female terms when describing my firearms.
It's a silly habit.
This reminds me of one in my collection I lovingly call "Old Bessie"
She's a 1917 Birmingham Small Arms, Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield. Number one Mark three with a rework asterisk stamp. Chambered in .303 British. Not a single number matches on any of her parts and the stock marking disc has been removed and replaced by a Bicentennial quarter that the
idiot who owned her before me glued in. The cleaning kit is long gone and her action is still smooth as butter and her bore is well-used but still good. I replaced the cracked forestock and upper handguard a few years ago. I haven't had ammo for her in years and she just rests now with her friends in silent slumber. Bessie might be an actual war hero for all I know and very likely she's seen more assaults than my Kalashniclone ever will!Every so often, I pull her out and just hold her and daydream about her first date with a doughboy on the edge of the Ardennes...
But, she's also a thing that has cash value, and most of my guns are sellable if the need arises, because there's been times when feeding my kids/paying a bill is more important than keeping a dust collection...
About a year ago, I tried to sell her so that a few other guns wouldn't have to stand in line and found that Bessie ain't worth all that much to a gunshop, and nobody's willing to pay all that much for them on a person-to-person basis either...
My oldest son asked if he could have her, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather see her be with.
I have finally obtained a Kalashniclone and a Colt 1911 and I have written in my will that they should be buried with me.
I always loved the 1911 and when I cocked my finger as a little boy I didn't pull back on my thumb, I racked my index finger like a slide
I own a .45 acp for no real reason other than the fact that my heroes have always been soldiers, and when I was a kid, our boys carried the 1911.
The Kalashniclone is/always was a simple obsession.
You can feed her cheaply, treat her rough and dirty, ride her hard and put her away wet, and she still acts like a lady
My wife owns two guns.
Both are .22 caliber. One is a marlin model 60 that was purchased brand-new by her grandfather, passed down to her father, and has been used by pretty much every member of her family. It was given to her by her father as a housewarming gift when we bought our house.
The other is a Charter Arms revolver that we bought from her brother when he needed a little extra cash. Both are hers and hers alone and she will NEVER sell either one.
The have a priceless sentimental value to her and she plans on handing them down to our daughters.
P.S. Please excuse my use of female terms when describing my firearms.
It's a silly habit.
Kingofthehill
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a couple others i won't let go include a Perazzi MX4 sport that i won many competitions with, A Steyr M9 because they are hard to find and IMO an amazing gun, My first handgun that i purchased on my 21st birthday XD-40. 6 months ago i moved from the horrible gun state of CA to Texas and my first week here i got the gun i wanted but couldn't have in CA, the XDm 9mm.. that was my welcome to the free world gun. My Dan Wesson 1911 10mm is my "BBQ Gun"...
those are additions that have a value to me that i can't replace.
JOe
those are additions that have a value to me that i can't replace.
JOe
Officers'Wife
Member
The firearms I have a sentimental attachment too are all symbols of times I cherish. The Lee Enfield takes me to that sunny day when my grandfather told me it was a pretty big rifle for such a little girl but if I could hit the 8 ring I was big enough.
The 1892 Winchester takes me back to cold November day an Angus heifer was trying to give birth to a calf far too big for her. After my uncle used that rifle to relieve the animal's misery I saw my strong, brave man's man uncle cry like a baby. The incident gave me insights on the man and on men no school or university could provide.
The ancient Colt revolver reminds me of the day my Dad told me how his grandfather bought the weapon in South Dakota after he had ran away out west to be a cowboy. And that even though he was successful there, the land called him back. From this I learned a reverence for history and insights on the power that that spot of land one's heart calls home can have on a person.
And last is a weapon I do not personally own, a huge DA S&W revolver with US military markings that fires the 45 LC or 45 ACP with little clips to hold the cartridges in place. My great-grandfather had the weapon in the trenches in Belgium during the war to end all wars. My grandfather carried it when he rode a glider into France the night before D-Day in the war that followed. A great uncle carried it as back up in Korea. And finally my Dad had the revolver at his side in a place called DaNang. That weapon is a symbol of good men putting their very lives on the line for a cause they consider greater than themselves.
FWIW, I also have a hammer and anvil that I'm equally attached to emotionally. The hammer was hand made by a great-great uncle sometime before the turn of the last century and was my beloved uncle's prized possession. While my uncle could not leave me his talent and skill for taking raw steel and turning it to things of use and beauty, as long as I have that hammer his skills will never be forgotten.
The 1892 Winchester takes me back to cold November day an Angus heifer was trying to give birth to a calf far too big for her. After my uncle used that rifle to relieve the animal's misery I saw my strong, brave man's man uncle cry like a baby. The incident gave me insights on the man and on men no school or university could provide.
The ancient Colt revolver reminds me of the day my Dad told me how his grandfather bought the weapon in South Dakota after he had ran away out west to be a cowboy. And that even though he was successful there, the land called him back. From this I learned a reverence for history and insights on the power that that spot of land one's heart calls home can have on a person.
