Time to get out?

[romeodo300]

Id say you have the right mindset. Keep what is important and most useful (family guns, some ARs, etc) but if you can live without some then just sell it for a good price, reinvest those profits into your family, other projects, vacations, whatever makes you feel complete. But for the love of god, if you are going to sell post your stuff on here first. Alot of us are always looking for cool items. I for one don't even own a shotgun in my current collection. Strange.

 

[NW Backpacker]

Maybe find a new home for that AR I never use, before Uncle Joe comes a-knockin'.

When Joe comes a-knockin' will it look like the scene in this movie? I always thought the Frenchman could have used a nice AR as they were approaching.

 

[asiparks]

If you don't see yourself using it, then sell it and put the funds into something else.
I sold off a lot of guns and optics this past year, lots of safe queen pistols that I'd acquired because I was curious, or because they seemed good deals, but I ended up just never shooting them. Seems for the past 25 years I always go back to the range with the same few favorites. Part of me wants to pare down to just those, but part of me also likes opening the safe and seeing the eye candy....

 

[GWS]

For me, its more of an I'm getting older and its time to simplify, unclutter and downsize a bit. So...Have I shot it in the last year? 2? 10?
If not is there a sentimental attachment? It was dad's? Was it part of a special hunt? Is it just cool?
If it doesn't fall into one of those categories then I think real hard about cutting it loose.

 

[Member 52301]

Use it or lose it is my motto! I never owned 'safe queens'. I am NOT knocking people who choose to own safe queens. It is THEIR gun and their money - NOT mine!

My late husband and my MT husband did not own safe queens. Although my MT husband has a couple of guns that have VERY low rounds shot through them compared to some other guns.

Been there - done that when it comes to selling AND gifting but due to physical issues - arthritis.

I changed my firearms around.

I NEVER regretted any item that I bought firearm wise in top brands and in quality/beautiful handguns and rifles!

I NEVER regretted selling any firearm or firearm related THING.

I do REGRET having arthritis and some old accident issues but IT is what it is. So GET OVER IT (I did.) and change your plan when it comes to your self defense firearms (I did.)!

(My MT husband has sold and gifted firearms and firearm stuff too. Big time for him. Less for me since I never owned what he owned in the past. Plus he has been shooting since he was a KID.)

This past week, we sold some RF ammunition to a friend. Passed it on to someone who can use it. Again, use it or lose it motto - lifestyle.

We still have 22lr and 22wmr that will serve us. My husband and I did our recent calculations and looked at our inventory spreadsheets.

We downsized some things over the years (NOT only in firearms, firearm supplies and gear.) since we do not want to DIE with a lot of STUFF and people (Very close friends and some relatives.) have already been GIFTED items that we chose to gift to them over the years.

We may still sell and gift some other items too.

My MAIN goal in shooting NOW is NOT plinking, shooting a lot (Former high volume shooter.), competition, etc.

My MAIN goal is to have a small amount of ammunition on hand for my 2 self defense rifles (22lr and 22wmr) and for the RKBA issue. Enough to keep up my basic skills - shooting safely.

Full circle for me @ 70 years old ONLY with much different firearms! My hands really hurt in the bitter cold even with shooting gloves on and especially since my recent - last BAD fall on 2 knees and on my right hand.

My MT husband still has his own shooting interests, is very much into the RKBA issue and self defense too.

NO shooter really OWES any explanation to any other shooter on the whys or why nots when it comes to their specific interest in firearms. What we LIKE or don't like in brands, styles, calibers or what we gift or sell.

It IS nice to discuss such issues, get other opinions from our firearm friends online and off line (In person or on the telephone.) and all of us are individuals in our own right.

I never had children. If one close friend (A Veteran and like a 'nephew' to me.) lived closer to me than over 2,000 miles away... he would receive more gifts from my husband and me. The FFL costs (My FFL man to his FFL man.) and shipping are too high to deal with that but we did it in the past. We gifted a VERY nice firearm to him. I gifted some items to him before I moved out west after my late husband died too. I would walk across a farm field and woods or HE could come over to my former home (Same state - next road north.) and help LIFT some heavy items. He would get a screaming deal like some other friends of ours and hot black - plain coffee and pie too! LOL

Take care and if you CHOOSE to sell or gift some items... I would not keep on talking about it but get TO IT before some more salami laws come into effect. Someone HERE or close to you may be interested in what you have to sell. Your state requires an FFL man for firearm sales. WA and OR. Sell some things as package sales if you can.

