I hadn't been to a gun show for over ten years because it seemed like all they were selling was over-priced firearms, beef jerky, cheap jewelry, and leather purses.

The other day, my good friend who is a deputy sheriff talked me into going to a gun show with him that is being held at our county fair grounds today and tomorrow.

My heck!!! Never thought I'd see the day when 9mm FMJ was going anywhere from a buck to two bucks a round...and .22 shorts going for 40-50 cents a round. Some of those rounds looked like the guy swept up everything he could find lurking behind the seat in his pickup. One guy had a baggie filled with 133 rounds of 9mm...and one empty brass casing. One hundred thirty-three??? Where did he come up with that number? Like I said...everything he could sweep up from behind the seat in his pickup.

Saw a table with some over-priced ammo in very, very old, out-dated boxes. At that price, I wasn't sure if they were selling it as ammo or as antiques.

Yep...and there still was the same ol' jerky, cheap jewelry, and leather purses.

Hmmmph! Looks like I probably won't be going to another gun show for at least another ten years.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

Culture shock!!!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Was jerky $1/stick? If so, I’m in!

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50 Years of DSOTM

I was never at one, but there was one near Pittsburgh recently that I thought about going to and I read in the news that they busted some straw purchasers or something. I guess they were laying in wait for these people, don't know all the facts.

Once I figured out how to make jerky with a box fan and furnace filters I quit going to the gun shows here.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

You have an equal chance seeing me at a gun show as you do seeing me at a tofu cook-off.

Nil. Nada. Nyet. Nein!!

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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt

We go to the shows here. Not to buy guns or ammo. Usually it is just pieces/parts or some such thing. Bought a Lyman Luber/Sizer for a friend for $25, it was old and dirty but worked, a new one is $264 NIB from Lyman. Deals can be had, you just have to look for them.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

How I rate gunshows;

Bad - means I didn’t buy anything.

Good- brought something(s) at a fair price.

Great- found that Holy Grail firearm or very hard to find gun parts that now turns that gun from a wallhanger to something I can now shoot.

I almost always have a list of guns, accessories and parts I want. I go into a gun show not expecting to find anything on my list but the hunt is part of the fun. By never going to Gun Shows you will never experience a good one and never find that Holy Grail Gun.

Basically the same thing that we do. Then get a good lunch after!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I rarely buy much of anything. But it gets me outta the house.

The gun shows I went to years back were gun shows. Trade, sell & buy. The last one was full of Jerky, bandanas, gun cleaning ****, etc. Saw one old S&W, a junker for three times as much as it was worth. Count me out.

Yup, that's why I go. The last one I went to I got a set of John Hurst j-frame grips for $20.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

The past 5 weeks I have been to 4 gun shows within 2 hours of me.

I was able to sell 3 guns and 8 boxes of ammo that I didn't need.

I found a new Glock 43x that I couldn't find locally.

I also found a gorgeous 657 with 3" barrel for a great price.

Later today I am going back to the one where I found the 657.

Yes, there is junk but it is still fun to look at all types of revolvers and older hunting rifles.

Looks like I am lucky to be in Florida.

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Chris S.
Fort Lauderdale, FL

I LIKE the way you think...only have to find one great item to make it worth going to!

I go to all of the local shows

Get me out of the house

I usually find something I need or a item I can resell for a quick profit.

Last week I got a set of factory k frame combat grips for $100 sold for $250

I will keep goin until there gone

I enjoy going to the GS in Fort Worth. I haven't been since the CV19 outbreak but soon I'll be going. I've bought and sold and usually find a bargain or 2. I've bought guns on one side of the hall and sold them on the other side. Plus it's nice to see old friends.

I agree with BSA1. If you don't go you will never know what might have been.
I go with an open mind and hope to find something I want or need at a price I can afford. If I don't agree with the price I do not take it home...no matter how badly I want it.
Every so often a sleeper appears, when it does you have to be there or someone else garners the prize.
For years I have told folks that if I take $10K into a gun show I will not find anything I want or need. But if I don't take any $$$ I will find all kinds of things I need, want or can afford.
Happy Hunting.
Everybody stay healthy and safe.
Thom Braxton
SWCA #1474

This shows just how far out of touch I am and why gun shows aren't on my "to-do" list anymore.
Not only would I not pay $100 for a set of K-frame grips, I wouldn't have the chutzpah to ask $250 for a set of same..


