Reader Steve S. writes:
“My firearms inventory is starting to grow and I’m looking to see what options are available to inventory my guns. There are a lot of options Excel, NM Collector, FMS, MyGun DB, and so on. This got me to wondering what others use and why?” Most of us can corral all of our guns’ particulars on the back of a 3×5 card. But if you’re #blessed with a collection large enough to justify an application to track it all, what do you use?
Excel
Ditto to Excel….
A simple spreadsheet saved to a USB drive.
Same here.
Also archive a copy in your email account. It has come in handy, just like keeping a copy of my trust and tax stamps in pdf format in case my hard copies are lost on a range trip.
You do realize that Fedzilla almost certainly has a copy of your document that you uploaded to your e-mail account, right?
Anything that you upload, download, access, or store via the Internet is available for 3rd party surveillance. Even “encrypted” content can be copied in encrypted form and then potentially decrypted later.
Of course some people will claim that Fedzilla cannot decrypt the latest, best encryption techniques. Do you want to bet on that?
They have all of it anyway. 4473s, stamps and trusts, all of that info is at their disposal. Even your web searches, emails, purchases (unless in cash) are all at their fingertips. If you want something to be private these days, you have to do everything in cash in places with no cameras, smartphones, etc.
Nevermind the Government, how are you going to hide the list from your wife if it’s in your email and on your computer?
Uncommon sense has made the mistake of thinking anyone cares what guns he owns. Let me guess, you pay cash for all guns, ammo, and accessories? Paranoid people lmao.
Also, use a decent password or, even better, a security token, and it will take literally longer than the universe has existed and more energy than humans have ever produced to break your encryption. Not even the government can just pull FLOPS out of thin air.
PS saying fedzilla over and over makes you sound like a moron. Just sayin
I use the most modern of conveniences , a note book and an ink pen . Stored in a safety pack in my very best rated fire safe ( two hour ) the safety pack gives me another couple of hours safety .
Every one of my guns are categorized by date acquired , $ of acquisition , condition at acquisition , previous known owners , if any , accessories purchased for it , accessories attached to it , number of magazines available for it , types of ammo it prefers , approx. how many times it’s been fired and at what pace , blue book value , my value and a brief reason for purchasing it along with a personal review and rating of it’s quality , reliability and usability and finally , after a couple years of tinkering with them I rate them on what I refer to as my Y2K scale , otherwise known to folks as bug out rating . I would go into this rating but it would probably start a caliber war .
OH yes , serial #
You are so white.
Another Excel guy here.
I manage what’s in my current inventory, as well as what I’ve sold with scanned copies of the bill of sale. There are lines for what I paid, what it would cost to replace them, any accessories that are with them or work that has been done. I keep it saved on DropBox and regularly update the usb drive that resides in a firesafe. For me its an insurance issue. If we have a house fire, or a break in that my safe fails to handle I have easy access to what I need to get reimbursed.
And a hard copy of the spreadsheet in the safe deposit box. If they break in and take the guns, they are taking your computer too. I don’t store that particular file in the cloud, since it also has all the other high dollar items in the house as well (serial numbers for electronics, etc).
If they can get past my security and get to my safes and especially my Liberty Fat boy and they bring the jack hammer required to get them loose from the 10 inch , reinforced concrete pad and then were able to break through the brick on block faced exterior and inner structure to give them access with a heavy lift crane to put them into the back of a heavy duty trailer or truck and get them to their destination , they would still have to get those suckers open and I really doubt they would , that fat boy is a tank and looks like the safe at my bank , but even still , I have copies and videos of my collection and a pretty decent insurance policy on it all so , have at it boys and don’t let me catch you .
Tough douche.
in my boat.
I’m using google sheets so that I can keep everything synced up in the cloud. The google sheet holds the data, and I’ve got a directory on google drive with photo’s. Any machine with internet access gets me to my information, including my tablet and phones.
Same here.
Perfect. That way its always synced up with the NSA database that’s housed in the 50 acre warehouse somewhere in new mexico. May as well rename “the cloud” VNFR short for “voluntary national firearms registry”
Excuse me I just got a rip in my tin foil hat, I’ll be right back after I repair it
I don’t want to ruin your holiday, but they probably already know.
