Anyone who has ever gone in a gun store understands that guns can be expensive. Those of us who own several of them (and who doesn’t?) can have quite a bit of money invested in our gun collection. That makes it something to be considered as an important part of our kids’ inheritance, when the time comes.
But the financial value of our guns isn’t the only reason to consider carefully what we’re leaving behind. Ongoing efforts by leftist politicians to eliminate or severely restrict our Second Amendment rights could make it difficult or outright illegal for our children to buy the guns they might want in the future.
That means that leaving our guns to them is more than leaving something of financial value, it’s leaving a legacy of being able to throw off a tyrannical government, should that become necessary; the very reason why we have a Second Amendment in the first place.
Granted, few people think about their legacy when buying guns, but maybe we should. Rather than just buying guns because we like them, perhaps we should be looking at those guns from the viewpoint of what they will mean to our kids, either from a financial or from a freedom point of view. If the choice is between buying one gun or another (as it often is), then it just make sense to buy guns which will mean more to our kids than just being guns.
With that in mind, here are some ideas of what kinds of guns you might want to consider buying, or what of your guns you might want to take some extra care in storing away, just to make sure that your kids end up with them.
Related: Firearm Tips for New Preppers and/or Those Who are New to Guns
Guns with Sentimental Value
Probably the most important category of firearms to leave to your children are those with some sort of sentimental value. This can mean different things to different people.
Perhaps it’s the gun your child shot their first deer with or one that belonged to your granddad. Maybe it’s one they carried in the war or an enemy firearm they brought back home as a souvenir.
Regardless of where that gun came from, it’s something that has meaning to your family. That makes it worth having.
Historic Firearms
Perhaps some of those family heirlooms are old enough to be considered historic firearms.
If so, they could be worth a lot of money. Old firearms, especially rare historic pieces, can be extremely valuable. I know a man who was able to secure a loan to buy property and build his home, using his historic firearm collection as collateral.
True antique collectors of any sort know how to find a bargain. They rarely pay full price for the things they collect. Rather, they keep their eyes open for deals on items, which others don’t realize the value of.
My friend built his antique firearm collection that way and my mother built a collection of antique glass the same way. In both cases, they paid much, much less than the “book value” of their acquisitions.
Commemorative Firearms
If you want to buy firearms that will go up in value, then you should be looking at commemorative firearms.
Many of these are absolutely beautiful engraved pieces, and only a few of them are made. While the market for reselling these commemorative firearms is small, people are willing to pay big bucks for them.
My dad’s retirement business was carving custom gun-stocks for one-of-a-kind commemorative firearms. These were typically done for collectors, but a few of his pieces are on display at museums now. A well done commemorative firearm is truly a work of art; something that is worth putting on display.
AR-15s
If there is any one category of firearms that our children may not be able to buy, it’s the various models of the AR-15. More than any other category of firearm on the market, AR-15s are in the sights of those who want to diminish or eliminate our right to bear arms.
The stated reason for going after our AR-15s is that they are “assault rifles” or “military grade firearms,” both of which are untrue statements. Yes, they look like military grade firearms, they’re supposed to. But they aren’t.
Nevertheless, if there is ever a second civil war or revolutionary war in our country, this will be the number one firearm used by the public. That’s probably the real reason why they want to take them away from us.
Related: The Complete Guide To Cleaning And Lubricating Your Ar-15
Semi-Automatic Pistols
The other category of firearms that seems to come under attack is semi-automatic pistols, especially those with large magazine capacities.
Again, there’s a stated reason for this, but there’s also the potential for a more nefarious reason to try and take them from us. Going up against armed soldiers is bad enough; doing so with a six-shooter doesn’t sound like any fun at all.
Semi-automatic pistols also happen to be the best thing to use in defending yourself and your home. That alone is a good reason to make sure that you leave some to your kids. I actually ended up giving my daughter and her husband matching pistols as a wedding gift. I’ve got a great picture of them, looking like a couple of gangsters, with their matching pistols.
Ghost Guns
If they ever do manage to start confiscating firearms, our best protection and the best protection for our children, is to have untraceable firearms.
