Who do you leave your guns to, if no one in your family wants them?

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There's a T-Shirt,,,

It reads:

Oh Lord.
Please don't let my widow sell my guns
For what I told her I paid for them.​

I have one liberal brother who doesn't want any,,,
One sister who wouldn't know what to do with them,,,
One brother-in-law who isn't ever getting anything of mine,,,
And one nephew who does hunt but wouldn't shoot any of my handguns.

So I have arranged with my brother,,,
He will dole out my guns to friends and acquaintances,,,
I have made a spreadsheet of who gets what and put it in my will.

Two people on this forum are going to score nicely,,,
As well as a few people on another forum,,,
Some will be sold through a FFL friend.

Let the kissing-up begin now. :p

Most of my 50+ guns will go to close friends,,,
But only to people who I think will actually shoot them.

I have written letters to the recipients that will go with the guns,,,
In the letter I have written about our friendship and what it meant to me.

When it is relevant I have also written about the history of the particular gun,,,
Like when my dear friend Jane gets my Momma's Colt Frontier Scout,,,
She will know that I want her to pass it down to her daughter,,,
She and her daughter are recreational shooters,,,
So the gun won't waste away in a drawer.

Make a plan and implement it,,,
That's all it takes.

Aarond

.
 
We had a neighbor when I was a kid that never had any family at all except a brother that died before my neighbor did. That neighbor never married either and not being such a god cook he would come to my grandmother's house for dinner pretty much every day of the world. He spoiled us kids with presents on everyone's birthday and candy or bubblegum every day when he came for dinner. He also piled up presents like Santa himself at Christmas. We sorta looked at him like Santa actually but we were very young at the time. Still that man made an impression on us. He was a good person and a good neighbor. It was a hillbilly type neighbor relationship that you just never see in cities or I haven't anyway.

When he died he had exactly one rifle that he had used to kill an occasional squirrel and to keep the varmints out of his garden. He left that rifle to my dad in his will because he didn't have anyone else to leave it to. My dad had a bunch of rifles so my brother latched onto that rifle and used it to kill squirrels for a good 15 years. Then he moved on and got his own rifle. That left me as the only brother still in the house and the rifle that dad still didn't need. So dad officially gave it to me maybe 35 years ago. It still shoots as well as any rifle I own. It's as simple as they come. It's a single shot, bolt action .22 Stevens 15-B. It shoots shorts, longs and LR's and it's killed more squirrels than all my other rifles combined. And I wouldn't trade it for a brand new Anschutz 54. I will leave it to one of my kids. I may work out which one tomorrow. My daughter already has a shotgun I gave her that has a similar story behind it. So likely it will go to my son. I hope I can instill in him what that rifle has meant to me.

So maybe the OP can start another tradition that goes on for generations like my neighbor did. My uncle did the same thing with the shotgun my daughter now owns. Different story of course but similar in many ways. Give a gun to someone who will appreciate it. Make friends with a kid and teach him to use a gun and then leave it to him. Make sure there are no parent issues of course. A young guy might be the ticket.

People should get to know their neighbors like we did way back when no one had cars to travel all over like we do now. Yes we had cards but they weren't as durable or reliable so our friends were our neighbors. Join a local church or find someone at the local gun range. There are good things you can do with your guns. I have several people in mind that i can leave a gun to after my death. Some have been lifelong friends. Others have done things for me that they didn't need to do. And others I just want to do something for them.

Pay it forward I guess I'm trying to say.
 
My wife or kids can do whatever they want with them or any other thing I have. They are, after all just things.
I just hope they take the time to get all the cash they can for my stuff and not just give it away.
 
I'm in your same situation, I'm 57 and have had some serious health issues this last year ... I've got more than a few and approximately half I can't shoot because of recoil & brittle bones ... I'm on a medication that may strengthen them to where I might be able to shoot them in 4-5 years if I don't have other issues come up ... So lately I've been thinning out them out ... Eventually I'll be down to my just NFA toys and "keepers" and the survivors know to put them up for auction so they'll get a fair price.
 
I thinned out my collection awhile ago, but had been allowing it to creep back up with guns I wasn't shooting that much. I just sold off five of those to buy one new top drawer precision rifle & scope. Life's short, why not enjoy the good stuff?

As for when I go, I'm single with no kids. My best friend & my youngest brother will be getting some nice stuff, as might my sisters youngest who seems to be the only niece or nephew who's into shooting. Also maybe a good young man who I've become friends with who likes things that go bang.
 
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I have a retired neighbor who is in the OPs situation. About 7 years ago when I moved in across the street he had 2 guns a security six and 410 single shot. We started talking guns and shooting together. 7 years later he has a modest collection and now shoots regilarly. I reload some for him and help around the house, he and his wife watch our kids regularly they are like family.

He has told me that he would like me to help his wife with his firearms as his only daughter doesn't like guns. He has already told me that he wants me to have his 45-70 guide gun and I expect I will purchase some others from his wife.

As others have said his friendship is worth more than any firearm and they are just things but it is nice to pick up a gun and have fond memories of a friend when the are no longer there.
 
I thought I knew what to do with them until Washington State passed Initiative 594. Now,my wife has to license them with the state Dept. of Licenses within 60 days of my death, or be declared a felon. She, however, doesn't want them anyway, but I'd like for her to have the time to sell them or otherwise dispose of them without being in a big hurry.
 
Cloud said:
Told my wife I was leaving them to our oldest son who is 22. She told me that she did not want hm to have them and if I die before her she is gong to call the sheriffs office to come get them.
Click to expand...