Yes, they already know. What saves us is we are legion. And our numbers grow every day. They know that the official line that we are shrinking in numbers is an absolute lie.
They are afraid.
JWM, that’s my take, “they” know all about, us, gun owners. Which is why the only feasible approach is little by little, law by law, regulation by regulation, state by state. The good thing about that prospect, for us, is it will only be able to go so far.
And, America’s fascination for having a war every generation or so doesn’t really help their cause, either.
You can also 256-bit encrypt the document yourself before uploading it. Don’t be an assclown and upload an unencryped excel spreadsheed named “MY_GUN_LIST.xls”. If you upload it, hide it like you think somebody is actively trying to get at it.
I wish with all my might that you’re right JMW but I have a feeling we may be frogs in a boiling pot. Those of us in CA are for sure, the rest of the nation to a slower moving extent. There’s a list a mile long of infringing laws on the books here with more proposed for the next go-round and no rally’s or protests planned that I’m aware of. And I’m as guilty as the next guy BC I’ve planned no mass rioting. Heck, I’m not even taking solo action, like chaining my car to the bay bridge #gunlivesmatter
Excel with quarterly inventories. Some of the apps I tried a few years ago were clunky and not user friendly. Excel is easy.
Whatever you use, make sure it is backed up remotely somewhere. Odds are if someone breaks in and makes off with your safe they will probably throw your desktop and/or laptop on top on the way out, and if that’s where your serial numbers are kept you are pretty well boned. Google has some free web based apps that are quite useful.
Like an index card in a colon capsule?
I guess, if you want to go low tech. That’s a pretty shitty idea, though.
I’ll “second” that.
Always stay low tech as possible . Our reliance on technology will be our demise , seriously . Nothing beets a human scout with a pencil a piece of paper and a brain of coarse . I don’t own a cell phone and I’m still alive , can you believe it , I’m still breathing , I’m happily married , my kids visit me and I have lots of friends . I can usually tell it’s about ready to rain by the leaves on the trees turning up and in the winter time I expect it may snow here in WV so I sorta prepare for that . I don’t know when my wife or fan is taking a dump or at the store or watching what show but I somehow survive , and the $ 500.00 – 1,000.00 I save buys a lot of bullets , powder and guns and tools and lots of other neat things .
I know , it’s crazy , but I live very well without a cell phone . How is this possible ?
I’m just lucky I guess .
In case they escape from the house, I hang a bell from their muzzles.
I open my safe and say, “there they both are.”
That’s about where I’m at, too. (Sad.)
Even if they get get out without a bell on, just follow the spent casings and butt prints.
Google Sheets for me. I have the serial numbers + accessories on them along with when/where I purchased each one.
Contrarian view:
Do we have to over-complicate everything?
Guns are tools. Do we similar spreadsheets and databases and backups for backups of the data for the wrenches and screwdrivers in our tool boxes?
Screw drivers aren’t serialized and some over zealous prosecutor won’t charge you for losing or having a screw driver stolen.
Despite the grabbers best efforts, this kind of crap is very unlikely to fly.
If we keep chasing the goal of keeping them satisfied and/or playing defensive ball with whatever they might come up with, they will keep moving the goal post …
End Result: We are always playing defense.
Sorry, man. I don’t order my life around crap like this. Life’s too short to put this kind of power on progressive nitwits OR material possessions.
It also helps when your collection grows larger than your memory’s capacity to recall everything.
Say one of your children/roommate’s friends takes one, but you don’t recall which one. Compare against your inventory, and boom, all covered.
A couple of my buds have a habit of loaning out their guns to friends for range trips, but like DVDs, they forget to return them.
Don’t give them any ideas. They might serialize and regulate those next.
Said prosecutor would have a screw loose.
You folks have serial numbers on your guns??…..insert ( Muttley laugh )
Thank you, JC, being voice of reason over here.
G*d damn, people, cataloging guns.
Go for a walk, take a cooking class, play with your kids, do something.
