Gosh, I haven't been to a gun show in more than 10 years. Casper, the state's second largest town, is sort of central in the state. I saw license plates from about half of Wyoming's 23 counties in the Fairground's parking lot. Even still the Fair building wasn't packed with vendors or attendees. Plenty of space to move around.
Too many "junk" dealers (I don't mean junk guns, I mean "junk"). And since when did the little old ladies selling herbal cures for anything that ails you start attending gun shows? I guess it gives the organizers extra bucks for selling the spaces to whoever will pay for a table.
The book seller's rectangle of tables took up more room than any of the gun dealers. He wanted $60 for Pate's book. I had just gotten mine in the mail on Thursday for far less.
I was blown away by the somewhat paltry number of wheel guns on offer. Way too many new small frames with locks or pastel grips. One guy from Pocatello, ID, had the best selection (maybe 50 pieces), and his prices weren't embarrassing. His notables were a nice baby Chief in the $800 range and a beautiful WWI Model 1917 .45 for just less than $900. Another guy had a clean first year Model 58 for $1,900. And another offered a nice selection of blue and nickel N-frames in the older presentation boxes (all below the going rate).
Gad, I'm ignorant though. Had no clue semi-autos had come to rule the lair. Happy though, I was able to unload my only semi for about four times what I paid -- a High Standard Plinker that I'd bought new in '69. No, I didn't get rich.
My gun case attracted plenty of attention, and I had fun swapping tales with some of the military buffs about their hardware and my Victory Model. One guy had a 1913-vintage Colt 1911 (not a 1911A1) with the original shipping document: factory to a hardware store ($3,600). He and three other old-timers gauged my Victory at 98%, so that was heartening, but I think they might have been a bit generous. One asked what I'd have to have for it.
Me: "$1,200."
Him: "Oh, so you don't want to sell it?"
Me: "No."
None had ever seen a Boyt '43 belt holster. And I had the cleaning cloth handy to keep the drool off my I-frame flat latch Model 31 snubby. $900 convinced them I didn't want to sell it either. (But, you never know. P.T. Barnum said "One was born every day.")
One crusty old guy was featuring a pair of Victory Models: 5", no British proofs, bright blue, new ramp front sights, real Ivory grips (gorgeous), but the interesting part was the conversion to .38 Special. The cylinders were actual .38 Special (Model 10) parts so the serial numbers obviously didn't match, and the ejector stars weren't numbered. The pair could have been mine for $2k. Still can't believe I passed them up.
In all a fun outing. Good folks, every one! And I came home with a purchase: one of the old-timers had a near-perfect, probably early '60s, box of 50, Peters .38 Special 158 grain lead Index 3842 for $25. I tend not to buy dust collectors, but I remember the red, white, and blue boxes from when I was a kid so couldn't pass this up.
Cheers,
Bob
Too many "junk" dealers (I don't mean junk guns, I mean "junk"). And since when did the little old ladies selling herbal cures for anything that ails you start attending gun shows? I guess it gives the organizers extra bucks for selling the spaces to whoever will pay for a table.
The book seller's rectangle of tables took up more room than any of the gun dealers. He wanted $60 for Pate's book. I had just gotten mine in the mail on Thursday for far less.
I was blown away by the somewhat paltry number of wheel guns on offer. Way too many new small frames with locks or pastel grips. One guy from Pocatello, ID, had the best selection (maybe 50 pieces), and his prices weren't embarrassing. His notables were a nice baby Chief in the $800 range and a beautiful WWI Model 1917 .45 for just less than $900. Another guy had a clean first year Model 58 for $1,900. And another offered a nice selection of blue and nickel N-frames in the older presentation boxes (all below the going rate).
Gad, I'm ignorant though. Had no clue semi-autos had come to rule the lair. Happy though, I was able to unload my only semi for about four times what I paid -- a High Standard Plinker that I'd bought new in '69. No, I didn't get rich.
My gun case attracted plenty of attention, and I had fun swapping tales with some of the military buffs about their hardware and my Victory Model. One guy had a 1913-vintage Colt 1911 (not a 1911A1) with the original shipping document: factory to a hardware store ($3,600). He and three other old-timers gauged my Victory at 98%, so that was heartening, but I think they might have been a bit generous. One asked what I'd have to have for it.
Me: "$1,200."
Him: "Oh, so you don't want to sell it?"
Me: "No."
None had ever seen a Boyt '43 belt holster. And I had the cleaning cloth handy to keep the drool off my I-frame flat latch Model 31 snubby. $900 convinced them I didn't want to sell it either. (But, you never know. P.T. Barnum said "One was born every day.")
One crusty old guy was featuring a pair of Victory Models: 5", no British proofs, bright blue, new ramp front sights, real Ivory grips (gorgeous), but the interesting part was the conversion to .38 Special. The cylinders were actual .38 Special (Model 10) parts so the serial numbers obviously didn't match, and the ejector stars weren't numbered. The pair could have been mine for $2k. Still can't believe I passed them up.
In all a fun outing. Good folks, every one! And I came home with a purchase: one of the old-timers had a near-perfect, probably early '60s, box of 50, Peters .38 Special 158 grain lead Index 3842 for $25. I tend not to buy dust collectors, but I remember the red, white, and blue boxes from when I was a kid so couldn't pass this up.
Cheers,
Bob
