What the crap? (Post Gun Show Rant)

D.B. Cooper

D.B. Cooper

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2016
Messages
4,400
So I just got back from a gun show, One of the better shows in my area, of which there are few.

Let's see...powder was $60/lb and primers were 10¢ each. Perhaps that's reasonable. It's only the second time I've seen powder and primers for sale anywhere in my area since the 2020 riots. (Although, the powder and primer I saw once before was $40/lb and 8¢ each.)

I saw a blued Ruger Security Six 4"...for $800. And it was about an 80% condition gun. Wish I had never sold mine and have been wanting to replace it since the 90s. I don't think I ever will.

A Springfield Armory XD-E for $550. They're $500 at the local Sportsman's Warehouse. A heavily used Beretta 92FS for $600. I just bought saw one used, new in the box for $550 at a LGS. Sportsman's has them new for $700.

I saw a lot..a lot...of older blued and wood hunting rifles though...for the same prices you could buy a new Ruger American or Savage Axis. I mean, run of the mill guns that have seen many miles in the field-nothing like pre-64 Winchesters or anything like that.

There were, of course, the collector pieces: M1 Rifles for $1500, Pythons for $3k. Every S&W Revolver I saw was over $800, as were the several Hi-Standard 22 pistols.

Needless to say. Prices were...unattractive. No real deals. Still...it was pretty crowded, but I didn't see a lot of buying going on. Does this match what you are all seeing?
 
Last gun show I went to was a couple years before Covid. Between parking and tickets, I dropped $50 just getting in the door. To find not much i was interested in. Prices weren't that much better than stopping in the gun shops. Looks like I am still not missing much.
 
My last gunshow was in Little Rock pre-covid. Your description would have applied to mine. I don’t recall prices for primers and powder but I wasn’t a buyer.
 
LiveLife said:
But were they SELLING any of it at those prices? ;)
Click to expand...

I dunno. I saw two guys in the parking lot carrying rifles to their cars. Not sure if they bought them or had taken them in to sell/trade them and we're leaving unsuccessful. I saw one guy filling out a paper 4473. There was a 4lb jug of 4064 for, I think $120. I thought I'd bid on it if it was still there on my way out. An hour later, it was gone.

It was busy. There was basically a conga line throughout the entire building. Saw a lot of fondling of the merchandise.
 
Gun shows don't follow normal economic rules. For many table holders, the motives are other than to make sales. For one thing, if you are a collector, having a table puts you in a good position for buying. (Many deals are made before the show is even open to the public.) And, some table holders are just pretending to be dealers. They price their guns so high that they can be assured that the guns will not sell. This is deliberate. Maybe they promised their wives that they would downsize their collection, and this is their way of proving that they are making a good-faith effort. They go home with exactly the same guns that they left with. (That was the intended result all along.)

Then you have the local gun shops that transplant their entire shop to the show for the weekend. Naturally they have to raise their asking prices to cover the additional costs for transportation and table rents.

I used to be a regular attendee at almost every gun show in my area. Then Covid hit. For me, that was a blessing in disguise, because I got to see exactly what GunBroker could offer if you pursued it vigorously. I'm finding more guns on GunBroker than I ever found at the gun shows, and at much more competitive prices. It's also a lot less tiring to sit at your computer than to walk the aisles for hours at a gun show.
 
AlexanderA said:
I got to see exactly what GunBroker could offer if you pursued it vigorously.
Click to expand...

On a lark, I went to GB, typed in "Ruger Security Six" and the 3rd result was the gun I've been looking for for years. smh. Buy it now of $500 and in farrrrr better condition than the one I saw today at $800.


I won't buy it because I've been burned enough times on the internet, but, nice to know it's there.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
On a lark, I went to GB, typed in "Ruger Security Six" and the 3rd result was the gun I've been looking for for years. smh. Buy it now of $500 and in farrrrr better condition than the one I saw today at $800.

I won't buy it because I've been burned enough times on the internet, but, nice to know it's there.
Click to expand...

I think you should buy it! I think the biggest regrets in life are the opportunities that you didn't go after.
Be wary and check to ensure the validity of the deal, but definitely go get it.
 
DukeConnor said:
I always assume those are starting numbers before negotiating.
Click to expand...
Absolutely true. Be ready to make negotiations and for Gods sake, don't open with "What's your best price on X". I'm not Schizophrenic and I don't bargain against myself. Give me a number to start with and we can go from there. If you don't like negotiating, you're going to have a bad time. Don't complain about gunshow prices if you don't try negotiating.
AlexanderA said:
Gun shows don't follow normal economic rules. For many table holders, the motives are other than to make sales. For one thing, if you are a collector, having a table puts you in a good position for buying. (Many deals are made before the show is even open to the public.)
Click to expand...
This is a major reason why I have my tables. An incredible amount of stuff gets bought and sold before the doors open to the public.
And, some table holders are just pretending to be dealers. They price their guns so high that they can be assured that the guns will not sell. This is deliberate. Maybe they promised their wives that they would downsize their collection, and this is their way of proving that they are making a good-faith effort. They go home with exactly the same guns that they left with. (That was the intended result all along.).
Click to expand...
Another reason, at least for me, is that I have guns that I'm not particularly attached to and don't really shoot much, but have no huge urgency or desire to sell. If I get offered enough money? Sure I'll part with it then.
 
Apparently Maine is a good state to be in for shows, ammo and newer guns are quite high but from what a buddy tells me, there are lots of good deals to be had on older used guns. Marlins, Remingtons, Winchester, Rugers, etc....

