Unwanted gun

Short story. My mother passed a few years ago. Soon after, my father, who is not in good health, said he was going to kill himself. They had been married for over fifty years so that response was not overly concerning. Still, I knew he had a gun in the house. So, I went to the the sock drawer where I first discovered it forty years ago and there it was in its original box. Kids will find everything!

It is a Higgins 85 .22 LR. I guess they used to sell them at Sears back in the olden days. Unless it is some rare, valuable antique, I really don't want it. I am not an ebay kind of guy so selling it is not much of an option. How do you dispose of a firearm? Throwing it in the garbage does not seem like a good idea. :smile:

Take it to a gun store, pawn shop, gun show - maybe you can trade it for something you want. Or else just sell it to them. You'd get at least 50 bucks I'd guess - no idea if they're valuable/rare/collectible etc..
There's my two cents.

Austin

Call your local PD and tell them exactly what you've stated here.
They will either come pick it up or ask you to drop by with it unloaded, mag removed, and action locked back in a bag and to see Officer Sonso to have it disposed of.
No fuss, no muss, no problems.

Please do not toss it into the trash.

- Janq

Spend a little time on the 'net checking on a general value, then post it here for sale, or just sell it like aus says if you are looking for minimal hassle. Maybe buy your dad something with the money...

If you really don't want the gun...take it to your local PD or stop a county sheriff and explain your situation.

J.C. Higgins was a SEARS pistol.
Actually not made by Sears but imported by Sears and was a French made pistol.
In really good/excellent condition it has some value (maybe about $200)
You might as well take it into the gun shop and take anything on trade for it.
Even a few boxes of ammo would be better than giving it to the cops for destruction.

http://www.rediscovered-shooting-tre...chiggins85.jpg

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Originally Posted by Janq

Call your local PD and tell them exactly what you've stated here.
They will either come pick it up or ask you to drop by with it unloaded, mag removed, and action locked back in a bag and to see Officer Sonso to have it disposed of.
No fuss, no muss, no problems.

Please do not toss it into the trash.

- Janq

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Janq...
Wouldn't calling the local PD to take it be the same as tossing it in the trash?...I'm missing the sarcasm here...

Mike

Is there nothing that ought to be said about the fact that his dad said he wants to kill himself? Is this really all about the gun?

And it sounds like an anti-gunner notion, to suggest that as long as we get the gun out of the house, the concern about the father's potential suicide can just evaporate. Are there no razorblades, household chemicals, ropes and ladders, or plastic bags in the house? Does he live in an area where there are no buses he can step out in front of? Did the dad say, "Oh, I was just kidding, I'm over that now"?

I understand that the original poster specifically asked about the gun, not what to do about the father's threat of suicide.

But that's another thing I find troubling. :icon_neutral:

Besides which, I don't understand what the big hassle with just keeping the thing would be. Is it that much of an encumbrance to just let it sit in a safe along with the others? Is space at such a premium? Is it too hard to keep track of them?

+1 Peacfuljeffrey. Is your father going to be okay? Maybe you should pawn/sell the weapon and help him seak mental help!

Why do you not want this firearm so much? Seems like a relic from your past,and something your father used to own. That would be a sentimental ownership for me...But as a former Sears employee,I am partial to sears items :)

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Originally Posted by Ghettokracker71

+1 Peacfuljeffrey. Is your father going to be okay? Maybe you should pawn/sell the weapon and help him seak mental help!

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My father is fine. My mother passed three years ago. Peacefuljeffrey makes a good point; that removing the gun does not remove the possibility of suicide. What is does remove is a particularly simple, historically appealing method. A method that can performed with very little time and thought. Of course, someone determined to kill themselves will find a way. In fact, my mother intentionally OD'd on pills following a debilitating stroke. I am not a psychologist but his reaction seemed normal to me under the circumstances. My father has always been mentally strong. I did not think he would kill himself. However, if he did use the gun I would never have been able to live with myself.

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Why do you not want this firearm so much? Seems like a relic from your past,and something your father used to own. That would be a sentimental ownership for me...But as a former Sears employee,I am partial to sears items :)

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I am not a sentimental kind of guy. The past should be buried.

First off, my condolences to you and your father.

Second, I would agree with selling it to a gunshop or pawnshop and getting something for it. You won't get full value, but even if you get $50, you and your Dad can go out and have a nice steak dinner. Maybe not Ruth's Chris, but Outback at least.

That said, if you don't even want to go to that much trouble, PM me. I'll send you a box containing another box, tape, and a fedex label to my FFL. You'll expend about 50 calories worth of energy and it'll be out of your hair - and legally out of your name - forever.

Joe

Not trying to stir it up or anything, but if you took the pistol from your father without his knowing, doesn't that make it stolen? What if your dad reports it stolen and you go into a pawn shop to sell it?

I'm not saying I disagree with your actions (I would do the same) but you might want to hold off on selling for a while.

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Originally Posted by raytracer

First off, my condolences to you and your father.

Second, I would agree with selling it to a gunshop or pawnshop and getting something for it. You won't get full value, but even if you get $50, you and your Dad can go out and have a nice steak dinner. Maybe not Ruth's Chris, but Outback at least.

That said, if you don't even want to go to that much trouble, PM me. I'll send you a box containing another box, tape, and a fedex label to my FFL. You'll expend about 50 calories worth of energy and it'll be out of your hair - and legally out of your name - forever.

Joe

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agreed...just sell it and the gun won't be destroyed in the same way that it would if you bring it to the police station...and I think that anyone here would do the same as Joe :rofl:

personally, I would be very wary of selling a firearm I did not own - did your father give it to you ? Did he give you permission to dispose of it?

I had a friend a few years back who went through a VERY messy divorce - I had some of his firearms in my custody for a couple of years - including his duty piece... he went through counseling and when the agency cleared him I returned his firearms