Now I'm depressed again,,,

A

aarondhgraham

New member
I read a post here about a gentleman who just inherited a family gun,,,
I have three inherited family guns that I cherish deeply,,,
Trouble is, I have no family to pass em on to.

To whom do I will them when I take my dirt nap?

I only have two nephews and one brother ,,,
Both my nephews have guns that only sit in their closets,,,
I asked my brother and he said he didn't really want to own any guns.

Commie pinko liberal democrat musician that he is,,,
He's not really the above cursed epithet,,,
But he doesn't want them.

My personal guns I have listed in my will,,,
I've given them to people who will appreciate owning them,,,
But I'm talking about good serviceable handguns, not family heirlooms.

What do I do with my Lucille, my Mother's Colt Frontier Scout,,,
What do I do with the govt. .45 that Uncle Asa carried on 3 island invasions,,,
What do I do with the 8mm Mauser that my great uncle Bantie brought back from Germany.

This is a melancholy subject my friends,,,
Each of these guns has a story that will be lost forever,,,
How do I ensure the future owners (whoever they are) realize their history?

I've toyed with the idea of making presentation cases,,,
One each for the .45 and the Mauser.

I would write a provenance letter for each of the guns,,,
Telling the story of the men behind them,,,
And how they came into my hands.

If you saw and bought something like that,,,
Would you keep the letter with the gun?

Kind of a bummer of a topic to discuss,,,
but one I've been giving some thought to lately.

Any of you good folk have any thoughts?

.
 
If you saw and bought something like that,,,
Would you keep the letter with the gun?
Click to expand...

That's sad.

And yes. I have a deep respect for anything that old, that has seen the blood and tears of that kind of war, and with that kind of history behind it. I have a cavalry saber from the Civil War, used by one of my distant ancestors, that I keep in a presentation case above my bookshelf. It is one of my more prized possessions.
 
I can see how this would be a little depressing for you to consider.
There is quite a bit of history with each one. I think the presentation case with history letter included will help ensure that they are cherished.

And I hope you enjoy many, many more trips around the Sun before your "dirt nap".
 
I have no firearms with a history like that, but I do have family members that have passed and have other significant stories. One is an Olympic gold medalist.

The medal rests in a mounted display case and there is a fat folder of news clippings and other memorabilia surrounding the trip to the summer games. It will never be sold.

Aaron, you'll find someone to whom those stories about your family firearms resonate. The next custodian may not be family by blood, but will appreciate their heritage and might even be talked into keeping an eye on the old bloodline to see if a worthy heir makes an appearance after you are gone.
 
i think giving guns away to charity is kinda weird

i dunno, line your coffin with your cherished guns.

and if you come back as a zombie, well, you'll be one of those special zombie bosses with guns.
 
Hey Greyson97,,,

Armed Zombies?
Only a Texan could have such bizarre thoughts!

That's actually something I had not thought of,,,
But there is this alumni charity auction.

I graduated from (twice) and work for Oklahoma State University,,,
People are always donating stuff to the Alumni Association for their auction.

It happens once a year and people (who would probably donate the money anyways),,,
Pay outrageous prices for things owned by past (passed?) OSU alumni,,,
Last year I saw an old beat-up saddle go for over 3 grand,,,
And all the stuff had provenance letters.

All of the money goes to the Alumni Association General Scholarship Fund,,,
Last years auction raised somewhat like a half a million dollars,,,
I could make the presentation boxes in the OSU colors,,,
Them rich old farts would eat that stuff up.

This is a bad thing though,,,
A really good idea from a Texan,,,
I don't know if my Cowboy self can stand the shame! ;)

.
 
Thanks oilfieldguy,,,

I too hope I make many many more orbits,,,
I just want to be prepared for that ultimate eventuality.

I think greyson97 gave me the solution for the two war relics,,,
That Alumni Auction might be the win-win situation,,,
Someone will get the guns and display them,,,
The letters will keep my uncles in mind,,,
And some student gets a benefit.

But why did it have to come from a Texan?,,,
Oh the shame of it all. :rolleyes:

.
 
Here's...a thought.