I guess I'm just too old and still living in the past..

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I go to a gun show several times per year, pre COVID. Every time as I’m leaving the show I think, what a waste of time. But I always go again. I go to half as many as I used to go to, and I’ll likely go to fewer and fewer. The internet has really replaced them, for selection, convenience and in a lot of cases, price.

I woulda ripped a hole in my pocket getting my wallet out for K Frame Combats at $100. And I woulda asked $300 . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

To me the name Gun show lately is more of a misnomer than fact.

Most shows in my extended area, even before the Coved 19 changed the amount of people that could get together were better off called knife and gun show. As others have said lots of Jerky, sun glasses and home made jewelry for sale.

I have a small list of items I'm looking to get so we go to shows that fit our schedule. Sort of see many of the same dealers at many of the shows. That's OK, I also seem to know a lot of people and I always run into people I have not seen in a long time. Of course with the masks on now, its like two ships passing in the night!

When, if ever the ammo madness is over things will get a little better at the Knife and Gun Shows.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

I used to go to 17 gun shows a year and went to my last one in 2006.
In 2002 I started to hear people say that gun shows were dying and you could do better on-line.
At first I thought that was baloney, but finally came to agree.

We went to the local gun show this morning. There are a couple of hundred dealers there. I bought some targets ($6.00) and a leather ammo pouch ($2.00). Not much, but we killed a couple of hours, talked with some friends and in general had some laughs over what folks are trying to charge for stuff.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Same here. Been a while for me. One thing I noticed is you won't starve. Plenty of hamburgers or hotdogs at my last one. The cheap ****** knives really irked me the most. The faked German S/A and S/S daggers were the biggest laugh. Did score a nice pistol cleaning kit for $16. Those old beat up Mossberg 22s just were not worth $300. LOL

Yep. And there were plenty of them there yesterday, too. If you looked real closely, you could read the words, "Starkist Tuna" stamped in the blade.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

So true. I've been going to gun shows since my dad started taking me to them when I was a little boy. I look at them as being where I find 200 gun shops in one place, rather than having to search all over 5 states. Without so many gun shops coming together in one place, what would the chances have been of finding a Russian Nagant revolver with Finnish capture marks like I did at the Gettysburg gun show? What would the chances have been of finding a customized Colt 9mm that cycles like greased lightning and shoots better than I do that I've had for over 30 years like I did at the Monroeville, PA gun show?

OK, I have bought at least 2 rings at gun shows too.

Unreal aren't they. I have basically quit going to Gun Shows, but.....

I do make it a point to go to the Only Real Gun Show in America!
Twice a year The Cheyenne Rifle and Pistol Club hoists a Guns
Only Show.

The Cheyenne Rifle and Pistol Club makes it a point and goes
out of their way for; no Jerks, no Jerky, no Jewelry, no Jelly.

They have Free Parking, is reasonable priced to get in, and is also
The Friendliest Gun Show I've ever been to.

Attached Images

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SD social distanc'n since 1889

I set up at NOCO gunshows because they are the only game in CO. Finally had one in CO Springs. I have blue steel and walnut rifles and nickel and blue handguns. Most just glance and go to the polymer tables. I put out unwanted bullets, equipment, accessories, and some junk. Why do I keep going? Never know when a deal will come through the door. Springfield 1911 for $420. I sell enough of the junk (mostly gun stuff) to cover the table. Then the Ruger BH 41 mag Bisley with ruger stag grips comes through. $700. That's why I go.

Two excellent reasons to go to gun shows!


I am the opposite. I walk right by the black guns.

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Chris S.
Fort Lauderdale, FL

It's been a while since I found a good score at a show near me. Most notable two were a nice Swede M38 for $300, and a rare Pakistani Enfield No.4 for $325.

As for fringe stuff, I bought my wife a pair of shoes at one show. You cannot believe you many gold brownie points that earned me.

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Release the Kraken

Best 10 bucks I ever spent was on a second hand RONCO Dehydrator I picked up at an estate sale.

