Have any of you thought who gets your stuff. Or do they even want it

[DawnPatrol]

Thought provoking thread. I guess I should get a will together.

I know what I’d do with all those guns: pick out a couple special ones to hand down, sell the rest, and buy the rifle I really want. But that doesn’t particularly help the OP because he ain’t me.

My only advice (as others have said) is: don’t wait till you’re dead to give your guns to someone who will appreciate them.

My grandpa gave me his 870 wingmaster when I was 18. My first gun, and still the only shotgun I have/need over 2 decades later. We never got to hunt together, but we loved sharing hunting stories and pictures over the years as I learned to hunt. I know he enjoyed seeing his gun put to use by someone he knew, and being able to have that additional connection with him while he was alive was great for me as well. Now that he’s gone, I still think of him every time I take it in the field, but my point is that that doesn’t do him any good now.

 

[sierracharlie338]

I’ll echo some of the things that have already been said and I think it’s important to reiterate that it applies to all property not just guns. I just went through estate planning with my dad after a near death medical episode. I can’t begin to express how thankful I am that we were able to get things in order so that when the day comes that he is no longer here, it doesn’t fall on me or my brother without any preplanning including burial plot and expenses.

Word of caution about wills/trusts. Check your states laws before making a decision. In Texas if you have a will, it still has to go to probate before any property can legally be changed of ownership. If there is a trust in place there is no probate and the executor assumes control of the estate.

As far as the original point of the thread, yeah I have a ton of crap that I struggle with keeping or selling on an almost daily basis. We take for granted that we will be here a long time when in reality, tomorrow is never promised. Hug your loved ones every chance you get.

 

[farmermail]

We have gone through this with my dad and father in law who have passed in the last couple of years. Ask those who care about you what is personal to them. Example: My father in law had a LOT of guns. Literally something in every rifle caliber from .17 thru .338. All of them. Most were just that, guns. Nothing personal to anyone but him. However, there were some that were personal to the family, and those are the ones we kept. Heirloom pieces if you will. Same with my dad, just a couple that were very personal to us, rest were just guns, no more personal than one you find at a pawn shop. It may surprise you what family/friends find as "personal" vs. what you consider "personal".

 

[def90]

What happens to your guns? Well the kids that don't have any interest in them drop them off at the local gun shop to sell, of course they give the kids top dollar for them.

In reality if you have kids wills become very important. If the guns aren't worth anything that is going to make a substantial difference in your kids lives then donate them in your will to your favorite hunting/conservation group.

 

[Boarmaster]

I have most everything going to friends or family. Mostly I generalized in groups. For example I have my mounts, firearms and shooting accessories going to my cousins sons. I did premise everything as “should they want them”. I want them to have all this stuff if they want them but not burdens by them if they don't.
Hopefully I live long enough and decline slow enough to give it to them myself. Not quite ready to give my stuff out yet. My immediate family doesnt hunt or fish so no value to them and they have no idea as to what values might be.

 

[Mojave]

I probably have 25-40 years left, so any future taxidermy is going to be very limited.

Really like skulls anyway.

Guns, I told her to haul everything to Cabelas and have them write her a check. Optics, hunting clothes whatever yard sale.

Kids are not interested, grandkids are small. Who knows.

 

[go_deep]

Estate auction. I've got things that have a very deep sentimental meaning to me, but they don't mean jack to anyone else and I sure wouldn't expect my kids to keep a bunch of stuff that doesn't really mean anything to them.
Let the auction begin...

 

[V35B]

All of mine go to my son. He is into hunting, shooting, and has just started to learn how to chamber barrels, evaluate actions and all the other things that come with rifle work. He is still in college at A&M, but has done well to this point, so if that continues, he can have them, my taxi mounts, and clothes for that matter, we are the same size. I have all of my grandads guns, they mean alot to me but my son was never able to meet him, so there is no value to him. I told him I would never part with them, but also understand what his viewpoint would be. Should that not work out, I will devise a plan B I suppose.

 

[Desk Jockey]

A buddy at my gun club - single, no kids - has a decent collection of guns. He is a talented gunsmith, USPSA shooter and hunter. He is going to have a raffle and the proceeds will go to the club.

 

[Maki35]

I start selling my collection as I’ve gotten older. Only keeping a handful for hunting/ target. I know I’ll eventually sell them too when I can’t hunt/ walk anymore.
Imo, sell the ones your not attached to or use anymore and buy something that you’ll use/enjoy.

 

[South Robert]

So been thinking about something for a while and was wondering if any of you are in the same situation.
Over the years I have got a decent collection of guns. Nothing super high end like a lot of you I am sure, but enough to keep me content.
Have a few different calibers and a few ill probably never use.
270-300WSM-243-6.5CM-35 Rem-couple 22s 12 ga shotgun-410 shotgun-couple hand guns.