I know! WTF. Shoot your guns – don’t catalog them.
I guess you just hope&pray that nothing ever happens to them? Firearms could be stolen, damaged in a house fire to the point the serials are illegible, or God forbid, lost overboard in a Tragic Boating Accident ®.
For either insurance or legal CYA purposes, it behooves you to at least have all the makes & serials. Insurance will give you bottom dollar unless you have evidence like pictures to back up claims of value. It also doesn’t actually take that long; maybe 5′ per item, a little more if you have to take them out and put them away one-at-a-time.
I would normally aggre, except that mine were stolen once. No crimes were committed with them but the local od having the serial numbers mad it possible for me to get my guns back. I don’t know if I would or would not have been able to with out them, but I had a paper copy of serial numbers (never thought of a database). Now I keep them on my laptop and a cop of it on a flash drive on my key chain.
It’d be a really good idea for insurance purposes to keep good records of anything valuable that could be stolen or damaged in a disaster.
I know! WTF. Shoot your guns – don’t catalog them.
——————————-
Collectors need to catalog.
Take something as simple as a Mosin Nagant 91/30. There are huge number of variant, so when shopping you, if you are trying to complete a set, you need to know what you have already.
While it’s usually possible to keep in your head Manufacturer and whether it is Pre-War, Early War, Mid War, Late War or post war, remembering each year is much much harder.
Jotting down S/N’s and keeping them in a safe place is a far cry from databases and suchlike.
(was supposed to be reply to Mac][)
If my wrenches and screwdrivers cost between 400 and 3000 dollars apiece I would be etching serial numbers into them before locking them in electronically secured safes as well.
For someone that makes a living with tools or even just has quality tools because he/she takes pride in their craftmanship, they could WELL own tools far in excess of what you quote.
Yeah, the price of a single screwdriver might be less than the price of a single gun, but I meant more of a “in total” sort of point.
Either you own your tools, or they own you. You pick.
Uh, yeah. Whay, does that make me wierd?
I have everything of value that I own in a database with manufacturer, model, serial number if applicable, purchase price, and special notes. In the case of my firearms that includes place of purchase and caliber.
If anything ever gets stolen or I have a house fire, I can just pull my database from the multiple places I have it saved and hand it to the insurance company.
Your insurance company will require an appraisal and itemization on file before a claim. You can’t hand them a list of 30 guns and say “ok pay me for these here guns I have listed on my spreadsheet that was backed up numerous places because I’m an organized white guy”
Differences between guns and other “tools”, e.g. reasons to keep an inventory with good photos:
1) IL law requires I keep a record of the purchase for 10 years.
2) To get them back from law enforcement if they are stolen and recovered
3) To prove ownership to insurance company if they are stolen
4) To prove lawful ownership if someone else claims I stole them
5) To provide accurate information to a potential buyer when I try to sell them
I have multiple high-res photos of each of my guns, along with close-up shots of the serial numbers, to go along with the inventory spreadsheet.
Guns are tools, but they are high-value items and pretty compact – making them prime theft targets.
If nothing else, having a good record will make getting reimbursed by your insurance company much easier. From that view it makes sense to keep records much as you might if you have a nice collection of, say, mechanical watches.
It also, in the unfortunate event that your gun winds up in the hands of the police (say after a DGU), should make it easier to identify the gun as yours and reclaim it if the paperwork gets lost somewhere.
Wish I had a nickel for each time “insurance” comes up in discussions like this.
Guess some of you guys never heard of “self-insurance.” Self reliance is a thing…
JR_in_NC
It certainly is if you have the money to self insure, which most people don’t.. hence insurance. As cheap as the policies are these days, you have to have a pretty small collection or an abundant amount of liquid cash to justify not having insurance.
Insurance companies make enormous profits…where does it come from? It sure ain’t a gift from the Profit Fairy.
“Self Insurance” does not cost more money than paying premiums for decades on the whole.
It’s an individual decision, no doubt. But don’t try to rationalize it like there is some grand truth. Insurance companies sell “fear” and it seems, if this thread is any indication, that they’ve done a mighty good job at it.