(My state and my former state did not for private firearm sales.)

GOOD FFL men/women (Like I have had in MY LIFE and my MT husband has had in his life.) are worth their weight in GOLD. In many cases, they will get more exposure for your stuff and IF you take care of what you own and they KNOW YOU - KNOW YOUR STUFF - your sales will be solid, quick and most likely higher in price than some 'lookey loo' and COMPLAINER - WHINER who really is NOT interested in your guns, factory ammunition, some reloading supplies, holsters, pistol/rifle cases, etc.

You could downsize and get one or more super special guns or add ammunition (IF he can get it. LOL) or any other item that interests you if it is a store that gives you a full in store or special order CREDIT for your sale or a lower commission/consignment percentage for your sale/sales.

IT is legal in MY state to sell face to face. It was and still is in my former state too. We have done that. But most of our sales (Here in MT.) when it came to 'downsizing and caliber consolidation' were done through 2 to 3 TOP FFL men.

I support good, honest and LOCAL businesses and MY present and former FFL men out here as I did back east.

Best wishes on whatever YOU decide to do!

Cate

 

[Member 52301]

I too have found it liberating to do an inventory purge on a relatively regular basis. There is something about out with the old and in with the new.

Plus you and your family may be MOVING too! It will make it easier for all of you if you downsize.

Cate

 

[JRuby]

When i was younger i had all kinds of things i wanted, a second home. A bunch of toys and a lot of guns. Then it dawned on me the more things i aquire the more time you get to spend time taking care of them versus doing what you want.

 

[DB is Here]

I just think it's time to get rid of the stuff I don't use,

Yep, I did that myself in the last 18 months, reduced the number of calibers too since I was only shooting the same ones everytime I went to the range.

 

[CLT65]

I sell physical items of all sorts when it no longer serves me. If it isn't giving me the slight smile from sentimental value as I walk past it, or filling a practical use in a specific role, then I tend to purge it. I am tired of having too much stuff.

I totally understand and respect that perspective, but when you've been accumulating "treasures" for 30 years, it's a full blown lifestyle change, and not easy to do.

I get the notion once in a while to blow a few out, and I'll pull them one by one out of the safe and look at them.
No, not that one. I remember buying that one at a gun shop in Roseburg around '89, one of my first.
No, not that one either. I I bought that one used in Reedsport in '00. No special attachement, but it shoots like a laser.
Not this one. My brother-in-law and I went to a gun show when I turned 21 (a long time ago) where I bought it.
Nope, not that one. I'd never find another like it if I ever decided I wanted one.
Not that one. Classic hunting rifles don't bring what they're worth nowadays, and even though I never hunt or use it at all, I still like it...
I could go on and on. It's a little like Danny DeVito's coin collection in Throw Mama From The Train.

I'm going to have to just pick a few favorites, then close my eyes and purge the rest. I have a feeling that it will be a liberating experience when it's done. One that I think will be easier to choose to let go is the home-built AK. It just sits there and is nothing special. I never considered getting rid of it because I was told though it's legal to build them, it's not legal to sell them. I see now that just the kits with the original barrels go for $800 plus on Gunbroker. I'll take a hacksaw to the darn thing and turn it into a kit again, if it's worth that!

 

[JRuby]

I have three classifications of guns:
1) the ones that belong to the family that I am simply taking care of ( My dads Browning Bar, My grandfathers winchester model 94,.....)
2) My social issue rifles and pistols which to me are tools and give me little pride in ownership but are required by todays times. These by nature of their purpose have a definitive need,
3) Those rifles that I have aquired for hunting and target shooting. These are the ones that come and go. These are also the ones I spend most of my time with and some have not been shot in ten years or more. I also have some duplicates.

I do know this - if I really wanted to be a great shot I would get rid of 3/4's of my firearms and learn those that remain. The problem is that I enjoy handling them and looking at them. I see alot of beauty in a midwar bolt action done up in deep blued metal and a black walnut stock. Some day they will all be gone but hopefully I will go first.

 

[Meridian7750]

A few of my NWFA friends have noticed that I've been selling quite a few things here lately. They've asked if all is OK...short answer Is Yes.
2 things conspired to accelerate my down-sizing:
-Wife and I camp a lot. I'm pushing 60 and am tired of sleeping on the ground. We have our eye on a small off-road trailer. We have the $, but I thought I'd ease the pain by generating a little cash via sales of guns/ammo.
- Wife looked at me a few months ago and said "statistically, you're going to die first (thanks Hon), and I DON'T want to deal with all your cr&p".
She has a point...it would be a huge chore to compile, catalog, and sell my collection of stuff...even for an enthusiast, which she isn't.

