I’ll take them. And all the ammo. I’ll give you a fair price.
DH inherited hunting rifles and a revolver from his father. We’re vegetarians, and had a small child in the house at the time. The rifles were pretty old, and DH figured they weren’t worth much, as his father had had them as long as DH could remember-- one of them he was pretty sure had been his grandfather’s. DH used to target-shoot, but go rid of his gun when our son was born. He briefly considered disassembling the revolver, locking it in a box, and keeping it (with no ammo in the house), but not actually using it until the boychik was older, but then, decided against it.
He took them to a gun dealer that was also an indoor range and resale shop, figuring he’s just take what he could get, and if the dealer didn’t want any of them, he’d take those to a flea market.
Well, as it turned out that one rifle was a valuable antique, and he got almost $1000 for it. The revolver was an antique too, not worth as much, but worth several hundred. The rest of the rifles were just old, but the dealer took the lot, and gave DH something for the other rifles as well, because he really wanted the antiques.
Yeah, he probably resold them for a good profit, but he probably also knew how to clean and restore them. And selling stuff a piece at a time over Craigslist or eBay is a pain, and we might never have gotten rid of the non-valuable ones.
If he/she took pictures, we could do it here on the board. OP, I’d be glad to tell you what you have and what it’s worth. You don’t want to give away something that could potentially have great value. Let us take a look at them.
There are cheap, crappy, firearms, but most of those are hand guns. Rifles, and most hand guns, are quality tools designed for people who understand them. And the customers that buy them do understand the quality differences and can be quite picky. Very picky.
They hold value over time and if the OP can step aside from their opinions about guns and see them as quality tools that may be of value to someone, they could make some money. 4 or 5 rifles could be a couple thousand dollars. These are not things to just dispose of like trash and they will not just explode if you touch them.
Have someone you know look at them. If you have no one, call a local gun shop and ask them.
before you give them away or sell them I would do some research or have them looked at. Some older winchesters are no longer made and go for a lot of money.
I have retrieved donated firearms for use in Firearms Safety classes.
Most are firearms are damaged due to error or defect but Error mostly.
We render them unable to be fired or De-milled (de-milling is De-militarizing),
even after a catastrophic KaBoom!
The functional(De-Milled) ones are used in hands on training.
So check with a local safety instructor.
Also the state may have like here in Minnesota youth and disabled hunts where firearms are donated to the program otherwise the volunteers donate the use of their personal firearms.
Just a thought. 
Or they’ll watch another great episode of “Forged in Fire” if the guns are donated to the producers.
We love that show, don’t we?
I was never a fan of the cartoon Wizard of Id in general, but there was one I found funny, once. The head knight came running to the king and said “The peasants are revolting!”
KING: How do you know?
KNIGHT: They’re beating their plowshares into swords.
Based on what?
Salinqmind, treat all firearms as if they are loaded with a live round in the chamber. The action should be opened to clear any rounds and render the weapon safe. Simply removing the magazine (if they have any) is not adequate. If you don’t know how or don’t want to do this, have someone else who knows how do it. Do this before you or anyone else handles or transports them. I can’t tell you how many times someone has come into my gun store with an uncased/unholstered weapon that was loaded with a round in the chamber and said “duh, I founded this in my grandmas attic”.
New York is known for having ridiculous gun laws. As recommended before speak to an attorney about your states laws regarding possession, transport, and sale of those specific rifles. An FFL dealer is not an attorney and any legal advice they give still needs to be verified.
Even though they are older and apparently hunting rifles, you’d be surprised about what can fall under your states assault weapons law. If you opt to contact the police (I don’t recommend that) you want to make sure you don’t have a prohibited weapon before you invite them into your home.
Maybe I’ve missed something obvious, but why would calling the police be something to consider? You’ve got legal items that you aren’t sure what to do with, not a crime to report or someone in danger. What would the police do about it?
Believe it or not this happens all the time. People find firearms in their parents or grandparents homes after they’ve passed and don’t know what to do with them when they don’t want them. Usually the police have them incinerated but YMMV depending on location.
Selling them privately or to a gun dealership is many times the easiest way to dispose of them. But the OP lives in, IMHO, a draconian state when it comes to gun laws. They don’t want to become a criminal just because they found some old guns and made a mistake in how to rid themselves of them.
I am not kidding, BTW. The PD I work for gets a call or two every other week about found guns.
That sounds insane. Why do the police even respond? There is no crime and nobody is in danger. Why doesn’t the person responsible just tell them to keep them, sell them, or donate them or do whatever they would like to do just like anything else in the house? If I call and say that I found an old book collection in my grandfather’s house, would the police come out?
And why would the police destroy them? Why not sell them or auction them to make money instead of selling tickets to the benevolence ball or whatever? That is destroying valuable property! I’m sure that you all don’t destroy cash you find in a drug seizure, why guns?
ETA: And if the fear is that they might be illegal, the police would be the last people on my list to call. You might get the wrong responding officer and end up in jail. Call an attorney if you think they are illegal.
