Wow.. just wow - went to a gun show yesterday

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tallpaul

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went to a gun show yesterday. I have been to two in the last year and had been awhile before that... the last one I contacted a guy about ammo cans in bulk for storage and arranged to pick up at the show and really did not look hard at anything since I spent more than i should have on the cans and they are also just rising in cost and I thought extra on hand would be great...I store a lot of stuff in them as nails screws n many other things... well yesterday I went fully expecting the "tactical prices and insane ammo/primer prices. I saw boxes of ammo that looked not only vintage but beat up that guys had scrounged from the darkest corners of basements and garages everywhere and they were at the crazy prices...I saw a clean S&W model 10 4inch a guy was asking 750 for! I saw a well USED ruger redhawk hunter .41 with a red dot for 1995.00 I thought it was 1995 the year...nope! A lot of other stuff most at the high end of pricing and a few other at the top of unbelievable. I literally said "holyshit" out loud when I saw the model 10 price, that guy at that table was not to happy :) by the time I got to the redhawk I just laughed... I only went yesterday because a bud wanted to go pick up a trigger for his AR and the show was over an hour away....
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
The last show I went to was notable for not having hardly any used guns at all. Plenty of plastic tactipistols and ARs, but no old rimfires, S&W revolvers or milsurps. I didnt spend a dime- except the door fee.
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the older stuff was here- not a lot of premium pieces in my eye but then again ... and yes I did not buy anything and felt the 7.00 door fee was a waste other than the day with an old friend was good and I ended up finding the table he was looking for- the guy forgot his big table sign and my 80 year old bud was looking for it only :)
 
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This wouldn't have been the show in Janesville Wisconson would it? I couldn't get away this weekend but was very curious as to how that show was.
 
As buyers, we are definitely in a valley. It will improve in some areas, but things like vintage/older revolvers and MILSURPs will never drop in price, IMO.
 
Most of the time I fo, just to handle a bunch of stuff, then leave and get it cheaper at a local store. I have no respect for rip off table vendors.

If a table has a ''no touch sign'' or something, I don't even look.
 
The only thing I've bought at gun shows in the last 10yrs is stuff nobody else in their right mind would. Like an old Riverside arms single 12ga that had broken stock and looked like it was pulled from the bottom of a pond. The bore was good so I bought it for $50, made a new stock, and re-blued it. So now I've probably got $150 in it and that's about all it's worth.
 
The last FW gun show, it looked like the market had achieve "peak" AR. They were widely available, but at a price no one wanted to spend. Lots of pistols moving, and a lot of ammo moving at that show--despite the prices.
Tons of people trying to flog off all kinds of shooters--the barrels and signs on dowels were dang dangerous to be around.

We're having another show in a week, after Texas "opens" again on Wednesday--will have to see what that looks like.
 
I've gone to a couple lately. One was pretty good. I want looking for a gun, just ammo. I scored a 500 round box of 22 for a good price. The next show the price had doubled. I saw 20 rounds of 5.56 for $40. Not for me. I am in the market for a gun but I won't pay gun show prices. The two I am after are more commonly available in local shops.
 
The appeal of a gun show to me are the variety of firearms you see. It’s like going to a museum. At least the Wanenmacher is. Rarely do I buy anything. But 2 years ago I missed out on a deal. Interarms Mark X 375H&H for $550. Still kicking myself. I’ll go this year. But if the prices you mentioned are accurate, I don’t think I’ll be buying anything but a funnel cake and a coke.
 
Protestors shut down the gun show near me. It had been held at the local fairgrounds for over 40 years.

I really never saw anything there that I wanted to purchase, given the prices. I did enjoy seeing the exotic kinds of jerky and the wide selection of various pickles.
 
FL-NC said:
As buyers, we are definitely in a valley. It will improve in some areas, but things like vintage/older revolvers and MILSURPs will never drop in price, IMO.
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It seems that "old is new again" has also struck in Australia. There has been some difficulty getting new firearms, however there seems to have been a huge jump in the price of old firearms! Even the not so collectables, and the average quality stuff. Someone takes a nice picture and adds a hundred or two to the price!
 
magyars4 said:
I'm at the point where I'm no longer willing to pay the door fee to people watch. Prices are so out of whack I can't imagine buying anything at a show that I can't find elsewhere for cheaper.
If I want to people watch I'll head to the mall.....more good looking women anyhow!
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Agree - by the time I pay for gas, door fee and sometimes parking; I'm out over $25; for that I'll go shoot some clay targets at the club
 
FL-NC said:
As buyers, we are definitely in a valley. It will improve in some areas, but things like vintage/older revolvers and MILSURPs will never drop in price, IMO.
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I would have to agree, it really seems like we are approaching a new floor for milsurps. The newly imported stock on a lot of it is getting pretty rough which is cause for prices to start creeping up on what’s out there in decent shape.

I have a few more milsurps that I would like, but I bet I will be paying what was once considered top dollar which is now the going rate. I’ll see what happens over the next few years on prices but I anticipate that a new price floor has been set in regards to milsurps.
 
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I think with the election behind us and the pandemic improving there's a good chance ammo will start to come back to earth in the coming months. Plus people can only hoard so much of the stuff. I have to think there are lots of households so chock full of toilet paper and ammo that there's not room for anything else.
 
Gun shows have the potential for good deals and cool old guns. But today there’s a panic mentality affecting everyone seriously into firearms, so the sellers don’t really want to let them go unless they get a premium price for something they know they’ll have a hard time replacing. It’s kind of like how the credit crunch put a wet blanket on real estate sales.
 
Turkish Plastical pistols and Bullpup-AR-shotguns abound at the "shows" down here in N. Fl. The last time I checked, the Turkish craze plasticals was now running in the $500's for at best a $200 Walther knock-off. Along with the probably not deadly jerky and faux "Mexican" blankets made in Pakistan, there's not much to see at a "gun show" these days. I got a chance to try one of Turk pistols thanks to a friend at the indoor range. I'd rather use a sharp stick.
 
IdaD said:
I think with the election behind us and the pandemic improving there's a good chance ammo will start to come back to earth in the coming months. Plus people can only hoard so much of the stuff. I have to think there are lots of households so chock full of toilet paper and ammo that there's not room for anything else.
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It is currently early 2021. Vista and Hornady are still saying it will be mid-2023 before they catch up with back orders. Never mind filling shelves, that's when they expect to fill their outstanding orders. If "in the coming months" means, "...some time in the next 24-36 months," then yes.
 
Yeah our small town show typically not worth the $. But last time I was going to a discount store right next to it and just had this thing drawing me to it. Wouldn't you know it. Only traditional muzzleloader in the house. A Navy Arms Buffalo Hunter 58 made it home. Shoots minis like a laser.
 
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