Do we overvalue sentimental value of our guns?

I love all of my guns, they all have a special place in my heart and are in my collection for various reasons that are important to me. My favourite is my Remington model 700 mountain rifle it only weighs 6.5 pounds in 30.06 calibre and fits me like a glove. I can point and shoot and hit things that still amaze me. It's a tack driver. That said, I don't think my sons would have the same "love" for her as I have for my baby. Kinda sad actually.

I have certain ones willed to certain people that I've known for a long time that relish what FEW they have or have dreamed of something I have. I want to find other hard hit Veterans that can't afford a single rifle that dream of hunting again someday. When I had land (no longer thanks ******* ex) I didn't lease to anyone. I found Veterans and others without the opportunity or funds to pay land extortion fees and INVITED them to hunt WITH ME. The depth of appreciation brought tears to many of them. And secures the future of the 2nd A and hunting tradition with memories of that hunt NEVER being forgotten. I myself haven't hunted in 9yrs because of not being inbred with right families and the land extortion lease fees only doctors and lawyers can afford now. I'll just keep punching paper till whatever...

To me my guns are tools, they are a means to an end, even if that end is only great memory's, with or without a trophy to show for the effort, a perfect example is my most accurate 300 Win mag, my hunting buddy shoots it VERY well and has taken pig, elk, and moose with it in the last 2 years, probably why I don't expect to see it unless we are hunting together, he loves that rifle and I can't see myself asking for it back. Memories are the most meaningful possessions we can ever have, so why not make as many as we can? When I'm gone I hope my rifles are enjoyed and making more memories for someone else.

I am sure that we over value everything we have. I have the Winchester Model 70 that my Dad bought in 1962. It is .308. I have the original receipt, listing all that he bought that day. Weaver K4 scope, carry case, 2 boxes of shells (still have them too, but only the brass in them) shoulder strap, I still have it all. It is worth WAY more to me than it would ever bring. Oh, and he paid $162 for it all from a hardware store in California.

FIGJAM said:

I have always pictured some of the guns I own being passed down to my kids and my grandkids and their kids etc. family heirlooms you know? Recently I had two experiences that shook me to my core - two elderly gentleman that I knew from church and had great gun collections passed away. One about 6 months ago and one just last week. Wife and kids put all of their guns up for sell at liquidation prices. It was my understanding that both men had life insurance and had their homes paid off etc - I don't think they needed the cash, they would just rather have cash than dad and grandpas guns. Made me sick to my stomach and really got me thinking if we over value the sentimental value of our guns? What do you all think?

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Just a sign of the times on many fronts. Sad. Makes sense to have these types of issues resolved before death. If kids or favorite relatives don't want the guns, or you don't feel comfortable with them, the NRA can be named in your trust / will. My current trust will do just that.

I have guns with sentimental value. When we first moved west just after marriage the only guns I had were junk because that is all I could afford. Gradually I bought better and slaved over them to make them the best they could possibly be. I shot lots of game with them. Now I can afford the best and I have a few in that category but what they represent is 40 years of hard work more than carbon fibre and stainless steel. What they are worth to anyone else is whatever the market will bear. Someday they will be sold for pennies on the dollar just like my wife's collection of China and all the fancy tools in my shop. Sentiment is a personal thing and when the person dies it dies with them. So should the sadness. I firmly believe that when you protect the past more than the future you have no future. I value the memories and emotions those guns create but I would junk them all in a second if I thought the world would be a better place for it. Life is about tomorrow not yesterday.

Wow! What a way to start my day reading this. I'm on the dark side of 70 and have always put a lot of value in things from my Dad, Mother and all my family. I see how much things have changed in what younger people value and it does bother me.
I've been to a auctions where I had to step back and wipe a few tears from my eyes after seeing what some kids have sold. So there I have admitted it, I'm a sentimental old fart.
I have my first shot gun Dad gave me when I was 9 and most ever other gun that I owned and my Dad's guns except for the ones I have already gave to a son and grand kids. I built muzzle loaders and all that goes with them for a few years, and hunted with them for over 40yrs. I have a few left here and in all honesty, it would break my heart if I knew any of these things left the family.
I hope I'm not being selfish but it's how I feel. I will admit I already know which kid or grand kids would sell as fast as possible and which would cherish. Sooo guess who gets what!

Here's my plan. I'm 34 now with a 7 year old Son and an almost 5 year old Daughter. Both love to go shoot their crickets with me. Sometimes we break out the black guns, 9mm AR's that don't kick and are a "blast" to shoot. My father in law has a huge safe and doesn't have enough room to contain his collection. Some of his guns don't mean much to me now, but that's because I haven't had the opportunity to get the story surrounding them yet. I plan to understand all of their stories.

My Wife and I keep a leather bound journal for each of our kids. We write to them about once a month, telling of fun adventures we take them on, "first" experiences, birthdays and such. We will give them their journals when they turn 21, hopefully after they have a drink with Mom and Dad and before they go off to celebrate with their friends. I want our children to know about their upbringing. We also have a plan to share momentous photos and videos of their childhood.

