doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Preserving Provenance & Records of Gun Collection

Good evening everyone,

As collections grow, I've found that keeping track of photographs, factory letters, repair records, restoration work, maintenance logs, and ownership history becomes increasingly difficult. Over the years I've accumulated folders, spreadsheets, notebooks, and digital photos spread across multiple devices, and it has become harder to keep everything organized.

It got me wondering how others here are handling the same challenge.

Do you maintain paper files, spreadsheets, dedicated software, or something else? How do you ensure that important provenance and historical records remain associated with a particular firearm and can be passed along to the next owner or the next generation?

To address this issue for my own collection, I began developing an app called Armur. My goal was not to create another marketplace, but rather a digital record book where collectors could catalog firearms, store photographs and documents, track maintenance, and preserve ownership history in one place.

I'm interested in hearing from experienced collectors on this forum:

* How do you currently document your collection?
* What records do you consider most important to preserve?
* What frustrations have you encountered with your current system?
* Is there anything you wish existed that would make record keeping easier?

I would genuinely appreciate your thoughts and feedback. Many of the best ideas come from collectors who have been doing this far longer than I have.

Thank you,

Jitendra Puri
Founder, Armur

I collect everything. I keep every receipt. I can tell you every purchase I have made in the past 10 years on everything. Every year I begin the year with four large Ziplock bags labeled: Medical and Dental- Banking- Bills and Receipts and my dog's records. Plus a smaller zip loc bag with the receipts of every purchase I make that year from groceries, restaurants, every store purchase, etc. At the end of the year everything goes into storage. In the past fifteen years, I recorded every trip I made to Florida. (Probably about 50) Which car I drove, where I stopped for gas each time, every rest stop I stopped at, and the mileage and time for every single place, the gas mileage, what MM I stopped at on the shoulder to pee into my "Motor-man's Aide", etc. I have every pay receipt stub for every week I worked at my job for 30 years. I have weighed myself almost every morning for the past ten years and I can tell you how much I weighed on just about any day since then. I do the same for my gun purchases. I keep receipts for everything I purchase down to the last .22 hollow point CB cap. Every gun I every owned, serial numbers, just about every hunting license I ever bought and I still have a box of red 20 gauge shells I bought back when I was in high school. I recently visited my buddy, who owns a sporting goods store that he inherited from his father. I pulled out a box of 20 gauge reloads-shells I bought from his dad that he told me HE probably reloaded when he was in high school and his dad paid him .10 a box to reload so he could sell them in the store. Yep, I pretty much keep everything. 😊

That is impressive! I suspect many collectors wish they had kept records that thoroughly.

One thing that caught my attention is that your records span decades and cover much more than just firearms. Have you ever thought about what happens to all of that information down the road? For example, if a family member inherited your collection, would they be able to easily connect each firearm with its receipts, hunting history, licenses, and other records?

One of the challenges I've been thinking about is not just preserving information, but preserving the connection between the firearm and its history for the next generation.

Thank you for sharing your system. It's fascinating to see how different collectors approach record keeping.

Someone might save it. Probably get tossed. Something else I need to do. Years ago, I held my school record in the 220 yard dash for a week. 21.9 seconds. I also ran second in the 440 yard relay. The city removed the stadium where the football games were played but the track where we held out track meets is still there but it is slightly covered with grass, but the cinders on the track are still there. I need to go over with a spade and get a few jars of the cinders from the spot where I stood on the second runner's spot, where I took the baton from my buddy who was the first runner. He's the guy who broke my record......... Remember Tom Sizemore (if I remember correctly) in Saving Private Ryan who collected all of the dirt from places he had been? I have collected and labeled jars of sand from the different beaches in Florida where I went over the years. When I went up to Connecticut a few years ago, I went over to the Winchester building and picked up several pieces of brick and mortar that had fallen off of the building and brought them home. I bought little brass plaques that say: Winchester New Haven, CN. to glue on them. I have been giving them to my gun buddies. They go wild when I give them one. I do stuff like that.

And I thought my wife had OCD!! More power to you Jimmy, I got exhausted just reading your post.

Jimmy

Just wondering how often have you had to refer back to you receipt for the box of 22 short cb caps?

I have a list of all the guns in the safe along with information on each. I note whether the gun was an inheritance, a gift from a friend or purchased. I list stock and barrel measurements and note any repairs that have been made. I also provide what ammunition is appropriate due to weight, chamber length or barrel wall thickness. The rifles are treated similarly and for some I note the specific animals that were taken with that rifle.

My son values and appreciates vintage guns and he is of course free to do what he wishes with them when I'm gone. I think providing him this information will allow him to make good decisions about what to keep and what to let go.

Jimmy,

I think Mike Jordon said it best.
“Stop it! Get some help!

I have tried my best since 1986 when I started keeping records, but I am way behind. In 1986, I tried to document all gun stuff back to 1960. I am 80, so, if I live long enough, I may get caught up.