Jump to content
SASS Wire Forum

I attended my first gun show..


Recommended Posts

..and boy, was it a letdown.  But first, a little backstory.

  After making Youtube channels like Forgotten Weapons and Active Self Protection part of my daily routine a couple years ago I decided it was time for me to get my first firearm. I did a little research, read some opinions and guides, and started considering which would be a good starter gun for me to buy.. and then Covid happened, and every gun shop, pawn shop, and sporting goods store were completely cleaned out. I fully admit that i'd been "caught with my pants down" since I had no rifle, no shotgun, no pistol, no revolver, no Derringer, no crossbow, not even a sharpened stick in my arsenal. If anybody ever wanted to gloat and say "I told you so" that would have been the time to do it.

  Earlier this year I saw a flier online that there would be a gun show held in a convention center in my city. The website advertised "Multiple Gun Giveaways at every show along with hundreds of other prizes to be won on the hour every hour." I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to browse for something that suited me. So the morning of the event arrives, and it's raining cats and dogs. I show up half an hour early to the convention center, and there's a enormous line stretching from the doorways along the sidewalk path all the way out to the parking lot and then some. I wore a zip up jacket, anticipating that the inside of the building would get very hot, but this also meant I was ill prepared for the cold weather. I resign myself to getting drenched and take my place in line next to all the other patrons, shivering and yawning.

  The line creeped forward at a snail's pace, and after about 25 minutes I manage to reach the glass doors of the building and get inside out of the rain. I stand in another line to pay for my ticket where the cashier informs me the price is higher than what was listed on the website. A little irritating, but I brush it off and pay for General Admission. After this, I stand in another line stretching into a long M shape next to hundreds of other people who wore masks over their chins instead of their mouths/noses, inside the hallway but not actually in any of the rooms where vendors are. This line does not move at all and after about 90 minutes I start to second guess my decision to come here, but decide to fully commit to it since I made the trip. After an eternity I finally manage to get inside the main room were people are all packed together like sardines, so tightly that anyone who raised an arm poked his neighbor in the ribs.

  Every table is crowded with people who don't move so I pick one section and stand near it, waiting for a gap in the line to creep close enough to see what is on each table. Nothing especially stands out to me and the few things I do see that I recognize aren't what I was hoping to find. I don't know a lot about brands and manufacturers, just a small amount of what i've heard such as Hi-Points are considered undesirable by most serious gun owners. I do manage to find things I would consider such as the Beretta 92, except the only one there is chambered in .22 instead of 9mm like i'd hoped. I'd find Glocks, but in .45 and with only 10 round capacity magazines. A few revolvers, but mostly little Heritage Rough Riders or ridiculous handcannons in .454/.500. What few used guns being sold were pitted/rusted/chipped/cracked/tarnished/discolored antiques in terrible shape yet still being sold for prices well over MSRP. I did manage to find a Thompson 1927-A1 and held it for the first time, which was a small positive. I will say this though, in all the movies and TV shows i've watched in my lifetime involving this gun, I never once heard anybody comment on just how heavy it is. I entered a sweepstakes online for one of these being given away and was disappointed not to be picked, however after actually seeing it in person I don't think i'm too let down after all.

  After picking up a few guns hundreds of other people touched to get an idea of how they felt in my grip, my hands became filthy with gun oil and grime. I made the mistake of not bringing any tissues or napkins, so I had to enjoy that bit of unpleasantness. I followed the human current past the tables to the bathrooms where of course all of the soap and paper hand towels were gone. I rinsed with cold water, shook my hands off the best I could and continued to browse, deciding to look for these giveaways i'd seen being advertised. The only things I actually saw with paper sweepstakes forms were a company advertising windows, and another from a farming company where the prize was a plastic bucket/tub. Nowhere on the whole floor were "hundreds of prizes" being given away nor did I see one single section where there could have been an entry form for a firearm which greatly disappointed me. The combination of the heat, noise, hunger, sweat and cramped quarters soured my mood and since I didn't feel like paying $9 for a homemade bakery square sitting uncovered at an unattended table nor a $20 bag of kettle corn, I decided to concede defeat and left the building a heck of a lot faster than it took to get inside it.

  In summary, the whole experience was a sodden and miserable affair, and even though my expectations were low I still felt miffed at how the whole day went. I complained to the event organizers about the higher entry price and the lack of giveaways and in return received a generic apology statement and an advertisement for a future gun show being held at the same place later in the year. This lead me to the site GunBroker where I have had equally dismal success acquiring what I want, but on the plus side it did lead me to this forum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Pretty much equivalent to my gun show experiences over the last couple years.

