What I Learned at the Gun Show

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Bartkowski-

I think I was at the same show yesterday (in York?):D

I learned that some Neanderthal from the Altoona area put a seriously ugly, big-ass Tasco red dot with a big-ass B-sqaure mount on a series 1 Kimber Classic Gold Match (could barely tell it was Kimber under all that hardware!) and that if you are very nice and persuasive you an get the nice lady and her husband to let you start taking it apart to see what was under there.

Turns out to be pretty nice gun, with a few cosmetic issues (all rubs , no scratches, dings, or holes!) with 3 mags, and the aforementioned hardware for $629 out the door! I spent a couple hours detail stripping, soaking, and cleaning. Going to a steel challenge shoot today, so will run a few rounds down the pipe to see what it can do!

I also saw several good deals on ARs and ammunition was still insanely expensive.:)
 
gun shows

last show I went to in SC they had 50 percent knifes and jewelry.tables of brownings and where did all those 1903 win pumps come from?surpluse web gear.no powder not much ammo.plenty of mags at fair price and more bull than in the fields.I grew up when 30/06 was plenty of gun and you were expected to kill clean.30/30 win in New England woods.lots of 35 rem marlins and rem mod 4 and 8.and if you heard more than two shots you knew they missed.amasing guns kept prices from 1900 to 1960 at about same price from 1960 to today they have gone up 1000%.45acp $35 to over $1500
:uhoh::rolleyes::D:neener:
 
I've only been to one gun snow.

It was enough.

Now I guess if it's a hobby, spectator kind of thing, you like the quirky people and the environment, it could be cool. But if you are actually going with intent to buy something and not for the recreational value of the show itself, I don't think it's a worthwhile time expenditure.

[as a noob] what I found is that if you go in looking for something and you know exactly what it is and what it is worth, you either will not find it, or will find it at an unreasonable price. If you don't know what you are looking for then you may end up buying some overpriced flea market stuff and be none the wiser.
 
While looking at a very used, (as in used for a plow blade at some point), CZ82 9mm Mak, I was told it was "New in Box". That one made me laugh out loud.:D

Picked up a NEW box of Winchester Silver Tips and heard "best ammo made..."
Opened it up and found reloaded lead round nose bullets. "They call it Silver Tip because of the color". I didn't laugh at that one. :banghead: Lying SOS.
 
Bartkowski-

I think I was at the same show yesterday (in York?)
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No, I was at the Washington county gun show.

I usually only go to the PGCA gun show and the washington county one. In winter when there is nothing to do I might go to small shows or ones far away.

Opened it up and found reloaded lead round nose bullets.
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Some guy where I was sold 5 rounds for $2. They were reloaded dirty cases with 5 types of bullets in a pack.
 
TEDDY wrote:
guns kept prices from 1900 to 1960 at about same price from 1960 to today they have gone up 1000%.45acp $35 to over $1500
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Teddy, 1964 was the last year silver coins were used. Then the silver standard was eradicated in the 70's.

You're seeing inflation (and cost increases due to foolish and immoral regulations such as the necessity for a gun dealer to have an FFL) reflected in firearm prices. Don't look at the numbers, look at what the per capita income was, then divide it by the price of the firearm. New firearm values are quite static, like gold and silver.

-Sans Authoritas
 
bogie said:
WILL YOU FLIPPIN' QUIT TALKING ABOUT "THE" GUN SHOW! THERE IS MORE THAN ONE OF THEM IN THE FLIPPIN' COUNTRY!
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Methinks bogie is a beef jerky vendor and is offended. :)
 
Bogie, calm down. It is just how most people talk. For instance, if you were going to a mall, you would probably say, I am going to the mall. Not I am going to a mall.
 
LeModel27-2TOPSTRAP.gif

"That ain't no Model 27. That's a Model 28, and a worn out one to boot. Boy, I been dealin' guns for fifty years, I know what I'm talkin' about. Now if you don't wanna buy it, just say so. Them Fragnizite grips are el-cheapos too. If $250 is too much for ya, how about $225?"

LesModel27-2LEFT.gif

Unfortunately, it was my buddy being talked down to like that, not me.

I did stop by and ask if the dealer had any more Model 28s though.
 
I once came across a dealer at my local show here in Albany, that offered 225.00 for my S&W 642, because he claimed to be able to get them new for that.
Yet when I reply, oh thats the best news I have heard all day, I will take two more at that price.
The dealer just mumbles excuses.
So I guess I am trying to say you can recognize shineola when you come across it, and no body is forcing you to take a bite.
I rarely go to shows now due to all the crud encountered.
 
The guns, 50 in all, included an AR-50 sniper rifle worth $20,000 to $30,000, capable of hitting a quarter-size target from a mile and a half away, Strain said. Navy Seals call the rifle “God,” Lt. Bobby Juge said.
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Isn't that about 1/20 MOA? I just know this isn't right.
 
Sign on a rifle:

"280 Remington
7mm Remington Express
7mm-08"

I was about 12 at the time and knew the difference.
 
Im a gunshow newb. And must admit that I was once convinced that a High Point .40 cal carbine actually cost $350. Boy was I mad when I found out how much they actually cost. And when I bought ammo for it (from another dealer) found out at the range it was reloaded ammo. (Casings didn't match the box or each other) and some how a 9mm wound up in my reloaded .40 cal ammo. Well I found out afterwards that a 9mm will fire in a .40 cal but not without the casing expanding in the bore. :(

Leason: Check gunbroker.com for fair prices and INSPECT your ammo!
 
