My uncle is between stage 1 and 2 of dementia or alzheimers. He has a few firearms (one revolver, a shotgun, and I think a couple of rifles). He owns 63 acres of farm land and has always kept guns, but for obvious reasons my aunt would like to disable the guns.

We could just get rid of them but he is really sensitive because he knows he is sick and gets very frustrated that he can't take do many things he used to.

He does not ever shoot the guns anymore and so we were hoping to fix them so they will not fire rather than just taking them out because that would really hurt his feelings. He probably won't notice if they are disarmed and if he tries to use them then he will just think they are broken or something.

If we took the guns to the gun shop could they just take something out so that they would not be able to fire?

4/24/2008 4:10:26 PM

you could just pour cement down the barrels

or just take away his ammunition

4/24/2008 4:11:56 PM

Going behind his back is definitely a better idea than being upfront about it.

4/24/2008 4:12:27 PM

Its not so easy when dealing with someone with dementia and/or alzheimers.

4/24/2008 4:15:39 PM

^^ Yeah its always better to tell someone that is very depressed you are taking their stuff away because they have a degenerative disease and could be a danger to themself or others.

4/24/2008 4:16:07 PM

I guess it's a better idea to let your crazy uncle try to fix his broken guns and blow his face off.

4/24/2008 4:16:54 PM

remove the firing pin or make it so it will no longer contact the cap in a bullet.

4/24/2008 4:20:03 PM

^ might not work on the revolver, depending on how old it is

4/24/2008 4:22:34 PM

what about trigger locks

http://images.google.com/images?q=trigger%20locks&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

4/24/2008 4:55:16 PM

please don't destroy them

they may be family heirlooms


be up front, install gun locks, or remove them from the home completely

my grandpa was pissed when I showed up with a trailer and started loading up all of his cattle because he couldn't take care of them anymore, I really hope that he forgave me in the end, but the look on his face made me feel horrible at the time and still does

how many is it, I will give you all of the trigger locks I own

[Edited on April 24, 2008 at 5:02 PM. Reason : !]

4/24/2008 5:01:39 PM

Quote :

"just take away his ammunition"

yeah don't scrap the guns if you can help it

4/24/2008 5:23:21 PM

Hell, I'll throw in some trigger locks too.

4/24/2008 5:39:02 PM

remove the firing pins?

taking away ammo is not good enough IMO. He can just as easily find new ammo...or what if you forget a stash? IF you render the gun temporarily useless, i.e. remove the firing pin...it won't fire no matter where he gets his ammo.

[Edited on April 24, 2008 at 5:54 PM. Reason : m]

4/24/2008 5:53:03 PM

You're better off taking the guns away. The last thing you need is him getting himself into a situation where he might be relying on one of his guns and they don't work. If he doesn't have the mental capacity to be a firearm owner, then he shouldn't own firearms, period.

4/24/2008 6:11:47 PM

gun locks would be torment, imho. Just be completely clear with him that the guns could possibly pose a hazard, and have someone with the proper facilities (read: gun safe) to store them until further notice.

I'd rather have someone pissed off,a nd the guns stored safely.

4/24/2008 6:13:52 PM

I don't understand how trigger locks would be any less potentially offensive than taking them away.

I say firing pin.

4/24/2008 6:14:19 PM

firing pin gives a false sense of security, regardless of the need to use the gun(s). as well trying to disassemble the guns to do this is more trouble.

4/24/2008 6:16:25 PM

Not having the gun and the gun not working would prove equally useful for security purposes, therefore I would rather feel secure.

Anyway, I understand your peril OP. I think dealing with the matter discretely, however that may be, is your best bet.

4/24/2008 6:21:51 PM

trigger locks are the easiest, but he would also notice them

removing the firing pins is another option, but if you ever get into some shit and do need it, you'll be very very sorry that you removed the firing pins

4/24/2008 6:30:27 PM

+1 for Firing Pin Removal. Dunno what you're gonna do about the revolver, I'd say come up with some story about wanting or needing a small gun for security to try and get that one from him. I gotta say, even if there's a case where he will actually need a gun that works for security purposes (read: intruder), do you really trust a fully loaded weapon being fired by him period? With no firing pin, he can still have the ammo, load it, and still think it can work it to deter whatever intruder is in there. For the case of actually firing the weapon, I'd say just tough shit. I just wouldn't risk it, especially with the wife in the house, too.

[Edited on April 24, 2008 at 6:56 PM. Reason : .]

4/24/2008 6:48:15 PM

I would remove them from the house if possible and if not take the them to a reputable gun shop and get the firing pins removed. Store them with the weapons and lable what goes with what. If the shop offers to buy them, walk out. thats not what you went for. We had the same dilemma when my grandpa was declining.

I feel your pain, its a hard situation.

4/24/2008 7:18:13 PM

Replace all the real ammo with blanks?

4/24/2008 7:44:49 PM

Quote :

"Not having the gun and the gun not working would prove equally useful for security purposes,"

If I'm robbing going to rob a house and notice the guy in it has a gun (if the pin is taken out i won't be able to notice) - i might think twice.

