Went to the "Gun Show"

by **Konnan** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:07 am

So like the title says I went to the gun show yesterday (Sat 1/21/2011) at the Hampton convention center here in Va. The parking lot was full , we parked across the street at the Coliseum , they had to open a new parking lot about a 1/4 mile away. The line from the ticket window came back about 200ft then wound back on itself another 250ft like a giant snake. Once inside it seemed everyone was in a buying mood..380 , 9mm seeming to be the flavors of choice , followed by 38 and 357 revolvers...every dealer seemed to have a paperwork backlog of at least a few dozen. Was going to buy a Kel-Tec PF9 (only found 2 in the whole place) until after talking to the dealer who said it would be a 3-4 hour wait for the approval to come back(normally takes 15-30 minutes). The prices where higher than previous shows but that didnt seem to hinder the sales on firearms or ammo. I havent seen it this packed since Clinton was elected. So my question is , are people "waking up" or just getting "paranoid" about a Zombie Outbreak? 8-)

by **GlockASP** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:15 am

Well to answer your question would most likely get in to politics brother and no good will come from that.

AFAIC an active gun show is good for all involved buyers, sellers and the economy.

by **AKFTW** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:20 am

I went to my first gun show yesterday, sold my GSG-5 in 2 hours which is what my plan was. Not anything too exciting there, mostly old lever actions and doublebarrels, no good ammo deals and not even any ammo cans! But I came away $400 richer so it was a good day.

by **Konnan** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:29 am

Well Politics and Religion are two discussions that will pit Brother against Brother faster than anything else ,so if thats where this would lead then I would prefer not to have the question answered :mrgreen:

by **Jimmy NoFeet** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:40 am

I went yesterday with my father and we too accomplished what we set out to do. Within 3 minutes of walking into the main room, we had a man ask us about the Taurus .38 that we were trying to sell. His price was too low. We took a look around the tables, and found what we were looking for: 10/22 Stainless International. Granted the pistol we were selling has only been shot twice and rode in the van for about 3 years (Mom just won't carry on her person, or actually shoot her gun

) but we were incredibly surprised to get $300 out of it. One clipboard and $112 later, we were taking the new rifle out to the truck and then coming back to walk around some more. Because of my AO's stupid high sales tax, we really didn't save money from buying off the web, except for shipping

I was walking around by myself, and stopped at an older gentleman's table and got him to sharpen the Veff serrations on my Columbia River (I couldn't figure out how to do it by hand with what I've got, maybe a rat tail file would work?) We got to talking and we're pretty like-minded individuals. He introduced me to a custom knife maker, who then introduced me back to my own neighbor. Networking win 8-)

$4 well spent.

by **JTNieman** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:10 pm

Something tells me that it's a 4 year cyclic "coincidence" where people are worried about future scarcity and are reminded of the fact that the .gov pretty much grandfathers everything that's already out in circulation, usually.

by **Bearcat** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:53 pm

AKFTW wrote:I went to my first gun show yesterday, sold my GSG-5 in 2 hours which is what my plan was. Not anything too exciting there, mostly old lever actions and doublebarrels, no good ammo deals and not even any ammo cans! But I came away $400 richer so it was a good day.

If you find a good deal on ammo at a show, you'll be the first.

by **kcor_77** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:16 pm

I went there saturday looked at the line ans said frack this. I went real early today and there was a line forming and forming fast. I was there for a little while and just left. The prices were way too high and I kept bumping into everyone. This was the worst gun show I have ever been too.

by **Bearcat** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:31 pm

I'd rather have too busy of a show than half the show tables are toys, books and fucking jewelry like the one today I was at.

by **Konnan** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:36 am

The next one around here will be at the Norfolk Scope in Feb., its a much smaller show thats a little less AR blingy ( that make sense to anyone else? :lol:

)

by **kcor_77** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 6:41 am

I know what you mean about the ar bling. Hey I like the a r bling. :lol:

My main goal was to find an old nagant. I found 2 at over inflated prices.

by **Hachiman** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 10:44 am

might also keep in mind its tax season before said 4 yr cycle...

by **tonytwotimes** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 11:16 am

I went to the gun show in December and was disappointed that a lot of the prices were higher or the same as is usually posted in the shops. I saw one mosin nagant there that was unmarked but had the old style 1891 stock. Thought it would be a good donor for my Remington 1917 nagant. When I asked about it I was told that the guy who owned them was gone for the day. Fuck!