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- Change it back -

Some of that jerky was probably left over from the last show you went to. *s*

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

I use to go with a group of guys and at each show we choose a "gunshow queen" from the dealers and others in attendance. A few times it was unanimous.

I have not been to one in almost 2 years due to the COVID. I am in no hurry to go. I always liked to get my knife sharpened and sometimes got good deals on cast bullets. I also got a nice Franchi AL48 20 gauge for $400. Just something to get me out of the house.

Monroeville, Pa.? At the ExpoMart?

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I love gun shows. Until this covid thing I never missed a local show. I have been to enough local shows I know many of the dusty old guns by their first names. However, I always see people I know and enjoy talking to and there's always the chance of finding that acorn or unicorn. I really miss going to the real gun shows Tulsa, Colorado Collectors show and The Missouri Valley collectors show. You generally don't find give away prices at these shows, but you will see quality and scarce items that you'll never find in a gun shop.

It seems you find like minded people with like minded merchandise. I'm ready to be able to go to one or the other real gun shows.

That's right. Even though I lived in Maryland when I started going decades ago it wasn't a bad trip because it was freeway all the way there. I used to go a lot but I seem to have slowed down in recent years and avoiding crowds because of the COVID virus.

When I was stationed in Pittsburgh, I lived about two miles from there and went to those shows.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Check out the show at the Washington County Fairgrounds. The next one is scheduled for April if Covid doesn’t shut it down again.
Not as much jewelry as Monroeville, cheaper admission, and reasonably priced food(good too).
My childhood buddy and I go and have scored some deals. Not so much on guns but reloading gear and such. I bought a Lyman luber-sizer with 8 dies for $80.
It’s pretty big, 2 smaller rooms, one big main building and sometime another small room.

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I told you not to use Lifebuoy

I was only at 2 yesterday. One in grapevine the other in ft worth . Had wonderful time only spent $1460.00 but was loaded for bear. It’s nice doing business with people who want to do business. Thank you to all you vendors who try to satisfy my addiction.

Have heard good things about this show from a friend who is a dealer in the Meadville area. He goes every time there is a show there.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

There's only one reason to go a gun show and that's the possibility of finding reloading components.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I've been going to gun shows (mostly the big ones) for more than forty years, sometimes as a visitor but more often renting table space as an amateur/hobbyist seller. I suppose shows have changed, but I can't see much difference.

People commonly complain about those selling beef jerky, trinkets, T-shirts, and junk, but the biggest show I've attended fairly regularly has all this non-gun stuff corralled into one area at the far end of the show and it's easy to avoid. I don't recall ever being so hungry I wanted to eat beef jerky anyway.

Used to attend gun shows on a semi-regular basis prior to the lockdown, secure in the knowledge that the days of good deals ended a long time ago. Pretty much went just as something to do with friends. If we took the time, checked every table, we'd occasionally find a deal. Not a NIB blue Python or a low serial number M1 Garand for $200, usually stuff like AR components and mags, Garand enblock clips. Nothing earth shattering. Bottom line? Something to do other than sitting in front of the TV, or at the bar. They're slowly starting up again around here. Haven't been yet, but will at some point down the road.

My wife and I used to go to them all the time. We'd travel halfway across the state too. I remember I bought a Makarov pistol at one, but that's about the only thing I ever remember buying at a show. Still we always had fun, saw a lot of stuff, and almost always ran into someone we know. On the way home, we'd find someplace to stop to eat. Made a real day out.

Now that I think of it my wife probably spent more money buying cheap earrings than anything else. She's got a ring on her finger right now she got at a gun show for about ten bucks I think. She loves to show it off. "I got it at a gun show of all places."

We don't go much anymore but it's because we've gotten older. She has a hard time walking, and has to use a wheelchair at something like that, so we just started skipping them. I miss going.

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John 3:16 .

Went back over to the local gun show today with a friend. He had a hankering for a Model 52 S&W. He ended up buying one that had , had a rail mounted on it so there were a screw holes (2) on the top of the slide. I believe he paid $850 (52-1) for it. Another dealer had two both NIB one for $1750 (52-1) and $2250 (52). Nice guns, but he passed.

I on the other hand found myself another "truck gun". I found a Model 39-2 that they were asking $350 for it, I talked them down to $300. I figure I got a fair deal. I have added pictures to this thread.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.