Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Selling Custom/Semi Custom Guns

First of all - I don't want to sell any guns now. But..I'm getting older and have been thinking of mortality and hunting days winding down in the future - and I'd like to leave my wife with a plan of disposing them at some future date. Because I'm left handed - I've had to get a number of rifles custom made to get calibers that interested me.

I have an Echols Legend, a Simillion Extreme Hunter, a couple of Penrod rifles (all these are LH Model 70s), a Dakota 76, a Dakota 10, and a NULA Model 20. Various 1911s too. All are in 95-100% condition. None of these guns are particularly rare, however, I'd like give her the option of maybe putting them on consignment at some date to recoup some of the money I've spent on them. Is there a better way to sell them eventually?

Jeff

I’m in the same boat.
Left handed w several nice lh rifles, I have a friend that’s in the business of Pre 64’s M70’s that has offered to consign them but it’s more of a favor than anything else. So now I’m thinking about a GunBroker consignment seller that has 12k sales that I’ve been watching that has been getting more than what I would typically expect on rifles and handguns.
It has been a concern

If you wait until you are dead, you are leaving your spouse with a royal pain in the ass. I would have an auction house or reputable online seller on speed dial for her with all info of every firearm documented in nauseating detail.

Being left handed rifles makes it that much harder to sell

Documenting is great advice and I’d also add in documenting what hunts they went on. You have really nice guns that are desirable. You could set the value for her also so she knows what she should get and doesn’t get taken advantage of.

My grandma had “friends” show up after my grandpas death trying to offer her half what his new tractor was worth. She had no idea the true value.

Give them away to younger folks who can appreciate them. That will be a lot more fun than getting top dollar from some anonymous person online. Being left handed does change things somewhat. Good luck.

Definitely use a reputable auction house that specializes in firearms. We are lucky to have a good one here in Central NYS.

There are certainly worse things to leave your family then a pile of highly valuable firearms.

If only these guns weren't lefty. ..

Take care of that yourself before you croak off and leave her with a big frustrating job on top of all the other stuff she’ll face. Most of the time, death isn’t unexpected. If you know you won’t be using one again, dump it.

yep, if you love her don't be selfish enough to saddle her with that huge pain in the ass. Get it done while you're still in good enough shape to oversee their disposal..

BTW, I need to do the same, sooner than later.

Running them through an auction house that attracts high-end buyers (RIA, for example), would likely be the fastest and with the least amount of hassle. We should all have such a plan so our families don't get hosed.

I'd like to hear about the LH Model 10.

Your best bet is to sell them yourself through GunBroker or GunsAmerica or your local dealer. If you go through a broker or consignment shop you can expect 50%-70%ish on the value.


https://www.pewpewtactical.com/best-gun-auctions-classifieds/

It’s got a LH Cheekpiece XXX English Walnut stock- color cased receiver -.257 Roberts

Rock Island Auction has treated me very fairly over the years.

https://www.rockislandauction.com/

The very last place I would sell is RIA.

I personally know 2 gun dealers with 1.5 + Mil. + collections. got badly handled by RIA. Lost lotsa $$$$$$.

I've been going through much the same thing in the past year or two. Here's what I have done:

Sold some of 'em through the Campfire Classifieds, and basically got what I asked. In general it's easier to sell somewhat lower-priced guns here, but there are enough members who appreciate fine firearms that it's worth a try. Plus, I have my own FFL, which makes things easier.

Sold some of 'em through a local store which both buys guns, or puts them on consignment. Have done well there too--and in fact have an agreement with them to handle my entire collection, and it's in my will.

Also have a computer list of all my firearms, with an appropriate price, and my wife has a copy. But she also has her own firearm collection, and knows something about buying and selling 'em.

For some years I self-limited my collection of centerfire rifles to a certain number, for several reasons--though didn't always quite make that number. Over the already mentioned past year or two sold or gave away half of 'em. Which of course meant I started buying again!

Simpson's Ltd has posted an informative and worthwhile discussion of advantages and disadvantages of selling on consignment compared with auctions:

https://simpsonltd.com/consignments/

Are there consignment shops with reputations equal to or better than Simpson's?

Thanks.

--Bob

I helped dispose of estates when I was in the gun business. I can’t tell you how many times we’d have something on the rack and somebody (or a couple of somebodies) would come in complaining about how “Uncle Jerry said he was gonna give that to me and now you’re selling it for half of what it’s worth.”

If your hunting days are winding down, then decide which hunts you can still make and what gear you need for them, then sell the rest of it or give it away NOW. You’ll know where it went and you won’t leave your widow to referee a bunch of pissing contests.

I’m going through something similar with my father, who was an internationally ranked competitor in a couple of specialized disciplines. A few months ago, he moved to an Assisted Living facility, leaving me to clear out his gun room.

Fortunately, my brother and sister have been cool about everything. Of the kids, I’m the one who knows the most about guns, and the stuff he left behind is way above my head. Along with cutting-edge gear for his favored disciplines (which I barely understand), I found stuff I hadn’t seen since I was a kid. My sister and I had about a week to get his house ready to go on the market, clear out the gun room and get back to work, so I made some pretty cold-hearted choices that I might not have made otherwise. I threw a lot of things out, both in the town where he lived and after I got a truckload of it back to the town where I live. Why? Because I didn’t know what it was, or it was junk, or both.

Now that a lot of his gear is back to my house—2,000 miles from his house—getting anything like fair money out of it has been a nightmare and my girlfriend is bitching about how much space it takes up.

You know what your stuff is. You can explain it in ways that get people’s interest and give well-informed answers to their questions. You understand the consignment process and have the patience to wait for months as it works itself out. Your spouse can’t do any of that, so don’t saddle her or anyone else with this chore. It ends up being a part-time job that they don’t need while they’re planning your funeral, disposing of the rest of your estate, and trying to hang on to their jobs and live normal lives. Plus, as others have pointed out, there are plenty of sharks out there who have no qualms about preying on a widow.

After dealing with my father’s stuff, my plan is for my estate to consist of a hospital gown and a debit card. I owe that to whoever I leave behind.


Okie John

Me too!