Question on gun show etiquette

[Dewy12]

I am not experienced in gun shows and have a question. I'm going to the Louisville show his weekend and want to know if it is proper to ask the vendor to remove grips to check for matching numbers? I would only ask if I were seriously considering the purchase. I wouldn't do this on some guns, but looking for a .22 Outdoorsman. Thanks.
Dewy

 

[Daver7]

Me....Id ask. It never hurts.

 

[younggun22]

I wouldnt go taking a screw driver to the stocks without permission but it never hurts to ask.

I would rather ask too many questions than too few

 

[dusty3030]

Some will be a jerk and say no take it or leave it as is. Some will have enough sense to see they can get top dollar if it checks out and you are satisfied and will agree. Some won't even look up from their phone to acknowledge you are talking to them. The rest will be selling beef jerky and Chinese no brand knives and swords.

 

[22hipower]

Yes, ask. If important to you, make it a condition of sale although make it clear to the seller that you are a serious buyer and will likely buy if everything checks out ok. Also, at most of the gun shows I attend the guns are tied with a plastic cable tie. It is a good idea to ask the seller to cut the tie and allow you to perform function checks and thoroughly inspect. I've bought more than one gun without cutting the tie, with an unpleasant surprise once I got it home. One was an early Colt Cobra in nickel that looked absolutely perfect, no need to further check such a perfect specimen. . . . .except someone had engraved their SSN inside the frame, hidden by the cylinder until the cylinder was swung out. Check everything. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[Old cop]

I always ask, especially w/a revolver. Rust has a nasty habit of hiding under grip panels (especially rubber grips) and most reputable sellers will have no problem working w/you, if you're a serious buyer.

 

[Jetman22]

Yes. Check it out. I carry a small screwdriver that's only about 5" long. The handle has a cap you pull off and a storage Compartment that has 5 interchangeable bits. Standard & Phillips of different sizes.
Let the seller pull it apart. Not you. If you damage it in any way including the screwdriver slipping an leaving a scratch somewhere. You probably bought it regardless.
Also make your price bartering before you verify. Once you confirm what you want. The price
will not be as negotiable.
If they won't do it. And what your asking seems reasonable.
Thank them for there time and walk away.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[BAM-BAM]

I always ask, especially w/a revolver. Rust has a nasty habit of hiding under grip panels (especially rubber grips) and most reputable sellers will have no problem working w/you, if you're a serious buyer.

Ditto,,,,, I've seen more than one otherwise "perfect" gun with rust under the grips.

 

[gmborkovic]

Any serious seller will have all ready checked and the grips will have been off. Im not asking to take the side plate off or the cyl. out. If he wont, just walk. I dont even pick the gun up with out permission. Best

 

[Absalom]

Absolutely ask if it is important to you.

But as others have said, be serious about it and don't waste sellers' time at a busy table either. Having someone dismantle the grip, finding matching numbers, and saying "Well, nice, I was just curious" and walking off would be bad style.

I usually have reserved such checks for when I had pretty much made up my mind, and could tell the seller "Let's take off the grips and check, if they match, I'll take it" or "I'll meet your price if the grips match, otherwise we'll need to talk some more"; I've never had anybody refuse.

 

[LEO918]

Always ask. I've bought several that have names, addresses, social security numbers and drivers license numbers under the grips. Not a deal breaker, but a heavy bargaining point.

 

[Grayfox]

Having been on both sides of the table, feel free to ask. I carry a few tools with me and if a buyer is serious, I have no problem with cutting ties or taking off the grips. Or for that matter, field stripping a pistol or rifle. However, I must be convinced that they will buy if everything checks out AND I do the work. I'm not about to risk having some yahoo scratch or damage my gun and then walk away.

 

[Dillyp]

a lot of sellers are jerks in my neck of the woods. I keep a screw driver, bore light, and my SCSW4 in my bag when I go to a show. If they refuse, just walk away.

 

[raljr1]

I never handle a gun at a show unless I am possibly interested in buying it. I would not hesitate to ask a vendor to remove the grips if we had agreed to a price contingent on what we saw there. A long time ago I was at a show where a guy was looking over a SxS shotgun. He asked if he could dry fire it and the vendor said no. He then said "if I agree to buy it a x price as long as it dry fires ok?" Vendor said ok , click okay, he took it.