And last is a weapon I do not personally own, a huge DA S&W revolver with US military markings that fires the 45 LC or 45 ACP with little clips to hold the cartridges in place. My great-grandfather had the weapon in the trenches in Belgium during the war to end all wars. My grandfather carried it when he rode a glider into France the night before D-Day in the war that followed. A great uncle carried it as back up in Korea. And finally my Dad had the revolver at his side in a place called DaNang. That weapon is a symbol of good men putting their very lives on the line for a cause they consider greater than themselves.
FWIW, I also have a hammer and anvil that I'm equally attached to emotionally. The hammer was hand made by a great-great uncle sometime before the turn of the last century and was my beloved uncle's prized possession. While my uncle could not leave me his talent and skill for taking raw steel and turning it to things of use and beauty, as long as I have that hammer his skills will never be forgotten.
+1 on that. But I do have to say that perhaps I am a 'gun' hoarder and that everything else I have the above most certainly applies. But for some reason the above does not seem to apply to my firearms. Perhaps I have a sickness? But my mantra is that they will need to be pried from my cold dead hands.
Will Fennell
Member
attachment to the past
Memories=Sentimental Value
Memories=Sentimental Value
flintlock62
Member
I have a S&W 38 special that my great grandmother used to shoot the heads off chickens. That's how I knew were going to have chicken and dumplings that night.
My father's bolt action 22 that he taught me to shoot with at the age of six.
My Christmas present of a Savage 22/410 O/U that took many a squirrel and rabbit.
My father's bolt action 22 that he taught me to shoot with at the age of six.
My Christmas present of a Savage 22/410 O/U that took many a squirrel and rabbit.
Tommygunn
Member
It seems a number of people own guns that are valuable because a parent owned them.
Me too.
I own a Browning Auto 5 light in 12 gauge (1950 manufacture), a Remington 550-1 (semi auto .22RF rifle) A Remington Model 17 20 gauge pump and an M1 Carbine my father owned.
He hunted with the shotguns & .22; the carbine he brought back from the Korean War.
I have sold only one gun I ever owned and it was one I bought; the guns my father owned I'll never part with.
Me too.
I own a Browning Auto 5 light in 12 gauge (1950 manufacture), a Remington 550-1 (semi auto .22RF rifle) A Remington Model 17 20 gauge pump and an M1 Carbine my father owned.
He hunted with the shotguns & .22; the carbine he brought back from the Korean War.
I have sold only one gun I ever owned and it was one I bought; the guns my father owned I'll never part with.
P.B.Walsh
Member
I will never get rid of my grandfathers guns, he was like my dad. Never ever, ever, ever!!!!!
Zach S
Member
I dont think its just memories.
My biological grandfather (Cline) taught my mother and my uncle to shoot with is 10-22. He died in the early to mid 70s, I'm not sure when. Towards the late 70s, my grandmother remarried (Bill). I was born in 81, so as far as I'm concerned, Bill's my grandfather, and of course, I'm his grandson. He taught my other uncle (born in 79) how to shoot with that same 10-22. My father didnt stick around, so I didn't learn on that rifle. However, I do have it, and my daughter will likely learn on it as well.
Cline and Bill both hunted and taught their kids with it. So, to be correct, I guess I could say it was my grandfathers' rifle. Cline bought it new, and Bill gave it to me.
The rings were missing a few pieces, so I got new ones to mount the scope, zeroed it in, and there's been about brick ran through it when I was taking my younger siblings to the range. So, I have very few memories with this rifle. But I'll never get rid of it because of the history it has with my family, and every bit of that rifle's history is with my family.
Oddly enough, the other sentimental gun I have is an AMT hardballer. It was my first gun. I quickly moved on to better guns, but couldn't bring myself to get rid of the AMT. Even though I couldn't get rid of it, I didnt feel guilty about stealing various pins, screws or grip bushings off if it when I had an oops moment with one of my other 1911s. I finally used a few new parts, a bunch of take-offs, and a Ciener upper and rebuilt it into a dedicated rimfire, and it stays in the rangebag. The only things left of the gun I bought years ago are the frame and trigger, and the trigger probably wont be there much longer (the AMT trigger isnt adjustable for take-up, of which it plenty). But I do still have my first pistol, enjoy it quite a bit, and look forward to teaching my daughter to shoot with it too.
My biological grandfather (Cline) taught my mother and my uncle to shoot with is 10-22. He died in the early to mid 70s, I'm not sure when. Towards the late 70s, my grandmother remarried (Bill). I was born in 81, so as far as I'm concerned, Bill's my grandfather, and of course, I'm his grandson. He taught my other uncle (born in 79) how to shoot with that same 10-22. My father didnt stick around, so I didn't learn on that rifle. However, I do have it, and my daughter will likely learn on it as well.
