GUN SHOWS---AAAARRRRGGGG

[DanDolfn]

I went to a gun show in Sebring FL a couple of weeks ago. Had been looking for a 686 4". No one had them locally. A guy at the show had one NIB for $749. Didn't think that was too bad, so I bought it. He said he'd only been able to get it because he happened to be on the phone with the distributor when the distributor got a dozen of them.

At another table, there was a used 686 4" but the guy wanted $715 for it.

 

[pharmer]

I go regularly, 8-10 shows a year, best entertainment for $10 around (OK so they gouged us $20 in Lakeland). Most times I don't spend more than the admission. Last weekend I bought something I had budgeted $300 for. Had to go $355 after an extensive H&D session. Not a screaming deal but I do enjoy getting what I'm after. Joe

 

[jughed440]

Yeah, I say you're better off to stay away from gun shows. You won't find anything but expensive ammo (most of it being reloads), gaudy low end knives, cheap chinese made gun cases, candy, jewelry, and even scented candles. Plus the crowds aren't too polite, and smaller crowds are a good thing (for me).

gun show finds in the last few years...
617 no dash, a 4" and a 6", both with boxes and original grips, both $550.
3 " 66-4 with Spegel boot grips, $450 (private seller and original owner)
3" 686 CS-1, with original box and wearing Combats, $700
more recent finds...
Performance Center 629 Carry Comp, NIB, $800
4" 625-3, mint with box and accessories, $800 (the seller wouldn't budge, but i really wanted it)

 

[Lil' LadySmith]

I live in a big city that has 3 companies running gun shows frequently, but I rarely go to those local shows. I'd rather drive to a small town show. The pace is more relaxed and I see more nice old Smiths at these shows. I also find the prices to be more negotiable at the small shows.

I went to my first one a couple years ago. It was one of the "big ones" around here. We were pretty disappointed as the prices were outrageous. And while people weren't really rude, it didn't seem that friendly either.

Later we tried a small town one and it was TINY! Hardly anything there but people were friendly. It was pretty depressing but I decided I'd watch for it again and go just to show support. This little show came around again and me and my friend went just to show support. It was much bigger (still small) and we had a blast! All but one table had people who were very friendly and helpful and we were laughing through out pretty good. (Though being 2 women on their own at a gunshow *might* have had something to do with that. ) We saw a lot of really nice stuff, learned a few things, and really had fun just being there.

My guy and I ended up at another small time gun show recently by chance and it was also pleasant. I got more education (my guy is great about explaining stuff we see!) and saw some old stuff that was really cool.

I've decided I'll skip the big ones with all the idiots and stick with the smaller ones on occaision.

 

[ma deuce]

Maryland shows aren't much. Declining amounts of actual guns and gun accessories, more and more other stuff. Few bargains to be had, more often stuff is marked up for the show. Last one I went to, there wasn't even any jerky. Better shows by far in PA and VA, especially Nation's Gun Show in Chantilly. That said, a few months ago I spotted a nice 2 1/2" 19-3 I wound up making a trade for, and a couple of weeks ago I cut a deal for a nice pre-18, both of them from dealers I'd never heard of before, and both of them guns I'd never seen at any area shop. So, guess I'll keep going to gun shows.

 

[Edmo]

They remain a great source for swords, jerky and jewelry, however.

I also love the sporadic zappy-clicky sounds of the the tasers echoing through the wafting smell of burnt popcorn...

Edmo

 

[steamloco76]

I quit going to gun shows over ten years ago when shows started cramming more & more tables into too small a venue. I'm tall and heavy. I need to lean over to get a close look at table merchandise and often have to kneel to see vertical display stuff not at eye level. With isles only two people wide, I just can't get a chance to look at anything up close.

Another gripe, some of the shows in PA now have near airport-like security which takes forever to get through as they zip-tie guns for trade and pat everyone down looking for CCWs.
I have better things to do than stand outside in the snow for an hour to pay $8 to enter a show full of junk .30-30's, overpriced beef jerky and dealers who bring the same guns every blessed show.

 

[Lobster Picnic]

Sounds like a big city show if there's pat-downs and long lines. The show in Deland, FL yesterday was lively but not too crowded. $5 entry and walk right in.

Ammo was expensive, and there wasn't a round of .22 Magnum in the building. Someone was even selling a PMR-30 at a reasonable price, maybe because he couldn't feed it.

There were the usual tables of junk Chinese knives and swords, but also there was a custom knife maker with a big table full of very interesting designs.

