Gun Shows: How far is too far?

How Far is too Far for a 'good' gun show?

  • I will NOT go more than 5 miles out of my way to go to a good show.

    Votes: 8 4.7%

  • I will NOT go more than 20 miles to go to a good show.

    Votes: 30 17.6%

  • I will go 20+ miles to a good show.

    Votes: 95 55.9%

  • Distance is no issue, I travel wherever the good shows are.

    Votes: 37 21.8%
  • Total voters
    170
  • Poll closed .
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XxWINxX94

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Jul 3, 2009
Messages
777
Location
C(r)ook County, Illinois
Hello everyone,
Yup this is a gun show thread but I really need some opinions here.
Debating whether or not to travel 90 miles to go to a gun show. Specifically the one in Princeton, IL. I've heard this show is the best one in Illinois and I really want to go to see what all the talk is about. I don't have a table or anything, but I will be bringing a couple rifles with to offer as a possible trade, or sale if I encounter anything I like.

Now I know there are some hard feelings towards gun shows, but I really like them. I enjoy every one I go to no matter how many guns there were or beef jerky tables or whatever.

So I'm looking for some opinions. How far is too far to go for a gun show that is supposedly good? Also if you could explain your reasoning that would help too.

Gas is not really an issue, Gramps has offered to take his truck!

Also, when one lives in such an anti-gun area and people want $200+ for a Mosin, sometimes you really wonder about seeing what else is out there that is more appealing than $4000 "German" FALS with "accessories."
 
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90 miles is no biggie, IMO. I'd jump in the car and go...I add very little work mileage on my personal vehicles....8 miles a day, 4 days a week. However, I still rack up 25k+ a year in just running around.
 
Most of the gunshows are somewhat further away, typically in the more rural neighboring counties. The furthest one is probably less than an hour away so distance is not a big issue for me.
 
Thanks guys, so it seems typical for a longer trip to a gun show.

EDIT:
The last poll option seems kind of redundant next to the 3rd one, so I guess just disreguard it. Sorry about that!
 
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i know guys that look for any show within a day's drive and will overnight for the fun of being first in. 90 miles is not a problem for them.
 
I would not go a'round the corner, too attend a "gun show"; as by now, most
of them have achieved the title ""JUNK SHOWS"~!

Those tables where a few firearms are found, well most folks (including myself)
would not tote them home; as they are in that bad a condition~! :eek: ;)

OTHO, at the last Birmingham, AL "gun show" I attended (in Oct '06), it was
nothing but a bunch of "old farts" sitting around eating homemade ginger
bread cookies, and drinking buttermilk with high price weaponary scattered
about their tables~! :barf: :cuss: :banghead:
 
Went with option 1 since there was no "I no longer go to the conglomerate of local dealers who jack their prices up that they call a gun show around here".
 
I think you should attend that show. It is good to stretch your wings from time to time.

I have driven 8 hours to attend a gun show. There are only a few that merit such consideration. I know people that fly and rent a car to attend gun shows. By the same token, I often skip the local shows entirely that I can crawl out of bed and be there in 20 minutes.

As with everything, it depends on the show , who is organizing it, and my history with that show.
 
I found some really good jerky, toasted nuts, t-shirts, bumper stickers,
Aztec jewelry, cheap watches and sunglasses at a gun show that I had to drive 50 miles to attend..
They are having another one next month...P.M. me for the location ;)

P.R.
 
About 100 miles is my limit. That happens to be the distance between Northern Virginia and Richmond, which has a couple of good shows (the Raceway -- formerly the Fairgrounds -- and the Mechanicsville Showplace). I used to go to these fairly regularly. But now, since the same promoters, and the same vendors, do the larger Nation's Gun Show in Chantilly, right near me, what's the point of driving the 100 miles? But I'll skip any gun show, generally, unless I'm looking for something very specific.

Actually, some of my best finds in gun-related stuff have been at events not labeled "gun shows" at all. Specifically, I try to always go to the East Coast Rally of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association in Aberdeen, Maryland, the North-South Skirmish Association meets in Winchester, Va., and the 18th Century Market Fair at Ft. Frederick, west of Hagerstown, Md. You can often get bargains, and find rare stuff, because of the "arbitrage effect" of dealing in a different market.
 
They are a waste of time unless you want jerky. Hit a pawn shop and low ball. I have had the best deals this way.
 
I have friends who fly here from Europe for shows. The most I've traveled for one was ~250 miles - it's always a good show, and I help staff a table at it every year.
 
The farthest I usually go is about 30 miles and it's mostly to walk around and see and handle some of the guns I read about and/or am thinking about buying. I have a parts wish list for some of my older guns and if I spot an item at a decent price I will pick it up then. A lot of the guns are overpriced but every now and then you can pick up a decent deal on something you don't often see in the LGS.

I agree, they don't make gun shows like they used to..... :(
 
Up in New England it's about 3-4 times a year we get any gun shows, and they're usually pretty big. I've found some decent deals at them, got my M96 at one. Often they're good for the crossbows, spare parts, handloaded ammo and being a general "gun-oriented fair". Then again, we have less restrictions than other states for what we can get :) I'd say go for it, yes, there's alot of overpriced junk, but also some odds n ends and rare pieces that you can pick up. It's more of a gamble, really, but fun all the same.
 
I would travel a 100 or so miles to visit a good show. Been a while since one met the standard.
 
Now I know there are some hard feelings towards gun shows, but I really like them. I enjoy every one I go to no matter how many guns there were or beef jerky tables or whatever.
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I am with you on this. :) For that matter, I think most of the complainers are already planning for the next one. ;) I will do it just to enjoy the drive and have some time to kill at the end of it. Ninety miles is not excessive if you look at it that way. I regularly go to shows in/around Knoxville, some 100 miles.
 
There are 10 gun shows a year within 10 miles of here but I don't go unless I need something. I don't go to just look. I went to one in Brasher Falls yesterday and picked up a bag of 44 mag casings for $6. Good score! There were a lot of nice rifles and shotguns there but not much in the way of handguns. I go to the one in Syracuse each year which is 3 hours one way but it's huge.
 
Our local shows are mainly tables covered with firearms offered by local dealers showing off their stock for which I pay $7 to see. I can get a better deal from my local dealer than I usually can get from a show for a new gun.

Being not large shows for my locality the vendors for ammunition are limited and I can get better deals via the internet. I really go to shows to look around for odds and ends which often I can also find on the internet.

To go a distance it is best to also have a second item on your agenda. Perhaps you look at the gunshow and then do something else like sight see or in my case visit a nearby plant nursery.
 
Guess I've gone 90 miles to a show here recently. Actually ended up buying a fair amount of stuff, got a great deal on a set of reloading presses.

Just look at it as a road trip and an afternoon of looking at pretty guns :)
 
When it comes to the Great Tulsa Show (next weekend), there is no distance too far (In my case about 250 miles).
 
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