How do you catalog your guns?

[Moped]

1 hour ago, Handsome Rob said:

I open my den door & go:

"Yep...... that's a f#@&k load of guns!"

Pretty much my system too!

[Dirtshooter]

18 hours ago, Handsome Rob said:

I open my den door & go:

"Yep...... that's a f#@&k load of guns!"

You know when you think about how sad it is that most of us can't have a nice glass cased gun cabinet like folks used to have to "show" off their guns. Now they are locked away in a steel vault hidden from prying eyes. For those of you that have a nice collection, you need to decide what is going to happen to them when you die.

[Danger Rane]

I use Excel to keep track of the few I have. Each gun has a couple different tabs. One tab has the info on the purchase date, price, vendor/seller, plus all the info about any upgrades or accessories. The next tab is the overall round count to include details of exactly which ammunition was used for each shot, how it shot, any malfunctions etc. On the round count tab I also keep track of who I shot with and where. It’s nice to look back and see which guns my kids took their first shots with and where we were. I hope they will appreciate that info someday too....or they might just think I was an OCD nerd. I also detail when and to what level of cleaning I perform on each gun. Some I clean every time I shoot them, others I clean at a certain round count or level of accuracy degradation. I then have other tabs for my ammo inventory. For bulk ammo I have metal cans with numbers stenciled on them. Within my spreadsheets the ammo can number corresponds with info about the ammo, how much, what it’s worth etc...  I used to update the ammo value every year buy stopped a couple years ago. If I updated it with current values my wife would think we have won the lottery. For many years I’ve bought a box of ammo every time I walk into a Walmart or a gun shop. I’ve always told my wife and kids that I’m investing in precious metals, which has certainly turned out to be accurate. I might be a weirdo, but I enjoy cleaning guns, collecting ammo, and cataloguing the above mentioned data as much as I do shooting the guns. It’s all part of the “gun” experience for me.

[ss-tdi]

I have found it better not to catalog in case the wife finds out.

[peejman]

Keep in mind that a typical homeowner's policy has a $2500 limit for guns. If you want to buy up to a higher limit, they usually require you to document what you've got and its value.  Same for art, jewelry, musical instruments, etc..  

[chances R]

I use EXCEL.  Easy to move around, insert.  Also keep a list of sold guns and to whom.  Have several family members guns listed as well.  Keep and updated thumb drive as well as a hard copy in safe.

[gregintenn]

On 12/19/2020 at 6:40 PM, Handsome Rob said:

I open my den door & go:

"Yep...... that's a f#@&k load of guns!"

I use a similar system. I was looking for something in one of the safes. As I pulled out guns, I told my kid when I grabbed one that I was going to be as surprised as he would be when I saw what it was.

LOL! There are some truly anal retentive folks on here.

[1gewehr]

Excel spreadsheet with date of purchase, price, added notes, extended description, and current value.  Backups of all my documents both onsite and offsite.  

Before I got married, my wife said "You spent a lot of money on guns."  So I showed her my spreadsheet with the bottom line of what I spent versus current value.  And explained that it was one part of my diversified investment plan.  Since then she has been just fine with my collection.  Although she has asked to see my spreadsheet a few times over the years, just to see how our investments were doing.

[tacops]

Decided to organize a few things to help in the event of my unexpected demise.  Used a 3-ring binder with tabs to for insurances, accounts/passwords/contact numbers etc., SSI info, list of high value items the family might sell for a dollar at a yard sale if they didn't know better, locations of stuff no one knows about, and a Word Table inventory of all weapons with current values. Those with sentimental value are indicated in the event it matters.  I included a short list of contacts that I trust to aid the family in marketing if needed.  This is kept in the vault.