When it’s time to say goodbye

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At some point I will leave this current existence. At that time all my physical possessions will no longer belong to me, nor will I need them, nor want them.
I do have offspring. I know all of them will be glad to have some of them. Their desire for my collection ranges from the rather functional to the nearly avaricious. Between the three of them, none are avid collectors as I am nor do they have the same tastes. So, I will give some of my property to some of them, and sell the rest and leave the money (it has to go somewhere). I will no doubt leave some bequests to various non-profit organizations, but the bulk will go to my heirs. (No wife for which to provide and not likely to be.)
Something I will NOT do is give any of them all the 'stuff' and have them sell it for thirty cents on the dollar to get a fast (but much undervalued) amount of cash.

Presuming I'm not run over by a truck when I leave the house this morning.
 
I gave my dads Marlin model 39 lever action 22 to my son to be held for my grandson who now is turning 11. Along with a letter telling about it and where it came from. When I am gone grandson will get that rifle, but not right now.
 
Mine are in my (our) will... I have a appendix of who gets what. I have no illusions... my daughter has little interest in firearms, although I make her go shoot with me from time to time... but she will wind up with about half of my firearms. If she chooses to dispose of them... that's her business, they would be hers at that point.
 
xring3, I know this was a tough decision for you to make. Looking at the above post I see that many of us are thinking about our stuff when we are gone.

I retired late in 2015 and started thinning out my "stuff". I had a bunch of belt buckles, knives, duplicated reloading equipment, a bunch of brass for calibers that I didn't load or ever plan to load for and some other stuff. I let my boys look at everything and then me and a buddy got a table at a local gun show. That was actually fun, being on the other side of the table from my norm!

Early in 2020 I thinned out some of the guns that I didn't shoot anymore. I also offered these to my boys and let them have the ones that they wanted. A shooting buddy with an FFL listed the leftovers on Gunbroker for me.

I have inherited guns twice. My Grandfather on my Mothers side of the family left his guns to my Brother and I with first pick to be decided by drawing straws. There were an uneven number so we offered our Dad first pick. He and Grandpa were very close. When Dad passed away we did the same thing, drawing straws. I have instructions for my boys to do the straw drawing thing to! My Wife and I have written down a few wishes for some of my guns and Her jewelry to go to certain Grandchildren, with the boys consent.
 
xring3 said:
... As I’m in my seventh decade of my life, I’ve decided to let go of some of collection. ...
Click to expand...
Only in your 60s and you are already Taking Steps? JMO, but that sounds a bit premature.

I, too, am in my 7th Decade (right at the end of the decade, actually, 69) but I am not yet starting to actively dispose of the Collection (Accumulation) yet. ;)

O'course, my health is fairly good and yours, perhaps, is not. I hope that is not the case.

Airborne Falcon said:
I think I am just going to write down who gets what and let them have at it after I kick ... not in my Will mind you, because all of those guns were lost in a boating accident during Hurricane Hugo ... but the couple remaining, I'll let'em know who gets what in separate private notes.
Click to expand...

That ... sounds like a great idea to me. :)
 
A plan executed is better than no plan at all. OP is doing it right.

Last year I was talking to a collector who operates a storefront and he told me he looked up thru the windows and saw someone backing into the angled parking on the main street where he was located, trunk first. "He stopped her from tossing all of the guns in her trunk" had happened, she had. He had passed away with no stipulations in the will, if the collector hadn't been in his shop that day, she was off to pawn shops to dispose of all the useless junk.

After 65, there are no guarantees. One thing is sure, how your property is handled after you are gone is what is remembered. Don't be that guy everyone hears about, who left it up to his widow, and who is now cursed roundly by her and the family for the trouble he caused for trying to sort out and dispose of his collection of junk - which is how it was finally sold. I handled my mom's estate, imagine an 8 gallon bucket of home shopping jewelry to be disposed of. I also know coworkers with three or four rooms of the house filled with shipping tubs with Hot Wheels in them, stacked to the ceiling and one pathway in. 31x18x12 in a 10x12 room, we did the math one snowy day, over 155 totes in a room, each tote holding hundreds, over 30,000 Hot Wheels in the house. Taking them to conventions, the totes sell for a set price, usually half or less current retail. Yet the owners pay in full at the register. I just shake my head, I did the same with Army Surplus, and now is the time to get out while someone else appreciates it for what it is, rather than find it was ground up for reinforcement fiber in roll roofing. If you are over 65, sell out while you can, or you may lose it all. You can't take it with you, and you aren't getting out alive.
 