I found a 98%+ S&W Model 14-3 with 8-3/8" barrel and brought it home after a satisfactory negotiation. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

 

[b_san]

Friend wanted me to go with him to the Pasadena show. Every time I go, I swear off----again. dealers are getting more obnoxious and rude by the minute.
If they don't like the business, why don't they get out of it.

I've never understood this, it's like there's a contest between all the vendors to see who can be the most surly, must be a heck of a prize because they all sure try hard. Yes most of the people are tire kickers and time wasters but its a gun SHOW not their store and they should expect that kind of flea market type atmosphere. Do they actually think that being an A hole to the passers-by will help them with their sales?

 

[Henry O]

I quit going to the Pasadena and Conroe shows because many of the sellers did not seem happy to be there. Why poke a stick at a snake?

I am told by a neighbor with an FFL that in order to get decent locations at the larger venues with at least two of the major organizers in Texas, there is all but a requirement to purchase tables at the smaller ones.

I too was at the quarterly gun collector's show at Reliant two weekends ago. Although I came home without anything to hide from the wife, the $18.00 for parking and admission was well spent for five hours of digging, talking with people and looking at firearms outside my usual sphere of interest.

I also enjoy the LGS and make more purchases through relationships than gun shows. In this connection, a couple of the LGS I frequent are coming out of a very difficult five or six months. The pendulum of profit has started to somewhat swing the other direction for them with the start of a new year, a trend that needs to continue or we too will have far fewer LGS.

My neighbor who has tables at many of the guns shows in Texas says that for the most part he is hoping the revenue improvement from shows in January is suggesting a turn around for him. He has been giving serious consideration to going another direction because of the labor involved, lost time and poor profits from gun shows.

I see several of the same people selling at all three of the major gun shows around here. If it is something on my "A" list I buy it when I see it if we agree on value.

Should there be something that I would like, but can get along very nicely without, after a show or two the price usually gets better when they start remembering me, and I help them recall the frequent travel miles being earned by their gun along with lack of return on investment.

The shows are inexpensive and entertaining if there is not something else pressing at the time. The comparison up the thread with car or boat shows is right on target.

Nothing is the same as it used to be nor will it probably be again. The older I get the more wishful thinking that circumstances could go on unchanged but they don't. Opportunity comes from finding new perspectives as long as a person does not give up any part of their core values.

 

[Fat B]

I take guns shows for what they are worth. If you still think the gun show is still the place that you'll find hidden gems all over and the prices will be cheap, you're in for a surprise. I don't go to gun shows expecting to buy anything. I do find something, it's a bonus. My lgs, local gun club and the internet have surpassed the gun shows around here for prices and selection.

Still, it's $10 worth of fun to walk around, see what people have, shoot the breeze with fellow gun enthusiasts, and, like Henry, keep a look out for stuff on my A list. Are some people jerks? Sure, but seems like there are jerks everywhere and I stopped getting worked up over other people's attitudes a long time ago.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I went to my first shows in over a year this month. I stopped going when the Obama panic hit.....brutal. The dealers were just overwhelmed. We have a number of large dealers who do most of their business at shows and are very competitive on price. I establish good rapport with these guys and get good prices. Finding really worthwhile older guns is nearly a thing of the past at the gun shows.

 

[harrison_creek]

I usually go to one big show a year. I usually attend with some friends or my sons so it is a nice social event. I also treat it as an educational experience. I get to see a lot of guns that I only read about. It helps me keep my want list to a reasonable length as some of the guns I think I want do not meet my expectations when I get to hold them. If I am lucky I may find something to add to my collection or pickup some powder and primers. I also allow time to stop in at any of the area gun stores. I also like to talk to some of the fellow gun show attendees. I hope gun shows are around for a long time.

 

[Widetrack]

All of these were gun show buys. All within the last 3 years. All at what I considered to be decent prices and the King modified Outdoorsman with prewar magnas and a hump back hammer was a smokin' deal at $700.00. When I see guns like these on the internet, they either have ridiculously high start prices or quickly get bid past my budget. Don't like gun shows? Fine by me, just leaves more opportunity for me!

 

[Mule88]

I find most of the best deals are from the people walking around trying to sell guns. I bought a performance center (pre lock) 629 with 7 1/2 inch bbl from a guy for $600, couldn't get my money out of my wallet fast enough. Thats where you find your deals.

 

[Arik]

Beat me to it!

Sometimes I think gun shows are really just places for the dealers to get away from their wives and hang out. They charge high prices so they don't have to actually sell much, but some dude will come along and buy something which pays for the table.