In other words, I’m talking about firearms that don’t have a serial number stamped on them. This is actually legal, if you build the firearm 100% by yourself.
There are a number of firearm frames or lower receivers which you can buy 80% versions of. This means that the frame or receiver is only 80% complete. They haven’t been completed by the manufacturer.
According to the law, they are parts in process, so they don’t have to have a serial number. The serial number would have to be added once the parts pass the next step in manufacturing. But if you do that step yourself, finishing out the part and then the gun, they never have to have a serial number added, because you aren’t a firearms manufacturer.
This makes them completely off the books and untraceable by the government.
Should gun confiscations ever start, there would be no way of the government knowing that these guns exist. Therefore, as long as they are kept hidden, they would not be confiscated. That would make them available to your children to defend family and home, or even if there is a second American revolution.
Black Powder Reproduction Firearms
Another category of firearms that are not regulated and tracked are black powder firearm reproductions, which are considered historic firearms. You can buy kits for a number of different models of black powder rifles and pistols, which can be built by anyone with a decent workshop and average do-it-yourself skills.
The resulting firearms will be both functional and attractive.
Granted, these would not be very effective in that second American revolution; but they would still be effective for home defense.
Besides, it’s just something cool to have in a case, hanging on the wall. For your kids to be able to say “Yeah, my dad made that” would probably be a great experience for them.
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I enjoy shooting firearms and being outdoors. Camping – Hunting – Fishing – Hiking and all that entails. But my kids skipped that ‘outdoor gene’ and aren’t interested in them. Not my kids. Regretfully. So I taught them how firearms work, and take them shooting occasionally when they feel like it. I want them to be safe and responsible around firearms. Anything beyond that is gravy.
When my brother and I were kids, we pestered Dad to take us out there and hunt and hike. We had a passion to be out there. And when a generation of people are born who do not enjoy firearms, it becomes very difficult to pass them on to later generations. Grandkids – maybe, but who will take them out when they are young ?
Teach your children well.
Take heart! And make a plan! There’s a good chance that maybe it will be valued and it will make it to the next generation. It has in my family!
Current POLITICAL Vs BILL OF RIGHTS situations have elevated the 2nd Amend. into a “GOLDEN VALUES” item.
Photo Inventory & copy/ preserve your treasured collection
& ensure your WILL/ TRUST documents preserve their existence. (TRUSTS avoid PROBATES !) Be extremely RESPONSIBLE 4 your treasured Patriotism.
Lets not forget those guns that fell between the cracks. Those that were “found” or inherited or given or something else that Uncle Sam wasn’t party to. Special instruction should accompany those as they hold special significance to freedom loving folks.
Sorry, but most of the commemorative guns that you see gussied up in ads in gun magazines and other publications are not collector items. If you follow gun values at all, you would know that they never increase in value beyond what the same gun in standard format is worth that cost less when new.
Guns and Ammo magazine has a regular column where people write in and ask the writer what the gun is worth. Frequently someone asks about a commemorative gun and he tells them the same thing. It’s worth what the standard gun of the make and model is worth.
Anybody can look up gun values in any one of several books published each year about firearms values that most gun dealers rely on when they acquire a used gun, even if it is “New In Box” category, it is like a car, once it has left the dealer, it no longer is a “new” gun and if actually unused falls into the “New In Box” category if one has retained the actual box it came in and the original paperwork.
Moral of the story: Don’t throw away the box when you buy a new gun. Keep it in pristine condition. For many years I always threw away the box. Who needs an old box anyway? Well, Cricket, sometimes having the box in like new condition will double the selling price of the gun. Too soon old. Too late smart.
Collectible guns, like any collectible, are a gamble. You are gambling that the gun you bought will find favor with collectors at the time you need to sell it or want to sell it.
Colt Pythons were a very hot collectible in 2018. A model in decent shape would go for low four figures. Then at Shot Show 2020 or even a little earlier, Colt announced they were starting up production of the Python again, after having abandoned the commercial firearms field for several years to concentrate on the military contracts they had. Previously, I think the last Python rolled off the line in 1968.