 

Your testimony however is quite articulate and well written. Very much enjoyed your narration.  In fact I probably enjoyed your post much more than you enjoyed your gun show. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gun shows are crazy now. The last two I went to had such a long line to get in that I turned around and left! The reports I heard from some pards who did go tend to echo your narrative.

 

However, I did go to a small local gun show last October and scored a Colt Detective Special for a very fair price.B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you have no experience with firearms a gun show is usually not the best place to gain any useful knowledge. As a novice it will be hard to separate the ramblings of self appointed experts from the truly knowledgeable. Hopefully you can find a friendly local gun shop with a staff of people willing to help you. These places do exist.

 

Here’s a suggestion. You may want to consider attending a SASS match sometime. While we concentrate on old west firearms, there are many members who alphabet vast experience in Guns of all types. Our ranks include firearms instructors, gunsmiths, shop owners, gun writers and the whole gamut of firearms fanciers. They are always happy to meet and greet someone new. Ours is a friendly, family oriented sport and could be a good experience for you. Even if you never get a six gun or shoot a match.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That has sure NOT been my experience of Gun Shows up Here. 

Even though the past few years have had many guns priced above where they should be .  The bargains are still there if you know your stuff. 

But sometimes you don't find what you want. 

Glocks if you want them are plentiful. 

The Food Prices are as you stated at the Big Shows , but plenty of smaller show have good food at a fair price.

Primers are in good supply ,,,,,, but prices are NUTS .

 

Jabez Cowboy 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I go to gun shows.  About once a year I buy a firearm.  Mostly I go because the anti- gun folks don’t like them, and I prefer living in a state and nation where gun shows can still be held.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It just takes one good deal to make a show more than worth the price of admission. You never know what you will see on the next table. Don't give up on them after one not so good experience.  And you haven't really been to a gun show till you attend the Wanemacher's show in Tulsa.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been going to gun shows since I was a little boy.  I'm disappointed that you had such an unpleasant experience with the show you attended, but these times are an aberration and certainly not an example of the overwhelming majority of gun shows I have attended over the last 60 years.  I had the good fortune to be raised reading the American Rifleman, Gun Digest and Shooter's Bible literally from the time I learned to read.  Being at the beginning of the learning curve combined with the crowd  was probably pretty overwhelming.  

 

To help prepare for your next gun show, join the NRA so that you can get a subscription to the American Rifleman, subscribe to American Handgunner, and go down to the local Ollie's store to obtained discounted copies of Gun Digest and the Gun Trader's Guide.  

 

When you start going to more gun shows, you can have an opportunity to establish relationships with the repeat vendors.  Don't discount these relationshps, as I was at the Gettysburg Gun Show talking to a dealing I knew from before,  We were talking and I don't remember how we got on the subject of Russian firearms with Finnish capture marks.  All of a sudden he reached under the table and pulls out a Russian Nagant revolver with Finnish capture marks and made me a great cash sale offer.  I practically broke my wrist pulling out $140 in paper money  and 10 Golden Dollars as a deposit until I could get out to a branch of my bank and get the rest of the payment.

 

And one more piece of advice as a corollary to the above paragraph.  Take plenty of cash money.  Cash in hand is a gateway to deals on price. 

 

Good luck on your next gun show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have an old curmudgeon Winchester collector buddy that lives up the road that has a table at a gunshow about every weekend.   It's not so much to sale guns as it is to have a place to set while the mass of people crawl by.  He's there like an old catfish under a log waiting for supper to come by. He'll snag a couple of items for his collection or things he knows he can flip for a profit.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most gun shows near me are held by the WA Arms Collectors Assn, and you have to be a member to set up a table there or buy a firearm. The general public can only buy ammo and accessories. The good thing is that it weeds out a lot of the trash vendors and paranoid/white racist/screw-the-ATF types. The bad thing is that it doesn't help make the tables any more interesting. The nice guns are often traded between table vendors before the show even opens on a Saturday morning, and by noon what's left is usually just Hi-Points, Taurus, and various broken/refinished/misrepresented guns, along with fake jewelry and beef jerky.

 

Beyond that, this is a really bad time to be hitting gun shows if you're looking for a deal or trying to avoid large crowds. The current gun and ammo-buying panic is on full display at virtually every show, and unless you really want that single $150 box of .38 Special bad enough you're going to leave disappointed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Bladesmith said:

It just takes one good deal to make a show more than worth the price of admission. You never know what you will see on the next table. Don't give up on them after one not so good experience.  And you haven't really been to a gun show till you attend the Wanemacher's show in Tulsa.