Brother X,I am there too.

But still cling to the notion that I am a hunter & shooter [ range as often as my lazy butt can move ].

And no children to leave them to,my wife wants me to divest before its too late.

I run smack into age 74 in 2 months,and just bought & traded my Harley RoadKing for a Harley Trike.

As I sell off one,I buy another.

I know its a sickness,and I hope its cured before I pass :)

Keep on keeping on brothers of "our" age.
 
I never have believed in controlling or worrying about worldly possessions from the grave; keep them, sell them, buy more, keep some, etc - when you pass, I am quite sure that what you owned when you walked this planet does not weigh heavily on your dead mind - I get tickled when I hear people talk about “stuff” left behind - taking your last breath with firearms occupying your last thoughts - seems like a shallow passing to me. When I am gone, my family can take all of my firearms to the BBQ pit and set fire to them if they wish, I am convinced that I will not mind - it is funny how people perceive life, “stuff” and death. You have never been elevated to anything above a visitor here - the stuff doesn’t matter in the end.
 
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My son and one of my daughters seem to be on the right track and interested in guns. My other daughter is on the right track, but may not be as interested as her siblings. The two may get a few more than the third, but that always may change.

They are always the first choice, but I have a few dear friends that will see something from my collection should I pass before they do.

May you find a good use with the money you receive, maybe a trip you’ve always wanted but never could do. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
If I kept every gun I ever bought it would be a full time job just keeping them clean and oiled. A few years ago I started to try and list every gun I have ever owned. Every new day would bring a memory of one or two more. Got to a point where I no longer cared ,so I gave up. Now I am down to two, and soon it may be none. That will be very hard. I was thinking of offering the OP twice what I paid for my first 03 which was still unissued coming out of a wood crate with more of its family. Then I realized that a $50 offer might be an insult. LOL :)
 
With 71 trips around the sun I am fortunate in that I have never had a need or desire to sell off any of my guns. When I check out everything is spelled out as to what goes where. The kids and grandkids know how things will go. The wife (assuming she outlives me) knows values and can sell off the balance or do whatever she chooses. When we are dead we are dead and that's about it. The guns, like other possessions, including the house are merely stuff. Hell if anything can benefit the grandkids education then so be it. :)

Ron
 
Mine will go to my SIL, who is also my best friend. I have sold a few guns that hadn't been shot in 20 or 30 years and don't miss them at all. It's tough to think about but I agree a plan is better than doing nothing.
 
I have recently reduced my collection from 105 guns to 35, with the intention of reducing it further to about 15 or 20. My son has zero interest in firearms, but an interest in family history, so he is getting my grandfather's (circa 1924) Winchester Model 12 and my other grandfather's (circa 1940s or 50s) Remington 512 .22. My daughter wants a 1903 Colt in gold plate that was a family friend's. All others with family provenance have gone...or are going to my nephew, who is really into firearms. One is going to a museum. The remainder will likely be part of my estate and have to be disposed of, but it should be manageable.
 
Every time I see one of these threads about someone selling off or otherwise divesting themselves of their guns before they pass (OR worrying about what will become of their guns after they pass) I think of my favorite shotgun - my old Browning A-5, Light 12. Not only is it my favorite, it’s probably the best shotgun I’ve ever owned, and it once belonged to my brother-in-law (my wife’s sister’s husband) Tom. However, Tom didn’t exactly “leave” that shotgun to me. He was in his mid-50s when he contracted macular degeneration, went blind, and consequently gave his guns to those he knew would use and appreciate them.

Tom didn’t have many guns (only 3 that I know of for sure) but neither of his kids, both of whom are typical yuppie snowflakes, wanted anything to do with them. And while his wife, Linda, wasn’t at all anti-gun, I think the only time she ever actually fired a gun was one time when she and Tom were here for a visit and my wife and I took them shooting.