I went to my favorite gun store on a Sunday afternoon, just to look. The parking lot was full of marked and unmarked police cars. I waited a few minutes to see if there was something going on, there were other customers casually walking in and out so I went in. There were two elderly ladies in their Sunday best being questioned by some officers. As I was told by one of the employees, they had brought in a couple guns that they had found in their garage, to sell. Shotguns. Sawed off shotguns. With obliterated serial numbers. Hence the police response. Last I saw, the police officer questioning them was apologizing and they were leaving.
Usually the caller is asked some questions about where they were found, what kind, etc and whether they are legal to possess a firearm and such. Then they are told what their options are and that it does not constitute legal advice. The department ending up with them is the last thing that happens on the list.
It’s not always grandpas old shotgun that’s found. A hysterical woman called last month screaming that she found a .380 pistol in her 19 year old daughters nightstand. It’s not illegal for someone over 18 to possess a handgun in this state. Then there are the people who call or show up saying they just acquired a gun and want to know how to register it. Ain’t no such thing, Bunky.
Remember, I’m not a dispatcher so I don’t field any of these stupid calls I’m just going on what I’ve been told and/or sent to.
That’s just the way it’s done, don’t blame me. I own a gun and sporting goods store. I’d take them. We don’t overall end up with that many but when we do they are melted down after a significant time. Serial numbers and such are run and recorded. On occasion we’ll get a stolen gun back to it’s rightful owner. Can you imagine what the media would do if they found out a police department was putting guns back out on the street?
See post #29
Many years ago I wrote to the Dope with the same problem. While cleaning out my father’s house we found two rifles - one was a Garand, the other a Japanese Chrysanthemum rifle (from WWII). NYC at the time had a gun buyback program, no questions asked, so we drove them down to the local precinct. The Captain asked if they were loaded, we had to admit we didn’t have a clue.
They insisted on calling the bomb squad!
Long story, the guns eventually ended up with a collector who used them as museum display pieces (the tons of ammo we found were even harder to dispose of).
So, please understand that although you may tell us that guns won’t explode just by touching them, some of us with no ordnance experience are justifiably nervous about the whole issue.
Wow, I had a similar experience. I’d met Kopek several times over the years, participating in SantaCon and other Pittsburgh SouthSide events. I posted a thread last year about a handgun I wanted to rehome. I met Kopek at a gunshop where we did the transfer. He haggled over the price, insisting that I take more than I originally asked. He is missed.
I’ve never known anyone who kept hunting rifles loaded, especially not when they’re in a safe.
Uff-Da! to just assume any gun is 'unlikely’to be loaded is an untenable position to take. I think you would be better advised to acknowledge you made a poor choice in implying anything otherwise and we and Saliqmind will treat this as an excellent learning opportunity.
You’re right, of course. All firearms must be considered loaded. My thought process at the time was that someone who is unfamiliar with firearms might cause a dangerous situation simply by checking. Suppose a hunting rifle is loaded. A person unfamiliar with firearms, unloading a rifle with an internal magazine, would have to work the bolt or lever to eject the rounds. This puts a round into the chamber and cocks the hammer or striker. It seems to me less safe than simply picking the rifles up, keeping fingers away from the triggers, and identifying them.
Yes, all firearms should be considered loaded. But a person unfamiliar is going to be careful not to touch the trigger, and I think it is unlikely that a hunting rifle stored in a safe will be loaded. If they’re loaded, I think it is more dangerous for an untrained person to try to unload it. The other option is to bring in a trained person to check the loading status; perhaps even calling a cop to do it.
Saliqmind, just assume they’re loaded. They probably aren’t, but it’s a fundamental rule of firearms safety to treat all firearms as loaded until you personally check and determine they aren’t.
Good thing is, you don’t need to unload them to take pictures of them. Assuming you want us to try and help you identify what you have in that safe. Keep your fingers away from the trigger, keep anything else— dangling slings, parts of other rifles, whatever else—away from the trigger. Make sure the muzzle—the hole at the end of the barrel where bullets come out—isn’t pointing at anything valuable. Use a flash, and try to take pictures of any marks or engraving that will be on the thicker metal part of the firearm. Most firearms have some form of makers mark. Cartridge indication, like ‘9mm Parabellum’ or ‘.270 Win.’ is nice too. If you can remove the entire firearm—while keeping the muzzle pointed away from you or your loved ones AND making sure to not touch the trigger—it might make it easier to photograph the entire firearm.
Be careful, the firearm is likely heavier than you think, probably much more awkward to manipulate then you are used to, and it may have a coating of oil that can stain things like your tablecloth, if you were to just set the firearm on your table. Put down some newspapers or a old towel first. Try to avoid touching the metal of the firearm if possible. Your skin has oil and salts that can cause corrosion. So try to handle the firearm by any wooden parts. Again, making sure the muzzle isn’t pointed at anyone, yourself included, and that you avoid touching the trigger.
If you have any paperwork associated with the firearms: original boxes, bills of sale, manuals—these can add to the value of your collectible. As well as help identify the firearm. My own modest collectible pistol probably would triple in value if I still had the original shipping box.
Kopek was good people. I miss him. He’d have loved a thread like this.
Kudos to Wallet for spelling ordnance correctly.