Cline and Bill both hunted and taught their kids with it. So, to be correct, I guess I could say it was my grandfathers' rifle. Cline bought it new, and Bill gave it to me.
The rings were missing a few pieces, so I got new ones to mount the scope, zeroed it in, and there's been about brick ran through it when I was taking my younger siblings to the range. So, I have very few memories with this rifle. But I'll never get rid of it because of the history it has with my family, and every bit of that rifle's history is with my family.
Oddly enough, the other sentimental gun I have is an AMT hardballer. It was my first gun. I quickly moved on to better guns, but couldn't bring myself to get rid of the AMT. Even though I couldn't get rid of it, I didnt feel guilty about stealing various pins, screws or grip bushings off if it when I had an oops moment with one of my other 1911s. I finally used a few new parts, a bunch of take-offs, and a Ciener upper and rebuilt it into a dedicated rimfire, and it stays in the rangebag. The only things left of the gun I bought years ago are the frame and trigger, and the trigger probably wont be there much longer (the AMT trigger isnt adjustable for take-up, of which it plenty). But I do still have my first pistol, enjoy it quite a bit, and look forward to teaching my daughter to shoot with it too.
flintlock62
Member
I forgot to mention the 12 ga. single barrel that kicked like a mule. I was about eight at the time and wanted to shoot it. My dad took me out in the field, told me to go ahead, then picked me up off the ground, laughed, and told me "see what guns can do"? I guess it traumatized me, because when I was 16, I took it hunting and closed me eyes every time I shot it, even though I had shot other 12 ga. with no problem. Boy, that gun kicked!
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Zach S
Member
That works both ways. Some sellers try to sell a gun for more than its worth because of the sentimental value, and some ask a seriously high price because spitting out a price that's two or three times the value gets the point across better than "not for sale."
Believe it or not, I went through the same thing quite a bit with my old hot rod Fairmont. And I'll admit that if anyone came up with that 5 grand, I would have sold it...
WoofersInc
Member
For me it was my Grandfathers Colt 1911 that he carried in WWII. Nobody in my family was into guns and my grandfather used to show the gun to me as a little kid. I was given it when he passed away, which got me started on my own addiction.
Superlite27
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I have many "high dollar" guns. Some Kimbers, an STI, a FN SLP, a national match M1A, a couple of AR's a Ruger Red Label, and a Browning and several others. (These might not be "high dollar" to some, but they are to me.)
The gun that I treasure most is a Stevens single shot .22lr.
My dad carried this gun in the "loop" or gun holder section of one of those "rug" seat covers in his truck. He always had a box of shells in the glovebox. Often, during squirrel season, we'd pull into the driveway and park. We'd get out, drop the tailgate, grab a cold one out of the cooler, and out would come that .22 which we'd lay in the bed. Most of the time, we'd finish our beer, the rifle would go back in its "spot" and we'd head to the house. Sometimes, though, one of us would see a squirrel. The deal was, whoever saw it tried to shoot it.
Only one shot, though. If you missed, you had to reload it and put it back in its spot whether the squirrel was still there or not. (Mostly not, one way or another, but there have been times where we finished our beer with a lucky squirrel sitting there watching.) I honestly don't think it's been cleaned for 30 years.
It's in the corner of his living room now until he goes. Sometimes we go out in the backyard and shoot cans. The crusty ol' guy is still an awesome shot with it. I think he's several hundred squirrels up on me. I still don't think it's been cleaned, but that piece of crap gun with the scratched up stock is worth more to me than anything I've got.
The gun that I treasure most is a Stevens single shot .22lr.
My dad carried this gun in the "loop" or gun holder section of one of those "rug" seat covers in his truck. He always had a box of shells in the glovebox. Often, during squirrel season, we'd pull into the driveway and park. We'd get out, drop the tailgate, grab a cold one out of the cooler, and out would come that .22 which we'd lay in the bed. Most of the time, we'd finish our beer, the rifle would go back in its "spot" and we'd head to the house. Sometimes, though, one of us would see a squirrel. The deal was, whoever saw it tried to shoot it.
Only one shot, though. If you missed, you had to reload it and put it back in its spot whether the squirrel was still there or not. (Mostly not, one way or another, but there have been times where we finished our beer with a lucky squirrel sitting there watching.) I honestly don't think it's been cleaned for 30 years.
It's in the corner of his living room now until he goes. Sometimes we go out in the backyard and shoot cans. The crusty ol' guy is still an awesome shot with it. I think he's several hundred squirrels up on me. I still don't think it's been cleaned, but that piece of crap gun with the scratched up stock is worth more to me than anything I've got.
Bubbles
Member
The only gun we have with sentimental value is a black powder revolver used in the Civil War, and handed down through the generations.
After my mom passed I sold her guns because they were all relatively new models, and I didn't grow up shooting any of them so they held no memories for me.
After my mom passed I sold her guns because they were all relatively new models, and I didn't grow up shooting any of them so they held no memories for me.
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