It will be interesting to see how the introduction of the new Python will affect the market for traditional Pythons. I suspect the market for New In Box Pythons will remain robust. I further suspect that original Pythons with some wear that previously commanded a premium price just for the name will see a significant dip in that premium.
I mention Pythons because that is a well-known, recent phenomenon in the gun collecting world. Everyone has been just shaking their heads at the premium prices Pythons were commanding. Probably one of the reasons why Colt decided to get back into the market place.
There are tens of thousands of guns in the U.S. that are not traceable. One of the reasons why the gun grabbers want to have every transaction go through a gun dealer with a record of the gun and its serial number and the purchaser ID squirreled away in some government computer is just for that very reason. Most guns sold before 1968 were sold without any formal record kept of the transaction other than what the gun dealer himself might have kept. Sure, the manufacturer had a record of whom it was sold to from the factory — maybe. There was no federal requirement that firearms dealers keep records and notify the federales of gun sales. Even then, only handguns were identified by serial number. Long guns were just identified by “rifle” or “shotgun”. Prior to the 1968 gun control act, cheap guns might not even have a serial number on them, It was in 1968 that serial numbers on guns became mandatory.
If you look at Great GrandDad’s single shot H&R 16 gauge shotgun that he got on his 10th birthday in 1927, you might not find a serial number on it.
Some states such as the PDRK have been tracking pistols for a long time. I can’t remember when that tracking started. Back when I bought my first pistol in the PDRK in 1959, there was a three day waiting period during which my name was sent to the local police department for them to check and see if they had a record on me.
That was the first publicized failure of law enforcement on keeping guns out of the hands of folks who were forbidden to have firearms. The Stockton PD dropped the ball on the shooter that started the school shooting plague. He had a felony record when he bought his SKS. Stockton PD didn’t notify the gun dealer that they had the shooter for a felony and the result was the Stockton school shooting.
But even today, much to the chagrin of gun grabbers everywhere, most states do not track private sales. You advertise your gun in the local paper, a guy shows up, agrees to your price. You write out a bill of sale — or not — he gives you the cash. You give him the gun. That’s the end of it. The only thing the government knows is who bought the gun from a gun store if it postdates 1968. If the original purchaser from the gun store is dead, the trail ends there. When I bought my first .22 a few days after I turned 16, I walked into an auto parts store, plunked down my money and walked out with the rifle. I am not sure there was any paperwork other than the cash register receipt.
So if you live in the United States of America and not some eastern block communist state such as the PDRK or now Oregon and Washington who are trying to emulate the PDRK or one of the east coast communist states, you can purchase a handgun, rifle or shotgun from a private party and the trail ends with the original purchaser. Now assuming the original purchaser from a gun shop after 1968 has not died, there is a trail to him and from him to whomever purchased it from him. But not all guns are traceable much to the dismay of the gun grabbers. How can you grab what you don’t know is there?
I don’t know what the revolver is in the first picture. The trigger is rusty and it looks like a pot metal cap gun. With the butt on it, I don’t know how comfortable it would be to even hold, let alone shoot. If it is what I think is in the picture, it is not something you want to put away for your kids. Even though there is a market for cap guns from the golden days of same and they are a collector’s item, the one in the picture is in such ratty shape I doubt any collector would even want it.
You can buy black powder guns that are already assembled by the manufacturer and as Rich states, they are not tracked in most states except communist block states again. Why build your own single shot pistol when you can buy a replica of early model Colts that are actual working replicas of early six shooters? While quality control of black powder revolvers was sketchy in the early days of their importation, their quality now equals anything coming from a U.S. manufacturer and in some cases exceeds what comes from U.S. manufacturers. The Cold Dragoon was the equal of today’s .44 magnum and can still be purchased as a working replica. The .44 magnum is still about the maximum handgun most casual shooters can handle, even in black powder.
