A gun show sellers gun security

[Twiki357]

Thought I would throw this out for any of you who sell at gun shows.

I was at a local gun show this last Saturday. One of the seller tables (A retail FFL) was manned by two guys, one eating his lunch with his back to me and the other alongside of him talking to a “Friend?” who was standing next to me. I asked to see a S&W Model 10 snub nose that was about $100 overpriced. He handed me the gun and continued to talk to his buddy. When I tried to hand to gun back to him, he was gone, completely out of sight. I had to tap the guy eating his lunch on the shoulder, who didn’t even know I was there, for him to turn around and take the gun to return it to the display case. My honesty was the only thing that kept him from losing that gun. I’ve never heard of guns going missing from a gun show, but the way some sellers are, it’s only because of the character of the patrons.

 

[silicosys4]

There are plenty of opportunities out there, if you are willing to be dishonest. Gun shows are busy places, but it sounds like most sellers don't feel the need to worry about guns walking off.
Thats a pretty good thing, if you think about it

 

[TRX]

Around here many displays have about twenty feet of cable looped through the trigger guards of, oh, maybe a hundred guns. Not enough slack to do more than rock one from side to side. Of course, the only ones I'm interested in are in the middle of the cable, and for some reason the sellers aren't willing to unthread forty or fifty guns to let me see the one I might buy. So, no sale. But very secure, I'm sure.

 

[Outlaw Man]

Around here many displays have about twenty feet of cable looped through the trigger guards of, oh, maybe a hundred guns. Not enough slack to do more than rock one from side to side. Of course, the only ones I'm interested in are in the middle of the cable, and for some reason the sellers aren't willing to unthread forty or fifty guns to let me see the one I might buy. So, no sale. But very secure, I'm sure.

Some of the shows have also taken to wanding you with a metal detector to make sure you don't have a gun tucked in your waistband or somewhere.

 

[BSA1]

My gun club puts on a big gun show twice a year and guns do disappear. We require guns leaving the building have a color coded dot on them and have Sheriff Officers checking guns at the exit door. However since the Officers do not search the person it is mostly a honor system.

 

[sauer1911]

Out here in So. Cal., they check and band your weapon if you bring one in for sale or parts. On the way out no one to stop or check you.

The OP encounter sounds alot like one of the retailers out here. I wanted a certain 1911 that they didnt have at the show, so reluctantly he took my name down and was supposed to get back to me. One of their retail stores is very close to me, and I have bought from them in the past.

They never got back to me, and I now own 3 Sig 1911's, and 3 other Sig pistols. Pretty much in spite of them, I now never go into their store.

be safe.

 

[herrwalther]

The last time I went to a gun show, only a few tables had their firearms cable or zip tie chained to prevent theft. I typically don't stop by these tables since handling a firearm attached to 12" of cable tie doesn't leave much for handling to see if you like it. So the security ties prevent firearms from leaving, one way or another.

 

[MedWheeler]

Though I've never had trouble handing a firearm back, I also have wondered how easily some of them could disappear. I've handled countless guns at gun shows (only bought one, in 1987; a Jennings J-22, at that!) and have always felt that the seller had at least one eye on it without being overbearing.

 

[mag1911]

Since I usually have a table I hear about more guns, etc going missing than does the general public. The thieves normally wait for the seller to get busy and looking away. The seller usually notices the missing firearm too late to do much about it.

We did have one case where a guy snatched a Glock 30 right in front of one of the table men. The thief had picked a dealer close to a fire exit and got away. The thief got the pistol but not the box, magazines, etc. The dealer called about every gunshop/pawnshop/etc in the area and told them somebody was going to be looking for magazines.

Sure enough, the next Monday some guy called a pawnshop looking for magazines. The owner told him he'd have to bring the pistol in to make sure they fit. He then called the police. When the guy showed up he had the stolen pistol and was arrested. Not many cases turn out this well.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

The dealers at the guns shows around here cable their guns down so I imagine no one’s ever stole one or at least not since they started doing that.

The last time I went to a gun show I took a gun to get fitted for a holster and they put a sticky dot on the case. By the time I was ready to leave the dot fell off and the “security” guy at the door tried to stop me but when I told him I had the original receipt in the case and would be happy to show it to him he let it go.

 

[hso]

Ohhh, I've heard the announcement over the PA telling everyone that a gun has been pinched from a table on a couple of occasions.

The low tech way to keep a gun from being pinched is to run paracord through the trigger guard.

I'm uncomfortable with one of my pals helping out at shows because he won't stay focused on watching the items on the table.

 

[mgkdrgn]

I’ve never heard of guns going missing from a gun show, but the way some sellers are, it’s only because of the character of the patrons.

Happens all the time ... probably at every gun show that is held, for just the kinds of reasons in your post.