 

[dave1918a2]

Having been behind the table since 1975 I offer this: Distinguish Yourself from the idiots walking the aisles. No offence ment, but out here they run wild. Ask before picking up a gun. Let the seller know You are interested and will purchase if the weapon meets Your requirements, then ask the seller to remove the grips or whatever else You want. Never ask if You can do it. If the seller refuses then You know something is amiss and walk away.

 

[bananaman]

Ask the seller if stocks number to the gun. He will say yes, I don't know, or no. If he says I don't know, ask do you mind if I look? If you get negative vibes, then there may be something to hide. Proceed to the next one. I personally have never asked to do it, F.W.I.W. Bob

 

[TTSH]

In all the shows I've attended up here for years in Moonbat Massachusetts, I have never seen a vendor taking a grip off or a sideplate off to satisfy a potential buyer's curiosity. To be honest, I don't know what I'd do if I found the right K-22 bucket list gun for me at a show but I suspected a problem under the grips or internally. I guess I'd hope that the gun didn't sell and then go visit the dealer at his shop after the show... not necessarily the world's greatest plan ever.

This issue has come up on a couple guns already, but the guns were suspect enough just in terms of their external condition and other clues that I didn't pursue it. I think it also makes a difference if you know the vendor. There are some I'd trust to tell me the truth, others not so much.

 

[gmborkovic]

Removal of the grips is no big deal. People do it all the time to check
for rust or pitting. I have never asked a vendor to remove a side
plate. If the action feels gritty or hangs up, walk away. Including push off. If you buy a car, you all ways look in the trunk and under the mats.
Plus under the bonnet. Just smart buying. Buy from guys you know or have a store front. Best.

 

[deadin]

I've always found that if you have reached a contingent price beforehand, (as long as your requirements are met), piling up enough $100 bills on the table to cover the price usually makes the seller more compliant........

 

[rburg]

= piling up enough $100 bills on the table to cover the price usually makes the seller more compliant........

Ooooh, I like your style. One of the jokes of those of us behind the table is when somebody asks to handle our treasure, we should ask to handle his billfold while he does it. Piles of $100 bills just screams out to the other guy. It takes a strong man to say no to a significant pile of Ben Franklin's.

To the OP here, I'll be at the show, too. If David Carroll is there, you need to meet him and he can point you to where we're hiding out. If you see some old guy sitting in a high chair, it will most likely be Doublesharp who posts here. He's been campaigning a ratty old Outdoorsman at a low ball price for a while now. Right near him will be Blake (not his real name but everyone calls him that). He had a nice Outdoorsman at the last show, and I thought it was priced pretty well. You may think differently. The show is segregated. Not as in race, but as in where good stuff hides. As you enter, either to the right or straight ahead. Forget about to the left. Its old junk like from the civil war. In the back are things like flashlights or yes, jerky. Try some you might like it. I'm not telling you where we are because I don't know. Yet.

At a show 6 or 7 years ago some misguided individual asked Lee (the owner here) where my table was. He told him I don't exist, but there's some guy they pay to act like me a few aisle over. That guy was underpaid! If through bad luck or superior investigative skills you find our table, chances are I won't be there but my wife will. She'll be the one knitting and ignoring folks trying to steal off the table.

Get to the show early. The good guns might be gone before you even get in the door. I know, you park halfway to Indiana, hike a long way, then pay an outrageous amount to get to stand in line. You've go to ask yourself why all these people are doing it if gun shows are so bad. We hide the truth from you, we like them. Food in the back is between terrible to worse. But the country ham sammiches out front are edible.

In the past this was one of the best shows of the year. That was because income tax refund money was often available. Don't know how that works these days. I hope you already know that money talks and the other stuff walks. Plastic has no place except in the garbage.

What many don't know is the best guns change hands on Friday evening during set-up. Nothing I can do to change that. For you to cash in, you need to pay to get a table and then walk the show Friday. Its not any better at gun stores. There the owner takes the best items, then offers it to the paid help. Only after that does the kibitzer who saw the trade get a chance at it. Once the gun makes it to the counter, its already been turned down by as many as a dozen gun knowledgeable folks. Don't ignore the people standing in line with you. Or those same guys walking around the show with a gun. The do get annoyed the 500th time they're asked about what they're carrying, but if the really don't like it they can hide it.