thinking about selling about 90% of my firearms

[FalconLair]

first off, i've been an avid shooter for over 40 years - i still have my first purchase ever, a Browning Hi Power 9mm, Belgium made and assembled in Portugal

i think it's the best balanced gun i own

anyway, over the years i've bought in excess of 30 handguns, revolvers, a few rifles, shotguns, and, of course, several AR15 rifles, one that I built myself - in my 40 years of gun ownership i've NEVER sold off one of my firearms, even though i have many that i've still never had the chance to shoot

I enjoyed greatly just owning my guns, whether I got a chance to shoot them or not - it didn't matter

well, most of you know i had a stroke early last year, affecting my right side - i've went from practically no use in my right arm to gaining back about 70% use of my arm, but the strengthening with my wrist and fingers has been pretty dismal - still can't really hold or trigger any of them

I doubt at this point you'll be seeing me at the range and my physical therapist has indicated that the chances of getting much more recovery back isn't that encouraging and, needless to say, even after all the hard work and pain i've been though just to get back what I have now, that news has kind of let the wind out of my sails a bit

take my word, i'll keep working at it as hard as ever, i'm a pretty determined guy - but it did get me to thinking

I'm the big gun enthusiast in this house and even though my son enjoys some of my guns and rifles, I don't believe he's interested in taking over all of them when that time comes - as much as he is pro-gun like me he's more of a self protection kinda guy with maybe a couple of rifles to boot - certainly not the collector I became

of course i need to talk to him about it but if it goes the way i'm guessing it might he'll probably have several he'd like to keep and the rest i'll probably start slowly selling off

I'd probably list most of them on Nevada Shooters or even Gunbroker, several i know aren't even legal to sell to someone in CA., got a few revolvers that wouldn't be a problem but i'm not even sure about the legalities in CA anymore, even though i have many firearms that i bought when i lived in CA - the transfer laws selling to someone in CA from me here in NV im totally not up to speed with - probably easier to deal with it here even though some of them could be more in-demand in CA

still, this isn't an early sales pitch, more of a reality check and something we all should think about and have a plan for it when and if you're ever faced with a similar issue - you never know

i remember a conversation i had with Reggie Jackson one afternoon about hitting - he said he literally hated facing Len Barker of the Cleveland Indians (they'll always be the Cleveland Indians to me), because Barker had such a tremendous fastball and a deceptive delivery - tough guy for Reggie to zero in on

I told him "Reggie, you're always telling me about how much you loved to hit fastballs, you loved fastball counts" - Reggie tells me, "I love ice cream too but it doesn't mean I want a truckload of it"

well, that's my son - he loves firearms but i'm not sure he's gonna have the same enthusiasm as i did keeping and maintaining them - I guess we'll see

[high_revs]

comparable thinking here as you OP though mine is driven with all these stupid laws and a PITA to take out and use the stuff (mostly the ARs). trap shooting has been the savior for me staying in it since even the pistols don't get used much.

luckily, my kid is interested as he's gone a few times on his youth bolt action. the ARs might be the problem how things pan out as he might inherit them as parts (i've not seen that being against the law) though one never knows about how possession / intent laws come out in the future.

[9mmContagion]

Bummer to read this, Falcon. But understandable. Have you considered switching to your wrong hand (left) as your primary shooting side. I know this would take a lot of effort, but maybe just to keep the shooting alive in ya.

Regardless, definitely have a sit down with your son. Maybe before selling each one, sit down and explain each of the guns. History, reason you purchased, the cool factor of each piece, etc. I’m dreading the day I have to give up shooting, as at this point, with the 3 daughters, I’m not sure I’ll have anyone to pass them on to.

Good luck and hopefully something good comes out of it all. Maybe you’ll find yourself a new hobby to pour your money into

[glassparman]

Falcon, now that I'm in my 60's, I have rethought about how many I have as well. I realized that I had OCD all these years and really just want to focus on a couple rifles and pistols.

Thankfully, my oldest son is a gun freak like me so I'll be passing the excess to him.

You do what you gotta do my friend! I'm sure all that you will sell off have gained in value greatly!

[8mmFMJ]

Only after you sell them will he become interested. Only after you pass will he regret not being more into the hobbies that his father was.

I’m glad my father never unloaded his dads guns. I never even shot them with my father. But I did shoot grandpas 8mm Mauser this last weekend at some pumpkins with my children and niece and nephew. The target practice came with a story. We also pulled out great grandpas Little J Stevens. Great times.

[sd_shooter]

Sorry to hear this OP!

When we moved from CA to TX I sold a ton of guns, probably went from 40 to 20. Bought a few more upon arrival but recently sold some.

Fact is we're not destined to remain on this earth. For me life is more enjoyable with less than more. I've sought to identify the guns I really want/need and get rid of the rest. Not counting on my kids to take them so I'll just sell and use the funds for something else.

[arrix]

I would say hold on to them if they have collector value. Your son may not show interest now, but who knows how he will feel in the future.

[BigPimping]

My kids have zero interest in shooting. They will learn when the zombie apocalypse hits. They think the government will take care of them. It?s probably time to thin the herd.

[sghart]

I am in the same boat also. I am currently downsizing via Gunbroker. The ones that I keep are the ones that I most enjoy plinking with.

A few are earmarked for grandkids. But the majority are heading down the road.

[Garbcollector]

I sold off a large chunk of my firearm collection a few years ago and kept the one's I inherited from family members i don't regret it one bit. If you're getting up there in age and have no one to leave them to it would probably be a good idea to start selling them

[8mmFMJ]

Most people don’t have the time or money to be interested in firearm collecting until after their mid 20’s.

If your kids are younger then this, the time may not have come yet.


How old were you when you really started collecting? I was 27.

[SDDAVE56]

Im in the opposite situation. My two daughters will happily clean out my safes. Only two problems though, my AR , and FNC.

[Rogerbutthead]

I have hundreds of guns, my family wants me to sell them so they can just have the money when I die.

Instead, after allocating some of them to people who want them, the rest will go to an out of state gun nut friend who can do what he wants with them.

Since my family doesn't like all my guns, they won't have to deal with them.

Liberal fools.

[Mandalorian]

Tagged. I?m going in the same direction. My only Son likes guitars.

[200Apples]

Falc! Very sorry to hear this... Here's wishing you 100% recovery.

In the meantime, though, why not also learn to shoot left handed!

And still, if you wish, slowly divest yourself of half of your collection.


sdshooter's post is inspiring for it's reminder that less *is* more.