The last gun show here, about six weeks ago, was much as you described. After five hours I scored a magazine apiece for two pistols (one didn't fit at all and the jackasses don't respond to phone or email messages.) and a hundred round box of .22 short for $12.00.  Got home and went to put the ammo away and found an identical box already there.  I sold the .22 short ammo for a buck more than I paid for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i enjoyed the read - you are a great writer , the narrative was clear and depicted a lot of my own experiences , 

 

however i did enjoy mine , i did [as you] know what i wanted but never expected to find it , when i did i bought , i did not go there expecting to fill a hole in my life - that was already filled and im not gloating as i know there are many like you that never thought much of it till now , funny how that happens when political lies get proven wrong ,

 

i grew up with and bought early in life many guns , those i lost over the years through stupidity ive replaced and have what i need , i raised my family that way ,

 

unprepared is not a way to go through life - please note i did not quote animal house only alluded to it , i understand completely where you are and your disappointment , i disdain all that you mentioned of your experience yet feel almost everyone needs to see and experience this to fully comprehend the entire picture , all those things you dont need/want are worth knowing about , someday one of those dumb things might keep you off the train to some camp or protect/feed  your family in that dire moment - need to at least know of it

 

its like having a box of BP cartridge's for your revolver that you only shoot smokeless in , they last forever and work great , think of all that old ordinance that turns up that causes the emergency teams to clear - because its still viable after a century or two in the ground or under water , 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find any more it's a waste of a day going to a gunshow.  Not that I mind that as it's something to do when you can't find something else to do.

 

There was a guy putting on small shows in small towns around the area but he died and sons just completed the bookings they had scheduled and quit.  The small shows tended to have more old guns and less tacticool guns.  And, I'd more than likely ran into old buddies at these shows. 

 

I would occasionally take a gun to sale or trade. That was always disappointing.  Everyone wanted to look at what I had but never came close to making a deal.

 

Now we have a long list of gunshops that tend to get interesting stuff in. I'm more likely to be able to deal with them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

I go to gun shows.  About once a year I buy a firearm.  Mostly I go because the anti- gun folks don’t like them, and I prefer living in a state and nation where gun shows can still be held.

That's pretty much why I go, to support the gun shows around here and boredom also has something to do with it!:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sir 

 

 Going to a show , right now , is a crap shoot at best , I go to look for parts , and once in a while find something worth bringing home 

 

 I do NOT go in looking for any thing , special , at times there are bargins , if you know what to look for 

 

 I have been around the gun shows , since 1990 of so , some times as a vendor , most of the time as a parts hunter 

 

 smaller shows tend to be better for me to find things , somethins it is info on where things may be located 

 

  Good luck , on the hunt , 

 

  Chickasaw 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, JebidiahBeetus said:

..pay for my ticket where the cashier informs me the price is higher than what was listed on the website. ..

 

Bait and switch.  Since the advertised entry fee wasn't accurate I'd suspect the "Hourly free prizes" wouldn't be true either. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, punxsutawneypete said:

I've been going to gun shows since I was a little boy.  I'm disappointed that you had such an unpleasant experience with the show you attended, but these times are an aberration and certainly not an example of the overwhelming majority of gun shows I have attended over the last 60 years.  I had the good fortune to be raised reading the American Rifleman, Gun Digest and Shooter's Bible literally from the time I learned to read.  Being at the beginning of the learning curve combined with the crowd  was probably pretty overwhelming.  

 

To help prepare for your next gun show, join the NRA so that you can get a subscription to the American Rifleman, subscribe to American Handgunner, and go down to the local Ollie's store to obtained discounted copies of Gun Digest and the Gun Trader's Guide.  

 

When you start going to more gun shows, you can have an opportunity to establish relationships with the repeat vendors.  Don't discount these relationshps, as I was at the Gettysburg Gun Show talking to a dealing I knew from before,  We were talking and I don't remember how we got on the subject of Russian firearms with Finnish capture marks.  All of a sudden he reached under the table and pulls out a Russian Nagant revolver with Finnish capture marks and made me a great cash sale offer.  I practically broke my wrist pulling out $140 in paper money  and 10 Golden Dollars as a deposit until I could get out to a branch of my bank and get the rest of the payment.

 

And one more piece of advice as a corollary to the above paragraph.  Take plenty of cash money.  Cash in hand is a gateway to deals on price. 

 

Good luck on your next gun show.