I've heard that before but I just don't get it :what:
isn't it a bit of a hassle just to get away for an afternoon? Paying for the tables, hauling your stuff in and out. ..just seems easier to give the wife the $50 and go to the bar

Hit the shows for the same reason I go to car shows and cruise-ins in the summer, like minded people and a lot of neat stuff in one place. Get with a few friends, and it's a good way to spend a morning/afternoon. If we find a deal on something, that's the cherry on the sundae.

This ^

I don't go expecting deals. I go to see if I may find something I can use. Ammo, mags, even gear sometimes. If I happen to find a good price firearm I'll think about buying it.

highest asking price on the internet will be on a lot of gunshow tables. doesn't matter the condition or actual selling price, only the highest found asking price. a lot of dealers got spoiled during the run to buy since the last gun crisis. they have to work for it now and they don't like it.

I don't see it. How do they have to work for it? All they do is sit there. It's not like they are offering free car washes or oil chages. The only thing changed from then to now was the little tag on the gun.

I live in a big city that has 3 companies running gun shows frequently, but I rarely go to those local shows. I'd rather drive to a small town show. The pace is more relaxed and I see more nice old Smiths at these shows. I also find the prices to be more negotiable at the small shows.

I tired go to small town shows held in fire halls and such. Didn't like it. Felt like I needed a tetanus shot afterwards. Nothing but old rusty things and oddball ammo

I

Another gripe, some of the shows in PA now have near airport-like security which takes forever to get through as they zip-tie guns for trade and pat everyone down looking for CCWs.
I have better things to do than stand outside in the snow for an hour to pay $8 to enter a show full of junk .30-30's, overpriced beef jerky and dealers who bring the same guns every blessed show.

Don't know what part of Pa you are in but here no one searches you for a ccw. Half the time I don't say anything and they don't ask. And I've never spent more than 10-15 min waiting to get in. It seems long but I never stood outside for an hour.


I never take these shows so personally. I don't need to give away my money so if a seller is asking a ridiculous amount of money I simply keep walking. If I look at the table and see a $1800 DPMS I don't ask why, I don't ask to see it, I don't get mad about it. I just say hello as I keep slowly walking down the Isle. I don't even bargain. Either the prices suit me or they dont. Last time I was at a gun show. ....a few months back, I got 7.62 x39 ammo for $5 a box and night vision for $75. And i almost never see reloads. All ammo is in boxes or crates or whatever. Not much if any reloads

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[toyfarmerjj]

I am a native Texan and lived in Beaumont, TX until 10 years ago... I have fond memories of the Houston Gun Collectors Association gun shows at the Astro Hall and now Reliant Hall... These were the best gun shows that I have ever gone too. I have been told but not yet experienced that the gun show in Tulsa, OK is something to see. I am told that it takes more than a day to see everything. There is a gun store store in North Little Rock that has great selection of new firearms to choose from and alot of used ones as well. My favorite salesman always tells me that you have to pay to see guns at gun shows and there he will let me look for free. My favorite gun outlet for older collectable firearms is... Collectors Firearms in Houston, TX. You can check out just a few of their listings on line to see what I am referencing.

 

[Club Gun Fan]

Beat me to it!

Sometimes I think gun shows are really just places for the dealers to get away from their wives and hang out. They charge high prices so they don't have to actually sell much, but some dude will come along and buy something which pays for the table.

Spoken by a guy who obviously is having problems at home. Otherwise why is that the first thing that comes to mind? Yeah, dealers charge high prices just to get away from home. Typical shows charge $75.00 and up per table. Before you start your $300.00 or more in the hole, than you have to listen to people tell you about what's wrong with your merchandise? I really enjoy both setting up and going to shows as a customer. I see many friends at shows. How can you not get PO'd when, as I stated before, a guy says so his friends behind him can hear, "This gun looks like the nickel is refinished." Which brings a chuckle from his little circle. It's not, is my reply. "It's a model 66 its STAINLESS STEEL. You tell me how would you deal with him?
By the way, why do you go to shows? Maybe your wanting to get away from YOUR wife.

 

[UrsaMajor]

It was an interesting 3 hours, here are some highlights:

Two bricks of CCI Blazer 22 LR (500 rds each) sale price $80 per brick

If nobody was willing to pay $80 per brick, maybe we wouldn't be seeing prices of $80 per brick.

Just sayin'

 

[Elkins45]

I went to a little 200 table show a couple of weeks ago. I left with a older S&W with holster wear but super tight lockup and an unfired Ruger w/ box and papers.

$365 each.

3-4 years ago I picked up a beautiful 1076 at the National Gun Day show in Louisville.

$450

Hearing folks say they don't want to attend gun shows makes me happy...because it means I have an even grater chance of finding more deals like these!