Then I saw the m44s next to it. $700? For a CIA import? M44? Never fucking mind.

by **Konnan** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:40 pm

kcor_77 wrote: My main goal was to find an old nagant. I found 2 at over inflated prices.

Been thinking about a mosin myself..I had one but sold it and have regretted it ever since 8-)

by **Neville** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 5:10 pm

I went to the Sacramento Gun Show at the Expo Center earlier this month. In the past it has been disappointing with few tables with gun stuff (junk mostly) and high priced collectibles (as in, multi-thousand dollar guns, hundred+ year old guns, etc). And lots of tables of knick-knacks.

This year was the first time I'd been in a while. Wow, what a difference! The place was PACKED. You could not walk down an asile without turning sideways and bumping a few folks. Vendor tables everywhere, and with just a very few exceptions it was all guns, gear and militaria. No cabbage patch doll tables, no comic book tables - all guns and gun stuff everywhere.

I remember in the last election year there was a big shortage of guns, gear, parts and accessories right after the election. It was so bad it took me 3 years to get all the parts for the AR's I was building. Of course I was picky about the parts, that's why I was building instead of buying. I remember ammo and practically everything else gun-related was high in price and short in supply last time around too. My guess, folks are remembering that experience and don't want to get caught in another "gun panic" squeeze where they can't get what they want/need. In a way, it's smart because they're planning ahead and beating the last minute rush in case there is a repeat. In another way, it's kinda bad because it's like they're starting the panic early and driving prices up NOW in anticipation of higher prices later. In another way, it's good because that kind of smooths out the supply/demand spike a little, allowing mfr's and vendors to ramp inventory and production gradually instead of getting slammed all at once. But the toppings contain potassium benzoate... that's bad. LOL.

I bought a few things that I thought were good deals, and a couple small items that were slightly overpriced but that I was going to get elsewhere anyway and figured a couple bucks was worth my time and gas. Some prices on things were high, but at least, if you wanted it, THEY HAD IT BABY. The same might not be true come December 2012. Panic now, avoid the rush, I always say...

If you want to buy guns cheap, you shop for them on the internet and have them shipped to a "kitchen table" FFL near you. If you want to buy half the gun for twice the money, but have the tactile satisfaction of holding it before you pay good money, go to a gun show. Nobody shops at gun shows because they want to save money... unless they're not very bright.

by **Jimmy NoFeet** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 8:05 pm

Neville wrote:Nobody shops at gun shows because they want to save money... unless they're not very bright.

...Or unless you're local gun shop is run by a super dude. So super, in fact, he moves enough product to keep his prices pretty friggin' low. As in, <5% over an individual purchase.
And then you've got the outdoors/gun "superstore" who marks up close to 30% and has crappy service and charges $80 for an FFL transfer

Even they sell enough to keep the lights on

Did I mention they have the same distributor?

by **kcor_77** » Mon Jan 23, 2012 8:47 pm

Konnan wrote:
kcor_77 wrote: My main goal was to find an old nagant. I found 2 at over inflated prices.

Been thinking about a mosin myself..I had one but sold it and have regretted it ever since

If you are looking for one may I suggest Classic Firearms of Tidewater. That is where I bought mine great little gem. It is now stored in the mother land of West Virginia. At least there I can shoot it without people ducking and running from the wonderfull thunder it produces. :mrgreen:

by **Konnan** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:08 am

Classic Firearms of Tidewater...humm havent heard of them , but I left here and moved to Florida , now we are back here again so I kinda fell out of the local loop...LOL 8-)

by **Doctorr Fabulous** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:58 am

I'm sorry, but all I can think about when I see "Gun SHow" with the quotes is that you went to Gold's Gym during peak bodybuilder hours.