Final word on buying. A reputable art dealer or any reputable dealer will tell you that buying collectibles gambling on them increasing in value, even if you buy them at below present value is like gambling. You are counting on collectors continuing to want that particular collectible and counting on it continuing to rise in price. My advice on purchasing firearms to pass on to heirs is to buy something in a common caliber. Not the hottest new caliber, but some old reliable caliber that has been in common use for decades. In a rifle, .30-06, .308, .270. 7 mm magnum, .30-30, .223/5.56. Those are tried and true calibers. They will remain so just because there are so many of them in circulation. Yes, there are newer calibers coming out. It looks as if the Army is going to either a 6.5, 6.8 caliber firearm but it will be years before it becomes mainstream even after Army procurement make up its mind and issues contracts. That’s all well and good, and if I were writing this post twenty years hence, I could well be talking about different calibers. Shotguns, 12 ga. or 20 ga. The other gauges have pluses but are uncommon. Buy a field grade shotgun. The short barrel, pistol-grip shotgun looks all sexy but is of limited general use. A field grade with removable chokes in a standard length will see much more use and still be useful in a defense situation. Sure, buy the tactical shotgun if you have bucks to spare, but it won’t be the shotgun with memories that a field grade shotgun will hold.
When you buy a rifle or shotgun to hand down, don’t buy the economy model. Also don’t buy the gussied up model. It’s like buying a car. If you buy a car that you are planning on keeping for twenty or more years, you buy a popular model but not the one with all the bells and whistles and gee whizzes because every additional feature is something else to go wrong as the car ages. Same thing with firearms. Don’t buy the bottom of the line model. They rarely increase in value. Don’t buy the top of the line. They are already premium priced for the unwary who think they will go higher.They might, but generally not as much as the buyer hopes.
Use the the firearm. Don’t buy a safe queen gambling on a volatile market going higher. Got Beanie Babies for sale? Can you actually even give them away? How about trading cards. Sure, a basketball card just sold for over a million dollars. I just threw away a football card that my son collected some 50 years ago of an unknown player who is still unknown. When I asked my son about him he said “Who?” I looked the player up. He retired. Had a mink farm in Oregon and the local high school named their football field after him. He died a few years ago. Sic transit gloria.
Your children and grandchildren will have more enjoyment with the firearm when it is passed to them if they have fond memories of shooting it with Dad or Granddad than they will of some safe queen that never got taken out except to clean. I can’t count the number of times I have read someone saying, “This gun has been in the family for a couple of generations. I remember the day Grandpops took me out in the field behind the barn and allowed me to shoot it. I’m passing it on to my grandkids. As soon as they are old enough, if I am still around, I intend to teach them how to shoot with it too.”
That’s the kind of memory no safe queen, no matter how gorgeous it may be will ever generate. The scratch on the stock acquired because Granddad dropped the barbed wire before the shotgun went under means more than the glossy finish on the safe queen that never has had a round down its barrel. There isn’t a value in the world that can take the place of the memories.
Well said from start to finish, LCC.
When did they start putting serial numbers on guns?
Some guns have been serial numbered since the get go, done by the manufacturer either because the military required it for a military contract or just for inventory control. Some lower priced firearms were not serialized just because it was more hassle than keeping track of serial number was worth, especially in the days before computerization. Just counted how many guns were put in each box and how many boxes were shipped.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 did away with the option and mandated that all guns manufactured by licensed gun manufacturing plants had to serialize their product.
Some very small manufacturers of low end pistols got in trouble with the BATF because they were less than scrupulous about numbering their frames. A number of their guns got out without numbers. Either they went home in lunch pails or got left out on the loading dock or some slip-up between manufacture and getting shipped. I don’t believe they were ever convicted of violating the law but having BATF agents in your plant on a weekly basis seriously interrupted the manufacturing process.
I believe, but I am not a lawyer, that if you manufacture a gun yourself and don’t sell it, it does not need a serial number. However, it is also my further understanding that you cannot transfer, sell, give away, bequeath or otherwise change ownership/possession of the gun without serializing it. A lawyer who specializes in gun laws could certainly correct my understanding if incorrect.
I just finished reading an article in Dillon Manufacturing Blue Press which is a catalog that they publish monthly which always has some interesting reading in it.
Back in the late 50s and early 60s Remington produced a series of .22 rifles with a nylon stock. The semiautomatic series were called Mohawks. They were great guns and quite accurate. They were wildly popular and I never figured why Remington dropped them.
