Author Topic: How to get rid of guns?  (Read 5842 times)

mozar

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How to get rid of guns?
« on: June 07, 2016, 10:13:02 AM »
My dad inherited a few guns from my grandfather. I think it's a rifle and two hand guns. I think they're just sitting in his apartment. He and I and nobody we know are gun enthusiasts. What should he do with them? I don't think they're antiques. Go to a pawn shop, go to a gun dealer? He lives in the metro DC area.

pbkmaine

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2016, 10:42:28 AM »
You might want to noodle around on the internet with the gun serial numbers to see if they are worth anything. Antiques Roadshow on PBS has an armaments specialist who seems to know a lot. Perhaps watch a few of his segments?

Gimesalot

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2016, 11:10:27 AM »
I live in the South, so people just make a flyer and put it on the fridge at work... YMMV!

WranglerBowman

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2016, 11:13:24 AM »
I'll 2nd doing your research so you know roughly what you have.  They should def be secured though so they don't end up stolen and out on the street.  Never go to a pawnshop unless you enjoy pissing money away.  If you sell them privately you can go through your state police agency.

Full Beard

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2016, 11:40:38 AM »
I agree with looking the guns up online and seeing what you have and what others are selling theirs for.  I'm not sure how selling guns online works but gunbroker.com and gunsamerica.com are a couple sites I know of.  I live in Virginia and I've sold a few guns recently.  I've sold a gun directly to a gun dealer and probably got about half of what it was worth but it was really easy to do.  Another time I took a gun to a dealer and that particular dealer put my gun on consignment inside their shop.  Once the gun was sold in a couple weeks the dealer took 15% and mailed me a check for the rest.  You can also go into a gun dealer with somebody wanting to buy your gun and just have the dealer do a transfer to that person.  It probably costs around $50, but that way the person is checked through the background system and cleared before they get the weapon. 

shotgunwilly

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2016, 12:21:35 PM »
I live in the South, so people just make a flyer and put it on the fridge at work... YMMV!

Haha. Yea... I've bought 3 guns just by meeting people somewhere like a walmart parking lot. (I've never sold a gun though.)

Edit: There might not be something like this up there in DC, but down here we have forums with classifieds just for selling guns.  But I would start by getting them checked out and finding similar listings or values on the internet. 
« Last Edit: June 08, 2016, 11:30:18 AM by shotgunwilly »

Panfish

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2016, 12:59:37 PM »
If your in the Metro DC area I would check local gun laws before advertising that you have these for sale.  You are probably ok, but a lot of these larger metroplexes have very stringent gun laws.  If it's illegal to sell them you can always just store them for a while, guns are not a great investment but they do pace inflation if you store them properly.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #7 on: June 07, 2016, 04:58:25 PM »
Do not call the police and tell them you have guns illegal in your jurisdiction. They will most likely be more interested in arresting you than in helping you to figure out what to do with them.

I would find comparables on GunBroker, decide what you want for the set, then take them to a few local gun stores that confirm on the phone that they're buying, and negotiate a price. I got what I felt was a quite fair price when I sold mine to a store-maybe less than private party, but hugely more convenient.

Reynolds531

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #8 on: June 07, 2016, 06:50:01 PM »
If you aren't familiar, find someone who is (licensed, trained) and make  sure they are safely unloaded and trigger locked before handling them.


MoonShadow

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #9 on: June 07, 2016, 06:53:47 PM »
In the DC area, go to a gun shop and ask them for their process.  Don't be driving around town with those guns in your vehicle.

mozar

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2016, 07:25:33 PM »
Thanks for all the info! My dad found a buyer. He was driving around with guns in his car...sigh. At least I made him dispose the bullets years ago.

Full Beard

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2016, 07:45:56 PM »
I'm glad your dad found a buyer.  I have a very similar question.  How do you get rid of ammunition?  It's not something I can post on Craigslist.  I know I could take it to a local police station and give it to them but I'd like to make a little money from it.

mozar

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2016, 08:24:21 PM »
Honestly he threw it in the gutter. Not the best choice but we were black people crossing state lines. Probably not going to work if you want money for it.

Syonyk

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #13 on: June 07, 2016, 08:27:55 PM »
How do you get rid of ammunition?

You take it to the range and shoot it. :)

Failing that, you give it to a friend who will take it to the range and shoot it.

Beyond that?  I have no idea.  I've never wanted to "get rid of" ammunition.  Just obtain it. :)

Goldielocks

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #14 on: June 07, 2016, 08:37:14 PM »
Well,  here, you take the hand guns and immediately turn them in to the police station, making a statement of how you obtained them...and hopefully this was "inherited" so the original owner is not in any trouble.  And hopefully you are not in trouble either.  :-)

The rifle, you first go get a permit to transport, then take to the gun dealer and fill out a bunch of paperwork.   

Or hide it in your basement somewhere for 50 years for your kids to find after you die and deal with...  (DAD, I am talking to you, I know you still have your (not registered) childhood shotgun somewhere).

Don't worry about the ammo -- maybe make bottle rockets and u tube videos with the gunpowder.


ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #15 on: June 08, 2016, 05:55:58 AM »
I'm glad your dad found a buyer.  I have a very similar question.  How do you get rid of ammunition?  It's not something I can post on Craigslist.  I know I could take it to a local police station and give it to them but I'd like to make a little money from it.

Local firearms enthusiast Facebook group would work.

Honestly he threw it in the gutter. Not the best choice but we were black people crossing state lines. Probably not going to work if you want money for it.

I'm glad you got it all handled. A lot of gun laws are set up to be really hard to follow, written by people who know nothing about guns (see my username), and people trying to be reasonable get tripped up all the time. Tripping up here means jail time and a felony record.

GuitarStv

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #16 on: June 08, 2016, 07:06:13 AM »
Or hide it in your basement somewhere for 50 years for your kids to find after you die and deal with...  (DAD, I am talking to you, I know you still have your (not registered) childhood shotgun somewhere).

A few years after my grandfather died my grandmother found his shotgun and rifle in the attic when she was cleaning.  She didn't want them in the house, so she put them in a box, wrapped the box in brown paper, and then mailed them to my dad.  My mom got the heavy box from the post office and unwrapped it on the kitchen table . . . and was pretty shocked.  Two hours later some RCMP were knocking on our door asking about the guns.  :P

I was always blown away that they were delivered through the Canada post with no problems.  They must have known that they were firearms, because they called the RCMP . . . but chose to deliver them anyway.

shotgunwilly

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #17 on: June 08, 2016, 08:13:00 AM »
I was always blown away that they were delivered through the Canada post with no problems.  They must have known that they were firearms, because they called the RCMP . . . but chose to deliver them anyway.

You can mail anything through USPS. They transport more illegal drugs in our nation than you would believe.

Axecleaver

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Re: How to get rid of guns?
« Reply #18 on: June 08, 2016, 12:57:51 PM »
If you want to get rid of your ammo in the DC area, try the Izaak Walton league in Centreville, VA. They have a Marine member there with an eidetic memory who does all of the mechanical illustrations for the Marine book of arms (forget its official name). You can tell him any gun ever made and he will sketch the internals of it on a napkin in about thirty seconds.

They also have a private range on property open to its members, and those guys have some pretty unusual calibers. They would love to receive your donation, and I believe they take them for inheritance events exactly as you described.

 

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