Gun show complaints

[Arkansas Paul]

Just got back from the gun show in Little Rock. It's been a few years since I've been to one. Man it sucks. I hate to sound like a broken record but there was several things I didn't like.

1 - The prices were terrible. I learned today that you don't go to a show to find a good deal on anything. The prices they were asking were new prices.

2 - There was no muzzle discipline at all. I can't count the number of times I looked down gun barrels.

3 - There were hardly any single action revolvers. Everyone seems to be catering to the tactical side of things. I have no problemb with this persay, but I'm more into the hunting side of it. I went looking for a Blackhawk or Blackhawk Bisley in .45 Colt. Found a couple with short barrels, used for about $550.

So, I'm going to the gun shop I visit here in Hot Springs tomorrow and ordering one new. I did pick up a pound of IMR 4350. That's still a little hard to come by here, so it wasn't a total loss. Anyway, I'm done whining now. Have a good one.

 

[dakotasin]

gun shows are great for gathering w/ like-minded individuals, great for keeping your fingers on the pulse of the gun world, good for finding reloading gear, ok for finding difficult to find parts-n-pieces to complete your next project, and absolutely terrible for buying current manufacture guns.

but... i'm a sucker... i always go, and sometimes i even enjoy it, and once in awhile i'll buy something.

 

[oneounceload]

The way gun shows seem to be as of late, we won't have to worry about Brady or others trying to shut them down - they will be dying by their own hand due to not being competitive..............

 

[FatGeek]

gun shows are great for gathering w/ like-minded individuals, great for keeping your fingers on the pulse of the gun world, good for finding reloading gear, ok for finding difficult to find parts-n-pieces to complete your next project, and absolutely terrible for buying current manufacture guns.

Agreed. And I go every time I can, and enjoy it regardless, and usually buy an accessory or trinket of some sort.

 

[Golden_006]

I've been to 2 gun shows and both were different.
The one I went to in FLA was pretty bad price wise. It seems like everything was pretty high up there. I mean You can get the same deal at Dicks so why should I bother buying a Ruger Mini at a gun show. There was one 600 somethin Garand that might have been a good deal. The 2nd one I went in Long Island NY wasn't that bad. It had it's share of weird prices like 200 + for a Mosin; 1200 for a Garand although it looked new; and 300 something for a Norinco SKS -- which someone actually bought -- and so on. But I got some 7.62 for 6 dollars a box and there was an SHTLE (a short Lee Enfield) for $150 and a M1 Carbine for 450. Not bad. Sure beats anything I've seen in a gun store.

 

[harmon rabb]

i did pretty well at the last gun show i visited. $475 for a G27, $275 for a PF-9

 

[Joshua M.]

Yea what he said...The Fort Wayne gun show used to be big and nice, now it is downstairs, and only about half of that room, and a bunch of not that related to shooting stuff.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

I still think they are worth going to here. You do have to be careful, know the value of what you are buying. There are some really bad priced things there, but I have found things recently at the "Internet" price or better (No shipping).

 

[dogtown tom]

Arkansas Paul Just got back from the gun show in Little Rock. It's been a few years since I've been to one. Man it sucks. I hate to sound like a broken record but there was several things I didn't like.

1 - The prices were terrible. I learned today that you don't go to a show to find a good deal on anything. The prices they were asking were new prices.

2 - There was no muzzle discipline at all. I can't count the number of times I looked down gun barrels.

3 - There were hardly any single action revolvers. Everyone seems to be catering to the tactical side of things. I have no problemb with this persay, but I'm more into the hunting side of it. I went looking for a Blackhawk or Blackhawk Bisley in .45 Colt. Found a couple with short barrels, used for about $550.

So, I'm going to the gun shop I visit here in Hot Springs tomorrow and ordering one new. I did pick up a pound of IMR 4350. That's still a little hard to come by here, so it wasn't a total loss. Anyway, I'm done whining now. Have a good one.

I grew up in North Little Rock (aka Dog Town).

I now live in a suburb of Dallas and consider myself fortunate that the WORST gunshow in DFW is still bigger than most gunshows I read about somewhere else.

I just got back from the "Original" Fort Worth Gunshow and have to say that it was the largest in quite some time. Sure, there were plenty of beef jerky, cheap jewelry, smelly candles and ninja supply tables but more gun tables than I've seen at FW in quite a while- probably 1200 tables total.

Three out of every four weekends there is a 1000+ table gun show here in Dallas.

Oh.........I didn't buy anything. Walking that many tables looking for a $400 Hi Power is great exercise and sure beats watching ice dancing or napping.

