How do you keeps tabs on your guns????

[ironhorse]

Wife asked me the other day , "how do I know what we have and what they would be worth?" What's the best way to keep track of that? How do you guys do it??

[Calvin]

I keep an up to date photo of my stuff in a safe place along with SN for insurance, as for worth that I keep to my self. If I die she can take them to someone I know and he would let her know Fair market value.

[Snert]

I keep records of all firearms I have.
I keep a record in MY safe, A record with my parents, and a record in a safe deposit box.
On my copy I keep I also put price I paid for item. As for getting recent values, You can easily look them up in a copy of blue book of gun values. I would also keep a eye on gunbroker and auction arms.
I feel there is BOOK value and REALISTIC value. Realistic value would be the average of what the auctions go for and BOOK value. Everything in the world is ONLY worth as much as one is willing to pay for it.

NOW remember, the proper answer for the spouse.
Um yeah , I have 3 rifles and 2 pistols, not worth much, WHY??
Answering this can be a trick question. It can cut into your firearms funds. Or could land one into the land of the divoriced/single status.. OR the dog house..

Snert.

[TRB]

Keep a record in the safe storage container. Keep one on your hard drive. Keep another in a safe, off premises place. Most importantly, update these records yearly and/or at every purchase or sale.

It is wise to take pictures and provide the information to your insurance carrier. A special rider can be added to your homeowners policy to compensate you for any loss.

It may also be a good idea to include the list in your will along with instructions on how and to whom you would like the guns to be distributed.

BTW, a life long friend may be motivated by profit rather than duty to your new widow. Protect yourself now.

[Skullz]

I don't necessarily keep tabs on value. I do however photograph firearms upon purchase including accessories, magazines, and a macro of the SN. Photos are on my laptop, Network Attached Storage which is also in a safe, and a 8Gb thumb drive updated monthly and kept in a safe deposit box. Purchase docs are kept in a fireproof document safe.

I also keep photographs of other high dollar items in my house, including model number / serial number. Those are also on the thumb drive. I actually keep 2 thumb drives and rotate them. I use a free application called Good Sync to synchronize all my vital electronic information. So, once a month I synchronize to the thumb drive, go to the safe deposit box and then exchange thumb drives.

[normanvin]

i use a program from lee its lee shooter. it keeps a log of your firearms. it also keeps a log of your reloading. i keep a copy on my laptop, my pc at work, my network hard drive, and i keep a hard copy.

[Phan1076]

I keep an excel spreadsheet with manf., caliber, brl length, type of action (single, double, etc), SN, and market value along with a few pictures of each firearm all burned on a CD in a fire box.

[CCinPA]

I will try to find the link if I can but I have seen a free gun inventory software that allows you to keep tract of your arms alog with dates of repairs, cleaning, modifications and so forth.

[Pa. Patriot]

Simple spreadsheet.

Need one anyway for the insurance. (Collectibles Insurance Co.)

[RLS]

Excel spreadsheet, kept encrypted on a removal storage device ready to take a magnet in a moments notice.


Rick