REFUND POLICY
If we have records available and can attempt the research, but do not locate the firearm in question, a research fee will apply as follows:
• $75 & $100 requests will be charged a $50.00 research fee
• $200 requests will be charged a $100.00 research fee
• $300 requests will be charged a $100.00 research fee
No fee will be charged for Single Actions serialized under 343,000 (which include the Phone Service) that are non-record guns. Please make check or money order payable to Colt Archive Properties. MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover Card are accepted for all services
GUN COLLECTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
BY JOHN CARADIMAS, EXCERPTED FROM WWW.M1911.ORG
Once you begin collecting, you may find that index cards with handwritten notes serve just as well to keep track as anything. As your collecting expands, however, as you meet additional collectors and consider tracking purchases and sales prices, the index cards may become more confusing than helpful. At that point, you may want to turn to a specialized computer program.
Several programs have been developed especially for gun collecting: NM Gun Collector, Gun Inventory, GunTracker, GunSafe and KollectAll, among others. [Editor’s Note: These and other collection management programs can be located for download or purchase through any web search site such as Google or Dogpile.]
KOLLECTALL
This is a generic “Collection Management Software.” It allows you to organize anything that you may be collecting, from books to stamps to guns, with everything in between. The program comes with some predefined “collections,” including guns.
Unfortunately, by trying to be all things to all collections and collectors, this program lacks several features of the more specialized programs. This generic philosophy shows up with the lack of dedicated help fields, fields that have predefined values from which to select. Also, the data entry form is organized in a strange way, where the various gun-related fields, which should be grouped together, are spread all over the form, in no rational order, at least for a gun owner. Being the “Jack of all trades” is not always the best approach.
On the other hand, KollectAll allows you to summarize the value of your collection, and to add images of any gun stored in its file. Unfortunately, the images are only loosely connected to the related item, which only shows you the image of that particular item after you have clicked the “Images” tab. From then on, however, you can browse all the images you have stored in the program’s files. Finally, the program can show you a list of all your guns.
GUN SAFE
Gun Safe is a dedicated gun collection organizer program, made by Kevin Kelly. Kelly is a shooter and a collector, and he has used his experience to good effect when developing this program.
From the program’s main menu, you can select your next step. The data entry screen is very well organized with drop-down menus helping you fill in the various fields. There is a huge manufacturer’s list, a list of all possible calibers, a configuration list (single action, double action, pump, semi-auto, etc.), a type list (pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine-gun, etc.), a stock/grips list (with various stock or grips to select from), a finish list (blue, stainless, Parkerized, etc.) and more.
What’s significant is that all these lists are customizable, so you can alter them to suit your needs. For example, if one is collecting only 1911 pistols, you can edit the manufacturers list, to include only 1911 manufacturers. You can edit the caliber list to include only those calibers that a 1911 is available in, and so on. I liked that feature. Such lists exist also in the other data entry screens. In the same screen the user can fill in other useful details, such as manufacturing date, purchasing date, condition, if he has the original box or not, if the item is a C&R or not, where the gun is stored, what accessories he has for that particular firearm and more.
Gun Safe has separate forms for entering purchasing and sale information. There is a list of “Transaction Kinds,” from which you can select how the gun was acquired (gun shop, on-line shop, auction, etc) and enter details about the seller. Likewise, there is a separate form for the sale of the gun while another allows you to maintain detailed records of when that particular firearm was maintained and what was done to it at that time. Still another form allows you to enter notes for that particular firearm, very useful for keeping important information, such as favorite loads.
The program has a final data entry screen in which you can enter pictures of that firearm. An unlimited number of pictures can be entered, which however are not directly associated with that particular gun. Even though the program will show you the picture associated with that gun first, it will also continue and show you all other pictures entered in its database, something not very intuitive. You can also, of course, ask to see a complete list of your collection.
Apart from a few minor idiosyncrasies, the program is very nice and should cover the needs of the average gun owner. What serious collectors will miss is the ability to see the total value of your collection, something Gun Safe does not offer.
GUNTRACKER 2.4
This program will appeal to the serious gun collector. Included is a database with almost every possible firearm manufacturer (something tells me that the maker of this program is licensing the Blue Book of Values database). For each manufacturer, the program includes an incredible number of predefined models (every model that this particular manufacturer has ever produced). There are so many manufacturers and models and model variations that it is easy to become frustrated with the details.
The program does not force you to select from its internal database, by browsing through the models produced by a specific manufacturer. You can use the Search function to narrow your selection. And you can enter a firearm record without using the built-in database; so the user can select his method of data entry.
The data entry form has all the fields that a gun owner or a collector will need. In addition to the usual fields of maker, model, serial number, etc. the program allows you to enter the current value of the firearm as well as the price paid for it. It also allows scheduling the next maintenance session, to enter an insured value, storage location and a personal rating. This program allows you to associate pictures with each firearm, and the images for each firearm are associated to that particular firearm alone (a nice touch). It also allows you to enter notes about the gun.
From the data entered, the user can get a variety of reports, such as a Full Collection Report, or a Scheduled Maintenance Report or a report of firearms per storage location. A “Wanted” report shows which firearms you have defined as desirable. Finally, a customized report option is available, but I didn’t have the time to try this out.
Overall, this is a program for the serious gun collector, a bit too difficult to use for the average Joe who owns some firearms and wants to have an electronic reference for them.
NM GUNCOLLECTOR
Once you start the program, its title changes to NM Firearms. It comes with a full installation procedure and it is quite intuitive to use. There are some tabs on the top, from where you select what you want to see, and a few buttons, like “Add Item,” “Delete Item,” etc.
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