Can I just say it makes me sad...

[Muss Muggins]

Eh. I did it. It's how I got to this forum. My father had well over 100 firearms when he passed. My brother and I only kept about 25- 30 each, so we had a lot to sell. We didn't need or want the rest of the inventory, they certainly had no sentimental value, and my mother continues to enjoy the proceeds from the sale.

I can't help that your life circumstances differ from mine. Don't judge me. I'm not judging you . . .

When a new member describes a gun inherited from a father and asks what it's worth so he can sell it? My dad had a small number of firearms and died when I was very young. Mom had to sell the guns so we could eat. All I have are some old photos in an album of him hunting with a Winchester Model 12 and plinking with a 1G Colt SAA. I would give anything to have just one of his guns. It breaks my heart to see guys so absolutely disinterested in keeping their dads' guns.

Oh well. I guess everyone has his own priorities.

 

[Pisgah]

Personally, I would hope my children would want to save one or two of my guns as keepsakes; but frankly, neither one is very interested in guns, and if they need the money more than the guns I'd be perfectly happy for them to sell them all. I can't take 'em with me, and at that point I won't care...

 

[raljr1]

My only son has 20 or so of his own guns...he says he'd never sell mine, but what will he do with all of them? Many of them have little real sentimental value as I've collected about half of what I own in the last 8 or 10 years. I will let him know which pieces are dear to me in hopes that he will keep those. I will also let him know which are most valuable and let him do as he will with those...only one grandson so far and it's hard to tell what he'll be into.

Robert

 

[glenwolde]

I'm O.K. with it, but then I guess I have to be. Perhaps they have other things that belonged to their father, and just weren't into the guns.

You can't keep everything.

 

[Kinman]

I took my first deer with a model 100 Winchester .308 my grandfather "loaned" me. I returned it with a nice roast, he said "son, you didn't have to return it." I just told him that it was a loan and not a gift, he may still need it. He owned about a half dozen rifles, a little .410 shotgun and a couple pistols. One of the pistols was always referred to as "Grandpa's Forty-Four" even by my grandfather, he never showed it around but there were stories about it. A decade passed, I had my own rifles but when grandpa died my mother was the executive of the estate. I was the eldest grandchild and felt I was entitled to a shot at one or two of his firearms and inquired of my mother "What is the story on grandpa's guns." She told me "Your aunt Doris took them all and gave them to Jim's boys." I was irate and said "Hell, Jim ain't even family and his brats ain't blood." My mother just said "Thats what she wanted to do." Doris's son did not have any interest in guns but at least he was a cousin, her third husband Jim was a hunter and all his boys were also so I guess from that respect it was better than them going to a pawn shop, which is what would have happened if my drunk uncle would have got them.

 

[hkcavalier]

I don't cry one bit. The dead are beyond caring, and the ones dumping at the local shop are adults who have the freedom to make their own decisions.

The only scenario I don't like is one where the beneficiaries have gun nuts "down the line" as it were but refuse to hand them down and sell them to fund their own hobbies.

I do not miss living near Seattle, but one positive aspect is the stores usually have a constant stream of nice old guns owing to the factor described above: the largely progressive/gun hating beneficiaries dump them for a quick buck. Now that I live in the American Redoubt, mostly full of conservative country folk, vintage guns for public sale are a rarity.

 

[bluetopper]

I have a lot of experience from that scenario in my other life which is antique motorcycles. Dad/Grandpa/Uncle had a collection that no one in the family cared about. It all ends up on eBay or an estate auction. Sad but the reality of life.