A lesser known series was the same gun but in bolt action configuration. They are now collector items. Why is that of interest here? Well, according to the article there were approximately 60,000 of those bolt action Remington nylon stocked .22s produced and sold. They all were built without serial numbers as they were produced prior to 1968. So there are at least 60,000 .22 rifles floating around that are not traceable as none of them had serial numbers.
However the article also said that they are much sought after collector items and are quite pricey nowadays. He or she didn’t define “quite pricey” but I would think high four figures would be quite pricey. Your definition may vary.
I had never seen nor heard of a bolt action Remington nylon .22. I of course knew of the Mohawk series of semiautomatic .22s.
A good example of a firearm that didn’t sell all that well but has become a collector firearm. Whodda thunk?
Usually a firearm that was a dog in the marketplace when new stays that way forever and ever.
If you don’t subscribe to the Blue Press, I would recommend it. Besides all kinds of firearm accessories to drool over, every month there is at least one interesting article that one can learn from.
In 2020 they have been featuring women in the firearms field, usually lady competitors. Three years ago I treated myself to a 3-gun camp. There were both male and female professional shooters there to act as coaches. There was one lady shooter who could slam eight rounds of 12 ga. into her shotgun while I would still be figuring out which end went in first. Her loading skills were truly amazing. She was no slouch in gettin the shells out the other end of the shotgun and on target either. I would want her on my team and in a shootout, I would want her shooting with me, not against me. She ran her shotgun accurately about as fast as an M2 .50 cal runs.
Depending on how the election goes, and future Supreme Court nominees, the way our current supreme court has neglected to rule on the second amendment this session, guns may be a thing of our past. Sad but true.
Does anyone have an opinion on 3-D printer guns? I think the programs were made illegal (of course), but if anyone got one before they were pulled out of the market that might be a viable option, assuming you can get the necessary materials.
3D printed guns are making a lot of headway thanks to the fine folks at deterrance-dispensed. Check out their open but encrypted chatroom on keybase and also check out derwoodvw on youtube for some videos on test firing.
You can also find det-disp on LBRY where you can download the CAD files for various 3D printed firearms (using sub 250 dollar 3d printers) as well as 3D printed magazines. Not long ago they also released full technical data packages for popular designs such as the AR platform, so if anyone wants to make modifications or learn to build their own parts all the measurements and materials are specificed in the TDP (technical data pack), can’t get a better starting point really.
If you like 3D printed guns check out deterrance dispensed on keybase and derwoodvw on youtube. Also check det-disp on LBRY if you want to download STL files for printing as well as technical data packages on popular firearms like the AR in case you want to do any modifications.
Well said from start to finish, LCC.
I said I would report back later when I found out more information about the pepper gun. I found what I was looking for.
The device is being marketed by saberred.com which is a company that specializes in non-lethal self defense products. They manufacture pepper spray and stun guns. However, presently they say they are out of stock to check back later or go to some of their vendors who still have stock.
My guess is that they are so busy making pepper spray for the cops that they don’t have time for the non-leo market.
That said, two on line companies have the kit advertised in their most recent catalogs. the first company is Preferred Living.com and the second is CHKadels.com
The kit is not cheap. It is in the Preferred Living catalog at $349.95. It comes with seven spray pellets and 14 water pellets for practice in a handy gun case. I think Kadels have the same kit at approximately the same price point.
I’m not into paintball, but it looks to me as if it is a paintball gun with pepper spray balls instead of paintballs. If you could find a paintball gun that would fire the pepper spray balls, you probably would have a good substitute.
The biggest drawback that I see to the device is that like all CO2 fired guns, the CO2 cartridge will leak CO2 once installed even if they are not fired. If you let your CO2 pellet gun sit for a week there won’t be any CO2 left in the cartridge.
These would be good in a situation, I think, such as we saw with the pink-shirted lawyer. He loads the pepper gun as the mob is breaking down the gate to the community. If the crowd surges onto his property, seven shots of pepper spray should start to disburse the mob. If it doesn’t, then it’s time for something more persuasive. He would have a better argument that he feared for his life with a communist prosecuting attorney and leftist jury.
