Recent SLC gun show: slow, dead. Are gun shows dying?

Have to agree with 45 Frank Asheville NC was packed .Heard the money taker say 3500 people on Sat alone. Few deals on guns ammo still insane.

no, thats the utah for you. when they stop being cheap to buy and steep to sell, they might do some business. lol

I went to one this weekend, and it was packed (although only about 2/3 of the floorspace of previous shows).

However, it was the biggest load of junk I'd ever seen in a room. There were nice handguns, but it was all the run-of-the-mill Glock/Taurus/Springfield/Sig stuff, nothing unique. As far as rifles, it was Fudd-Fest 2010. A dozen or so wildly overpriced Garands, plus about a billion completely boring hunting rifles.

My attitude may have been affected by my wife getting attached to the Walther P22, then declaring it was the pistol she wanted for concealed carry "because it feels the best in my hand". Then, some idiot woman butted in to claim that .22LR was a great self defense round, and that when you shot somebody with it "it just runs around in their body tearing stuff up". She of course believed the woman instead of me, because what do I know

The next table had five people trying to (no joke) sell five total guns, and one of them took ten minutes to tell my wife that the .22LR would just bounce off a leather jacket, and that he personally carried a 9mm with Golden Sabers "but I keep two Black Talons at the bottom of the mag in case they're wearing a vest". :banghead:

So yeah, they're not dying by a long shot, but I sure won't be going to the next one. Price of admission? $10 each.

I also forgot to mention that I buy almost all gun related stuff on the internet.

Of the two local shows this past year, the first show was packed and the prices very high across the board. The second show was way less people, and it killed a slow Saturday for me. I guess everyone that was there the first show for ammo, or a gun purchase learned quickly what the bottom line was on these shows.

Also, I like the idea of a swap meet better. Just a bunch of guys clearing out their safes, or getting rid of mags, parts, or ammo for a gun they sold.

Its funny though at all of the car related swap meets there are still deals to be had, go figure.

last gun show i went to in michigan (Birch Run) there wasn't anything speical except for some of the people behind the table. My dad was harangued by some moron spewing off about socialism, almost like a sales pitch. It was hilarious. We just watched and when he asked if we were "with him" we just stated "nope" and walked away. He was astounded. Who would think 2 guys at a gun show might just want to enjoy their hobby without being harrassed about political beliefs?

No interesting guns, at all, period. I was looking at an old Martini Henry that someone had cut down to carbine size in 303, and the old guy selling it came up and started on a bad sales pitch that he could give it to me for just 300, and he could even do it " off the books". If I needed a gun that was "off the books", who would look at a Martini?

There were some sweet dreamcatchers though, lol......but i dont think the nazi guys liked them, it ruined their "i will NEVER have a girlfriend" ambiance....

The Dallas show last weekend was busy, but not nearly as busy as the Ft. Worth gun show the weekend before.

We have three different promoters that come to my area and I think that helps keep the shows quality up.

Each of these promoters have rules abut what can be sold and what isn't allowed. You see a lot less of the 'sham wow' variety of tables.

I'm always able to find a deal on something, sometimes you have to look harder than others.

The last two shows I attended were packed with people buying and selling.

Gun shows are still strong in Richmond, VA. They are crowded and you still see people buying guns and wheeling cases of ammo out the door on hand trucks.

Very busy gun show in Albany, Oregon this last weekend. A few interesting used guns (bought one of them). Funny, after I bought the used Colt, I was stopped by people wanting to buy it off me.

Not in Texas they are not.

The gun shows here in West Palm Beach is a combination of a Flea Market and a Gun Show. When I pay my admission to a gun show I want to see guns and gun products only, not pots and pans, George Bush Look-A-Like photo booths and children’s toys. 8 neighbors and myself use to attend all the shows together from Miami to Orlando but no more, they are not worth the cost or the hassle. We now support the local gun auction.

I went to the Fort Boise Gun show this weekend. Prices were okay, you could find some great deals at the private vendor tables, just not the store tables. I did find 1000 rounds of .223 for 140 bucks, and a walther PPK stainless for 300. I missed out on two Garands for 600 each with ammo.

Im still angry about that....

People I know are going but looking at what people carry in to get a good deal. The dealers are priced no better then any other place outside the show.

the Fort Worth Gun show after new years was packed. not what I expected. they are really good shows and usually well attended, but I expected a bit of drop off after the holidays and after the Obama mania has died down (a bit)