Then talk to your son and find out if he is really interested in them.
IF he is, then transfer those he wants to him NOW so she can't prevent it.
I thought about suggesting you put the guns in a "trust" separate from your will, but I don't believe that would be secure enough to keep your widow from screwing it up.
 
I have a few people in mind if it comes to that.

Close friends with firearms friendly kids are my first choice. I have some hunting buddies whose youngsters 'came of age' while I was in grad school that are good candidates.

There are some real issues with firearms transfers in CO these days ... the hicap mags cannot be transferred if the law is followed to the letter. Estates can be transferred en masse or exempted from checks in some circumstances. Your executor needs good instructions, any good dealer can walk an executor through the process of an estate sale if it comes to that.



I might ask to be buried with one ;) just in case I need to shoot my way out of hell. ;)
 
I talked to my son tonight. He definitely wants my guns. I made him aware of how much I wanted him to hold on to Santa's rifle (he seemed like Santa anyway). I know he got the picture. He was just concerned with a place to keep them since he currently lives in an apartment. I figure that will change before me and my wife are both gone from this world. And I suppose the safe will go with the guns. My guess is my daughter will want her share of them too. They both really enjoyed shooting at times in their lives. I tried to encourage that in them and it looks like it took root.
 
I leave ALL my possessions to next in line in my family. If they don't want something they do whatever they want with it.

If it's not a sudden event, and someone I cared about wanted something I own, I'd just give it to them.

Why in the world would you worry about it? You sure won't when the time comes.
 
I don't really worry about this stuff but I would like those special guns to stay in the family. It's an heirloom thing to me. It's just part of the family that stays in the family IMO. No big deal and I certainly am not going to insist that anyone keep all my guns. I just like to think they care enough about the family history to want to keep something that was important to me and generations before me. I feel the same way about the family farm BTW. It's fed our family for almost 200 years now. I wouldn't want to see it leave the family and no one else would either. That's why it is still part of the family. My father and his siblings thought about putting it up for sale and had a meeting about it once. Everyone ended up backing out of the whole deal. I would do the same today. It's a good farm and it's isolated from the world and easily protected relatively speaking. It's a great place to ride out a depression and that's been done there more than once.
 
I have a few that should stay with family but with a single child, a daughter, I realize I will need reduce the pile. She shoots but it's limited. I do not want to leave a complicated ordeal for my family to straighten out after I'm gone.

....but every time I tell myself I need to thin the herd ... I can't pick a single one to go.
 
I'm in a similar situation to dome other posters. Single, no children, and no close relatives who are especially into guns. Best I can do is tell my two younger brothers they are both welcome to any gun they want, and offer some before hand advice on how to get the best prices for the rest.
 
If you're going to leave someone a gun(s), make sure they know before you pass. There is an older woman at my church that I have known, but not very well, for almost 25 years. When her husband passed, she offered me her husband's "3 guns".

I said I would possibly be interested in buying them. She said she didn't want to sell them (she's wealthy), she wanted to give them away. I said I would call her during the week to set up a meeting.

I finally got home several hours later and there were 3 gun cases on my porch. I pulled them inside and took a look. They are expensive arms. No way would I spend the sort on money on guns that they are worth. Each case carried a long arm and a handgun -- 6 arms total.

I felt extremely uneasy about the whole thing and I called her son the next afternoon. I explained the guns were great but I couldn't afford them and I couldn't accept them as a gift. He became very dismissive, somewhat coarse and said the guns were actually left to him and he was intent on destroying them. His Mom asked that they be given away, he agreed and after hearing from her the previous day, he placed them on my doorstep.

If I wasn't interested, he would pick them up and destroy them. That was that, my conscience immediately cleared and they reside in my arms closet to this day...
 
I've a few ideas. If they've already been vetted by some others that I've skipped over the comments of, then forgive me.

- If you have any particular item that's rare or of some historical significance, you might consider seeing if the NRA would take it for one of their museums:

http://www.nrafff.com/ways-of-giving/national-firearms-museum-gifts.aspx

- If you haven't been out target shooting at a local DNR range recently, where people come and go all the time, you might consider doing this. Quite often you see people out there with their young children teaching them and letting them have fun. Keep an eye out for such and, if you strike up a conversation that sounds promising for one of those impressionable younger generation kids, perhaps there is a deal in the making for someone who will be able to put decades of loving care and use into something you have.

- Family reunions might be another place you could find some homes at with some of the younger generation.

- You might consider range outings with newbies, as well...students, coworkers, etc. where you introduce people to the fun and sport of all things shooting. Perhaps someone deserving will stand out to you.
 
Im an old timer. All of my hunting, fishing, camping, reloading , tools and other collectables will be sold at a auction. I have talked to two auction houses about how to handle it. I wont to get rid of the stuff before I die..
 
An estate sale is the answer. The guns will go to someone who values them and your family will get money.

Mike
 
My two long time gun show buddies who I have known since high school get their pick of one each. Dads A5 20 gauge goes to my nephew, my dad's first grandchild. Father in law's Remington Model 30 20 gauge goes to wife's nephew. Everything else will be sold at auction and the proceeds go into my estate to be distributed according to my will. If my wife outlives me she will be glad I collected old guns instead of playing golf for fun. I have daughters that don't have an interest but my youngest daughter may take something out of the collection.
 
Kind of a modern problem in the vein of the kids don't want them. It's disheartening the change.......but it is what it is. I got a son...but he's a young boy. Who knows if he'll want my collection? Guess I'll worry about it when I get older. Who knows I might be asking the same question 30 years from now.
 
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