Damn, you’re not only a keyboard commando, you’re a keyboard life coach!
How’s it feel to be self reliant in your mother’s basement Timmy?
You do realize that homeowner’s insurance is required if you have a mortgage, right? And renter’s insurance is required if you rent. Or did you buy your house with cash?
Also you get free gun insurance with an NRA membership. You can’t self-insure for cheaper than free or even $25/year if that’s all you have a membership for.
“How’s it feel to be self reliant in your mother’s basement Timmy?”
Ah, the old stand-by ad hominem. The jury is free to take that as
evidence that you have no real rebuttal to my comment, which was, essentially…”It’s a personal decision.”
Again, sorry that an iconoclastic worldview is so threatening to you that you have resort of baseless insults.
Be careful Timmy, your crazy is showing!
Does it kill your soul to have to buy Auto insurance? Health Insurance?
Whats new at infowars?
“You do realize that homeowner’s insurance is required if you have a mortgage, right?”
So, don’t get a mortgage, then.
And such insurance is not required on items IN the home that are not covered by the terms of the loan itself.
“And renter’s insurance is required if you rent.”
Wrong. Might depend on where you live, but that’s not been the case anywhere I’ve rented anything.
“Or did you buy your house with cash?”
That’s the plan, man. Don’t borrow money from “them,” don’t give “them” any control over your life.
The real question is: “Can you step back just enough to see how complete “they” have sold a narrow definition of The One True Way To Do Things?”
Control. It’s all about control.
Oh, and lest my statement
““That’s the plan, man. “
be misunderstood, I’ve had two mortgages in the past. Got out from under the last one in 2008, and have decided will not make that commitment to become a debt slave to finance someone else’s bank account again.
So the rational is based off the fact that you got underwater on a house you couldn’t really afford prior to the collapse…. Sounds less like a mortgage problem and more like a problem in handling money.
You can’t be a “slave to debt” if you don’t buy more than you can afford. Hell, even the Debt Messiah Ramsey OK’s 15 year mortgages.
Your solution then has been to rent since 08 ( Judging by your comments you haven’t paid cash on the new house yet) so 6+ years of renting and throwing ALL your housing costs down the drain vs a portion….. smart.
Give up the arguments while you can and lets start talking guns again, at least we can agree on that topic and you sound less like a child.
“Be careful Timmy, your crazy is showing!
Does it kill your soul to have to buy Auto insurance? Health Insurance?
Whats new at infowars?
“
Ah, more ad hominem. Do you have any rational, intelligent comment to make? Or is “insults” the only thing you can come up with?
Are you an insurance salesman by chance?
How do you make the irrational leap of logic that because I said I don’t favor insuring everything in my home that I watch “Infowars?” Do you realize how utterly stupid that sounds? (For the record, I don’t…haha…so, not only is your idiotic statement illogical, it’s also not factually based).
Keep going, though. This is fun. Any sideline readers/lurker can evaluate the nature of the information I’m offering for consideration as well as yours.
When you learn to think for yourself and state your thoughts articulately, maybe we can have a respectful discussion. That does not mean we have to agree, by the way.
You see, mature human beings understand and respect that others have differing viewpoints and can explore the nature of those disagreements without resorting to insults.
Your turn! Go ahead: call me “Timmy!” again (???). And crazy. And make up factually incorrect “humorous” insults about my personal life! That will SURE change my mind and convince other readers how “Right” you are!
“So the rational is based off the fact that you got underwater on a house you couldn’t really afford prior to the collapse”
HAHA…more incorrect assumption.
You can’t win doing this. I have never been “underwater” or had a house I couldn’t afford.
Is that really your debate style? To straw man your way through it?
I said I have had two mortgages in my life, and since 2008 (which had NOTHING to do the collapse, by the way…the timing of that is coincidence in this case) have not been under the weight of a mortgage. I’ll be happy to leave it as an exercise to you OTHER ways that statement could be factually correct without being “underwater.”
Yeah, I’m guessing banker, insurance or some related ‘industry.’ I welcome being wrong…just my read of the tone of your comments. I certainly struck some chord with you that has you pulling out ALL your ‘intellectual’ stops.
