To the older guys…

[DementedMindOfJac]

I past retirement age. My son lives 2500 miles away in AZ. He never really had interest in firearms. So i have my pistols. 3 BP uberti, and two modern single actions. I really got no one to pass to that will appreciate as much as I love my pistols.
So my morbid question is, what you intend to do with them as you get to old to use them? Sell on GB? Looking for ideas.

Man, let the dead bury the dead. Enjoy your guns until you peg and let your boy decide what to do with them after. He may decide to keep them or not, but you'll have to trust him. Your stewardship is done, and you'll have to pass the mantle and hope.
My boy loves guns, but he's not very interested in guns that don't take fixed ammunition. I have a box with heirlooms. There's a brass compass that my great(2x) grandfather carried in the Anglo-Boer war, a packet of letters from my other great (2x) written from Flanders in the Great War. Nothing from my great grandparents. One died in Delville Wood and another came back and drank 2 farms out from under him. There's a 1950 Omega Seamaster wristwatch that belonged to my Granda, and my Da's calligraphy pens. I'll stick in my Bucket-List flinter and just hope for the best.
We'll be okay. We worry too much. You go shoot them guns now. It's raining at my place.

 

[CaptainVane]

You need an apprentice!

Get out to the range if you still can and there's always a guy who's very interested. If you can hook the guy to love this stuff as much as we do, then leave him the guns when you go.

I go to a range weekday mornings. The onlys there are retired like me and most are older. Some old guys gather at McDonalds, some walk the mall, we go shooting. So wont be seeing any newbies there, but nice thought.

 

[CaptainVane]

You guys gave me an idea, I live an hour from Gettysburg, lots of CW reenactors there. I bet they have flea markets and such that sell to those guys. Ya, thats the ticket. Just not in the foreseeable future. Still healthy.

 

[CaptainVane]

Wiscoaster,
I see on the Mystery 1858 thread you went to Gettysburg auction. How do i get information on those and flea markets and such there?
Id love to peruse the wares some weekend.

 

[necchi]

I really got no one to pass to that will appreciate as much as I love my pistols.
So my morbid question is, what you intend to do with them,,

Tough call.
Understanding our death isn't morbid, it's part of life. None of us are getting out of here alive.
Too your dilemma, the reality of it is, it doesn't matter. We all wish that our prized possessions end up being prized by others, but once everything has been gleaned for items of value, most of our stuff is boxed up and donated or tossed in a dumpster. And many times that's done rather quickly.

Perhaps a friend or a relative of a friend or neighbor will have interest, ask around. If you find someone, you'll at least have the joy of passing them on to someone that at least feigns sincerity. What they do with them after, actually doesn't matter.
I know one friend that gave all his to a young Sheriffs Deputy,,
There are Rendezvous events/clubs, Cowboy Action events/clubs all over the country, search for and reach out to any of those that are local
When your gone, your not going to care.

 

[Frogman88]

For some reason I like to read threads like these. I always get some insight from them. Oh how lucky we were to have lived through the best of times of this great nation. Hero's, Audi Murphy, John Wayne, The Lone Ranger, Jeff Cooper, Fess Parker and I could go on.
A bit of wisdom that I remember was that, " it is better to give with a warm hand rather than a cold dead one". For the last few years I have been gifting many items to young men that I have met along the way in life and Boy Scouting. It is very satisfying feeling to hand them something as well a the story behind what I am giving them. No matter what they do with it later they will know it's history and have the memory of me and my trust and faith in them.
To my geezer buddies. Well, I've been sorting out boxes, jars and drawers of trinkets and gizmos that were to good to throw away. If I'm going to a meeting or the range I try to put at least one of these treasure boxes in my gear and hand it to someone that I know will appreciate just poking around with it an knows what most of that junk is. I makes for good conversation the next time we meet.

 

[Frogman88]

I forgot to mention my Mother. She was quite a pack rat who had gone through the great depression. When she was in her 80's she began handing each of us a grocery bag just before we left, after a visit with her. Inside were all sorts of things that she treasured from folks and days gone by. There was always a note about who's it was or where it came from. My three sisters and I still remark about how much she gave us and wonder how she could keep that much stuff in her little house.
I am ridding myself of some of these things to girl friends that I have who have female children that they can gift those items to.
Youth of today have far different values. We can give them memories and hope that someday they will know the value.

 

[wiscoaster]

Wiscoaster,
I see on the Mystery 1858 thread you went to Gettysburg auction. How do i get information on those and flea markets and such there?
Id love to peruse the wares some weekend.

Sorry, Cap, there must have been some misunderstanding over a reference to me going to a gun show in my local area. I'd suggest you just google "gun show" along with the zip code for the area you want to check out and you'll probably come up with some leads to follow. Happy gun hunting!!

 

[necchi]

A bit of wisdom that I remember was that, " it is better to give with a warm hand rather than a cold dead one". For the last few years I have been gifting many items to young men that I have met along the way in life and Boy Scouting. It is very satisfying feeling to hand them something as well a the story behind what I am giving them. No matter what they do with it later they will know it's history and have the memory of me and my trust and faith in them.

Well Said!