Oh, look at it as a cheap audience-participation live entertainment; you know, dinner theater in the round--except you don't have to shave or bathe and the 'dinner' part is limited to hot dogs, nachos and (in Iowa at least) beer.

You meet a couple of nice folks, get their cards, maybe visit their store sometime, buy some odds and ends you've been looking for--and you can *&^% with the no goodnicks and mock the little nazi in the corner wearing the leather vest trying to pass of ss 109 ammo as 'armor piercing' and asking a buck a round.
 
I had a guy selling Chicom knives for 3/$10 try to tell me that the "440" steel in his blades was superior to 440c.


FWIW, I work in an office 5 days a week in a VERY Liberal industry with co-workers who are 95% lefties. When I go to a gun or knife show I am so happy to rub elbows with right wingers I don't care if some of them are stupid :D

ETA: I have found that most gun show people are just like us, if not a little less informed. Like any group, a small portion of them are just out to take advantage of someone who knows less than they do.
 
There is "the" internet.

There is no "the gun forum" on the internet.

Being specific in your speech is just one more facet of situational awareness.

I deal with it from my girlfriend a lot - her family was very into "take care of the girls" when she was growing up.

"My car doesn't work."

"Why doesn't it work."

"It won't work."

(I'm supposed to drive over and make it work)

"What are you doing when it won't work?"

"I'm trying to start it."

"Okay. You didn't leave the headlights on, did you?"

"No."

"Okay, when you turn the lights on, they come on, right? Just turn them on, look, then turn them off."

"They work."

"Okay. What happens when you turn the key?" (I won't hear anything about clicking noises, because she's deaf).

"Nothing."

"Okay - make sure the car is in park."

"OH!"

She's just never gone beyond her own sphere of reference, and that sphere was "if anything doesn't work, call Daddy." She's learning to be more self-sufficient. Which is a good thing.

Now, how does this pertain?

Some of y'all have to figure out that there is more than one gun show, and there is a world beyond your county line.

And I bet we see at least one post within the next week alarming over the fact that "wal-mart is out of ammunition!" - and it will be one wal-mart, somewhere, that had gunny #1 come in and buy all their 9mm white box, and before they restocked it, gunny #2 walked in, noticed the empty hole in the counter, and went into "omg!" mode...
 
Xavier Breath...

For $250, he could call it a Detective Special and I'd have bought it! I really want a 3.5 M27.

Gun Shows are fun if you allow them to be. One meets nice folks and sees what is on the open market at the moment. I don't buy much military gear these days and I'm not a jerky afficianado, so I just smile and nod to the folks as I go by.

There are a few guns I still want and some accessories. I keep buying grips for 1911 pistols and K and N frame S&W revolvers. Everyone once in a while I will find an odd holster for my odd holster collection. I find one cannot have too many plastic ammo boxes for the calibers I shoot. The local gun show is my primary source of primers these days. I found a nice set of kitchen (cooking) knives and a wood rack for same at a gun show this last year on one of the 'flea market' tables.

Yes, there is a lot of 'bad information' at gun shows. And, there is a fair amount of 'good information'. Sometimes, from the same person. I met a gentleman who knows all there is to know about Mauser rifles - seriously. He knows all the manufacturers codes, the calibers and models and all sorts of trivia. He also knows exactly where the government hides the UFOs it captures. Like I said, good and bad. Learn to evaluate.

Look a lot, ask questions and cross check on either the internet or one of several fine forums, such as the High Road. One can learn much.

Another basic rule of gun shows is to know what you seek. And, know how much you have with which to dicker. No point is looking for a fine Parker double and only having $300 in your pocket. But if you're not crowding out a paying customer, most of the sellers will educate you some.

Finally. If you didn't go to the gun show, where would you be? Cleaning out the garage? With the wife at the shoe store giving your opinion on 'flats vs. pumps'? You have to be somewhere, guys...
 
Bogie, I am sure that most if not all of us are aware that there are hundreds or thousands of gun shows going on in different places in the country at any given time. We assume that the others reading also understand this. That is why we say "the gun show".

Yes you are right specifics are important IF you need to know the specifics such as troubleshooting a car but, this is not something that we need specifics on because once again we are pretty sure that the others reading this know that we are not saying that there is only one gun show in the world.
 
Went to the gun and jerky show a couple of weeks ago. There was a guy selling old british revolvers, he was marking the prices up as we walked up. He had an old Enfield 38 S&W marked up from $260.00 to $395.00. I told him I'd pay the 265.00 and he looked at me funny.

He took out his marker and blacked the 260 out a little more and said he would take 375,,,I rolled with laughter and said, "I bet you would." He then got mad and started blacking out the old prices on everything as dark as possible.

There is always a guy with surplus reloading componets there. He wont give you a price til you ask,,,,,,,wait for it,,,,,,,,,,,,"because metals prices fluctuate wildly so they check and adjust them hourly". "50 BMG projectiles are pure copper and the chinese are buying up all of them", was his other famous line.
 
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There is always a guy with surplus reloading componets there. He wont give you a price til you ask,,,,,,,wait for it,,,,,,,,,,,,"because metals prices fluctuate wildly so they check and adjust them hourly". "50 BMG projectiles are pure copper and the chinese are buying up all of them", was his other famous line
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lonegunman says this like it's a joke or something.
 
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