Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Do you keep an inventory for your family?

So, full disclosure - I don’t plan on dying anytime soon. But I also regularly work in a pastoral capacity with families of those who have died (Lutheran pastor here). Many of them have no idea what to do with the stuff that their loved one has acquired over the years, other than they know that it’s valuable. My wife of twenty years doesn’t have anywhere near the passion for shooting/hunting that I do and has no idea what is really even in my basement shop for inventory and value.
We have five kids, 19,17,9, and 4 year old twins. Four of the five have been introduced to shooting and the older two have helped me with a little reloading and have their own firearms in my case, so they know what’s what.
But none of them would have the first clue of how to sell the equipment at a fair resale value. So I’m thinking of doing a 3 ring binder with photos and full description of the higher value items, as well as indicating stuff that should stay with which kid, including one family heirloom rifle, a Stevens 44 1/2 404 .22 LR that my great grandfather purchased new with both a Pope tang peep sight and a Stevens external adjustment 6x scope. I’ve also had CPA Rifles make me a .30-40 Krag barrel for that gun.
I’m not a collector by any definition of the word - all of my guns are working guns. But I have a few oddballs that my wife would get hosed on if she took them to the local gun shop. Plus a Dillon 550c, Forster Coax, and RCBS A2 press, Harrell’s powder measure and such. Not super high value stuff, but not stuff that shoul go on a yard sale either.
Have any of you organized an inventory in case you keep over tomorrow? I’m only 43, but I do have a chronic autoimmune disease that shouldn’t kill me, but can be a nasty one when it decides to mess with me. (Myasthenia gravis)
Thanks for any thoughts you have on this.
Selmer

I have been thinking about this lately. My wife is quite a bit younger than I and, logically, I’ll go long before her. She has no interest in guns, so I’m going to put together an inventory with approximate values and disposal suggestions. My adult son will help her out.

One thing I’m doing to help is to reduce the number of guns she has to deal with by getting rid of some and using the proceeds to fund smaller numbers of more desirable guns that, probably, will be easier to move when the time comes.

Working on it now…..trying to make it a much “cleaner” distribution of stuff to the heirs! memtb

I maintain an Excel sheet with all the pertaining info and values for my firearms updated at least every six months (with a hardcopy printed and safe guarded.)

Come to think of it with the price of things I should also collect the same for my fishing reels, knives and camera collection...

I've always kept a list on Excell of firearms and valuable items. When I went through chemo and radiation a few years ago I got a Blue Book of Gun Values and valued most of my guns plus looked at current wed sales sites like Gunsinternational and GB and also contacted a couple of firearm appraisal services to check their rates and offerings and included that info with the spread sheet.
Hopefully between all of that and friends she will be OK.

Yes, mainly so my wife will have a good idea of values.

I have a list with that info that gets updated and emailed to my brother every time there's a change.

With careful use of copy/paste it can be updated easily.

Let's see, a firearms appraisal service, 10%, auction house, 20% commission, buyer's premium, deduct 22% from bid amount, bad day at the auction, deduct another 25%. Where are we now, 23% of retail value? This is not a fantasy figure. It's real. Why do internet posters brag about the great deals they got at the auction? Think about it. Sell your stuff while you're still alive and kicking. Give your buddies some bargains.

I have log book. It describes each firearm. With the date bought and from where. Plus cost.
Unfortunately no sons , daughters husbands not interested. My wife will sell when the time comes. Hasbeen

If you don't sell it yourself or your heirs have interest in keeping it in the family, then the odds are pretty slim they'll get a good deal on selling it themselves. Even with an accurate list of values. Count on the best case scenario being them getting a lump sum for the whole collection. If they auction it they're gonna get hosed. If they garage sale it they're gonna get screwed.

Find friends or family that would be interested in buying what you have and leave instructions that they get first chance at it.

About 15 years ago, WE bought a gun safe.
As we stuffed piece after piece after piece of hardware into it's depths, I realized that I had NO hard evidence of make, model, caliber of each piece.....unless I looked at it! 😳
Knew darn well the wife and kids had no idea!
At the moment each kid has a list of makes, models, calibers and S/N's along with another list IN the safe.
The wife and kids ALL know to contact knowledgable, trustworthy people should I die.
So yes. A list of valuables should be kept with your living will and your will.

I have a rider on my home insurance policy that lists the values of all my guns. I also keep and frequently update a 2-page "After Death Info" document on my computer, with a hard copy in my safe deposit box. My daughter has access to both. It also lists my other assets, account numbers and important passwords on the same document. Hopefully this will ease her burden after I leave this vale of tears.

I have a list of all my firearms and scopes on file with my insurance agent. Soon I will sit down with my adult sons and divvy up what I have so they don’t have to fight over what I leave them. One son will get all my Colts and others already know what they want. I have some valuable pieces. Almost all my rifle scopes are four digit value. Some 3000+. So don’t forget those. They can add up. Luckily they’re attached to rifles of fairly high value as well.
I have a fairly valuable collection.

I’m in the same boat with Hasbeen, but have a boy also, but he likes plastic rifles.

That would work for me, but the inventory keeps changing! LOL! 😉👍

It want take my wife long to sell mine. One bolt action 22. One single shot 12 with a broken stock. Hasbeen

I don't have any kids, or anyone to leave my stuff too. But log all in to a log book. Thinking of thinning a few out, don't have much like I did at one time. I should do one on my knifes, as have a few pricey ones! I helped a widow, out and sold her husband's guns, 26 if I remember right, almost all worn out stuff, took a few months and alot of work for me. Put it this way I'll never do it again. But for my best friend.

I have a spreadsheet that I try to keep updated. I have approximate value recorded in the list. I also have the loads for each gun with accuracy results. I plan on having the kids draw straws.
The kid that has the longest straw gets 1st, 4th, 7th etc. choices
The kid with the medium length straw gets the 2nd, 5th, 8th etc. choices
The kid with the shortest straw gets the 3rd, 6th, 9th etc. choices

My 4th kid passed away and I very much disliked her husband, besides I'm thinking that he may have a criminal record.

I'm thinking one of my kids won't want her guns and she can sell them if she wants, giving first opportunity to buy to her brothers.

The problem I'm having is sometimes I'll change scopes on certain rifles and forget to update my lists. The scopes that are on the rifles/pistols go with the guns.

OH Yeh, I have lists of other things too, such as knives and molds. I probably should have another list of scopes that are not mounted.

Yes. I always have. It has at least 150 crossed out though

Have a Will to detail cremation and disposal. Have a very detailed trust to handle distribution of any estate left. Have verbally spoken at length to everyone named in the trust. Even have a provision that states, "If you fight or challenge the trust, your immediately removed from it and get nothing.

My real plan is in the works already to sell off excess guns, tools etc. and not replace certain items. My goal is to leave as small a number of items to deal with as possible.