You really are bugged by the mere fact that I DARE disagree with you on something, huh? How DARE me, right? I mean, we ALL have to EVERYING SPAZ’s way, isn’t that the way the world SHOULD work?
As I said, this is fun.
Lol I’m a millennial with no debt outside my mortgage, I’m on track to pay that off in 8 years total time, and I work in women’s fashion… so much for the mold you tried to fit me in.
I’m out, can’t stand people who actively ignore reality . Bye Timmy!
“Lol I’m a millennial”
So, you are a child with no respect for his elders. That certainly shows in your manners.
Is is just possible that maybe someone with several decades worth of life experience more than you has a perspective that at least merits listening to and thinking about…without insulting that person?
“with no debt outside my mortgage, I’m on track to pay that off in 8 years total time,”
Good!! I’ll raise a toast to your success. I don’t mean that snarky; that’s genuine congratulations.
“and I work in women’s fashion… so much for the mold you tried to fit me in.”
Um. I did not try to fit you into a mold. I simply asked or guessed if you were in certain industries based on the extremely defensive nature of your comments to me.
“I’m out, can’t stand people who actively ignore reality .”
Oh, geez. What “reality” am I ignoring? Good grief. I’m here. My life is “real.” I make the decisions in my life and can do cost-benefit analyses on what is right for me and my family.
Another non sequitur. Another ‘insult.’
“Bye Timmy!”
Again…what in the HELL is this supposed to even mean?
Can you grow up and have a discussion or not?
Look. All I’m trying to say is that A LOT of people, and it would SEEM that you are included in this, have a very narrow way of looking at things. There are OTHER ways to live.
You said I must have rented for 6+ years since I have not had a mortgage since ’08. Wrong. There are other possibilities. Some that would apparently blow your narrow mind on how one can live.
Just because you can’t see an option does not mean it does not exist. Just because I don’t agree with you, that alone does not mean I’m “crazy” or not living in reality, or “Timmy.”
If you are a millennial, you are indeed a child. You have a child’s perspective. Some day you may look back on this conversation and realize how utterly narrow and defining your worldview really was in 2015.
That does not mean you will (or should) have done anything different in your life, but maybe you’ll learn that just maybe the paths that others walk are just as valid…for them as yours is for you.
You come off as extremely threatened and defensive in this discussion. That is sad to me. There’s no need for you to be threatened merely because I don’t accept what you say is the ONLY way to live MY life.
Godspeed to you.
Insurance is not the opposite of self-reliance. It’s a form of self-reliance. It’s a responsible way to prepare for events that are low probability and high cost.
We know what people without insurance look like. They were soiling up the Superdome after Huricane Katrina, complaining about how the government wasn’t “helping” them.
Everyone has their own level of risk tolerance. Paying someone else to assume certain calculated risks comes at a calculated price.
Sure, offloading risk to a third party is self reliance. Got it.
Self-Insurance?
I take that to mean you fund the cost of replacement yourself?
That’s not insurance. That’s just eating the loss because you didn’t have insurance.
Do you have insurance on your house? Comprehensive on your car? A life insurance policy? Or do you just suck that up too, because you’re “self reliant”?
I like how you guys are “lecturing” on the merits of insurance…haha…especially when my initial comment has D1CK-all to do with “insurance” and more to do with using databases and inventory management “apps” and such.
Is it THAT threatening to you that someone disagrees, or approaches things like this differently than you?
First world problem
Ain’t it grand.
I tattoo them on the tanned scalp of a liberal democrat – freshly polished and cleaned with saddle soap.
Excel, pictures, and scans or pdf prints of all relevant documents (bill of sale, receipt, backstory) organized into different folders by gun. Hard copies stored in the safe.
Information encrypted and backed up offsite. I don’t trust my personal information of this nature to the ‘cloud’.
My gun db seemed nice but I personally didn’t find it offered any features that made migrating my data over worthwhile.
I tattoo the serial numbers on the bottom of my foot.
If they all fit you don’t own enough
Micro stamping has found a use. On his foot.
