Re: Stolen guns!!! updated PD located them
An old school way to document your ownership or idea or anything else for that matter at a certain point in time is to mail it to yourself via registered mail with all the ends taped shut.
If you ever need to prove what's inside, have it opened in front of a judge. The post mark certifies the time and date and the contents will tell what ever tail you put inside.
It used to be known as "a poor man's patent".
The same can be done for inventory. Take pics, make them into REAL picture if you can find a place that still does it, document everything about what you took pictures of and send it. Once you get it take your receipt for the postage and paper clip it to the envelope and tuck it away nice and safe. Make sure you write on the outside of the envelope what's inside. If you sell some of it, get documentation and mail it to yourself. A copy of a drivers license is sometimes a pain in the butt to get but copying down the info doesn't take long and anyone not willing to provide doesn't need your gun. Remember this is about YOUR protection.
The real pain in the butt part is mailing yourself all the modifications you do to a weapon over the course of it's life. Just remember it's about protecting your butt and your investment.
Edit to add: Never EVER put down a dollar figure ANYWHERE. You want current value of that M1 Garand not the price you paid for it or what you traded for it in 1985.
Cheers,
Doc