Moral question

[M29since14]

Grandpa kept telling his grandson that he sure wished he never had sold his Marlin rifle...

Uh oh. This kind of changes my answer. If there is a chance the grandson wants to "return" the rifle to the grandfather before he dies, I would sell him the rifle. As Feralmeril says, selling it to make grandson and grandfather feel better before the old man passes on probably won't change your life - financially.

If it is something else, then I would stick with my earlier post.

 

[Skeeziks]

An un-fired, NIB 1976 vin. 336C would be valued at $750 - $1000.

 

[cp1969]

I've got a un-fired NIB mod. 27 mfd. in 1976.... Should I sell it to my friend for two hundred bucks?

Well...should I?

You need to start your own thread (and include the circumstances under which you acquired your gun) rather than try to justify your position in this thread with a hypothetical scenario.

The OP asked "what would you do?" You've already made your position clear, as have others. Did you expect everyone to answer as you did?

 

[Dr.-d]

There is probably alot more to the story like the grandson can't pass a NICS check.

 

[Wheelgunner840]

The grandson has probably been haunting the old man about it so much that the guy is tired of hearing him whine. This would lead to, "I wish I never sold that rifle in the first place!" You are getting that line third hand. It might not even be true! If it is really bothering you, just ask the old man. If not, just keep the gun.

One more thing. If the gun is unfired, why would the old man wish he had never sold it? It's not like he wants to go out and bag a deer at this point. It will remain unfired, and be as important as any other $200 item. I am going with the grandson pestering the old guy for what he sees as a quick turn-around for a quick buck (and I don't mean the kind with antlers!)


WG840

 

[cass]

If I knew that someone had my GF's gun, I'd pay whatever they asked in order to have it, and keep it in the family.

 

[Skeeziks]

You need to start your own thread (and include the circumstances under which you acquired your gun) rather than try to justify your position in this thread with a hypothetical scenario.

The OP asked "what would you do?" You've already made your position clear, as have others. Did you expect everyone to answer as you did?

I don't need to justify my position. I wasn't the one who advised him to sell it for one-fourth its value without having knowledge of its worth.

 

[m1gunner]

Sounds like you had a business type relationship with the fellow over the years. If you feel like you want to do him one last favor, sell the gun to the grandson.

If you do sell it, make it a FFL transfer.

Have you thought about paying the old man a visit?

 

[bmcgilvray]

The grandson is making a poor imitation of someone trying to be manipulative.

 

[ar15ed]

good grief! you guys are too hard! i would just sell the thing to the kid for the 200, and move along with a warm feeling in my heart! it can't hurt to make an old guy think there are still people who will do crazy stuff just because it needs to be done. i really don't think it would be my place to decide if the young guy was trying to be manipulative, or just realized pa didn't still have the old marlin, and decided he was gonna want something to remember the old dude by when he is gone. heck, he might not be able to afford to spend much more than 200 on a gun at the moment.

i would just do it, and be happy. one gun deal with no profit or loss is really no big deal in the big scheme of things!

good luck!

 

[ia1727]

I've got a un-fired NIB mod. 27 mfd. in 1976.... Should I sell it to my friend for two hundred bucks?

Well...should I?

NO----you'll always feel bad and it could ruin a friendship--you and I will probably never meet so I'll take it--problem solved ?

Steve

 

[Chili Vega]

I would sell the rifle to the grandson for what I paid for it. Your intentions in doing so would be honorable. What is in the grandson's heart is irrelevant. It's funny how many people quickly become worried about the monetary value of something. I think selling would be the right thing to do. You are probably feeling the same way or you would not have started this thread. You gotta be happy with what you see when you shave.

 

[Denver Dick]

. . . I do not care to sell this one . . .

You said it, so there it is. This is not a firearm like my Dad's Winchester Model 12 that he carried with him hunting for many, many years and that I handled when I was very, very young in the late 1950s. This is a NIB firearm. I would not offer it to the kid at any price; it simply is not for sale. Heck, the grandfather probably still has some NIB firearms that the kid will get anyway.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Sounds like gramps needed some money and you helped him out.

I would find out more about the grandson. What kind of person is he? Did he visit or help gramps once in a while? Or did he show his face simply when he wanted something?

It would'nt bother me whether I sold it to the kid or not. My decision would be based on whether I thought the kid deserved it.