I will probably never own “enough”. Sad face. I’ll die trying, though.
And I will call 911, the ambulance will get there 37 minutes before the cops, and they will get you back in the game. Bottle of water, pack all wounds with sand, you’ll be good to go.
same as most people, google doc with make & serial number. too lazy to add photos but i realize it couldn’t hurt.
Wish you would have run this article before the boating accident. Dammit. Now all I have are fond memories.
Line your walls with lead an kryptonite because the government can easily see insides your house and tell that you are fibbing about the boat story.
Spreadsheet. Original paper or prints of electronic receipts in bank vault, electronic receipts and scans of paper ones on the computer with the spreadsheet, additional paper copy of everything at home stored separately from the hardware. Nothing in the cloud.
I do not keep any documentation for my wrenches and screwdrivers. That was my father-in-law.
Took pictures of my gun boxes on my cell phone, which includes serial number. If they get my guns and my phone, I lost.
Microsoft OneNote on laptop. All gun related stuff in db there. Purchases, receipts, upgrades, repairs, warranty, etc. I never thought of photos, may do that.
Backed up in Fireproof safe. Not sure I want my stuff in Google cloud. I don’t even keep passwords in a cloud store. Call me paranoid. 😉
I keep the serial numbers of all the guns I own, purchased, or sold on a written document, which is kept my “important paperwork only” safe.
That’s it, and that’s all. If the house burns down, or thieves run-off with it, then so be it…
Some of you folks are playing on a level I cannot even wrap my mind around.
Oh, and if .gov starts the turn in your guns game, that document is getting burned, and the remaining weapons are getting scattered to the wind…
I’ll have weapon storages from here to Timbuktu.
Maybe you should own one firearm, bought legally but privately, that no one knows you possess: no written record, digital or printed. In case the gun confiscation crowd eventually wins the day.
Nah, you want multiple guns, some on record, some not, stored in various places, if possible.
Keep “them” guessing.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by all the spreadsheet responses. Spreadsheets are easy to start, and can do at least some databasing functions. However, it only takes a little time/effort to learn how to use a database program, and they are much more powerful.
I use a phone app called “My Stuff”. Started using it in 2010 or so, in preperation for a move. Inventoried not only firearms, but any “high value” items by category, including appliances, A/V equipment, fragile items, etc. Built in ability to add pics right from the phone. Had another app called “My Library” that catalogued books, CDs, and DVDs by scanning the UPC bar code. Super fast.
Excel spreadsheet & cell photos. Need two more things: off-site backup, and appraisals from a gunsmith/gunshop.
After dealing with insurance after a massive left of luggage from my rental car, without a good appraisal I will be screwed if I ever lose any guns due to theft or fire. And my homeowners only covers up to $2500.00 without appraisals, and I have one gun that’s worth more than that.
So, if you’re serious about protecting the value of your guns should they ever be legitimately lost, you need someone’s appraisal other than your own (receipts help, appraisals even better).
I just do a weekly inventory,it only takes a few minutes and I own around 25 guns.I also make my wife inventory the silverware every week.
Excel spreadsheet, a copy with photos attached on file with my insurance provider.
I guess I’m old-fashioned. Paper and pen in triplicate, two copies in the house not in the safe and one in a safe deposit box at the bank.
I use Tap Forms Organizer and Secure Database by Tap Zapp Software Inc.
Got a gun stolen out of my car recently, and I wasn’t in the habit of recording my serial numbers…
I guess its time to take an inventory. Some lessons are only learned the hard way.
I don’t have an inventory… I have a collection… so as not to be mistaken for me being “in the business” of anything. 😉
Have a program on IPhone called Firearm Safe have all info including make/model, serial number, purchase date, price, where purchase, photos of each one
Also tracks ammo inventory, and accessories such as holsters, laser sights, gun rugs, range bag. All saved in The Cloud.
Have two handguns Colt 380 pistol from my dad and a Colt Detecive 38 revolver vintage 70’s from private owner. Of course that was all before a tragic boating accident
I have a Excel spreadsheet saved to a flash drive. I also have FirearmSafe on my iPhone that I’ve used for sometime. I especially like being able to incorporate pictures of the gun and tracking ammo purchases and usage. Good Product. https://www.facebook.com/FirearmSafeApp $2.99 on the AppStore.