 

[RONSERESURPLUS]

Hello all, RON L here - SERE SURPLUS

I have to add my .02 cents here! As for Gun shows, I have been on BOTH sides of the table! One the Negative side, the dealers indeed to ask too muck for many items, bring the same stuff agan and again! They ignore customers, speak badly to them and worse! On the other side of the table, the Customers often, EXCEPT PRICES from 20 years ago, Act rudly to Dealers, Expect non realstic things and then act suprised when they fail to find them! Many times I have heard customers say as they entered a show, as I am often set up near the door, customers saying that they brought enough $ to get in the show and not much more? How can I see to them? What do they expect? I see a Lot of reasons that gun shows SUCK, Look to your side of the table and be real people? GUN SHOWS WILL CONTINUE TO SUCK TILL BOTH SIDES FIX IT! Either your part of the Prplem, or part of the Solution? Make your choice?

RON

 

[M2 Carbine]

I just got back from the "Original" Fort Worth Gunshow and have to say that it was the largest in quite some time. Sure, there were plenty of beef jerky, cheap jewelry, smelly candles and ninja supply tables but more gun tables than I've seen at FW in quite a while- probably 1200 tables total.

The gun shows certainly aren't what they were 15-20 years ago but good prices and good buys can still be found now and then.

Today I got some AR accessories, four large excellent condition steel ammo cans and a like new condition Model 10 S&W with no paper trail. All at a good price.
My friend bought a Ithaca 12 ga shotgun, in VERY GOOD condition, for $175 and no paper trail.
I saw a number of other good gun buys, but not something I wanted.

Primers were still $40-$45/1,000 though.


The shows just run hot and cold.

 

[deadin]

In my opinion, gun shows started going downhill right after they started letting dealers sell at them. Now it seems that everyone wants to be a dealer, with or without benefit of license. Profit is king. Used to be that I could take a $200 gun that I was tired of and be able to sell/trade it for a different $200 gun. Any more, the dealers and pseudo dealers have to make a profit on every transaction so they have to give me a $100 trade-in on their "$300" gun.

 

[AirForceShooter]

Want to buy a gun at a gun show?
Walk around the parking lot.

AFS

 

[crawfobj]

I enjoy going to shows, but have had zero luck lately in trading there. Like deadin said, dealers offering half the value of a used gun is a waste of my time, and finding an individual looking for something specific is hit or miss. I'd rather post something for sale/trade here on THR, and I've had much better experiences that way, both buying and selling.

Shows here in DFW have a ton of vendors, but it's like pawn shopping - you sort through a ton of overpriced junk and every now and then find a gem that will keep you coming back.

I also use them as an excuse to spend the afternoon walking around with my 3 yr old son. He knows exactly where the cookies are sold at each show, and where the bathrooms are. We hunt for another flashlight or glow sticks for him and other more expensive toys for me. It's tougher when I have my 1 yr old too, but it's doable if my brother is with us - a real family outing. I'm the guy walking around with a kid on my shoulders and pushing a stroller. How's that for quality time?

 

[acdodd]

Last gun show I went to had a guy selling hotel quality bed sheets.
I'll stay home from now on.

 

[Texas Gun Person]

I go to shows in the Fort Worth/Dallas area as often as they come around. It gives me a few hours of something to do on a weekend.

Handgun prices are good/normal. Long gun prices are not for the most part.

 

[Starter52]

+1 to AirForceShooter on where to find the best prices at a gun show.

 

[D!rty H@rry]

just somethin' about a gunshow thread that makes you look. you know its going to be a trainwreck.



oh, and used blackhawks are going for $500 and up. thats what i paid. suk it up!

 

[navyretired 1]

Around here the show's are having the same problems as elsewhere. My pet peve is the same people in the same spots ever time wanting the same ridiculous retail + prices for used guns, scopes etc. They've always have the same stuff and never sell anything. The other peev is the DEALERS who don't uncover their tables till after the've toured the whole show and bought anything that was a deal, then put it on their table with the price at retail+. The last one a local man had a Thompson Center 21" contender carbine barrel in 22 LR Match I bought for $100 dollars (a deal). He also had a Leopold base and rings that fit it. I didn't have the $20 for them at the moment so I walked away, on the next row my son-in-law had talked me into letting him loan me the $20 so we walked back. They had been sold.
A dozen rows over I found them on a table again, this guy wanted $48 for them, I explained that I could buy them New from Midway at that price and knew what he paid for them, His answer was F--k you buddy buy them at Midway if you can!
I could and did. But the barrel was great and I'd been wanting one for years and the price was what you used to be able to get at the gun shows. In two deals involving parts for the same gun I saw the best and the worst of gun shows.

