When you die, where are your guns going?

[gbw]

Looking through the very fun "Who are you" thread, I see a lot of folks like me. I'm staring down the bore of 60 years of age. That doesn't bother me much, but it does raise a question I've been struggling with.

Like many of you I have several dozen guns. Most are not rare, but they are fairly nice, and several are quite valuable.

Kids and other relatives are not as interested as I am. They'll take some of them, but a large number will be left, and I'd hate to believe they'll be auctioned off for money, they've added so much to my enjoyment of life. But that may be their fate.

I have thought of some other pre or post-death disposal options, and of course it depends somewhat on how laws change between now and that second day of infamy, hopefully deep in the future, when I expire.

Still, although it's admittedly a bit morbid, I'd be interested to see if the other geezers and geezer-gonna-be's here have considered this yet, and if so what they are thinking.

 

[DHJenkins]

Two words:

Treasure map.

 

[crebralfix]

At least one's going with me

Others will be given to friends and family before I kick the bucket.

HMMMM....maybe I'll have a shooting competition and the winner of each event will get a gun. I could use the entry fees for a quick trip to the Mustang Ranch in Nevada Hopefully, I'll be so old that Viagra won't work anymore.

 

[jaysouth]

Thats a good question that should command the attention of every gun fancier.

Except for the daily carry gun, all the guns in my safe are tagged with the heir's name. I have also executed a bill of sale for each gun. The bills are in my file at my lawyer's office.

I would be willing to be that half of you have a wife that hates guns for whatever reason. My wife hates them because they give me so much pleasure.

Before you die, you need to have a home named for each gun whether it is an heir or dealer.

A friend in Richmond buys estate guns. He has had calls from new widows to get them out of the house as soon as possible. In one case, he paid $100 for a Winchester Model 21 with the proviso that it be removed from the house before the funeral.

Without prior planning, your guns will collect dust for years before being removed by a stranger who pays a pittance for them, or worse, in the basement or attic of a relative who could care less about them.

I have been advised to keep very portable assets (like guns, cash, jewelry, etc) out of a will. Less "paperwork" that way.

 

[preachnhunt]

My kids get what they want. The rest go to any young person I know who will enjoy them. I have already given a couple to my neighbor for his kids and they hunt with them. It's a good way to pass on our passion when we pass.

 

[Sam1911]

Kids and Grandkids. hopefully.

So far the kids are both enthusiastic shooters. I'd like to think that I'll carefully select which of the more treasured items seems most appropriate to give to each kid, and then divvy up the rest evenly. Of course, this is a process that starts hopefully a long time before I take the last ride.* I'd like to get the chance to watch them all enjoy the guns for a few decades before I'm gone. Sure, I'll keep a few right to the end, but not most. At least that's the plan.

-Sam

* -- the plan there is like some die-hard skeet shooters do. I'd like my remains loaded into shotgun shells and fired out over the range. Unfortunately, I'm really not into cremation, so SOMEBODY's going to have to spend some hours with a Quisinart to get me ready to load...

 

[LoneCoon]

I've talked about it with my wife, though I'm pretty young Hopefully the people getting my firearms will be my future children, but if I buy the farm earlier than expected, she gets whatever she wants, and my sisters can have the rest.

 

[BCCL]

Assuming my older brother is still alive, him, accept for any "left-handed" guns I have, being a southpaw myself, I am leaving htem to my great nephew, who is 3 now, since he is the only other southpaw guy in the family.

His parents will get them for him if I don't make it to his 18th birthday.

 

[aka108]

I'm selling off a large part of my collection at the moment. Pre-estate sale. Wish I could get my wife to do the same with some of here stuff.

 

[stonecutter2]

Two words:

Treasure map.

hahaha

 

[gbw]

"*-- the plan there is like some die-hard skeet shooters do. I'd like my remains loaded into shotgun shells and fired out over the range. Unfortunately, I'm really not into cremation, so SOMEBODY's going to have to spend some hours with a Quisinart to get me ready to load..."

LOL! And I thought I was morbid!! Great answers so far.