I have a really nice Model 81 Remington in .35Rem that I got from a neighbor a few years back. She called one day and asked how to tell if a shotgun was loaded! I told her to leave it alone and I would come over when I got back from town. She responded that she had it in her trunk and was headed for the UPS store to send it to her SIL. I agreed to meet her there and check it for her. While we were talking I mentioned I did not know that she had such a thing (her husband had died about a year before) and she said it had been her dad's and that she had another old rifle of his. I asked about it and she said we should get together and look at it. A couple weeks went by and she called and asked my wife and I to come over, and by the way could I install a new light switch for her and get the sliding door back on the rollers. For year my wife has called me "the neighborhood husband" because everyone calls me to help. Anyhow, after the switch and roller accompanied by a nice glass of red wine she says "would you like to see the rifle". I begrudgingly answered "sure" , so she went to get it. Old sheepskin case, and when I started to pull it out I thought it was another shotgun when the Browning hump came into view. Then I saw thew rest of the receiver. I asked why she had it and she said her dad kept it in his cabin in the UP and after he died no one in the family was interested in that "old" rifle. She asked if I wanted it and I said sure, so she told me just to take it. It dates to 1937 and is in great shape. But she, her brother and sister, their kids, the in laws, no one was interested in it. And that is a sad part of our world these days.

I've been actively looking for one just like it. The prices have gone through the roof lately. It was the first commercially successful semi-auto rifle manufactured in the US. Designed by the great JM Browning.

 

[Old cop]

When my father in law passed away we inherited his 4" Model 28 and still have it over 30 yrs later. Our youngest daughter keeps it for home protection and shoots it w/me from time to time.

 

[lkabug]

Hear what you're saying.

Have a H&R "Sidekick " .22 lr slab sided 4" revolver that I learned to shoot handguns with. It's currently worth about $150 and there's no takers, even though it's pretty accurate, functional, and even looks good. Franzite grips that I used to pretend were ivory. Also several other guns from my grandfather, to my Dad, to me.

To me they're priceless.

Only one of my sons has an interest in firearms, other than basic protection of the home. The others will probably sell all of them after I'm gone. Would be just another asset, regardless of my life long interest.

Perhaps you should sale them and enjoy the money before you go!
With each restaurant visit you can thank one or your guns.

 

[Art Doc]

No, you can't keep everything. But guns are special. A very personal possession.

I cannot be mercenary enough to be happy about inherited guns being sold because I can buy them.

I understand not everyone is interested in a gun. I always say ask before bequeathing a gun.

I realize this is a personal thing with me. Because I wish I had one of my dad's guns it bothers me when others are so cavalier about them.

Here's my dad in 1949 shooting a 7.5" Colt SAA along a Missouri road.

 

[iskra]

Dad, departed quarter century ago, leaving me a little Colt .25 Auto, pix below. But ever so much more! 'The' model of honesty, integrity and hard work. Executive in large firm, never 'touchy-feely' dad-person, but ever 'there for me'. Died at 90, almost lifelong smoker, never heart or lung problems! His character-model & inspiration; big gifts to me yet giving!

Closing with the sort of chuclke he appreciated: WWII, ineligible for military service, a volunteer Air Raid Warden Captain... in a Midwestern city! Duly enforcing uphill battle of practice "Blackouts"! (Really!) Claiming correctly... Under his watch, no Nazi bombs ever to result from a single stray ray of local light!

Thanks for momentary 'sharing op' of super-dad small tribute'!
Best & Stay Safe!
John

 

[.357magger]

No, you can't keep everything. But guns are special. A very personal possession.

I cannot be mercenary enough to be happy about inherited guns being sold because I can buy them.

I understand not everyone is interested in a gun. I always say ask before bequeathing a gun.

I realize this is a personal thing with me. Because I wish I had one of my dad's guns it bothers me when others are so cavalier about them.

Here's my dad in 1949 shooting a 7.5" Colt SAA along a Missouri road.

You can't be "mercenary enough " about inherited guns being sold? Where do you think auction houses receive guns from? Museum closures? What do you think, "from the collection of..." means in the auction catalog?

I realize that many who peruse this forum are older folks (including myself), but do you think the guns routinely featured in threads, pics, and collections were purchased new by the OPs?

So you're basically "sad" on how the majority of the collectible firearms market works, and has worked, for generations?

I'm really confused by your post.