With that said most of the rifles have pretty good optics with a couple Leupold VX6 a Leupold Mark 4. Vortex Viper PST Gen2 I just got.
This has got me thinking a little recently.
I am still new to hunting out west and there are some hunts I never see myself doing jsut due to cost and logistics.
I have 2 300 WSM one is a Supergrade gun. Dont ever really see myself using these two for much of anything.
Mainly deer hunt around home here and have been using the 6.5CM over my 270 for a while now.
Got the 243 to do a little predator hunting...Which i hardly ever do.

Now here is my conundrum.
A lot of these guns were gifts. a few from Family and a few from a really good friend.
I have 2 kids. My son is 16 and wants nothing to do with guns or hunting really of any kind. Its not that he dosent like the hunting thing or guns, its just not something he is interested in.
My daughter is younger at 11 and wants to do everything Dad does, dosent matter what it is.. if I was into bowling she would thing its the coolest thing.

With all that being said. If something were to happen to me, which at some point it will. What happens to all my guns.
Even if it is 20 years from now and my kids stay the same way they are now, what do i do with all the guns.

It has been something I have been thinking of just due to the fact that there really isnt much I need as far as another gun. Honestly the only other caliber I really would like to have is a 6.5PRC, which I want one, and if I got that I think that would pretty much do everything i would ever need or want to hunt.

So what do I do with the rest.
Do I get rid of some of these and buy myself a nice 6.5PRC and just keep with what I have mow.
I know its kind of an odd question. But with me getting older its something I have thought about a few times.

My son is really into hunting and so is my daughter husband. I'm thinking I'll let them draw lots and alternate choosing what they get. I am not so sure I am too hung up on keeping them in the family name.

 

[Davyalabama]

You need a will now, no question about that. Put everything in an irrevocable living trust. Now, who gets what in the will for now? Ask the son is there anything you want me to give you in this trust? You already know the daughter wants them, give the rest to her. You never know what someone may be sentimental to of ours. You’ll never know if you don’t ask. The same as the mom should do with them.

 

[displacedtexan]

I just now connected the dots...

A good friend of miner's business is mostly firearm estates.

Selling gun collections for heirs that don't care about the guns.

 

[WBT]

This is somewhat of a depressing topic for me personally. My wife and I don't have any children and neither do our immediate brothers and sisters. And it's not just the guns I don't know what to do with. I'm much more concerned with what to do with my land.

In Montana, I plan on trying to donate it to FWP or a neighboring conservancy. It's on a river and would make a nice park. Texas, on the other hand, I have no idea what to do with it there. TPWD has a history of mismanaging land that's given to them, using it as a personal playground for the well connected, selling it to cronies for cheap, etc. So that's not something I'm considering.

 

[go_deep]

This is somewhat of a depressing topic for me personally. My wife and I don't have any children and neither do our immediate brothers and sisters. And it's not just the guns I don't know what to do with. I'm much more concerned with what to do with my land.

In Montana, I plan on trying to donate it to FWP or a neighboring conservancy. It's on a river and would make a nice park. Texas, on the other hand, I have no idea what to do with it there. TPWD has a history of mismanaging land that's given to them, using it as a personal playground for the well connected, selling it to cronies for cheap, etc. So that's not something I'm considering.

This is a little bit of a shot in the dark, but have you considered wild turkey foundation or whitetails unlimited with the primary purpose to be handicap and youth hunters?

 

[deerninja]

I told my wife to get a hold of my closest hunting buddies and let them choose something that they want and will hold a memory of me and our hunts. Other than that she can do whatever she desires so she doesn't feel burdened with the task...if she outlives me that is.

 

[TaperPin]

Every month our two grown boys remind me that what they like is miles away from anything I like. I spent $500 6 months ago on prime newish used name brand outdoor gear what would normally be $1500 or more. I thought our one boy would be over the moon happy - he hasn’t touched it - any of it. They couldn’t care less what guns or reloading stuff I leave behind - they’d rather trade it all for a couple generic AR’s and a case of cheap 223. Lol

 

[OKHunter84]

This is a main reason why I stopped having things taxidermied. I only do euro mounts anymore. Who the hell wants to deal with a ton of mounts that they didn't kill? Maybe one or two monsters but nobody wants ten or twenty shoulder mounts that were only significant to the person that killed them. Sell them to Texas roadhouse maybe

 

[Smokey Bear]

This is a main reason why I stopped having things taxidermied. I only do euro mounts anymore. Who the hell wants to deal with a ton of mounts that they didn't kill? Maybe one or two monsters but nobody wants ten or twenty shoulder mounts that were only significant to the person that killed them. Sell them to Texas roadhouse maybe

This is right on. I have one mule deer, one blacktail and after this year I hope to have my antelope that are, or will be mounted. The rest are all euro mounts. They only mean something to me or who I hunted with on the hunts. Besides the wife only lets me put them in one back room. The rest are in the treehouse.

 

[trazerr]

A lot of people are mentioning wills, but not many are mentioning trusts. Wills in my state do not keep you from probate. You want to avoid probate. Get a trust sooner than later. Parents went through this all recently. It was not a fun (or cheap) process, but it will save us kids a lot of pain in the end. Boats, property, cars, guns, etc can be part of the trust.