Do you know where your shtuff is going ???

[magnumwheelman]

got a call from a buddy the other day, that works at a local scrap place that I haul scrap to regularly... seems someones estate just brought in a big box of rifle actions & gun parts, a 55 gallon drum of brass cases, & a 30 gallon drum of new bullets... no complete guns, & no loaded ammo, but looks like when the gun enthusiast died, all his reloading stuff, & "parts" went to the scrap yard...

there were 30-40 different calibers of brass, all either looked new, or at least polished & ready to load, even had some new short magnum calibers... bullets were all cast lead, most sized & lubed, but some as cast, & in a variety of calibers & bullet weights ( BTW, all his molds were in the iron box )... iron box had "several" complete Enfield Martini actions, one particularly nice, several Remington Rolling Blocks, some old Mauser actions... bullet molds, revolver grip frames, & a whole lot of etc.

I'm trying to get a particularly nice Enfield Martini action from him, & I was given a stainless Blackhawk grip frame, that was customized with an trigger over travel stop screw, & a lanyard ring ( stop screw & lanyard ring were missing, but threaded holes in the right places )

So... please make sure your family knows the value of all of your stuff ( not just the guns ) I'm expecting to pay around $200-$250 for that Martini action... that's a heck of a lot more than the $5.00 - $10.00 or less, the scrap price, that the family members got for it... hoping to find out what calibers of brass were in the barrel as well...

[contender]

So sad to see such stuff be sold as scrap when a lot more $$ could be made to help any family along.
I'm glad I don't have to worry about Miss Penny. She knows what to do & how to do as well as my son if I were to suddenly be "gone."
And, I just started a long process of helping an elderly friend dispose of his firearms & stuff. His family has no interest & no idea as to what he owns. I picked up a dozen pieces the other day to start with. Some need cleaning, some need some slight modification to return them to factory condition, but I'm going to try & do the best I can by him. I also have instructions of what will be done if he suddenly goes.
Like a good Boy Scout; Be Prepared.

[turbo]

I'm sure he saved all this stuff from being destroyed....right?

[magnumwheelman]

yes... I'm not sure the bullets aren't going anywhere but to a lead pot, as it would be a lot of work to sort them out ( now that they are all mixed together ) I'm sure they kept the jacketed bullets, that were in factory boxes, but ( & I'm sure he had all his home cast separated to start with ) looks like they just dumped all his lead in a drum ( there was also several ingots ) so I'm sure they are all scuffed up & if I had the money, I'd gamble on the brass, as what is on top looks new, could at least sell it at the gun show, if I couldn't use it... but there is enough interest in guns, that everything is getting pulled out, & not sold for scrap, to maximize their profit...

the point of my post, is that is likely $1000's of dollars worth of stuff the family likely got $300- $350 for...

we hope our families know the guns & ammo are valuable, but I wonder how many would understand how much value is in a pristine Enfield Martini action ( for example )

[magnumwheelman]

CONTENDER... I've already been talked to about helping my retired machinist buddy's family out, when that time comes... he has a son & daughter that are familiar, as is his MRS, but there is just so much tooling, & parts

[seancass]

As a younger 'gent, this is usually far from my mind but it really shouldn't be for anyone! I try to impress upon the people around me how expensive some of this stuff is without talking numbers. However i do have accurate records stored on my computer. I don't have the volume of reloading gear some of you do, but considering how small my estate is in general, selling it could be a big part! Not to mention covering the mountain of dept commonly referred to as student loans!

[jgt]

I had a friend who's son-in-law came in while he was in the hospital and threw away all his vintage Ruger boxes from the attic of his home. When I told his wife what they were throwing away she was sick and had me dispose of all his stuff after he died. The family acted as If I was some sleezeball coming in to take advantage of his widow. I never took any funds for this, so when we got down to the reloading stuff she was no longer interested and gave it to me for handling the guns. I wasn't going to take it but she said they had intended to throw it away.

[contender]

I have attended estate sales where a lot of gun stuff was sold. One,,, the auctioneer was clueless about gun stuff. It got to where he was asking me questions about stuff he had to offer. SOme things, he thought were pure gold, yet others,,, he had no clue as to what the item was. (I bought barrel wrenches & vises all in one box for less than $20 as an example.)
My point being, a good inventory, as well as knowing someone who can help the family when it becomes time to sell ANYTHING of value that the family has no use for is a blessing to the family.

[boxhead]

When I retire, about now next year, I will unload a third or so of what I own. Most having been bought, played with and to be sold later anyway, others as my tastes have changed. The rest will be "picked" by my three son's, all enthusiasts. So no worries here. Once I am dead and torched, it's hard to imagine I will have a worry.

[zac0419]

May 25, 2014 4:26:35 GMT -5 boxhead said:

When I retire, about now next year, I will unload a third or so of what I own.

Just make sure you give us first crack!!

[fanofthefortyone]

I've got a list of my "stuff" with the cost listed and my prices if I sold it. Brass,ammo,books etc are listed as what ever the going rate is. Not every little thing is listed,but the big stuff,rifles, handguns,presses etc
Ronnie

[rolex24]

It amazes me how folks don't educate their families on the value of their stuff. It's tough to be completely honest sometimes with my wife on what I paid but that has gotten easier over time, and her purse and shoe inventory had grown proportionately! I've put together an inventory and beneficiary list which I review with my wife regularly, as I keep adding to it. I've also got a pretty good inventory of the misc accessories, optics, cases, ammo, reloading acc, targets, fishing gear, etc so she doesn't have to try to figure anything out. One of the reasons I enjoy collecting is knowing my nieces and nephews and their kids will be able to enjoy them. I'm only 41 so hopefully that day won't come too soon but if it does I feel prepared.

I've actually kept a pretty good up to date document of my gun purchases so they know what they're getting, when/where/why/how much it cost. That way they'll know what the item meant to me, luckily my brothers and I we're able to get this info from my Dad shortly before he passed or we would have never known.

[needsmostuff]

It's really no better at the county run shooting ranges here in regards to abandoned brass. After scrap prices rose the range officers have become almost militant about collecting brass claiming money collected is funneled back into the range. Have not seen any evidence of that return yet. I have offered to pay twice the scrap price to do a little digging in the 55 gal barrels of the stuff they have accumulated. No dice. With a volunteer doing a little sorting they could easily get five times their return and fund some youth shooting or something. Such a waste of something I have to beat the bushes and scrounge for.

[nolongcolt]

Same thing happened at out county range. All of a sudden they started telling us to not just take all the brass, but to be discreet about it, where before it was open season in the 5 gal buckets placed behind the benches.

[seancass]

At the range I frequent you're not supposed to take it off the ground if you didn't put it on the ground. And I've been to some ranges where it's gone when it hits the ground.