POST FALLS - If you want to scope out guns for sale, here's your shot.

A North Idaho couple will sell more than 1,000 guns in their collection at the Premier Auction Center in Post Falls next week, said Kim Nagel, the auction center's co-owner.

"We were completely amazed," Nagel said. "Our eyes got big when they talked at first about selling 300 or 400, but from there it kept getting bigger and bigger. I'm still trying to process it."

Nagel said the couple declined to be identified for safety reasons. She described them as being middle-aged, and declined to release other details about them.

The guns which will be on the auction block include pistols and rifles of many types and brands - and are only a portion of their overall collection.

Premier's weekly auction is generally held on Friday nights, but the large number of guns will stretch the sale over three days next week.

The sale at 674 N. Pleasant View Road will start at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, then continue at 10 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Doors open for previewing an hour and a half before the sale starts each day.

Nagel said the auction center plans to beef up security and concessions during the sale in anticipation of a large turnout. She said the facility will remain standing-room-only as there isn't room to move in bleachers or set up special seating.

Nagel said the center isn't planning on ending the sales at a specific time each day.

"That will depend on the crowd," she said. "It's going to take a lot of hours."

Nagel said she has "crossed paths" with the male owner multiple times in recent years and that's possibly a reason why the couple decided to sell the guns at Premier.

"He didn't say why he chose us; maybe there's a little amount of trust," Nagel said. "He also has other things he plans to get rid of."

Ammunition will not be sold at the sale.

Nagel said the couple aren't regulars at the auction, and she doesn't know what they plan to do with the money from the gun sales.

"That's not our business," she said.

Since the center has had its federal firearms license for a year, Nagel said, it has sold about 300 guns - so selling more than 1,000 on the same weekend from the same household is unheard of for her company and likely most auction centers.

"It should be good for business," she said. "We're in our eighth year - and this has been our best year - but this will definitely take us over the top."

Ed Santos, who owns Center Target Sports in Post Falls and sells guns at the business, said people collect guns for the same reasons folks collect other items.

"Investment, challenge, history and, of course, sentimental reasons," Santos said.

As huge as a collection of more than 1,000 guns sounds, Santos said he has heard of "many" collectors who have more.

"Some guys have in excess of 10,000 guns," he said.

Santos said he's interested in attending the sale to buy and later re-sell the guns.

"We have a network of dealers across the country who may have a more intense desire for certain types of firearms that might not be popular locally," he said.

Santos described the current market for guns as "very healthy."

"It always has been for the collector-type of firearms," he said. "Quality guns, especially collectibles, are a very solid investment if all involved have reasonable expectations and the knowledge to understand gun value. The everyday-consumer guns are also very much in demand, which makes sense when we look at the double-digit increases in shooting sports interest and participation."