rburg
Member
Ok, my show pard felt poorly and anyway, we'd decided not to get a table this cycle. And David Carroll called me to tell me he wasn't coming. And our 3rd pard, Brenda, had to work. I was on my own (a dangerous way to be.) But to my rescue came my wife. She said she was going along! No, not for the boring gunshow, but for the Christmas show next door. When I got there, it didn't look promising. The parking lot was nearly empty.
And I'm used to it being full and overflowing. The Dickson show has been pretty good over the years. I've lost a bunch of money to the vendors. But this cycle I was standing in line with the other riffraff. It wasn't a long line compared to other shows and years. The promoter seems to be running it into the ground. It now costs $8 to park and another $12 to get inside. You're down $20 before they let you through the front door.
But there were some nice guns to be had. I didn't take along nearly enough money. At the far end of the first aisle, one of our posters, GF, attempted to mug me. But as we were talking some old guy came along carrying an older S&W. Of course I wanted to see it. Pretty good condition Model 1950 44 military. It has a nice S95,000s serial and not real signs it had ever been fired. Good enough for me, so I cheated him down $50 and bought it. The grips kind of fit and are correct for the period. I'll need to work on that just a tad. For whatever reason, I like 44s. Especially 4" guns made before the newfangled model numbers (I can't keep them straight anyway.)
A buddy had an AR upper for $500. I didn't buy it when I saw it and on the next pass it was long gone. Ray Brazille had a pair of the nicest nickel 4" model 19s I've seen. Brand new, in the boxes from 1960! 4 screw guns and Roy says they're consecutive numbers because the gun in the middle was destroyed. Figure that one out.
And Antique and Modern firearms (my dealer of choice) had a nice old Triple Lock with a 71000s serial number! Figure that one out. Its a mystery. The serial on the butt has the "7" crossed out. But all the other numbers match the butt number. When Charles, the proprietor, called Roy he said the same thing we all say "not possible". After inspecting the gun for a while, its the real McCoy. Probably a factory production error on the serial. He priced it at $1500 to me, but I'd already spent too much.
I visited with Doublesharp and GF for a while. Blake was abused properly (we always trash him.) He had a few pretty good guns on hand, which we commented how bad they were. There was a 3rd model sitting there with some wood that was way too good for him to own. And he has his fathers score along, just to show around. It was a ratty old 95% Model 1950 .45 ACP. His father picked it up in the local paper for lunch money.
Even without my trusty companions, I did manage to buy a Christmas present for my wife. One of the gold buyers/sellers had this womens dress watch under glass. He didn't have the nerve to scrap it, so he wanted to sell it to someone who'd appreciate it. I walked away, but then came back and bought it. With my normal pard Joe under the weather and Glen dead, I just had to wing it by myself. Boy do we miss old Glen. The seller said it keeps great time, but its scrap value was only $600 and he wanted $800 for the watch. So the bad news is my wife gets a 1950s or 60s vintage used watch for the holidays. Oh, I left out the diamonds and rubies on it. Not a lot to make it gaudy, just enough you see them. If Momma balks at it, my Daughter in Law gets it!
Yes, this isn't the first December gun show I've bought my wife a present. It just seems thieves and road agents are better at gun shows. I'd have been happier if my jewelry appraisers were along, but it wasn't to be. Besides, I've already picked up a backup present. I got her a couple of candles and a glass trinket if she hates the old used watch! What a guy I am.
And I'm used to it being full and overflowing. The Dickson show has been pretty good over the years. I've lost a bunch of money to the vendors. But this cycle I was standing in line with the other riffraff. It wasn't a long line compared to other shows and years. The promoter seems to be running it into the ground. It now costs $8 to park and another $12 to get inside. You're down $20 before they let you through the front door.
But there were some nice guns to be had. I didn't take along nearly enough money. At the far end of the first aisle, one of our posters, GF, attempted to mug me. But as we were talking some old guy came along carrying an older S&W. Of course I wanted to see it. Pretty good condition Model 1950 44 military. It has a nice S95,000s serial and not real signs it had ever been fired. Good enough for me, so I cheated him down $50 and bought it. The grips kind of fit and are correct for the period. I'll need to work on that just a tad. For whatever reason, I like 44s. Especially 4" guns made before the newfangled model numbers (I can't keep them straight anyway.)
A buddy had an AR upper for $500. I didn't buy it when I saw it and on the next pass it was long gone. Ray Brazille had a pair of the nicest nickel 4" model 19s I've seen. Brand new, in the boxes from 1960! 4 screw guns and Roy says they're consecutive numbers because the gun in the middle was destroyed. Figure that one out.
And Antique and Modern firearms (my dealer of choice) had a nice old Triple Lock with a 71000s serial number! Figure that one out. Its a mystery. The serial on the butt has the "7" crossed out. But all the other numbers match the butt number. When Charles, the proprietor, called Roy he said the same thing we all say "not possible". After inspecting the gun for a while, its the real McCoy. Probably a factory production error on the serial. He priced it at $1500 to me, but I'd already spent too much.
I visited with Doublesharp and GF for a while. Blake was abused properly (we always trash him.) He had a few pretty good guns on hand, which we commented how bad they were. There was a 3rd model sitting there with some wood that was way too good for him to own. And he has his fathers score along, just to show around. It was a ratty old 95% Model 1950 .45 ACP. His father picked it up in the local paper for lunch money.
Even without my trusty companions, I did manage to buy a Christmas present for my wife. One of the gold buyers/sellers had this womens dress watch under glass. He didn't have the nerve to scrap it, so he wanted to sell it to someone who'd appreciate it. I walked away, but then came back and bought it. With my normal pard Joe under the weather and Glen dead, I just had to wing it by myself. Boy do we miss old Glen. The seller said it keeps great time, but its scrap value was only $600 and he wanted $800 for the watch. So the bad news is my wife gets a 1950s or 60s vintage used watch for the holidays. Oh, I left out the diamonds and rubies on it. Not a lot to make it gaudy, just enough you see them. If Momma balks at it, my Daughter in Law gets it!
Yes, this isn't the first December gun show I've bought my wife a present. It just seems thieves and road agents are better at gun shows. I'd have been happier if my jewelry appraisers were along, but it wasn't to be. Besides, I've already picked up a backup present. I got her a couple of candles and a glass trinket if she hates the old used watch! What a guy I am.
I can't afford the inflated prices they want these days. Besides, I'm an old man and have enough now. You were privy to a buying spree. Not many folks get to see us distorting the market to make it peak! 