We have a rule in our family, guns never get sold or traded. I have broken it a few times for guns that truly won't shoot or bring me no joy, but for the most part we keep them all. My plan is to sneak into their journal written accounts of the guns that have sentimental value to me. This includes guns that I have inherited that don't mean much to me, but that I understand have a "family value associated with them". For example, there's a couple shotguns and rifles that I have that were given to my father by his uncle (Dad's uncle was really the first serious big game hunter in our family). My Dad was fortunate to have received first hand accounts of these guns from his Uncle, stories of his first Western exploits, bucks that got away and "deer camp" stories. I have been told these stories by my father and I know that one day I will inherit them all. I haven't yet decided what to do with them as I'm currently at a "function over form" stage of my life and not all of these are suitable for the types of hunting I do (inhospitable terrain and weather, heavy somewhat inaccurate rifles - not great for my style of Western backpack elk hunting). I assuredly will NOT get rid of them, but I question whether I'd be better off rebarreling and fitting lightweight stocks so that they can be used by myself and my children (to create new memories with).

Regardless of what I decide to do with them, I will be writing stories about all of them in our kids journals so that they have written accounts of why they are important to our family. I hope to instill that sentimental value to them. With that, I'll also be honest about the ones that don't hold much value to us. I understand that my children may not want to, or have the space, to keep 50-60 guns each when my father in law and I are gone. I hope that I can leave them with enough history to make educated decisions of which guns they are sentimentally attached to and which ones they'd be willing to part with if they ever feel the need to thin the herd. Either way, to this point, I think we are doing a good job of "passing down the hunting and shooting heritage" to our kids. They are both itching to go on their first legal hunts. I take them with me turkey and bear hunting. We aren't very successful but they enjoy it and learn every time we go.

I hope that they will keep the ones with memorable stories or experiences attached to them. I hope that a few will recall fond memories afield with Mom, Dad and both Grampas

FIGJAM said:

I have always pictured some of the guns I own being passed down to my kids and my grandkids and their kids etc. family heirlooms you know? Recently I had two experiences that shook me to my core - two elderly gentleman that I knew from church and had great gun collections passed away. One about 6 months ago and one just last week. Wife and kids put all of their guns up for sell at liquidation prices. It was my understanding that both men had life insurance and had their homes paid off etc - I don't think they needed the cash, they would just rather have cash than dad and grandpas guns. Made me sick to my stomach and really got me thinking if we over value the sentimental value of our guns? What do you all think?

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It isn't the sentimental value we place on our own guns in as much as that value we put on the guns we acquire from others that is important from my perspective. The firearms I have inherited, first from my grandfather and then my father, are far and away the most important to me—despite the fact that all together they do not have a fair market value equal to even one of my custom rifles. And yet, if the house were on fire, after the family and pets were secured, my dad's Weatherby would be the first among cherished personal items I would want to rescue from the flames. It's not that the gun is all that valuable or even that important in my life today; it's the man who carried it for decades in the field, much of that time with me in tow, that was and always will be to me. So, for me it is not really sad to see a collection of firearms sold. Someday most of mine will go for pennies on the dollar, I'm sure. What would be said is if during the lifetime of the person who formerly owned them they had not built a relationship or two that meant there were items among their estate that conjured found memories so strong that the very thought of letting a stranger acquire that item was unthinkable. After all, it's those feelings and traditions that drive many of us to hunt in the first place.

FIGJAM said:

I have always pictured some of the guns I own being passed down to my kids and my grandkids and their kids etc. family heirlooms you know? Recently I had two experiences that shook me to my core - two elderly gentleman that I knew from church and had great gun collections passed away. One about 6 months ago and one just last week. Wife and kids put all of their guns up for sell at liquidation prices. It was my understanding that both men had life insurance and had their homes paid off etc - I don't think they needed the cash, they would just rather have cash than dad and grandpas guns. Made me sick to my stomach and really got me thinking if we over value the sentimental value of our guns? What do you all think?

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We remember what we had paid for them.

My wife always says every old gun guy thinks this : "My greatest fear is that my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them" ha ha

I do think we over value our stuff, guns included. There are some in the family that are like me and there are some who aren't. Generations change, whoever gets my guns, I'll watch them use em! Maybe they will go on some good hunting trips and I can help them aim...

Randy Tidwell said:

I love telling this story about that ole 10ga, warms my heart.

When I was about 11 or 12, went duck hunting with Pop (our nick name for him) out to the rice paddies in North East Arkansas. Cold winter morning, we spotted a flight of Mallards land a few paddies away from us.

We got on our hands and knees and crawled thru the wet mud to the levy next to where they landed.

Pop quietly placed the ole 10 on top of the levy, pulled back both hammers, and put two fingers in the trigger guard. I gave him a puzzled look. He gave me the Sheezh sign, peeked over the levy and slapped the water with his left hand.

They weren't 20 feet from us, still don't know how we got that close to them. The birds all looked up to see what the noise was, he pulled both triggers at the same time. Mowed a path down the middle of them and we picked up 13 birds. LOL

Yep, he was old school meat hunter that only cared about bring food home.

Every time I look at that shotgun, I smile.

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I love to hear stories like that.

FIGJAM said:

I have always pictured some of the guns I own being passed down to my kids and my grandkids and their kids etc. family heirlooms you know? Recently I had two experiences that shook me to my core - two elderly gentleman that I knew from church and had great gun collections passed away. One about 6 months ago and one just last week. Wife and kids put all of their guns up for sell at liquidation prices. It was my understanding that both men had life insurance and had their homes paid off etc - I don't think they needed the cash, they would just rather have cash than dad and grandpas guns. Made me sick to my stomach and really got me thinking if we over value the sentimental value of our guns? What do you all think?

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I think you are right! Just like beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I am 61 and started collecting at 13 when I bought my 410 single shot. If I average it out I have purchased 2 guns a year! I have never sold ONE! I have 3 sons each I bought a
300 weatherby and pump Remington 870 when they turned 13. But my greatest fear....What if they sell my entire collection when I die? Oh well I guess at least I will be dead if they do.