 

[potmetal]

Lots of dealers here use netting over their guns. You have to ask them to get the gun out for you, and it's quicker then undoing long cables. I still hear about scopes and magazines disappearing. In fact one guy had two pistols on his table that had the mags stolen out of them by someone who had handled them. Both were milsurp pistols with hard to find mags.

 

[medalguy]

I've seen and heard about quite a few guns going missing at shows, but then I have tables at a lot of shows. The paracord idea is one I've used in the past. Use about 8 feet of cord looped through the trigger guard and tied to another cord running the length of the table so a customer can pick it up and handle it--a little-- but not enough to carry it very far away.

On the other hand, I can recall back in the 60's when I would set up at shows and walk away for a half hour or so and return to find a pile of cash sitting on my table where customers had bought things and left the money on the table. Sometimes they would even make their own change. Not likely to happen these days.

 

[gym]

I saw a multitude of opportunities yesterday, it's more the honor system than the protection, but that is getting worse as time goes on. They could easily set it up so that the gun would sound an alarm at the exit, if not scanned after sale. But change is hard.

 

[Skribs]

I personally wouldn't want to steal something in a place chalk full of CCWers.

 

[tryshoot]

Reported to a friend of mine removable sks mag missing. He had a camera looking at it but no "proof". Sad,sad,days.

 

[bldsmith]

One of the first Gun Shows I went to in Ca, Yea they do have them. A guy had like 8 tables and only one person behind the table. Handguns were not secured in any way, no cables, locks, or anything else. A young man was looking at a handgun then pointed out one of the boxes did not have a gun on it. Well yes someone walked off with a handgun. Police were called but no gun recovered. Next time I saw this guy he had cables and 2 more people behind the table... At least he learned.

 

[Havok7416]

I personally wouldn't want to steal something in a place chalk full of CCWers.

Concealed carry is not allowed in any gun show I have ever seen and it wouldn't be remotely legal to shoot someone for theft in any event.

 

[fallout mike]

I personally would not want to steal ANYTHING bc im NOT A THIEF!!!!

 

[Ryanxia]

We have a local gun show twice a year, don't recall a firearm being lifted, and no one has them tied down. We also require an orange tag on it so they can check on the way out. No biggie.

 

[justice06rr]

I'm not surprised at the lax security or lack thereof with many gun show vendors. In my years of going to gun shows, I've not seen or heard of any theft. But I can see how easy it would be to swipe a pistol from a vendor's table while he is distracted.

In my area shows I've been to, nobody checks anyone as you leave the building. There are also usually many unattended exits. Vendors need to be proactive with their own security and loss prevention.

We did have one case where a guy snatched a Glock 30 right in front of one of the table men. The thief had picked a dealer close to a fire exit and got away. The thief got the pistol but not the box, magazines, etc. The dealer called about every gunshop/pawnshop/etc in the area and told them somebody was going to be looking for magazines.

Sure enough, the next Monday some guy called a pawnshop looking for magazines. The owner told him he'd have to bring the pistol in to make sure they fit. He then called the police. When the guy showed up he had the stolen pistol and was arrested. Not many cases turn out this well.

That crook seems too dumb anyway to be a thief. Good thing he got arrested.

You can buy any magazines online, or just walk into any gunshop and buy Glock mags without the pistol itself.

 

[SunnySlopes]

I was at a Wannamacher's show here in Tulsa and a vendor (selling night sights)
and a customer left his gun on the table. The customer walked away briefly and the vendor went to work on somebody else's gun.

In that brief interval somebody came up and walked off with the customer's gun. The customer understandably freaked out when he came back. They didn't recover the gun.

I always wondered what they could do if they suspected one of the attendees of taking the gun.

 

[mag1911]

This was fairly young kid and probably didn't know much about Glock magazines. The pawnshop guy just told him whatever it took to get him to bring the pistol to the store. It gets better:

Some people outside saw him drop a cell phone in the parking lot. Turned out to be his Mother's and she told the Sheriff she'd "lost" it when they contacted her.

He had an accomplice waiting. After we chased him outside people in the parking lot pointed out the SUV they were driving away. The idiots actually stopped at a convience store about a block down the street. The dealer and the table man got in a car and took off after them but the thieves left the convience store before they could get there.

Speaking of "idiots". As we were going after the guy I'm thinking, "How smart is this; three old guys chasing a kid with a pistol." For all I knew the kid had brought his own magazines.

 

[P5 Guy]

Well I've been to a few shows where the announcement was made that someone had lifted a gun from a table. I have no idea what the outcome was. The last show I went to had a huge sign at the entrance 'NO PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED' but the biggest vender had CCTV all over his tables and signs warning that you are being watched.