If I knew the gun was worth much more, it would not be a factor in my decision. I don't buy or collect guns for their monetary value. If I knew he was a good kid and was'nt going to sell it, I would probably sell it too him.

What are you going to do with it? Are you going to hand it down? If so, what are they going to do with it?

Another thought, if gramps wanted him to have it he would not have sold it. And if gramps needed the money, where was his family?

Last Christmas, my father gave me his S&W 19-2 that I shot as a kid. I have the original box, wax paper, and receipt. I would NEVER sell this gun and will probably hand it down. But a gun that I bought from someone else has no real value or meaning other than money.

Tough decision.

 

[WhisperFan]

How does the grandson know that you even still have it?

Maybe you are the type of gun owner that never sells a firearm, but I buy and sell so much, that I am not sure I even still own any firearms that I had in 1999.

If you want to keep it, and not look like a jerk about it, just tell the grandson that you sold it years ago at a gun show (assuming your state doesn't have some sort of registration)

On the other hand, you could tell the grandson that you are going to keep it, but you make him a deal. If you ever sell it, you will give him the first crack at buying it, and if you keep it forever, you will leave it to him in your will. The rifle will eventually pass back to him (for sentimental reasons) but he doesn't get it now.

 

[BarbC]

I would not sell it back, especially for the 1999 price.

As others have said, if Grandpa wanted the kid to have it, he'd have saved it for him and sold something else if he needed the money. 11 years ago, the grandson was 17 or 18, old enough to consider if the grandfather wanted to save it for him when he was old enough to appreciate it.

And I agree that Grandpa might be saying "I wish I never sold that gun" just to get the kid off his back about it.

It's your gun and your decision. After all this time, you are under no obligation to sell it back unless you decide on a price you are willing to part with it for and he agrees to it.

If you had sold it a few years ago, where would the kid be now? Letting the issue go and fixating on something else's of Grandpa's to remember him by (if that is the intent). I believe the true intent is wringing some money out of the estate.

 

[bishopm14]

Do what you think is right. It's already been hashed out pretty well. I don't think you owe the grandson a thing, but on the other hand I like to see family end up with guns of their relatives. A true unfired mid '70's 336 is not a $200 gun anymore, but it's also not a $750-1000 gun either. Maybe on Marlinowners theoryville or something, but probably not real-world.
I do disagree with the sentimental thing though. I've got guns that were in my late grandfather's estate, that I have no idea if he ever shot, and they are sentimentally important to me. Granddad was not a hunter or shooter, and I suspect some of the guns might have been taken as trade or payment for work, since he was a self employed dozer operator. Doesn't matter if they were used, they were his, and I still value them greatly. YMMV.

 

[66TAS]

I never knew how many hard hearted cynics were on this forum. My grandfather sold or traded quite a few of his things that I would have liked to have had shortly before his death. The biggy was his 65 Ford F100. Everyone in the county knew I wanted it, yet a fellow I had known virtually my whole life came to an agreement with him and bought it. Shortly after my grandfathers death, he offered to sell it to me....at a nice profit to him. Needless to say, he still has it and I wouldnt cross the street to spit on him if he were on fire.

You asked "What would you guys do" and titled your thread "Moral Question"......I would "give" the rifle back to the grandson, or sell it back for the $200. No, I would give it to him. I tend to think that right is right, and not always assume the worst in peoples intentions. Sometimes I'm wrong....but mostly I'm not.

Do whatever will allow you to sleep at night, it could be that my morals and yours are a bit different. It doesnt matter why the kid wants it, it would only matter to me that I gave the rifle to him for his own sentimental desires. What happens after that is on the kids conscience.

YMMV

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Yes, the Thread Title guided my answer. Had the title been "Investment Return Analysis" or "How to Invent a Story About the Whereabouts of a Rifle" my reply would have been much different.

Answering a Moral Question with a calculator and lie to a dying friend... well... it just never occurred to me as an approach that would satisfy one's conscience. But we all got out own set of morals to live by or otherwise conscience to live with. What works for one may not be best for another.

 

[DeathGrip]

A moral question.Where are the morals in going back on a deal?I'm looking at the morals of the Grandfather and Grandson.
Unless the OP thinks he swindled the Grandfather at $200 in '99 then Its up to him.(I don't think it unreasonable but a good deal)
I'm not one to easily lie but in this case a little white lie could have ended this.This wasn't like they were best friends but more like a working relationship.