SO, I combined goal 1 with mandate 2 and have liquidated far more than originally intended.
Wife is (moderately) impressed, and the garage looks great!
More will come to chopping block at some point. Taking a breather now.
Funny thing is, I don't miss any of it.

 

[JRuby]

I have no children so the question becomes where do they go after I am gone? I have older freinds that question this themselves the difference is I am in my late 50's and they are pushing 80+. Gives me a little time to figure it out I hope.

 

[Stomper]

Oh, I don't mean get out of shooting. I enjoy going to the range with my boys. It's about the only relaxing, enjoyable thing I do anymore. I even have plenty of ammo, for the level of recreational shooting that we do. With my reloads and the .22 ammo I've picked up over the last few years, I won't run out anytime soon. From the end of '16 up until the recent empty shelves, I found it hard to pass up a brick of .22 LR at a good price, and often came home with a brick or two. I have plenty now.

I just think it's time to get rid of the stuff I don't use, and probably won't in the foreseeable future. It just seems like an ideal time to seriously lighten the load. It would also be nice to offload some medical expenses. My wife has had 7 surgeries in the last 8 years, and we just found out that there was something about the last one that the insurance decided they weren't paying for, so it's another $7k out of pocket for us. We could have bought a pretty nice new car for what we've shelled out in medical, and we drive old paid-for cars instead.

Some of this stuff has been part of my life for over 30 years, and it will feel strange to see it go, but I think it's time.

The point at which your possessions own you instead of you owning them is something only YOU can decide.

 

[Knobgoblin]

This is only a recurring idea of mine, not a reality (yet). Very possibly many of you can appreciate it .
Not much left of my older family ,and so I see myself approaching the position of patriarch soon. If I want to do this right I I really need to start laying down some decent traditions of my own. My idea is very straightforward, and I see it in existing practice all the time here in my local area.
I'd like to start raffling off 1 or 2 of my guns every year. The purpose of raffle would be to fund our family's very modest scholarship . The mechanics of this should be simple with the assistance of a willing FFL. Our small community probably won't give me too many headaches, and if they disagree with my views I'd encourage them to simply not apply for said scholarship.

It feels right. I want it to work. If this helps anyone start to think outside the box, then do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around.
Cuz that's what it's all about.

 

[jbett98]

I've bought a lot of nice firearms from estate sales, as the inheritors could care less about them and they generally sold for half of what they were worth.

 

[Deerhurst]

I have three classifications of guns:
1) the ones that belong to the family that I am simply taking care of ( My dads Browning Bar, My grandfathers winchester model 94,.....)
2) My social issue rifles and pistols which to me are tools and give me little pride in ownership but are required by todays times. These by nature of their purpose have a definitive need,
3) Those rifles that I have aquired for hunting and target shooting. These are the ones that come and go. These are also the ones I spend most of my time with and some have not been shot in ten years or more. I also have some duplicates.

I do know this - if I really wanted to be a great shot I would get rid of 3/4's of my firearms and learn those that remain. The problem is that I enjoy handling them and looking at them. I see alot of beauty in a midwar bolt action done up in deep blued metal and a black walnut stock. Some day they will all be gone but hopefully I will go first.

Whats a socal issue firearm? I havnt found any firearm a necessity to own other than the ones I want. Every firearm is a tool whether it is used as such or not. Heirloom guns are just tools that get treated better than the rest and have more sentiment value.

 

[JRuby]

Whats a socal issue firearm? I havnt found any firearm a necessity to own other than the ones I want. Every firearm is a tool whether it is used as such or not. Heirloom guns are just tools that get treated better than the rest and have more sentiment value.

If you have to ask you dont get the concept.

 

[gmerkt]

Anyone else ever hit a point in life where they just made a change in focus?

Yes. Been doing it for the past couple of years. Due to age and health issues. It's only stuff, you can't take it with you. Someone else gets it when you're gone.

Advice: Start with the things you love the most. Then the rest goes much easier.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

The only thing I downsized were my expectations.

 

[CountryGent]

I've found myself questioning acquisitions much more so these days too. When looking at a firearm it isn't so much if I find it neat-o, because why else would I be looking, but if the investment of X dollars and Y time worth it. So often the answer now is a solid "no" and those funds better in our investment portfolio.