 

[Eightball]

Hopefully, friends and relatives.....though I might take one with me .

Of course, if the current administration has its way.......maybe the smelter

 

[Flame Red]

I only can hope I can leave them to my kids, and don't have to donate them to some museum or bury them to keep them out of the hands of Obomination's Brown Shirts when he sends them to confiscate them.

 

[paul]

This reminds me of a friend who passed a few years ago...
He had a collection that was second to none in my experience.
I'd loosely value it at over $1 million, with several items worth six figures apiece.
He went suddenly (and sadly), and alone...
I know he had a son, but have no knowledge of his interests.
I've often wondered what became of his firearms legacy...
p

 

[Sam1911]

LOL! And I thought I was morbid!! Great answers so far.

Oh, I don't hold any records, there. A good buddy of mine informed his parents that when they passed he was going to the taxidermists' and they'd both be holding martini trays in his living room for eternity... Now THAT's a bit morbid.

Anyway...


Another good friend of mine just helped out the family of an elderly shooting buddy of ours who passed away last month. He had a small collection (20 guns or so) and probably 10,000 rds of ammunition, plus a lot of reloading stuff crammed into his elderly-bachelor apartment. (Highly disorganized, not very clean, etc.)

Neither of the old guy's kids is into shooting and both lived hundreds of miles away. Their intent when they got into his place was to haul the lot down to the local police department and ask them to dispose of them!

After spending a few days with the family, my friend was granted the authority to arrange for the guns to be sold at Blue Book value and the money goes to the heirs.

Agains ALL the odds, the old man's guns are actually being passed on to the friends he chose to spend his last years with. It warms my heart that it turned out that way, and chills my blood at how it COULD have ended. And how often I'm sure it really DOES end down at the PD with the guns going to the shredder.

-Sam

 

[thirdeagle]

My children, my son especially. If my demise is untimely (i.e. before my father) then the guns will head back up the line until my children are ready to assume responsibility for them.

 

[tinygnat219]

Kids (if we ever have any). Barring that, Nieces and Nephews, good friends, and cousins.

 

[gvnwst]

If i ever have kids, and they are intrested in guns, they will get some. Hopefully by the time i go, i will have more than now though, so i will spread it around to some of my best friends. (THR members, so don't worry, the same guns will get posted. Again, and again, and again, and.....)

 

[3pairs12]

As of right this second my guns would go into my wifes possesion until my 11yr old was old enough to have them. She has taking quite a liking to shooting and hunting. Several years down the road this may change because I also have a 2 year old and if she is anything like her older sister they will have to be split half and half. Oh I guess my wife can keep "her" pistol.

 

[jackstinson]

Same fate as my guitars; they will get split up between my two sons. The oldest will most likely sell his share asap. The youngest will probably keep a few of them and sell what he doesn't want. It is no big deal....I collect and shoot for MY enjoyment. When I'm gone, what happens to the tools won't matter at all to me.
This thread reminds me of two years ago when my three sisters and I "split up" my mother's stuff. I only wanted a few things that had meaning to me. They took everything else and sold most of it on eBay within a couple of weeks. People see things different ways. To my sisters, this was their "inheritance"...as in cash from selling as much as they could sell. To me, I just wanted my mom's old violin and some photos which had personal meaning.
Jack

 

[Funderb]

to my friends and family that want them.

 

[Hk91-762mm]

I have no kids No relitives except a bro whos my age . Im going to have to sell them i guess-But My gun stuff is what gives me pleasure as I get older ,,What to do..????

 

[OOOXOOO]

I plan on passing them down to my two sons. The only thing I'm worried about are my sons doing something stupid and not being able to transfer my class 3 stuff. My oldest is 4 so I am working hard to make my children resposible adults who respect firearms.

 

[yeti]

I ain't going no where!

 

[rogertc1]

I have quite a extensive and good sized collection $100.000. All 3 of my kids could give a darn about guns even though they were brought up with them. When I made out my Will I left them all to my oldest son wether he likes it or not. They will be his problem.