He sends me pics of used guns from time to time up there with the tags on and theyre priced to move, I wish I had the money and time to just spend a week over there acquiring some nice old rifles and vacation by the beach with my family at the same time. :D
 
D.B. Cooper said:
I won't buy it because I've been burned enough times on the internet, but, nice to know it's there.
Click to expand...
The same caveats apply to GunBroker as to other venues such as ebay. Check the seller's feedback. Pay with a credit card. Look closely at the pictures. (Stock pictures -- or no pictures -- and accepting payment only by postal money orders are red flags for me.)

Also, it's good to have a working relationship with a local FFL, so you don't get ripped off on transfer fees.

A major difference between GunBroker and ebay is that you can't snipe on GunBroker, because of its 15-minute rule (the time is extended if there are bids in the last 15 minutes). But I much prefer the Buy It Now feature rather than messing around with bidding.
 
Gave up on gun shows after the bill clinton price increases, Reloading components are cheaper online if buying in bulk, if the gun you want is new buying online and paying transfer fee is always cheaper. Looking for a gun not in production or just to look and see what is new is the only reason for going to a gun show. I'm not wasting time negotiating a sky in the high price down to a reasonable price that will still be higher than any online price and sometimes higher than local gun shops.
 
I still have never been to a gun show. We have them down here 2-3 times a year in Ontario, San Bernardino, Costa Mesa, etc. I just never found the time nor desire to go, sounds (again) like I didn’t miss a whole lot.

A Maine gun show sounds like my cup of tea, though. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
Riomouse911 said:
I still have never been to a gun show. We have them down here 2-3 times a year in Ontario, San Bernardino, Costa Mesa, etc. I just never found the time nor desire to go, sounds (again) like I didn’t miss a whole lot.

A Maine gun show sounds like my cup of tea, though. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
Oh, you missed plenty! Back in the good ol days, it was like being a kid in a candy store where the candy went boom and had pointy steel blades attached to it.
Come to think of it, that would be horrible candy- but it was still fun.:D
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Also, if the show allows private sales, some folks will pay a premium to avoid Imperial Entanglements.
Click to expand...
I went to a small show yesterday. Many "private sale" tables. 1/3 of the advertised 150 tables empty. 30 cars in the parking lot. Prices were $695 for SW Model 10 dragged behind a truck from Ocala to the show, $1400 Model 19 and $2300 6" model 27, $909 Ruger GP 100. Primers (SP and no. 41) were $80K, didn't check powder. In and out in 90 minutes and that's with a couple half hour conversations with "old time gunshow acquaintances." Joe
 
I quit attending gun shows in my area.
Got to be too many yoyo's looking to
get away from mama or whatever, and
looky loos not intending to buy anything.
Used to be the exhibitors had to have a
majority of guns or related items (80% ?)
or knives and related, or you had to have
a table in the far back corner. Sometime
back, the promoters got greedy or
desperate or both, and now you might
have to pass 8 tables of potpourri or
costume jewelry or purses to get to
the next gun table. Used to be lots and
lots of new and especially used guns
and parts and knives of every description
and price and game jerky and different
food and sauce samples and reloading
components and GUN things
Now it's a geekfest. No thank you
 
D.B. Cooper said:
So I just got back from a gun show, One of the better shows in my area, of which there are few.

Let's see...powder was $60/lb and primers were 10¢ each. Perhaps that's reasonable. It's only the second time I've seen powder and primers for sale anywhere in my area since the 2020 riots. (Although, the powder and primer I saw once before was $40/lb and 8¢ each.)

I saw a blued Ruger Security Six 4"...for $800. And it was about an 80% condition gun. Wish I had never sold mine and have been wanting to replace it since the 90s. I don't think I ever will.

A Springfield Armory XD-E for $550. They're $500 at the local Sportsman's Warehouse. A heavily used Beretta 92FS for $600. I just bought saw one used, new in the box for $550 at a LGS. Sportsman's has them new for $700.

I saw a lot..a lot...of older blued and wood hunting rifles though...for the same prices you could buy a new Ruger American or Savage Axis. I mean, run of the mill guns that have seen many miles in the field-nothing like pre-64 Winchesters or anything like that.

There were, of course, the collector pieces: M1 Rifles for $1500, Pythons for $3k. Every S&W Revolver I saw was over $800, as were the several Hi-Standard 22 pistols.

Needless to say. Prices were...unattractive. No real deals. Still...it was pretty crowded, but I didn't see a lot of buying going on. Does this match what you are all seeing?
Click to expand...

Yeah, about the same here. Pretty decent size crowd but not much money changing hands.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
On a lark, I went to GB, typed in "Ruger Security Six" and the 3rd result was the gun I've been looking for for years. smh. Buy it now of $500 and in farrrrr better condition than the one I saw today at $800.


I won't buy it because I've been burned enough times on the internet, but, nice to know it's there.
Click to expand...
Check feedback.
Pay with discover
Let your LGS know it’s coming and they can refuse it should things go sideways.

feedback is a good Indicator of who a reputable seller is and who a chump is.

discover will work on fraud pretty good and you usually end up with your money back.

LGS is a good place to use as a last resort. They have to sign for a shipment and a good one will open the package and do a very quick inspection before signing. If they find a dud then they can refuse it and most sellers will refund all but shipping.
 
I keep seeing people crying about current pricing at a gun show. If you don't like the price, make an offer or pass.

Everything is going up, with no end in sight. By the time Uncle Joe finishes applying his Magic Economics Formula, we'll be lucky to afford Spam (which has almost doubled in price, BTW).

I drive a Class 8 diesel truck. It takes a bit of intestinal fortitude to stand in front of that pump when one is pumping scores of gallons.

It's inflation. Have you bought a box of Mac & Cheese lately?
 
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