My favorite gunshow is officially a shadow of it's former self. Down to the "big room" with some unsold tables and the "safe guys" in the middle. More knife tables than guns by a wide margin. A "wallet guy" appeared along with sharpeners, bags, holster makers and an Iver Johnson collector had a couple tables.
The LRPC members are all over 90 years old or it seemed that way. The guy warning about "magazines removed from semiautomatics!" seemed to announce it between hits on the Ox cannula.
As far as guns, there were more Colts than S&W's for some reason. The nice display on the second aisle didn't have prices so I didn't stop to have my "turnip greens" trimmed. I saw $900 66-1 4", $1400 29's as well as $1200 25-5 with a long tube. On a private sale table there was a lonely 5" blue Model 27 sitting the whole 3 passes @ $695. I was tempted but short a $100 or so since I left this am without the "gun fund." I had sold the NAA .32 before the show but not for "27 money." The doc had an emergency and didn't make it so I moved fast, 3 passes in 2 hours. I didn't see everything but I'm not looking for a "transitional bayonet for an 1858 Zouave" not that such a thing exists.
For me, the hour backup on I4 coming back put the spike in the coffin of a gunshow that's been on life support for awhile. Sad, as it is the last local alternative to the "Shoot Straight Traveling Sheep Shearing Show." Which I'll be at next month. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Let us bow our heads... and remember buying 27's
3 at a time at one show.

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SWCA #2306
DAV in honor of POP

I can remember a show they had around here about 25 years ago that always had some good values and interesting used firearms. I remember buying an H&K model 4 at one of the shows for a few hundred bucks. Went to one last year and won't be going again. Everything was way over priced and it seemed like I had wondered into crafts fair.

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That's just somebody talkin.

30+ years ago, we used to set up at the Lakeland shows on Friday afternoon and spend Friday night trying to find all the collectible bargains. And run the aisles before the crowd swarmed in on
Saturday morning. Found lots of good stuff.

By the late 90s it was already a shell of its former self, though the January show was still fairly good.

Now I don't even bother to go to walk the aisles on any of them.

Bob

The Lakeland Show run by the Pistol Club has always been my favorite Florida show, and I made my first one in 1969.....

Of the 3 shows put on each year the April Show has always been the one with the weakest showing. The weather is warmer, people are outside doing things, snowbirds have returned to the North, etc. The January Show remains the best one both in terms of dealers with good stuff and buyers. I would not bother with the other two, although we have done well at the September show in the past.

Face it, gun shows are an endangered species. Really good gun shows can be counted on two hands, in my estimation. Nonetheless, a crummy day at the gun show has always been preferable to a good day at work or hours staring at a screen or mowing the back 40 or......

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Charlie Flick
SWCA 729 HF 215