H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 Documenting your firearms collection is increasingly a more and more important thing to do. One way that this can be done is through the use of a factory letter. But not every maker of firearms offers such a thing, sometimes even if they do no records exist, and yes, the durn things can be expensive, especially if you have an extensive collection. There are ways to get discounts, but I'm not gonna go into all of that here. Anyway, today, feeling rather bored, I decided to think up some ways to document my collection. I quickly realized that you can get the logo for just about any gun maker off the internet at no charge. So, I came up with the following example. Winchester Blank.docx Just change the logo on the top to any manufacturer you like. Fill in the rest of the data as best as you know it according to your personal data. A few of the line items require some clarification, which may or may not be applicable to your collection. Note: This is how I plan to fill in the data... Firearm Type: Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun Action Type would be what the above has, such as Single Action or Double Action Revolver. Purchased by: I plan to indicate if it was originally purchased by me, my father, brother, mother, or grandfather depending on the gun. C&R Eligible is just a gun that happens to be 50 years old or otherwise on the list. C&R Purchase will indicate Y/N if I purchased it on my C&R FFL or not. Factory Letter will be marked Yes if I have one, No only if I know one is not obtainable. Otherwise, it remains blank. If I have any other paperwork, such as a letter, bill of sale, etc, I will print one of these cover sheets, and then arrange all of the other stuff after it and collect it all in a 3 ring binder. I plan to get some of those plastic sleeves to put the paperwork in for safe keeping. I will also probably get some nicer quality paper to print the cover sheets on, once I know if I can get a factory letter or not. In the meantime, I'll just fill in the data as best I can and save the files on my computer. I offer the basic template if anyone wants to use it. Feel free to modify it as you see fit to your own collection needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itchy Trigger Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 Good idea, I do something similar (picture of gun, additional accessories, but no company logo). I also keep historical and price information about the gun (if pertinent) on the back side of the page. I also have a comprehensive spreadsheet that tracks the major characteristics of each gun, Brand, Caliber, Action, etc. and presents a nice summary of the data. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 I would think putting the "Factory Logo " on it is going a bit to far as someone later might think it is a real factory letter I would put some sort of disclaimer on it , was it me Chickasaw Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 The one Lee product I've found useful has been their "Lee Shooter" program... included in it is a firearms log & reloading log. I keep the firearms log up to date, including where acquired along with any accessories added on the "notes" portion. Maybe not as nice as a "letter", but the facts are just that... facts. Too bad Lee doesn't offer it any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted October 4, 2023 Author Share Posted October 4, 2023 2 hours ago, Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 said: I would think putting the "Factory Logo " on it is going a bit to far as someone later might think it is a real factory letter I would put some sort of disclaimer on it , was it me Chickasaw Bill Well, this just for my personal use, and offered as an idea, nothing more. I figured the logo would just make the pages look more visually interesting. I was thinking of adding a "Personal Firearm Record #1" and just adding 1 to that number for each packet I create. A totally arbitrary number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 SIR NO disrespect intended , I was think in the furure , someone , whom did not know , could mistake it as something it was not CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted October 4, 2023 Author Share Posted October 4, 2023 3 hours ago, Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 said: SIR NO disrespect intended , I was think in the furure , someone , whom did not know , could mistake it as something it was not CB No offense taken. It's always good to bounce the ideas around and see if anyone can offer any extra insight.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 I was a Certified Appraiser before I shut down that part of my life . I have had lots of folks get real upset , when I would look at stuff , knowing it was suspect , and having BS paperwork many times down right fakes , , they got took , and were IMO , attempting to take others I could very well be a mite jaded , but all I got is my word , that I protect pretty hard CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itchy Trigger Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 15 hours ago, Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 said: I could very well be a mite jaded , but all I got is my word , that I protect pretty hard A recent example that I found interesting on another forum, was someone that had a commemorative "Cimarron Firearms Wyatt Earp Revolver 45 Colt" and swore that the person that gave it to him had worked on the movie and that it was an authentic movie prop. The forum hated to burst his bubble, but he needed to know. After much disbelief he finally admitted that it "probably" hadn't been used in the movie, especially when he realized that it had been manufactured after the movie was in theaters. Cimarron Firearms Wyatt Earp Revolver 45 Colt (Long Colt) 10 Barrel (midwayusa.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stump Water Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 6 hours ago, Itchy Trigger said: A recent example that I found interesting on another forum, was someone that had a commemorative "Cimarron Firearms Wyatt Earp Revolver 45 Colt" and swore that the person that gave it to him had worked on the movie and that it was an authentic movie prop. Shortly after the movie Young Guns came out a local GS tried to tell me that some used revolvers of Italian make were used in the movie - and had set the price to reflect what they thought that was worth. So what, they were used revolvers of Italian make. Perhaps someone came along that thought that was worth the markup, but I doubt it. As far as "letters" go, I have four firearms that are from VERY limited runs that I bothered to get factory letters for. Will that ever mean anything? Probably not since I have shot the piss out of them. Those, and every other firearm I have ever owned, are recorded in an Excel file. I'm with Chickasaw Bill on this. Creating something that might appear to be a factory letter has the potential to cause trouble. Maybe not for you, but for whomever might be taking care of your estate once you shuffle off this mortal coil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Slim SASS #24733 Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 Some people I know would need a very large binder to hold all those "Factory Letters". A firearms log works fine for me, and saves a lot of paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted October 6, 2023 Author Share Posted October 6, 2023 I 6 hours ago, Springfield Slim SASS #24733 said: Some people I know would need a very large binder to hold all those "Factory Letters". A firearms log works fine for me, and saves a lot of paper. Oh, I am gonna need quite a large binder. I just like physical stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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