I go to a fair number, either getting in free with my .mil ID, or as a vendor (I provide security and a quick salesman's tongue for the larger vendors by request) and I've seen both. Most of the shows I go to are the Dixie Gun and Knife shows in the Southeast. Some are great, some are lots of milsurp and cowboy guns, and some are mostly saturday night specials and Hi-Points with paintings of wolves.

Did I mention what I do at slow shows when I'm a vendor? Play count the wolves. One wolf on a t-shirt is one point, two wolves is two points, etc. Repeat offenders on the same day to not count. First guy to reach 50 confirmed points owes the other guy a soda, at which point you reset and start over. If I could drink at gunshows, I'd make it a drinking game with a camlebak full of vodka and be SLOSHED by noon. :lol:

Playing without alcohol, I've gotten two free sodas and bought one for another guy, all in one day.

In other gunshow news, I have taken to wearing ZS t-shirts, and carrying a stack of the business cards. One or twice, I have had someone hand the card back and say "thanks, but I know. I donated to the [disaster drive] and my membership is pending." I went to a show back in December and was telling someone about ZS, when someone standing nearby goes "Yeah, the organization's done some great things. You should check them out." I still have no idea who he was.

by **12_Gauge_Chimp** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:33 pm

The last gun show I went to was basically a giant garage sale with a few guns thrown in. I swear there were more vendors with cheap knock-off knives and toys than there were gun dealers.

There were few gun dealers that had their gun prices well above retail and were treating the stuff like it was made of gold and unicorn tears. I talked to one dealer who tried to get me to buy a used Hi-point for 300 bucks.

The other dealers had their merchandise priced at sane levels and were actually taking the time to help folks out unlike the one guy who got pissed off that I didn't want to buy his overpriced surplus ammo or the 500 dollar M91/30 with a cracked stock he kept pushing on me.

by **Dave_M** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:01 pm

Doc Torr wrote:I'm sorry, but all I can think about when I see "Gun SHow" with the quotes is that you went to Gold's Gym during peak bodybuilder hours.

Of course

I go to a fair number, either getting in free with my .mil ID, or as a vendor (I provide security and a quick salesman's tongue for the larger vendors by request) and I've seen both. Most of the shows I go to are the Dixie Gun and Knife shows in the Southeast. Some are great, some are lots of milsurp and cowboy guns, and some are mostly saturday night specials and Hi-Points with paintings of wolves.

God, the Dixie shows are the absolute worst.... cheapass knives and TDI gear all over.

by **TacAir** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:04 pm

Bearcat wrote:
AKFTW wrote:I went to my first gun show yesterday, sold my GSG-5 in 2 hours which is what my plan was. Not anything too exciting there, mostly old lever actions and doublebarrels, no good ammo deals and not even any ammo cans! But I came away $400 richer so it was a good day.

If you find a good deal on ammo at a show, you'll be the first.

(Waves hand - I win!)

Went to a gun show last fall, looking for milsurp 8mm. Nothing - till a found a table where the guy had a span can and most of an open spam can. Asked how it was selling... he offered it for 4 USD/box (20 rds) which - for here - is a screaming deal. I walked out with everything he had.

Now got something to feed to my 100 dollar groj sale rifle...

by **The Commander** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:19 pm

I went to the one in Reliant Arena last week. Nearly 2 football fields worth of goodness. It's the one everyone had been waiting for apparently. I found some excellent deals and a lot of shit I had already ordered online last year. I think I went to 14 gun shows all over this great state in 2011. 8-)

by **EdRider** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:20 pm

Largest gun show in Vermont is next weekend in Barre, VT at the Auditorium. Pretty good and quite crowded. There are a few deals, but you've really got to look.

Auditorium: Barre Fish & Game Club Gun Show, February 4, 2012 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and February 5, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.