At any rate, I think Tom gave one of his guns to my wife’s brother, and he gave me the Browning A-5 as well as a Browning BAR (semi-auto) 30-06. In turn, I gave the Browning BAR to a good friend who needed a deer and elk rifle but was struggling to make ends meet for his young family. I kept the A-5, put a synthetic stock on it, and I’ve been using it for pheasant hunting for close to 20 years now.

Tom passed in 2008, 9 or 10 years after he contracted macular degeneration, but only a year or so after his beloved Linda passed after losing her battle with leukemia. I believe both Tom and Linda are in a much better place now, a place where blindness and cancer don’t exist. I also hope to be in that place someday, but as long as I’m still here and able, I’m going to just keep on carrying that old Browning A-5 when I’m out pheasant hunting.:thumbup:

BTW, I’m sure that both of our two daughters, as well as our 4 grandsons would each like to have some of my guns - the ones my wife doesn’t want to hang onto anyway if I go first. But I’m not going to worry about it. There are enough things in this world to worry about (like macular degeneration and leukemia) without worrying about what will become of my guns after I’m gone.
 
OP I hope you get a good price and the knowledge someone else will be able to enjoy those firearms.

At 71 I am blessed with two sons that will be happy to have my collection. I've already given them several things from collection. I was following the advice of an elder to give them away now you can all enjoy the happiness rather than when you are gone. I have also been culling out and selling off some things neither son are interested in owning. I sold some on consignment and others through an auction house. The latter is a good way for relatives to dispose of items they may or may not be familiar with. Choosing an auction house that is connected to Proxibid.com opens up the number of buyers and helps assure the seller realize the true market price.

As someone that has had to sort through the effects of several dead relatives I must say, PLEASE sort through your old papers, saved items, drawers, closets etc and give away/donate/dispose of the things you are never going to use. IMO, collections are great, but things like books, tools, knives, firearms are made to be used, allow someone else that joy.
 
Another 71 Y.O. here. Retired a little over 5 years ago and thinning things out little by little. My son would get the guns if I still have any when I pass. That's been the deal; he gets them and he knows enough to get appraisals, sell them at a fair price and keep the money. The ones I'm selling off now he still gets the money on the condition that it goes into his Roth IRA and by the time he retires, ( he's now 38) that money will have increased significantly. Plus it will spare him a lot of work getting appraisals, selling them, etc.. It will help make settling my estate easier and simpler.
 
For heavens sake. I'll be 69 next month. Buy another gun that you like. Life is hard enough at present. Let's not fret what happens after we are gone. Aren't us older folks entitled to the same freedoms and choices of those younger than us?
 
I am turning 78 in a week or so, just purchased that Anderson AM15 after I sold my other AR's a few years ago. Headed out to the range today to get it sighted in. You might not need 10 or more guns but a few will do.
 
You can't take 'em with you, as we all know. I'm 53, soon to be 54, and I have an Sphinx SDP on my way. Did I need a 5th 9mm? No, not really. But, I do think I'm at the point where if I buy one, I'll let one go. My kids are not into firearms, but I suspect I'll still will a pistol and a rifle to my son. I have a nephew in law who is most definitely a firearms enthusiast. He'll likely get one or two. The rest will likely be long-gone before it comes to that, though as we also know, most of us don't know when that will happen. I DO know that I don't want firearms, accessories, and ammo to be a burden when I pass. So I'll have a plan...
 
I'm sorry that you're having to let them go, but I understand it. My kiddo isn't into guns, but she's going to have to deal with at least a few at some point. Nonetheless, I'm not likely to increase the size of my collection very much between now and my passing.

I'll also add that my Dad owned some guns. We thought it was a ton of them growing up, but I know realize that it was a pretty moderate number. Still, his health no longer allows him to handle firearms, much less shoot them, so I'm in the process of helping my mother sell off some of them.
 
I saw an old girl friend of mine at my high school reunion. She said that just before her father passed, he sold a Japanese Arasaka and bayonet he picked up while fighting in the Pacific during WW II. He said he wanted it to go to someone who would appreciate it. When I described it 45 years later, she said yes that was the one... But I understand it going to someone who will care, and not have it be more stuff to get rid of.
 
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