 

[Wes]

For some reason I like to read threads like these. I always get some insight from them. Oh how lucky we were to have lived through the best of times of this great nation. Hero's, Audi Murphy, John Wayne, The Lone Ranger, Jeff Cooper, Fess Parker and I could go on.
A bit of wisdom that I remember was that, " it is better to give with a warm hand rather than a cold dead one". For the last few years I have been gifting many items to young men that I have met along the way in life and Boy Scouting. It is very satisfying feeling to hand them something as well a the story behind what I am giving them. No matter what they do with it later they will know it's history and have the memory of me and my trust and faith in them.
To my geezer buddies. Well, I've been sorting out boxes, jars and drawers of trinkets and gizmos that were to good to throw away. If I'm going to a meeting or the range I try to put at least one of these treasure boxes in my gear and hand it to someone that I know will appreciate just poking around with it an knows what most of that junk is. I makes for good conversation the next time we meet.

God Bless You, you have a good soul!

 

[Edm]

It’s sad to read about the lack of interest in our sport with the younger generation. My older son loves to shoot, my younger one can take it or leave it. I do a LOT of work with the Boy Scouts and we try to take our troop shooting a lot. Last year I introduced a lot of kids to BP and flintlocks.

One thing I will recommend, and this deals with anything that means something to you. Make a note talking about it. My dad died a year and a half ago. My brother and I split the guns between us. I now own my grandmothers 410 she used on the farm, my grandfathers rifle and shotgun and my dads sxs16 gauge. I’d love to know the stories on these. Where and when they were acquired etc. no one to ask at this point. I’ve taken them on Boy Scout outings and let the kids shoot them. Kinda cool that many generations can continue to enjoy them. I’ll try to document where I got stuff and what it did. I can’t comprehend letting a 4 generation family firearm go, but I guess I’ll be gone if that happens. I’ve never shot my grandmothers shotgun and probably never will, but I enjoy just holding it and imagining what it was used for. Even if my kids don’t shoot I hope they can do that.

 

[CaptainVane]

At our local range, i am usually (aka the only) BP shooter, but when I start smoking up the firing line most of the older guys will come over and ask questions. II notice the young guys just think my smoke is annoying as they blow thru a brick of 9mm and leave within half an hour. Yunguns got no patience for BP.

 

[beardedhorse]

Use them to mentor youth on safety, history and appreciation of firearms. 4-H, Scouts, etc. They are our future. As an incentive to learn shooting, give as a prize to best shooter after a season of lessons.

 

[godutch]

I'm on the same page as many here and I think about this subject often since I not only have the guns I've built but most of the surviving truck of the past three generations to pass on. Fortunately I have two grown sons, both steady, and both have owned their own guns since before puberty. They love my flintlocks and each time I finish one I always tell them 'there, there's another one for you guys to fight over'. The last two years instead of getting me a present for my birthday I made them take time out and come and shoot the flinters with me, which they/we really enjoyed. On the downside, after them, I have two grandaughters who will no doubt have precious little interest (?). The donation idea is a great one but those recipients would need to get past my sons and if they lost the battle they'd probably come and piss on my headstone. I guess that makes me lucky in the scheme of things.

 

[Mike Keel]

I turned 80 in June I have 1 son he has 5 boys. They all like making things go boom. He has instructions on what to do with my guns knlves tomahawk and swords. I have a Henry Golden Boy that I Lusted after for many years that has never been fired destined for my youngest grandson. Yes they will all be cared for

 

[FLTaft1948]

For some reason I like to read threads like these. I always get some insight from them. Oh how lucky we were to have lived through the best of times of this great nation. Hero's, Audi Murphy, John Wayne, The Lone Ranger, Jeff Cooper, Fess Parker and I could go on.
A bit of wisdom that I remember was that, " it is better to give with a warm hand rather than a cold dead one". For the last few years I have been gifting many items to young men that I have met along the way in life and Boy Scouting. It is very satisfying feeling to hand them something as well a the story behind what I am giving them. No matter what they do with it later they will know it's history and have the memory of me and my trust and faith in them.
To my geezer buddies. Well, I've been sorting out boxes, jars and drawers of trinkets and gizmos that were to good to throw away. If I'm going to a meeting or the range I try to put at least one of these treasure boxes in my gear and hand it to someone that I know will appreciate just poking around with it an knows what most of that junk is. I makes for good conversation the next time we meet.

Amen, brother, amen!

 

[FLTaft1948]

I forgot to mention my Mother. She was quite a pack rat who had gone through the great depression. When she was in her 80's she began handing each of us a grocery bag just before we left, after a visit with her. Inside were all sorts of things that she treasured from folks and days gone by. There was always a note about who's it was or where it came from. My three sisters and I still remark about how much she gave us and wonder how she could keep that much stuff in her little house.
I am ridding myself of some of these things to girl friends that I have who have female children that they can gift those items to.
Youth of today have far different values. We can give them memories and hope that someday they will know the value.

Yeah, my mom was a social worker during the Great Depression. She always said, "If you watch the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves." Among my most cherished possessions are my German grandmothers wooden potato masher and her hand carved springerle mold made by her grandfather. So many memories and too much stuff. I always try to remember that the stuff is not the person when I gift an object to someone who appreciates it.

 

[CaptainVane]

Among my most cherished possessions are my German grandmothers wooden potato masher

You do know what called these in WW2? Ever watch Combat?

 

[FLTaft1948]

You do know what called these in WW2? Ever watch Combat?
View attachment 264578

Yeah, like that! Granny was a tough old bird and her taters was as fine as frog fur!

 

[raylohr1965]

I do like the idea of writing the story on each gun , I have no one to leave stuff to . I have given some guns to a young friend I have nd he seems to enjoy them . But I was just given family guns , my great great grandfathers and his brothers , and have no idea what to do with them, I just could not sale them ,and nephews are not worthy as far as I am concerned .
Unfortunatly I have given cherished guns away before and they were traded off in days . So that will not happen again if I can help it . No good answers I guess