scoobysnacker
Member
Went to a local show in south Louisiana last weekend, and it was quite the experience.
Attendance was very good, so that was nice. I know we don't talk politics here, but given the current climate, it was reassuring to see the large, diverse crowd (it wasn't just 1 type of person, there were lots of folks, families, multiple ethnicities, everyone milling around and generally being friendly with each other in the crowd).
But the prices- wow. I know there's some anxiety about potential changes, and there's always a markup to give you wiggle room to negotiate your price... but it seemed like most things were so high that you'd insult the seller if you offered a "good" price as a buyer.
I made a mental note of some pistols I already own, and what I saw them ticketed at on the various tables.
A Norinco Tokarev, in 9mm, with the Tokagypt (wraparound) grips... $300. No box, one mag. I know it's been a long while since I got mine, but I paid $150 for one of those, LNIB with 2 mags and the cleaning rod.
A lone Daewoo DP 51 with 1 mag, $399, in fair condition. I grabbed one off Gunbroker earlier this year for $249.
I saw several older .32 acp pistols, I've begun to take an interest in these because they WERE cheap.
I saw several CZ 27's, they ranged from $650 to $900, all were just a gun in fair to good condition with 1 mag. And before you mention the historical context/WW2 angle, the cheapest of these was at a table with other WW2 guns, the others were just sitting in random groups, seller didn't try to call them wartime. I've picked up 3 of these since Feb 2017 (my son's birthday), the first was $225, the second was $150, the 3rd was $250.
Saw 2 Mauser 1914's, one was $850 and the other was $1000. I picked one off gunbroker last fall for $199, and honestly mine was in better (and more original) shape. The one listed for a grand had a far different bluing on the sideplate, so I think it was a mixmaster.
I did see a single, lone S&W 5906 and a 659 at one table, they wanted $400 for either. Both were scuffed up and no box, and the 659 didn't have original grips. I considered haggling on the 5906, but decided to let that one go.
Couple of Rugers, saw a 89 in decent shape for $350, and a lot of polished/shiny slide later models for about $375 or so.
Beyond that, disappointedly, I didn't see much in the line of used pistols. Didn't see a single CZ 75, only saw 1 Beretta 92S (wanted $400 for it).
I will say that I did see one very good deal (I beleive), but I ended up pausing, but passing because I don't shoot the caliber:
one guy had a Tanfoglio Witness in 10mm with 3 extra mags, for $399. It was in fair/good condition, blued, and it's the one gun I still find myself thinking "I don't need that, but maybe I should go grab it while I can".
As for other guns:
several tables were set up selling ARs, advertised as PSA, for $700+. A couple entire rows were taken up by local gun shops with new pistols, Glocks etc, with their regular instore markups listed.
Of note, I saw one guy selling a bunch of different mags, he lad them sorted and set in labeled bins saying what they were for (like he knew), but he couldn't tell me when I asked about the High Standard .22 mags whether they would fit my Sport King (I think they were for a Duramatic); when I tried to strike up a conversation he walked off, and it wasn't a busy table. He went to talk to another vendor
. That aggravated me, because I own over a dozen different models of pistol, and definitely would have been in the market for some mags if the price was decent.
One old fella with plenty of older surplus guns was very friendly, we chatted awhile, and I bought the correct leather sling for my Argentine Mauser from him.
Overall, it was a fun time to walk through, but it seemed like things were more for display than for sale. This was the first gun show I'd been to that I didn't come away with at least 1 new (to me) gun in tow.
Attendance was very good, so that was nice. I know we don't talk politics here, but given the current climate, it was reassuring to see the large, diverse crowd (it wasn't just 1 type of person, there were lots of folks, families, multiple ethnicities, everyone milling around and generally being friendly with each other in the crowd).
But the prices- wow. I know there's some anxiety about potential changes, and there's always a markup to give you wiggle room to negotiate your price... but it seemed like most things were so high that you'd insult the seller if you offered a "good" price as a buyer.
I made a mental note of some pistols I already own, and what I saw them ticketed at on the various tables.
A Norinco Tokarev, in 9mm, with the Tokagypt (wraparound) grips... $300. No box, one mag. I know it's been a long while since I got mine, but I paid $150 for one of those, LNIB with 2 mags and the cleaning rod.
A lone Daewoo DP 51 with 1 mag, $399, in fair condition. I grabbed one off Gunbroker earlier this year for $249.
I saw several older .32 acp pistols, I've begun to take an interest in these because they WERE cheap.
I saw several CZ 27's, they ranged from $650 to $900, all were just a gun in fair to good condition with 1 mag. And before you mention the historical context/WW2 angle, the cheapest of these was at a table with other WW2 guns, the others were just sitting in random groups, seller didn't try to call them wartime. I've picked up 3 of these since Feb 2017 (my son's birthday), the first was $225, the second was $150, the 3rd was $250.
Saw 2 Mauser 1914's, one was $850 and the other was $1000. I picked one off gunbroker last fall for $199, and honestly mine was in better (and more original) shape. The one listed for a grand had a far different bluing on the sideplate, so I think it was a mixmaster.
I did see a single, lone S&W 5906 and a 659 at one table, they wanted $400 for either. Both were scuffed up and no box, and the 659 didn't have original grips. I considered haggling on the 5906, but decided to let that one go.
Couple of Rugers, saw a 89 in decent shape for $350, and a lot of polished/shiny slide later models for about $375 or so.
Beyond that, disappointedly, I didn't see much in the line of used pistols. Didn't see a single CZ 75, only saw 1 Beretta 92S (wanted $400 for it).
I will say that I did see one very good deal (I beleive), but I ended up pausing, but passing because I don't shoot the caliber:
one guy had a Tanfoglio Witness in 10mm with 3 extra mags, for $399. It was in fair/good condition, blued, and it's the one gun I still find myself thinking "I don't need that, but maybe I should go grab it while I can".
As for other guns:
several tables were set up selling ARs, advertised as PSA, for $700+. A couple entire rows were taken up by local gun shops with new pistols, Glocks etc, with their regular instore markups listed.
Of note, I saw one guy selling a bunch of different mags, he lad them sorted and set in labeled bins saying what they were for (like he knew), but he couldn't tell me when I asked about the High Standard .22 mags whether they would fit my Sport King (I think they were for a Duramatic); when I tried to strike up a conversation he walked off, and it wasn't a busy table. He went to talk to another vendor
. That aggravated me, because I own over a dozen different models of pistol, and definitely would have been in the market for some mags if the price was decent. One old fella with plenty of older surplus guns was very friendly, we chatted awhile, and I bought the correct leather sling for my Argentine Mauser from him.
Overall, it was a fun time to walk through, but it seemed like things were more for display than for sale. This was the first gun show I'd been to that I didn't come away with at least 1 new (to me) gun in tow.
