gunshow experience

[popeye]

There's one show I still attend. $5 to get in. It's 18 miles away. So with gas at $3.80 a gal. that's about $7.50 to get there and back.. That show was on it's last legs until the last quarter of '08. Now it's pretty busy again. I don't go to shows unless I am specifically looking for something. For many years I went with a guy to the shows with a guy that loved to "look". He'd pick up everything in the place and gawk at it. In ten years I don't think he ever bought anything.

 

[lizziedog1]

What surprises, or actually shocks me, is the prices at the gun shows. They have used guns priced more then new guns. Not antiques or collectables, but plain old used deer rifles.

I can drive down the road to Cabela's and get a brand new rifle, with a factory waranty, for less.

 

[nofishbob]

I was at the show at the DEallas Market Hall yesterday.

I was shopping for a few handguns and had made a list of the best online prices from Bud's and buy-it-now Gunbroker auctions, so I could know if what I was seeing were good prices.

Every item on my list was at this show cheaper than the cheapest online price from the above. My list was:

Ruger LCR
Ruger LCR 357
Ruger LCP
RIA GI
RIA Tactical Two Tone
S&W 340 PD
Colt 1911 80 Series Gov't Model

The only thing I could not find was a Colt 70 Series.

I ended up buying the Colt Gov't Model.

For new, common, guns, I have had good luck at Dallas and Ft. Worth shows.

Bob

 

[MtnSpur]

Gun Show Trend Opinion

Over the past ten years I've seen a decline in overall quality versus price on weapons at gun shows. Let's also factor in some vendors treating the potential customer in the "hey, I'm doing you a favor by having a table at this show" mentality. I have scored some fair purchases where I paid a fair price for a firearm but have also seen the increase in price for a good to fair conditon weapon (regardless of make or model) that should reflect a very good to excellent condition weapon.
Gunsmith presence at gun shows? Lucky if one even bothers to show up. If I had the talent and training to be a competent gunsmith (no matter my backlog) I'd have a table at a show to advertise my business and areas of expertise and to also help some folks out who really could use a professional opinion on a gun issue.
This said I've been to shows in East Texas, West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma that seem to be following this general decline from the shows in the 80's and 90's. Sad

 

[farson135]

One day all of y’all are invited down to Houston for one of our shows at the George R Brown Convention Center. I think I read somewhere that we have the second or third largest gun show in the country. In other words come down here if you want a real gun show. It is expensive at times but there are a few good deals but what is better is all the private dealers (both the ones with a table and those just walking around with signs and rifles across their shoulders) who actually care about selling their stuff.

 

[gym]

You would never know that there was a surplus of AR's at the shows. They are still asking $1,200-2000. At the tables, but try and sell them one, then it's a different story. I would think that it is getting harder to sell them than it used to be, unless people who aren't concerned about the price, "like those planning on sending them out of the country" are buying. Same with AK's, Shotguns are about the best buy most of the time, $300 will get you a decent pump. They don't seem to be selling like they once were. I am always amazed that most poeple have no idea what they are looking at.

 

[wgp]

It seems to me that gun shows in Wichita have taken two different courses: the big show here twice a year has gotten better, the small shows worse. We have a new outfit trying to break into the market as well, with heavy advertising and frequent shows but in my personal experience his shows are small and not worth it. A couple of dealers who used to have big tables no longer show up, and there has always been and still is plenty of junk available, but I don't have much trouble scanning the tables quickly to see what I want to linger over and what I can pass by. Truth be told, if I can find just one unusual gun I don't see elsewhere, it's worth it. I never expect to get a "great deal" at a gun show, I am looking for unusual items and comparison shopping.
And did I mention that people-watching is one of the great side benefits of gun shows?