As a ready self-defense, less-than-lethal device, I think that fact that the cartridges leak CO2 is the main drawback. If there were some way to load the cartridge without piercing it, they might be useful. Not an instantaneous response weapon such as drawing your 9mm from an IWB holster, but in certain situations could prove effective.
I was interested in this product but decided the CO2 cartridge leakage was a definite No for me.
I lost all my guns in a boating accident.
I feel for you!… Same thing happened to me in Gulf of Mexico while Sail fishing!
Piglet sound!
One thing we need to consider is… Are American soldiers going to obey orders to kill their countrymen, brothers, sisters, moms and dads? If one shot is fired, there will be another “Come and take it” moment. I’ll be in the “Come and take it” crowd!
@Nolan,
A lot of folks in the liberty movement do not believe most American soldiers will fire upon their fellow Americans, but there will be and always has been a small portion whether they be soldiers or law enforcement that will obey unlawful orders and pull the trigger on us.
Another thought going around is when America has been pulled down and apart by these so called “peaceful protesters” is when the UN steps in with China and Russia leading the way to plunder our nation.
They have purged most of the Christians out of the high ranking military positions and replaced them with liberals. They will give orders to fire on our citizens and half of the soldiers will be liberals which will follow orders no matter what they are. We are screwed. Don’t fool yourselves.
Look at Hong Kong police, they have gone full Commie against protestors who want freedom of speech.
Well, I think if things get chaotic enough our BFFs from across the Pacific will come in with humanitarian aid to the west coast. Of course, it will be delivered by some branch of the PLA disguised as security personnel or “peace keepers” or some such euphemism but strangely enough, they will be supported by armored up vehicles necessary for the “safety” of the aid workers.
The first step will be to “assist” law enforcement in maintaining “law and order.” Some of our L.E.O.s will be shocked at the amount of force necessary to maintain law and order. They will find themselves excluded more and more until they are nothing more than show pieces with the “security forces” doing all the maintaining.
By the time we wake up to what is happening they will control all the ports on the Left Coast from San Diego to Friday Harbor in Washington State. Heck, Clinton was all set to sell the Port of Long Beach to the Chinese Army through a cut out company until there was so much stink raised the deal fell through.
Given the chance, they won’t buy it, just take it by force.
I would get more out of your response if it didn’t have so many acronyms
BFF = Best Friends Forever. PLA = People’s Liberation Army. What the Chinese call their army. L.E.O or sometimes l.e.o. or less frequently leo or LEO = law enforcement officer. As distinguished from P.O. or in some communities PoPo or popo which is police officer. What many conservatives decry is the switch from police officer or peace officer to law enforcement officer. While the switch may seem innocuous on its face, some think that it signals a switch in what police/peace officers were originally intended to be which is to defuse violent situations, either by moral suasion or if necessary arrest and incarceration.
The best police officer I ever knew was a transplanted New York cop named, of course, John J. Murphy. I always maintained Orange County Deputy Sheriff John J. Murphy could walk into a riot in a bar and in ten minutes not only would the riot be quelled without any busted heads but everybody in the bar would be clamoring to buy Murph a drink. Yes, he used to grant 72 hour divorces on Friday nights. Yes, he did his utmost to talk folks out of situations or into doing what he wanted them to do and avoid physical hassles. Sometimes his methods would not stand the cold glare in a courtroom but essentially he was a peace officer and a damned fine patrol officer. He quit patrolling because he said the new guys coming on the force scared him. He felt they were going to deliberately get into situations where someone got hurt and that just wasn’t his style.
We need more Officer Murphys on the street and fewer officers who gang arrest a guy who at worst doesn’t have a business license and is not paying sales tax on his sales of single cigarettes and maybe, horror of horrors not checking IDs as closely as he should to insure that all his purchasers are of legal age to purchase tobacco — but of course, it is perfectly legal for them to purchase marijuana.
I love how you talked about how commemorative antique firearms are a great inheritance piece. I’ve been looking for a gift I can give to my husband that would be unforgettable and something like a timeless antique gun would be a great plan. My husband and our kids often go on hunting trips together so I’m sure that sort of firearm would be something he can give to them when they’re older as well.