I agree. Unfortunately I only make it up there a couple times a year. The May display show is on my to-do-list.
Worst Gun Show Ever
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I agree. Unfortunately I only make it up there a couple times a year. The May display show is on my to-do-list.
LVSteve
Member
I don't think we've had $5 gun shows in Vegas in the 25+ years I've lived here. Maybe I went to one like that in Pahrump. The thieves at Cashman Center charged $11 entry and $3 to park 20 years ago. Guess again.
The circuit is still pretty good in Iowa. There's a half a dozen big players that will hit the major shows. Some of the smaller shows can be hit or miss. I can almost always find a deal I like. I generally don't go looking for a specific item. I'm just hunting for deals.
Whether buying, selling or trading, making the deal is the fun part...
...BenVenom6
Member
In Oregon you can't presently buy a gun at a show legally. The so-called "instant check" (which, when implemented, was promised to take only a few minutes) is now backlogged for weeks. Been that way for several years now, so it's not a matter of a glut of panic buying. They won't answer letters or the phone, so I am left to the conclusion that it is deliberate; the state police unit conducting the checks works for the superintendent, who serves at the (Democratic) governor's pleasure.
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I've given up on gun shows a long time ago.
austintexas
Member
gunshows
I generally try to hit any show within 100 miles of the house. Waco and Kerrville are about as far away from my house I want to travel. Getting out of Austin is the biggest hassle, lots of traffic and it seems like there is a stoplight every 100 yards. Once in the country its alright. Going to a gunshow and paying to get in is like playing the lotto, If you don't play you don't win. After 1 or 2 trips around the show I generally end up sitting with friends and BSing. Last show there were 5 of us sitting behind a buddys table BSing a lady walked up with 9 firearms, we all bought 1 or 2.
SWCA 892
I generally try to hit any show within 100 miles of the house. Waco and Kerrville are about as far away from my house I want to travel. Getting out of Austin is the biggest hassle, lots of traffic and it seems like there is a stoplight every 100 yards. Once in the country its alright. Going to a gunshow and paying to get in is like playing the lotto, If you don't play you don't win. After 1 or 2 trips around the show I generally end up sitting with friends and BSing. Last show there were 5 of us sitting behind a buddys table BSing a lady walked up with 9 firearms, we all bought 1 or 2.
SWCA 892
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Over the years I have had several "gun show buddies." Back in the '80's and 90's, holding an 01 FFL made it a real party, with everybody happy and me winding up with a pile o' cash. For the last 20 or so years the ranks have thinned out, one "promoter" bought the circuit and trashed the "hunker-dicker" business.
However, there's a show in 2 weeks, a local "independent" show absent for many years starting back up end of April, and the Lakeland show 1st weekend in May. "The Doc" (75 and still working!) will be waiting for me to pick him up, take him to the shows and share belly laughs in both English and Spanish. We've agreed to keep going at least until at least one of us is dead. Incidentally, I ain't been inside a movie theater in over 10 years. Joe
However, there's a show in 2 weeks, a local "independent" show absent for many years starting back up end of April, and the Lakeland show 1st weekend in May. "The Doc" (75 and still working!) will be waiting for me to pick him up, take him to the shows and share belly laughs in both English and Spanish. We've agreed to keep going at least until at least one of us is dead. Incidentally, I ain't been inside a movie theater in over 10 years. Joe
ACORN
Member
I go to a gun show and spend time with my childhood friend.
We don't get to see much of one another but we generally make arrangements to hook up and go to a show.
Doesn't really matter if the show is bad or not, really.
My buddy had a stroke a couple years back. I'm not in the best health.
Going to a show gives us a chance to hang together.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
So I'll stand by original post.
Of course YMMV.
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Currently $12 to $15 at most Vegas shows; $10 more for parking at the convention center. Other than the weekly VFW swap meet, I haven't seen a show in Pahrump in a few years.
scott024
Member
The Wanenmacher's show in Tulsa is still a very good show. It's not quite as good as back in the day of eastern bloc imports, but you can still find lots of interesting/odd items. It's probably the best place to find older guns and parts. There are lots of ridiculous prices, but there are also good deals being brought into the show by individuals that it's almost worth going to see what people are carrying around for sale. I'll be there April 1&2.
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I missed the Kankakee show this past weekend due to prior commitments. It has been declining into craft show territory for several years and I doubt I missed much. The Princeton show was always much bigger and is scheduled for the last weekend of the month. I'll be looking for parts, leather and loopholes.
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31FordA
Member
I used to drive all over attending gun shows, now I primarily just go to the Oaks, Pa show. Yes, the admission fee is getting high, there are few deals to be found, and the selection of old guns ain't what it used to be. However I primarily go because I enjoy the trip. Several current and former co-workers go to the show with me, so we get to hang out, look at guns, watch the kaleidoscope of humanity at the show, and stop on the way home for a good dinner. I usually run into a bunch of guys from my club, and a bunch of my Dad's old co-workers. It's also a chance to see what neat old S&W's Jeff from Highland Arm's might have.
I started attending gun shows in high school, going with friends from school and my Dad. The first gun show I went to was in Downingtown, Pa at the old Mickey Rooney Tabas Hotel. Lot's of different shows have come and gone over the years, and in general the shows aren't as good as they were in the 90's. In all those shows I think I've only bought guns from maybe five dealers, but I bought a bunch from those dealers over the years. Deals still turn up if you look carefully and are lucky.
I started attending gun shows in high school, going with friends from school and my Dad. The first gun show I went to was in Downingtown, Pa at the old Mickey Rooney Tabas Hotel. Lot's of different shows have come and gone over the years, and in general the shows aren't as good as they were in the 90's. In all those shows I think I've only bought guns from maybe five dealers, but I bought a bunch from those dealers over the years. Deals still turn up if you look carefully and are lucky.
Ranger514
Member
Rummage sales have overtaken what were once gun shows.
charlie sherrill
Member
Computers have ruined most of the shows. The vendors look at asking prices on the web and then price their stuff accordingly in an attempt to cover their overpriced table prices. LOOK AT COMPLETED AUCTIONS if you want to try and get a value on something. If the folks who put the shows on would lower the prices of the tables I think the prices would come down some resulting in more people attending the shows. I know how to find cheaper stuff and it ain't at the gun shows.
Years ago I used to make regular pilgrimages to the Bill Goodman's shows in Dayton and Sharonville. They continued shrinking over the years and when I finally figured out how to make my own box fan jerky I felt less compulsion to go.
What's the difference between paying admission to a bad gun show or admission to a bad movie? Gun show promoters and sellers can't do it for free; however, paying for parking chaps my hide.
For me it's still cheap entertainment. And like any treasure hunt, you won't discover anything good sitting on the couch.
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I've been going to gun shows for years. Laid off because old age is creeping up on me. So my son took me to one a few years back. Jerky, golf balls, belly wash, etc. was there. I saw one S&W 32-20 in rough shape for $ 350. No more for this old guy.
Your history sounds a lot like mine. I was going to gun shows when I was in elementary school. Between the shows in York, Gettysburg and Frederick, MD I usually run into someone from one of my clubs and see the vendors who know me. Maybe the shows aren't as we remember them, but if it weren't for a gun show I wouldn't have found my 1895 Russian Nagant revolver with the Finnish capture marks, something that means a lot to me.
But hey, deals are where you find them. If some good soul hadn't posted about those Sig Sauer .45 LE trade-ins, I wouldn't have my nice P220 and we wouldn't have run into each other.
