Warren
Member
So I went to my first gun show since moving to the Las Vegas area.
It was at the Cashman Center on N. Las Vegas Blvd.
Three bucks to park and $12 for admission.
I ended up parking about 200 yds from the door, I did not think anything of it...at the time.
I'm not in the building 30 seconds before some dude is trying to sell me his wonder rag. It cleans, counter-tops, stove-tops, glasses, dishes and GUNS. It seemed to me that he had his usual pitch and just appended "GUNS" to it. Blah blah blah blah and GUNS.
Escaping, I saw lots and lots of guns; which given the gun shows where I used to live was quite a pleasent suprise.
I managed to dodge the salami slinger and the air purifier gang and finally it was off to the guns.
I wanted a rifle but due to a nasty tax bill my gun budget was almost wiped out. So I was looking for something cheap, reliable and cheap to feed and semi-auto. Also this would be my first rifle and it needed to be easy to maintain.
Ergo, I was looking for an SKS.
Here's the thing though: I didn't want to deal with getting the cosmo out of the stock and after I bought it I was going to have the GL and bayo removed.
I visualized the rifle I wanted and methodically stalked the aisles looking for it.
Two hours later with no luck. I handled a few SKSs but didn't find anything that appealed to me. And I looked at many other rifles that I could only dream about getting. One table had some exquisite Garands. But the one that caught my eye was just under $2500. Damn.
There were plenty of ARs and AKs as you would expect but not one FAL. There was an HK91 clone though.
I take a break and go to the book seller where I pick up Bill Jordan's "No Second Place Winner" which I have wanted for a long time. And three of Col. Cooper's books that I should have had way before now.
I decided to give the aisles one more look and..drum roll...BOOM I find it. An SKS that was being sold by a guy letting some of his personal collection go. Obviously the cosmo was long gone AND so was the GL and bayo and the barrel had been recrowned. He bought it in the '60s and it has all matching numbers.
Price? $350 I ask if he could do better and he knocks $50 off. $300 OTD.
Do you take VISA?
No.
Damn. (I forgot to bring a lot of cash with me.) Oh, well.
Then he tells me about the ATM that is near the bathrooms.
AHHHHHH! I go and get the money.
Five minutes later it is mine. He also gives me a vendor badge so I can get out of the center without an inspection. Way cool.
So while $300 may be a bit much for an SKS it was worth it to me to have a no hassle starter gun. Plus I don't have to pay to have the stuff I didn't want taken off.
I pop over to a another table and buy a gun case and at the very next table a birthday gift for my youngest. Her only birthday of the year and Dad goes to a gun show.
It is time to go. I was planning on buying ammo online but I went by an ammo table on my way out and so they had good prices on Wolf AND they took VISA.
There I was holding a bag of books, a fairly large birthday gift, and a cased rifle. And a box with a 1000 rounds of ammo. Which weighed.....a lot.
Ahh, good thing I parked a half mile away from the door. I so needed a character building exercise just then. And there is nothing like carrying an ungainly, heavy load across a hot parking lot with bad knees and a bad back to improve one's character.
As I'm staggering out to my car a lady passes me going the other way the look on her face said "Way to plan ahead, dorkus." And I believe the infant she was carying flipped me the bird.
I have clips, a sling and a 10 pocket ammo pouch on the way.
This was the first time I ever bought a gun at a gun show and the first time ever in my life I bought a gun and was able to take it with me right then.
What a great feeling.
It was at the Cashman Center on N. Las Vegas Blvd.
Three bucks to park and $12 for admission.
I ended up parking about 200 yds from the door, I did not think anything of it...at the time.
I'm not in the building 30 seconds before some dude is trying to sell me his wonder rag. It cleans, counter-tops, stove-tops, glasses, dishes and GUNS. It seemed to me that he had his usual pitch and just appended "GUNS" to it. Blah blah blah blah and GUNS.
Escaping, I saw lots and lots of guns; which given the gun shows where I used to live was quite a pleasent suprise.
I managed to dodge the salami slinger and the air purifier gang and finally it was off to the guns.
I wanted a rifle but due to a nasty tax bill my gun budget was almost wiped out. So I was looking for something cheap, reliable and cheap to feed and semi-auto. Also this would be my first rifle and it needed to be easy to maintain.
Ergo, I was looking for an SKS.
Here's the thing though: I didn't want to deal with getting the cosmo out of the stock and after I bought it I was going to have the GL and bayo removed.
I visualized the rifle I wanted and methodically stalked the aisles looking for it.
Two hours later with no luck. I handled a few SKSs but didn't find anything that appealed to me. And I looked at many other rifles that I could only dream about getting. One table had some exquisite Garands. But the one that caught my eye was just under $2500. Damn.
There were plenty of ARs and AKs as you would expect but not one FAL. There was an HK91 clone though.
I take a break and go to the book seller where I pick up Bill Jordan's "No Second Place Winner" which I have wanted for a long time. And three of Col. Cooper's books that I should have had way before now.
I decided to give the aisles one more look and..drum roll...BOOM I find it. An SKS that was being sold by a guy letting some of his personal collection go. Obviously the cosmo was long gone AND so was the GL and bayo and the barrel had been recrowned. He bought it in the '60s and it has all matching numbers.
Price? $350 I ask if he could do better and he knocks $50 off. $300 OTD.
Do you take VISA?
No.
Damn. (I forgot to bring a lot of cash with me.) Oh, well.
Then he tells me about the ATM that is near the bathrooms.
AHHHHHH! I go and get the money.
Five minutes later it is mine. He also gives me a vendor badge so I can get out of the center without an inspection. Way cool.
So while $300 may be a bit much for an SKS it was worth it to me to have a no hassle starter gun. Plus I don't have to pay to have the stuff I didn't want taken off.
I pop over to a another table and buy a gun case and at the very next table a birthday gift for my youngest. Her only birthday of the year and Dad goes to a gun show.
It is time to go. I was planning on buying ammo online but I went by an ammo table on my way out and so they had good prices on Wolf AND they took VISA.
There I was holding a bag of books, a fairly large birthday gift, and a cased rifle. And a box with a 1000 rounds of ammo. Which weighed.....a lot.
Ahh, good thing I parked a half mile away from the door. I so needed a character building exercise just then. And there is nothing like carrying an ungainly, heavy load across a hot parking lot with bad knees and a bad back to improve one's character.
As I'm staggering out to my car a lady passes me going the other way the look on her face said "Way to plan ahead, dorkus." And I believe the infant she was carying flipped me the bird.
I have clips, a sling and a 10 pocket ammo pouch on the way.
This was the first time I ever bought a gun at a gun show and the first time ever in my life I bought a gun and was able to take it with me right then.
What a great feeling.