If you ARE going to take them in the box with you, if you can ahead of time, preserve them EXTREMELY well. I mean double-sealed PVC pipe, cosmoline to hell and gone, plus some de-humidifier packets. And a sealed glass jar with the papers in, further sealed in wax plus de-humidifier inside.

Put in some notes on your views on the RKBA during this turbulent time in it's history.

Look up the concept of "acid-free archival paper". You can get some that's inkjet or laserprinter compatible.

Scribe the words "time capsule" on the outside of the PVC.

Hundreds (thousands?) of years from now somebody will know the story.

That would be kinda cool.

And just in case of the armed zombie scenario, stick some ammo in there too :D.

Juuuust in case.
 
If you can include pictures of your relatives with the gun, that ups the collector value. Pictures of them in uniform with the guns would be better.
If you have any service records for your uncles that would probably up the historical value as well.

I work part time for an auction house. It's amazing the amount of heirloom quality antiques that come through. That includes some fine firearms as well.
If you want your stuff taken care of, do so before you shuffle off. That stuff that you don't use, give away before you die and have a well written will for the rest.
 
aarondhgraham:

i would first look into extended family (cousins, 2nd cousins), then i would look to close family friends. ur idea about alumni auction sounds very fitting as well but personally that would be a thrid choice for me.

I too have a family heirloom kar98az from ww1. it was my great grandfathers war trophy. his son, my grandfather, gave it to me years ago. If i didnt have a son (which i do now) i would first look to my brother, then my brothers son, if neither wanted it i would look to my cousins (they share the game grandfather as i). i figure somewhere in that myriad of people someone will want a peice of our family history.
 
I'm in a similar situation to the OP's. Like most everybody, I'm hoping "it" is a long ways away, but I think about it. My two brothers do not fit that epithet either, one in particular far from it, but neither have an interest in guns. And they've passed that apathy along to their offspring. They'd all appreciate--with a small "a," but..., well you get the idea. I have a couple friends who share my interests but are in the same boat age-wise, have their own stash of guns to consider (thereby further reducing the "specialness" of mine!),...and their kids likewise are largely disinterested. So, my "uncle" status with them regarding this situation doesn't mean much either. Eventual sale can always find worthy causes, including family ones such as grand niece and nephew educations, etc., but that isn't very satisfactory to me specifically WRT these firearms. Most of my guns don't have quite the history the OP's do--a few do--but all have at least *my* history, and I would hope that counts for something.

In the short term, the only "solution" I've thought of is to chronicle the guns' provenance, as simple and undramatic as several might be, with a narrative/anecdotal "pre" communication to my heirs (of the rest of my modest estate) to try to educate and instill a sense of importance, description of what the guns are (a number are "replicas" so that'd include what they represent) and at least interest--these guns hold to me, a sense of the provenance...and hopefully then to them as well. A bit naïve I fear, but worth a first "shot."
 
Last edited:
Someone will come along over time who will be the right kid to inherit the guns. Think for a moment what it would have been like as a young guy to be the one some collector trusted enough, and had enough faith in, to inherit all of his guns at his passing. You could make some young guys whole life better with something like that.
 
I'm sure a museum would be glad to include those letters along side the gun if you had asked, that way the story never dies and more than just one person gets to enjoy those guns. Or on another note you could find an organization that helps veterans of war who have been wounded and disabled from combat. Allot of the people working in those organizations get to know some of the guys real well and would know if any of them were into shooting.
 
Last edited:
This is a question that I often ponder, as I too have no "worthy" relatives. I do have a 1/2 brother on my father's side, who I know has 2 sons. He is/was a career Air Force man & you'd think it would be easier to find him than it is. I've met him twice in my life (1st time when I was about 9 & 2nd time through the Red Cross when our father passed away). I have several guns that I'd give him today if I could find him & would probably leave the remainder to him or his kids when I settle into flying the marble kite for eternity. If that plan doesn't work out, I'd rather donate them to a charity that WILL sell them than to risk their destruction because of some kind of "abandoned firearm" BS that may be in effect by then.
 
The 1911 and 8MM would likely go to a museum. If you got some good history to go with it, you may get a clipping with the .45 and keep your uncle's memory alive forever.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top