I just took a photo of each one, showing the serial number. If need be, I can just point at it or email it to someone. Also useful if I have to make an insurance claim.
Safe door system. If the door is bulging either sell a gun or buy a safe.
Free home inventory template for Filemaker Pro modified to included firearm specific information and remove unnecessary fields. Only one of my guns is modified enough or distinctive enough so I don’t bother with photos in the DB. The one exception is an early production Mauser P-38 with all matching numbers (even the mags) so my insurance company does have photos on file of that gun.
Since I have mostly pistols and revolvers, I can always call the Pennsylvania State Police and ask them to look up the models and serial numbers of the guns that I own in that registry that doesn’t exist.
It’s funny how quickly the local police can identify the original purchaser of a handgun (in less than 5 minutes) when that collection of information (firearms serial numbers and purchaser’s names together) is not constitutional (according to the PA Supreme Court).
The info about my most valuable long gun is on-file with the CMP.
Since I do not use Windows (GNU/Linux), I use a program called Tellico. Also, I use Versacrypt to encrypt the database file that is created (I don’t trust closed source software). If someone where to get into my network or steal my computer I do not want then to have my firearm information.
How are you going to bother telling us that GNU developed part of your operating system and then use where incorrectly? Lol. I guess Richard Stallman would be proud?
I am “required” by the Illinois State Police to keep records for 10 years. Pretty EZ as I’m down to 1 gun. I’d love to have some of you guyz “problems”.
“Someone” might buy you a few problem guns, if you fix your Fing problem state.
I just make a list on a simple word document and send it to my gmail account in a special folder.
I have photographs which are saved on varies sites and thumb-drives.
My insurance company also has a list.
I keep an Excel file with make, model, serial number, caliber, and adittional comments.
My accessories move between guns far to often to be kept in any organized database. I generally only inventory the stuff that is worth $100+.
I also set up lights and take really good pictures every 3-4 months of everything new, making sure to get a really clear picture of serial numbers.
And I have a filing cabinet drawer dedicated to guns where I keep the original reciept, a copy of the reciept, and any other associated documentation (manuals, rebate forms, etc).
Mac owners with an iPhone should seriously consider using a program called “Home Inventory,” especially if you live in an area at risk of wildfire, floods, etc. It’s a fantastic database that helps you quickly document your entire household by taking photos with the iPhone that sync with the program over your home wireless network. You can break it down by room, category, collection, or tags. Plus store PDF files, scans or photos of receipts, etc.
Also highly recommend AmmoBaseX for keeping track of ammunition (type, quantity, cost, etc). It also syncs with your iPhone (via Dropbox) so you can keep track at the range of what ammo went through what gun, failures, notes on each gun, etc.
Both are cheap, work great, and have excellent support from the developers. No connection, just a happy customer.
I don’t bother, they’re all Hi-Points.
Hey listen, I’m not a Hi Point fan, but I ran the piss out of my buddy’s 9mm (truck gun) pistol and that boat anchor ran without issue.
Based on that alone, I’d recommend a Hi Point before I did a Keltec or Taurus. Never had any luck with those hunks of sh*t.
I’m a Mac guy and used to use Excel for Mac OS, but it looked like you would expect….a spreadsheet. So I moved my data to Apple Numbers (Apple’s Excel) and spent a weekend beautifying it and adding all the functions of PC Gun database software coupled with NFA Trust documents and such. Amazing what you can do with Numbers. I can even print assignment sheets with all the legal stuff. I even borrowed some programming from a amazing book lending Numbers file and changed a few things and now when Trustee’s take items from my collection it’s like a library. I click on the item and it checks it out to the name of the trustee and prints a legal form similar to a 4473 that they sign.
I would like to put something like this together for myself.
Could you point me in the right direction to get started on this.
I’ve got Numbers, but rarely use it.
I have it all in a database app called Bento. Unfortunately FileMaker, the app creator, decided to abandon it so I’ll have to export it to something else soon.
