Only my second trip to a gun show and I'm over it.

[jkingrph]

Member

Join Date: March 19, 2009
Location: Meridian, Mississippi
Posts: 706 There is a good show in Jackson, MS this weekend.

My son lives in Jackson. I have been to a few shows there and find them to be better than most. It's been a few years, but I meet a gentlemen, had a car dealership somewhere NE I think of Jackson, who had a table and a display very good older shotguns, drillings, ect. The son was in law school then so all I could do was drool.

If I did not have a project for this weekend here in E. Texas, I would probably be making the run over there to see the son and take in the show.

 

[627PCFan]

I used to go just for powder and primers, then the door fees went up, throw in gas, and it makes sense to stay home and order from Powder Valley, Hazmat and all.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

No deals to be had, and I knew that, but I thought I'd see something different. Same vendors, same old stuff, junk, boxes of ammo looked like they were 10 years old. Really only a few vendors selling good stuff. I got a Wilson
Combat mag for my Springfield, that was it.

Admittedly I'm new to the whole thing, so there's that.

I guess I was expecting an entirely different setup, crowd, vendors. I think I'll wait a year to two and go back. Thank god for the internet.

I went to Walmart and got my ammo, while standing in line I saw 2 other guys with the gun show stamp.

I've had similar experiences over the last 20 years. I go every now and then just to see if something's new. I have heard that small local shows have the potential to be better since you can sometimes find a gem in the rough for a good deal. Given my limited free time at this point in my life, I would rather spend what hobby time I have either at the range, in a training class, or hunting and not going to gun shows. Also, before the advent of the internet (where you can find anything you want) I remember gun shows being a bit more special becuase there was more diversity of stuff in stock than I could find at the local shops. My two cents.

 

[mustang_steve]

In my area, there's a problem with the "big dog" chain shops forcing them to price fix, or they'll leave. Those shops are half the revenue for the show hosts. This means nothing can be cheaper than the big dog, which is also the most expensive shop in the area (want to pay $650 for a Glock, when you can get them from another shop for 500, go there!).

I only go once a year since they're generally that weaksauce. There's another gunshow circuit out here, but I haven't checked them out yet.

 

[22-rimfire]

You can find fair prices at gunshows. Good shows are an opportunity to see a lot more guns in one building then you could ever see at most gunshops. Prices vary. That is capitalism. I seldom attend a gun show that I don't buy a gun. This is why I have been trying to stay away from them for the last few years. But there still are the local gunshops.

 

[MikeNice]

The thing to do is look at the promoter holding the show. I know from my experience that different promoters usually bring different vendors. They also tend to bring different levels of "bargain." I've seen brand new Springfield XDs for LEO pricing, Glocks for $499, Kel Tecs for CDNN prices and CZ82s for J&G Sales prices.

You need to look for shows by different promoters. Then when you figure out which one is consistently better start attending those. Contrary to popular belief all gun shows are not created equal.

 

[GunguyDan]

only my second trip to a gun show and i'm over .it

I can remember that only a few years ago , actually quite a few, that a bunch of guys formed clubs that were dedicated to collecting guns and finding out about their history. Usually, after their meetings, they had swapping sessions where they traded off guns, not pertinent to their collections, for ones that were. Then after that, meeting sessions turned into weekend affairs where the swaps and trades were usually accompanied by "boot", sometimes other items but usually cash. The small town "dealers" were usually not welcomed,although eventually they managed to get involved one way or the other. As the years went by the little guy collector got pushed by the wayside and although there are still quite a few still enjoying the shows, the numbers of them get smaller as time passes. Up until the past couple of years ago I used to attend quite a few, but it burned me to see that most of the "dealers" with outside shops were allowed a few hours during "setup" day to peruse the other attendees tables and snatch up a lot of the choice items and tack on a bigger price tag. I used to enjoy meeting old friends and people who actually knew what they were talking about. Sure there are a lot of us crochety old guys still hangin' around but for the most part we're usually willing to "deal". Sorry for the rant........Dan

 

[KingContraryMan]

You need to look for shows by different promoters. Then when you figure out which one is consistently better start attending those. Contrary to popular belief all gun shows are not created equal.

I did notice the promoter(s) were the same the last two times and wondered about that. I'll keep checking, and if I see a different one, I'll go again.

 

[kimberkid]

Gun Show vendors don't seem to be aware that the Great Panic Buy of '09 is over.

I've seen a lot of that around here too ... but I look at a gunshow as a socical event

If I happen to buy a gun ok ... but don't count on it.