4/24/2008 8:16:08 PM

4/24/2008 8:38:06 PM

^^It isn't like he would be holding it at all times. The man would only get his gun WHEN someone broke in.

Anyway, I am for keeping the guns physically there, so no need to convince me.

4/24/2008 8:55:56 PM

put those flags that say BANG! in them

4/24/2008 9:07:45 PM

Tell him you'd like to shoot them with him. After you go shooting, express an interest in a few of them, ask him if you can have them (or have his favorite relative do it if you don't think he'd give them up to you). Leave him one or two but definitely remove the firing pin (if the revolver is "hammerless", you can pull the internal hammer out) of the gun(s) you leave him.

Your responsibility to him, and the people he loves, is to ensure that he can't endanger anyone else. Period.

4/24/2008 9:23:51 PM

take out the firing pins, or remove the firearms - not much else to do

[Edited on April 24, 2008 at 9:27 PM. Reason : !]

4/24/2008 9:27:02 PM

remove the trigger mechanisms, bolts, basically the working parts of the weapons.

4/24/2008 9:46:53 PM

Quote :

"Tell him you'd like to shoot them with him. After you go shooting, express an interest in a few of them, ask him if you can have them (or have his favorite relative do it if you don't think he'd give them up to you). "

That's the best route.
He'll have the satisfaction of passing on his guns to someone close to him that can appreciate them.

The other option is to be upfront and tell him you're concerned about his safety.
Put locks on all the guns or buy a cheap gun cabinet and bring it to his house.
Put the guns in the cabinet, lock the cabinet, and don't leave the keys.

I'd be one pissed old man if I found out 1-someone took my guns out of my house, 2-someone fucked with the parts.

4/24/2008 11:40:07 PM

pretty sure if u use a safety it like locks the gun or something

4/24/2008 11:43:30 PM

Quote :

"please don't destroy them they may be family heirlooms "

The trigger locks are a good idea.


If it were me, I'd be tempted to leave them be--give him the out. On the other hand, there are knives and the chance he may shot your aunt/other.

4/24/2008 11:48:51 PM

hey why cant we just like copy the design of the ak 47 and just use that in iraq...seems like its the best all around gun for that climate...heard that m16 or whatever gets jammed a lot by sand...

4/24/2008 11:50:30 PM

^^ that is the terrible thing about this situation, he may think that the aunt is an intruder but still remember how to use a gun. Just have the firing pins taken out, instead of all the inner workings as someone else stated, if a firing pin gets lost it is not that big of a deal. If a bolt gets lost, it may be impossible to replace and have to be fit to the gun. same for revolver cylinders, there arent many just floating around.

4/24/2008 11:54:25 PM

^^ Troll Alert.

Removal of firing pins is not as easy on some guns as it is on others... do you know how to remove them? It may be easier just to remove the whole bolt assembly.

For the revolvers, you could try removing the cylinder or the hammer?

[Edited on April 24, 2008 at 11:57 PM. Reason : ]

4/24/2008 11:57:01 PM

^ If you are going to remove part of the damn gun, how is that any less obvious or different than just putting a trigger lock on it?

As I see it, you have 3 options:

1) Discuss removal of firearms or relocating them to a safe/secure location

2) Trigger Lock

3) Remove firing pins.


Personally, I'd opt for discussing it with him. Give him a chance to defend himself and work with you before you move on to more "demanding" levels of securing the firearms. IMO, going around anyone's back can cause just as much trouble, if not more, as lying.

4/25/2008 12:12:15 AM

^ some guns are pretty damn hard to remove *just* the firing pin from, every try doing it with an SKS for example? I'm thinking hes gonna want to do this in an expedient manner and pulling the bolt out is usually pretty easy.

4/25/2008 12:23:06 AM

remove the firing pins, in the case of a revolver you can file the hammer down

4/25/2008 2:08:59 AM

filing anything down is a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad idea.
You're better off just sticking a lock on it.

Messing with the parts in general is a bad idea.
I don't think some of you realize this.
A person would feel stabbed in the back more if you go behind them and fuck their shit up compared to telling them everyone thinks it's safer with a lock or in someone else's hands.

4/25/2008 9:56:27 AM

^ agreed.

4/25/2008 9:58:25 AM

replace all his ammo with blanks.

4/25/2008 2:40:16 PM

^not trolling, but consider...

Quote :

"what if you forget a stash?"

4/25/2008 4:23:35 PM

Well, you could take the guns and then leave nerf guns in their place. If he says anything, just tell him "Are you kidding? That's the same shotgun that you've had for years."

It should work well with the dementia.

4/25/2008 4:26:51 PM

Quote :

"put those flags that say BANG! in them"

4/25/2008 9:16:35 PM

Well if you take the guns and he gets pissed. He will just be a pissed off person WITHOUT guns.


Now thats a win win

4/28/2008 11:23:09 PM

take his guns away the same way you took his driver's license away.

4/28/2008 11:28:27 PM

his feelings might be temporarily hurt.

but eventually those will degenerate themselves away.

4/29/2008 9:00:23 AM