Sonar.
Fish / Depth-finder – I grid out a search pattern by ship until I locate the expended fire extinguishers.
Then, I throw a wreath.
Hey Joe I don’t make the laws-Curtis knows what I’m talking about. Time to up your meds…or you could buy me some “problem” guns. Illinois is far from the worst state…
Stumble across them in the closet. I know that Ithaca is in here somewhere!
Excel but my ammo out-values my guns now. Just sold 2.
Yes there’s a spreasheet for that too.
I put everything in a program called ShotWorks Pro a number of years ago. Track everything from serial numbers to buy & sell information to shooting data to accessories. Works great and I keep it stored in multiple locations.
I will bet that all of you oppose gun REGISTRATION. Yet many if you are willing to send (unencrypted) your entire inventory over the open internet to your e-mail library or into the cloud. Thus dropping it into NSA’s grubby paws. And they will share it with … ?
Convenience is the enemy of liberty.
“Convenience is the enemy of liberty.”
+100,000,000
Well said.
Use Apple iMessage to send myself a list.
Keeps it handy on all of my Apple devices and iMessage is 100% encrypted so no Govt’s can see what is going on.
Please don’t use mygundb. I bought it a couple years ago, and things were good. Then I found bugs. I reported them to the developer. I am an IT guy, so I could help him out. He barely responded. Later on the facebook page, he said he had some personal issues going on. That is fine, I understand it’s a small (one person?) company.
Unfortunately, it has not gotten any better. There have been no new updates in at least a year. There are still unpatched bugs. Also, now some feature is broken, and I get an error that it can’t load some webpage everytime I start the program.
The developer has totally gone dark. He has to allow every post on the facebook page, so there is no information there. I have submitted emails, no response.
I’m very disappointed I spent the money on this program, only to have development halt. It has good features, such as encryption, dropbox backup, etc, but I am moving to NM Collector, I believe.
I’ve been using MyGunDB for a few years now. I don’t have a big collection, but I use it to inventory my ammo, as well. Since I keep all my ammo in stacks of ammo cans, being able to determine what I have (and when I’m running low) by looking at my inventory in the app is very convenient. I also like being able to tie my ammo inventory to the shot count for each gun.
It isn’t a “free” app, but it’s well worth the ~$45 I paid for it.
That all said… the comment above mine… I have also had a couple of bugs recently and noticed that the developer has pretty much disappeared. I sent an email and never got a response.
Use My Gun DB “full” version. However, I’m a bit dismayed as it has been stuck at v 1.99 for over a year, UI has the feel right out of the 1990’s, developer support and response to help tickets is ZERO and integration with iOS and cloud syncing is Iffy at best. I have lost and had to renter data more than once in the 3 years I use it.
Damn, shame there is not anything better.
Am I the ONLY one using Access (2007)?
Google spreadsheet stored in their cloud service. Back in my apartment dwelling days, I had everything from guns to computers stolen from my apartment. When my guns were stolen, I had no record of the serial numbers. I had never thought I’d need them until I was on the phone with the Dallas Police Dept sounding like an idiot reporting all these guns that were stolen but didn’t have anything to identify them.
Google is a great place to put your info……
NOT,
Google wants to amass (collect) all the data it can, ANY WAY IT CAN, to USE any way it can..
Gun info on the internet, email, cloud? Seriously?
OPSEC, RF…
+10,000
GEEZ,
How about a couple sheets of paper placed in a safe secure spot or two.
I needed to fill out CO DoR 104PN some time ago and discovered an online platform with 6,000,000 forms . If others need to fill out CO DoR 104PN also , here’s a
http://goo.gl/6olHAVFor the fun, create fake lists complete with diagrams to the “burial location”. For the paranoid that think the media or government has it, let them search for the bogus guns.
I recently switched to a new and VERY powerful app. I really like it. It’s far more comprehensive than MyGunDB, which has apparently been abandoned by the developer. Check out “Second Amendment Firearms Database.” Do a Google search for it. You’ll find their website and a pretty good review of the app. 🙂
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