What to Do With Inherited Firearms in Colorado: A Step-by-Step Guide
When someone you love passes away and leaves behind firearms, most families feel the same way: grateful for the legacy, unsure what to do next, and a little nervous about getting the legal side wrong. That's normal. Guns carry real legal weight, and Colorado's rules are specific.
I run Gun Legacy here in Parker, Colorado, and I help families with inherited firearms every week — valuations, legal transfers, and sales. Here's the plain-English walkthrough I give families when they call.
First: Make Them Safe
Before anything else — paperwork, decisions, phone calls — make sure every firearm is secure and unloaded. Treat every gun as if it's loaded until you've personally confirmed otherwise. If you're not comfortable handling a firearm, don't. Lock them up where they are and call someone who is, whether that's a family member who shoots, local law enforcement's non-emergency line, or a licensed dealer like me.
Ammunition should be stored separately, in a cool, dry place. And if there are children in the home, this moves to the very top of the list.
What Colorado Law Requires
Colorado requires private firearm transfers to go through a licensed dealer (FFL) with a background check run through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). That's the baseline rule for person-to-person transfers in this state.
When firearms pass to heirs through an estate, the picture is a little different. Under SB25-003 (the law that took effect August 1, 2026), transfers to heirs and beneficiaries upon the owner's death are exempt from the new eligibility-card requirement. But the standard transfer rules still matter, and using an FFL transfer for estate firearms is the cleanest way to document the change of ownership and avoid mistakes. Paperwork that looks obvious today can matter a great deal years from now.
This is general information about Colorado law, not legal advice — if your situation is complicated, talk to an estate attorney.
What the Executor Should Do First
If you're the executor or personal representative, here's your short list:
1. Inventory everything. Write down the make, model, and serial number of each firearm. Photograph each one. This protects you and the estate.
2. Don't distribute anything yet. Until you've confirmed what's legal to transfer and to whom, keep the firearms secured as estate property.
3. Check for anything unusual. Fully automatic firearms, short-barreled rifles or shotguns, and suppressors fall under federal NFA rules and need special handling. If you see anything like that, stop and get professional help before moving it.
4. Get a valuation. You may need fair market values for the estate inventory, probate filings, or dividing assets among heirs. A professional valuation gives you a defensible number.
Your Options: Keep, Sell, or Consign
Once the legal groundwork is handled, families generally choose one of three paths:
Keep them. If a firearm has sentimental value and you can legally possess it, keeping it is a fine choice. Get it checked by a qualified gunsmith first — especially older guns — and store it securely.
Sell them yourself. You can sell through a licensed dealer, who handles the transfer and background check. What you generally can't do is hand a gun to a buyer in a parking lot — Colorado requires the FFL transfer.
Consign them. This is what I do most. Consignment means a licensed dealer sells the firearms for you on the open market and takes a commission. I charge 20%. Compare that to a typical gun shop offer, which is usually 20–30% of the gun's value — meaning the shop keeps 70–80%. On a $1,000 rifle, consignment puts roughly $800 back in your pocket versus $200–$300 from a shop counter offer. It takes longer than a same-day sale, but for estate firearms, the difference is often thousands of dollars across a collection.
A Note on Heirlooms You Want to Display
Some families don't want to sell or shoot Granddad's shotgun — they want it on the mantle. My gunsmith can render a firearm permanently inoperable so it can be displayed safely, with no worry about it ending up in the wrong hands. It's a good option for pieces with more sentimental value than market value.
Get Help Before You Guess
The single most common mistake I see is families rushing — selling guns quickly to "just get it handled" and leaving serious money on the table, or handing firearms to relatives without documenting the transfer. Slow down, get the inventory done, and talk to someone who does this every day.
Contact Gun Legacy for a free consultation — info@gunlegacy.com or gunlegacy.com. I'll walk you through your options, give you honest valuations, and make sure everything is handled legally. No pressure, no obligation.