Some gun shows offer discounted entry to NRA members - just another reason to join.  

 

I you were local to me I would advise you to go to an indoor gun range that rents firearms and try their rentals.  You buy a box of ammo, rent a shooting lane and a gun and try it out.  Doing so you may discover a hand gun you love. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

when I was getting into guns, I would frequent a few shows, it was nice to see some things in real life that I wasn't necessarily going to ever get (like a broom handle Mauser).  My first few purchases were at shows and I'd buy and trade until I found stuff I liked.  some of the most useful things I've found at gun shows was knowledge, the kind that can't be had on the web or in books, this kind;

14 hours ago, JebidiahBeetus said:

I never once heard anybody comment on just how heavy it is.

you can get better knowledge from a gun range that will let you rent the firearm, but you a good gun show is going to have a larger selection of things you won't be able to try at your average gun range.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm no gun show guru by any shot of the imagination but here's my take on todays gun shows (and in general) versus pre Covid gun shows.

 

- Don't waste your time filling out cards and the like for the "free" giveaway. All they want is your information so they can sell your info and you can receive a bunch of unwanted spam.

 

- Don't go to the gun show when it opens unless you have something to sell. In that case, use a sign with clear price/info and walk slowly from the start of the line  to the end of the line where you'll end up anyway. Chances are real good that you'll sell your item before you even get in the show.

 

- If you're going looking for "the deal of the Century", forget it. Ain't happening at present day gun shows.

 

- Don't be afraid to dicker back and forth on price....don't be afraid to walk away either.

 

- Be aware that everything is going to be overpriced until everything comes back in stock.

 

- Keep in mind, this is a sellers market, much like real estate right now. The market WILL drop and when it does, it'll drop like a rock. It may take a while, maybe even years but it will return to normal prices.

 

- Remember that some of these so called sellers aren't really there to sell stuff. To them, it's a social event and if they sell anything it'll be at a large profit.

 

- Instead of gun shows, go to your local gun shop. Most will be somewhat flexible on price, order what you want, have knowledge of the gun/ammo/accessories of what you desire. There is also the "service after the sale". If a gun/magazine/accessory is defective, just try taking it back to the gun show.....NOT.

 

- Above all, BE PATIENT. What you are looking for will come around sooner or later. Be ready and financially able to jump on it when it does.

 

YMMV

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I stood in line for a gun show once on the first weekend they were open after the kung flu lockdown.  That was the only gunshow where I got there early and I was told later that it's always been like that when it first opens.  So just go later to avoid those lines. 

 

Pay attention to who put on the show you went to.  Odds are they'll have the same vendors when they put on other shows, but if you go to a show put on by a different promoter, even if it's in the same place, there will be a lot of different vendors.  I always like the shows put on by gun clubs better than the rest.  That's a good place to find guys who like to tell you all about the guns. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been going to gun shows since the 1960's. 

Still....there are some things I have to remind myself, before I walk in the door.

1. If you don't know what something is worth, you will get fleeced. They don't seem to understand that you can go to hell for stealing, same as you can for murder. Know what you want/and are looking for, and know the fair price for it, and that takes some research before you go to the gunshow.

2. The person selling the item usually knows less about what they are selling, than you do, but you can't argue with them. They know it all, and everything they have for sale is a "collector/rare item".

3. If you see something you want, and the price is right, and after you look at it, and it is in good shape, you then have to decide something. If you buy it right here and then, you may go around the corner and find the same thing, in better condition, and cheaper. Or, if you pass on it, and intend to come back, you may find out it was sold...or...you can't remember exactly where, in the gun show, it was located.  You have to make a decision pretty quickly, sometimes. 

4. Wear white cotton gloves, so you can pick up the item, and examine it (if they will let you). That way, you won't leave your greasy finger prints on it, 

5. Look at the bore of the item. That will make or break a deal. 

6. Unless you have a bore-light, that you can send down the barrel of a used muzzleloader, don't even look at them. They could look great on the outside, and the bore could look like a sow's bed.  

7. Never take a gun to trade. They have to re-sell it, so they will never give you what it is worth...unless they want it for themselves, to add to their own collection.

8. The dealers are there to make a little money, not to do you any favors, unless the seller is your parents, or your sibling. Even then, be careful.

9. Like as not, the prices will not be a bargain. Getting a great deal is the rare exception, not the rule. 

10. If you haven't ever been to a gun show, or not many, take someone with you that has gun show experience. He/She can reign you in, on impulse buying, and may help you avoid getting shafted on the price, or the product. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.