Thread: Stuff We Leave Behind.

Greetings All,
At the moment I am sorting out some handloads put together by a now departed gentleman. This is something I have done a couple of times in recent years and this time there are labels on most of it which the contents seem to match. As I was beavering my way through it I kept on thinking that we, as handloaders, have a duty to make the inevitable disposal of our handloads and rifles, tools and other kit as pain free as possible. Keeping decent records and labeling helps as does having a working quantity of ammo for current needs with reserves in component form. For rifles keep a list of who gets what and sell or gift the ones that have lost their gloss. Make sure that there is someone that can pick up the rifles if your spouse or significant other does not have a liscence.
Once we pass 70 most of us become more aware of our mortality assisted by a steady procession of out contemporaries to the cemetery. Don't leave it too late.
Regards Grandpamac.

having been handed pottle of gunpowder and told what it was...which it wasnt....... LABEL the plurry stuff early,while you still got ya marbles about you. better still leave it in origonal containers.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

having been handed pottle of gunpowder and told what it was...which it wasnt....... LABEL the plurry stuff early,while you still got ya marbles about you. better still leave it in origonal containers.

What could possibly go wrong

Sorting your shit as you get older, gives you something to do in your retirement. But all of us need to make a plan to have a trusted friend pick up your firearms on your illness or death to stop them ending up in police custody and all the shit that would go with that. I wouldn’t trust an AO with mine. As I have no one licenced or interested, my trusted person will also arrange the sale of them. It gets tricky with larger collections and finding someone with ALL the licences to handle them. Some firearms now require more than one licence to possess.
Thanks @grandpamac

A friend who lived alone recently got crook and went into care.
Another friend said he would pick up his guns and organize auctioning them.
Asked how many he said about 40. Turned out to be 126.
I'm lucky I have 2 keen hunter sons to sort mine.

Originally Posted by Brian

A friend who lived alone recently got crook and went into care.
Another friend said he would pick up his guns and organize auctioning them.
Asked how many he said about 40. Turned out to be 126.
I'm lucky I have 2 keen hunter sons to sort mine.

Wish I had someone to inherit them, but unless I live long enough to see one of my grandsons get an interest, they’ll be sold.

Great advice, as always GrandpaMac. I might add that this sort of forethought could also go beyond just shooty stuff. Every couple of years our family has a bit of an 'AGM'. A few years ago, my sister asked what everyone wanted for their funerals... a little bit morbid, but the last thing I would want to be doing at a time like that is trying to work out all the little details: How did they want to be buried? What did they want to get buried in? Where did they want to get buried? Did they even want to be buried? What was their favourite music? Religious/non-religious? And indeed, who gets the proceeds from selling your 126 (!!) guns? It was actually bloody interesting exercise, and I'd encourage anyone to do it, no matter what age.

Echoing GrandpaMac's not leaving it too late, about 2 years after the funeral chat, I had a very close encounter with a London bus, that according to a witness when I came to, was cm's from ending rather differently (rather thankful to the new buses designed with rounded corners, which bounced me off a few lifesaving degrees away from the wheels - parents definitely didn't hear about that one...). Long-winded way of saying you just never know when your time is up.

Originally Posted by muzza

126 guns? Wow - who in their right might mind only has 126 guns?

Fortunately my wife has a firearms licence , my son has a firearms licence , and a good friend has the right type of licence to cater for the other items , as shall I for his .

Yes indeed Mr. Muzza. You require a fare amount of catching-up to do.

Originally Posted by dannyb

What could possibly go wrong

Not sure what @Micky Duck is complaining about he got a new rifle out of it. ( too soon mate? )

always will be too soon bud.......

Good reminder @grandpamac. I have been beavering away for a while now, labeling things in little plastic bags and original boxes etc. Over the last year I've been building a simple multi page Excel spreadsheet. I use permanent mailing labels bought by the roll, cut them to suitable sizes, and put an inventory sticker on stuff like powder and projectiles, reloading gear tools etc etc. Firearms are recorded with serial num and description. I record the assigned serial numbers, a description, value at a date, etc etc.

My files are kept in the cloud in Dropbox with a local copy on my PC. So I can access it from any device anywhere in the world with my password.

I use SafeInCloud Digital wallet to record passwords. Again, access from anywhere. My passwords are unique and complex for every use. SafeInCoud has a long memorable sentence as a password to get in to. It is the only password I need to remember and a mainframe would take several centuries to crack it. Wife & Son both know where to find that password in the event of my death or incapacity.

Make things easy for your family and successors.

Greetings @Jhon,
Thankyou for your imformative reply. My sorting and labeling is work in progress but the other thing that I am trying to organise is my load development for difficult but interesting cartridges. The .308, .223 and their kin are easy as there is plenty of pressure tested data that largely agrees over the scources. The cartridge that has taught me most is the 6.5x55. Load data is contradictory and complicated by the shift in speed of AR2209 around 20 years ago. I spent some time researching the available data and determining what should be possible before loading the first test series. This has been skimmed over in a couple of posts and articles on the NZ Guns and Hunting website but there is much more in my hand written notes, some of which are pretty cryptic. I really need to tidy these up while thinking of how they could be left in an accessible form for whoever might be interested. It is not just hard assets that we leave behind.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings @Jhon,
Thankyou for your imformative reply. My sorting and labeling is work in progress but the other thing that I am trying to organise is my load development for difficult but interesting cartridges. The .308, .223 and their kin are easy as there is plenty of pressure tested data that largely agrees over the scources. The cartridge that has taught me most is the 6.5x55. Load data is contradictory and complicated by the shift in speed of AR2209 around 20 years ago. I spent some time researching the available data and determining what should be possible before loading the first test series. This has been skimmed over in a couple of posts and articles on the NZ Guns and Hunting website but there is much more in my hand written notes, some of which are pretty cryptic. I really need to tidy these up while thinking of how they could be left in an accessible form for whoever might be interested. It is not just hard assets that we leave behind.
Regards Grandpamac.

I'm afraid I'm a glutton for reloading diff calibres. Can't pretend I'm up there with a bloke of your experience & knowledge but one thing I have decided to do is run a notebook on a per rifle basis. A ring binder actually. Not just for reloading notes but anything I collect relating to a particular rifle, its calibre, range and field records etc. I suspect the plan will keep me occupied for the rest of my days lol. In the meantime I'd be grateful to have your 6.5x55 notes to file

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Once we pass 70 most of us become more aware of our mortality assisted by a steady procession of out contemporaries to the cemetery.
Regards Grandpamac.

I'm beginning to feel that a bit after passing 59...... 60 is a scary one because I can't believe that I am nearly 60.... Until I do heavy physical work of course....

Try being nearly 70 ..