 

[sonick808]

the gun shows in phoenix have been pretty much MSRP or higher prices for years now. It's disgusting. I can find "back off" mudflaps far easier than i can find a mosin nagant or a marlin .22 rifle. Frustrating. Yeah, the muzzle discipline is horrible also; I found myself staring down the barrel of a smith .500 with a skinny 20 something year old kid looking at me like i'd done something wrong (i was there long before he whipped out the cannon and started flailing it arond). just walked away. I will never return until i hear things have gotten better. That includes the 20$ entry fee and 10$ parking (crossroads if you're reading this, what's up with those prices ?)

edit: i just realized exactly what the gun shows feel like now. Remember johnson-smith, the gag/trinket manufacturer on the back of every comic book from 1970-1990 ? That's what it feels like. A johnson smith catalog. Fake vomit. Dull 2$ knives. Whoopee cushions, and a beat up remington 870 going for 850$ .

 

[ljnowell]

Hello all, RON L here - SERE SURPLUS

I have to add my .02 cents here! As for Gun shows, I have been on BOTH sides of the table! One the Negative side, the dealers indeed to ask too muck for many items, bring the same stuff agan and again! They ignore customers, speak badly to them and worse! On the other side of the table, the Customers often, EXCEPT PRICES from 20 years ago, Act rudly to Dealers, Expect non realstic things and then act suprised when they fail to find them! Many times I have heard customers say as they entered a show, as I am often set up near the door, customers saying that they brought enough $ to get in the show and not much more? How can I see to them? What do they expect? I see a Lot of reasons that gun shows SUCK, Look to your side of the table and be real people? GUN SHOWS WILL CONTINUE TO SUCK TILL BOTH SIDES FIX IT! Either your part of the Prplem, or part of the Solution? Make your choice?

RON

Are you serious? Gun shows suck because people dont pay enough? What else do you want, maybe them to open a vein?

 

[Arkansas Paul]

If used blued Blackhawks are going for $500 and up, somebody's getting a raw deal. The Ruger website lists the suggested retail for $557 and we know that nine out of ten places offer them for less than suggested retail. I can get them brand new for $480 here in town. I'm not looking for a custom job, just a plain, blued Blackhawk with wood or black grips. I know prices tend to change from location to location, but it would be rather stupid to pay more than the manufactor's suggested retail, when we know it's inflated to begin with. I thought I could find a deal, I was wrong. In a way I will have to suck it up DH, because I'll just be buying a new one. Although one guy at a booth said he'd just sold a 7 1/2" Blackhawk .45 convertible with both cylinders for $400 even. Guess I missed out on the one deal there. He did try to sell me a old model 3 screw .44 for $750 though. It had seen a LOT of use.

Sorry if there's too many of these gunshow threads, I just haven't been to one in a while and was surprised. I wasn't totally dissapointed though. After all I was in a huge room full of guns. It was like a grown man's Chucky Cheese. I saw a Colt SAA that was manufactored in 1883 that looked imaculate. They seemed to have all the documentation to back it up. A measly $5k and it could have gone home with me. I'm a big history buff and drooled over it for quite some time. It was still fun I guess, just not quiet what I expected.

 

[stealth]

Yea what he said...The Fort Wayne gun show used to be big and nice, now it is downstairs, and only about half of that room, and a bunch of not that related to shooting stuff.

I've been to the same one you speak of too.

Avg ammo prices, Worse gun prices. And for the last time, No I don't want a cinnamon thing, chocolate or other candy at a gun show.

The only reason I'd go is to handle new gun prospects. But its hardly worth the price of admission any more.

 

[Magic_Man]

I stopped going b/c the prices are always insane.

 

[jhco50]

It is not just gunshows. I was checking some websites and my jaw dropped each time I opened one. One in particular, which I won't mention was selling collector guns. Some of them were not collector guns, but all of them were so ridiculous that I finally just left the site. As an example, they had a Smith and Wesson M37 Airweight priced at $850! A post 64 Win M94 was around $700!

I know prices have gone up a bit, but I don't remember having to spend a months pay to buy a gun. And I have quit shooting because I can't afford the ammo. This is amazing!

I have quit going to gunshows because of the prices and the junk they sell. To top it off, it costs more just to enter the building. Every gun they sell is a rare or antique gun and they swear they are pricing them accordingly. Whatever happened to used guns? Where are they finding all of these collectors? What happened to being able to get a grandson a used rifle to learn on?