P.S. Thanks for sharing the pic of your Dad. Great photo.

 

[SpikeIDMT]

I'm still in possession of a couple of my dads hunting guns, both from the early 50's

A Remington 511 bolt action .22 rifle and a 12g Ithaca model 37 pump shotgun

Both still work but are beat to hell and back, wouldn't be worth anything except to me.

In fact those are my project guns, got some Mossy Oak gun skins, gonna turn them into new guns, ayep

Some people just don't appreciate old things

 

[Gamer]

My dad passed away when I was two but my mom kept his Browning Auto 12 gauge for me. Long story, but she remarried a preacher who had lost his wife to cancer and he became my stepdad. Preacher loved to hunt and taught me, started me out on BB guns and finally to the Browning as a teen. He never touched it or used it. But, he respected what it meant. Years later I helped with his will and was his executor. He explained to me he wanted his firearms passed to his son. I understood. Traditions are important to me. However, stuff is stuff to some folks and I get it. I still cherish the old 12 and my stepdad who didn't have to be the man he was in my life.

 

[mike from st pete]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xhmPectY9U[/ame]

 

[M29since14]

I really don't understand selling all of Dad's guns for a few dollars unless the money is needed desperately. I'd keep at least one, even if I didn't happen to be a diehard powder-burner. (At least I think I would. ) But we're all different and lots of the younger generation don't know one end of a gun from the other, and couldn't care less. Not being judgmental here, and I don't really see the OP was being so either.

I'm lucky to have four of my Dad's weapons. I still enjoy shooting them now and then. Three of them he owned when I was just a lad. I bought the fourth for him when he thought he needed a handgun for protection. (Unfortunately, it turned out to be a poor choice, on my part. ) They all have fond memories associated with them, but those memories only mean anything to me.

 

[shocker]

As one who has liquidated an estate, I can say your treasured possessions for the most part will end up with a 25 cent to $1 tag on them at the estate sale.
Collectables especially. My mom had a nice set of China but because it wasn't Wedgwood or Lenox it went for practically nothing. Same with Crystal - young women aren't interested in fancy place settings.
Inherited gun? SKB semiauto I use for skeet shooting. Would I trade/sell it? Yes. In the words of the pawn star guy, everything has a story and everything has a price.

 

[Sgt911]

My Father passed away three years ago. He had lived with me his last eleven years. My father had a few guns, none of which I will sell. He had a post 64 Winchester 94 30-30 that he sanded the **** out of the end of the buttstock so he could mount a rubber recoil pad. I was contemplating replacing the buttstock. I took the rifle out yesterday to clean it up. While looking at the buttstock, an image of my father appeared in my head. I could see him sanding the stock. I have decided to leave the rifle as is.

 

[Chukar60]

Things change. Generations dilute traditions and societal norms change tastes in activities and morals.
My daughters interest in guns ranges from passive to nonexistent. There is really no point in passing any of my guns on to them, but they will each get a couple. What they do with them is of no concern to me. It used to be, but as I said, things changes.
If I were to turn the tables and see what I would inherit from them, I would have no interest in anything they own at this time.
Completely understandable that they would likewise have little interest in what I have in the way of firearms.

 

[Salox]

Save some tax payments, legal fees, and future stress-

Communication is important. While alive, we have the opportunity to directly converse our wishes and receive input about others wishes. Make sure to have them documented in an estate plan and trusted personal representative to make the estate disbursements appropriately. The conversations are difficult, there is expense involved, and mental gymnastics have to be performed. The end result is the best we have to try and cover all the bases to leave a legacy that helps loved ones improve their situation or continue our remembrance.

If this is not done, and to the chagrin of many who have or will go through the process, will find out that money or hard assets reveal peoples true motivations in a prolonged and contested estate probate court proceeding where anything may happen except for what you thought but didn't write down. Take the initiative to leave a structured legacy that you and the persons you care about are satisfied with upon disbursement.

See both sides to this coin every working day and have been though it a few times.