Gun Show expectations

[smtimelevi]

hills of West Virginia level....

LMAO, Its time for my first texas gun show

 

[n5wd]

...The entertainment value is high with me, spending $7 on a show that takes an hour or two to go to is better than spending $9 for a movie in a theater.

C'mon over to the Fort Worth show at Will Rogers Colesium, then Three hours, and I had to rush and not get to see everything because I got there late and was gonna get thrown out! ;-) Total cost to get in: $4 ($1 off the $10 admission, the $5 parking garage fee refunded in cash on the spot).

 

[n5wd]

hills of West Virginia level....

Dude, there was so much eye candy walking around at the Fort Worth show, it was sometimes hard to keep your eyes on the firearms! Along with a few of the Hatfields and McCoys.

 

[bdhutier]

definitely some first rate "people watching" at a gun show!

We've always encountered a few odd-balls and militia recruiters, but most people are nice.

What gets me is the people who keep pointing at my kids and saying things like, "We need more cute white kids like yours around here!!" Top that off with the fact that only one guy in 10,000sq/ft has anything blackpowder, and he thinks it as valuable as an original owned by a Civil War general when it's $300 new.

Just pisses me off anymore. I love to go, but I usually walk away frustrated.

 

[TheDan]

What I expect is a big sweaty crowd, over priced guns, mediocre variety, and lots of nuts trying to push a political agenda

What I want is:

-More walking space between isles. Prevents people from getting so sweaty and having to rub man bodies together just to walk. (not that there's anything wrong with that if you're into it...)

-More guns, less beef jerky (and other crap)

-Reasonable prices. What's reasonable? New guns would be "internet price" plus ~$50. Used guns, it varies...

 

[twain55]

The entertainment value is part of it but not all.

The MOST important thing that I expect from a gun show is a bargain. If I can get it cheaper somewhere else I will. This includes Academy or Walmart. I don’t need to pay extra because the seller knows a lot. I do most of my own research. (texasguntalk.com, friends, etc.)

Some of you will say it’s better to support the locals. The people that work in the retail stores are locals and I am supporting them by purchasing from where they work just as much as if I buy from the gun show.

In the last few years I have found that the prices at gun shows rarely beat the prices I can pay at a retail store.

About the only thing I buy anymore from gun shows is reloaded ammunition for plinking. But, after paying parking and the entry fee it is rarely a bargain anymore either.

Also, I go to a "gun show" to see guns, gun related products or outdoor products. I don't want to see jewelry and old lady knickknacks.

Tip to gun show sellers…if you have netting over your product…I will not stop to look.

I know most of this sounds negative…I’m not normally a negative guy but I just really have been disappointed in gun shows lately.

 

[shortround]

hills of West Virginia level....

Them's some mighty fine hills. Girls got one leg shorter than the other to run away from her brothers and male cousins up in thar hills.

Be well.

 

[Muzzle210]

Muzzle210, come out to the gun show this upcoming weekend at the SA Expo Center behind Freeman Coliseum and you'll see how a gun show should be....

I had planned on going, but had family stuff pop up. I'll be out of town

 

[ROGER4314]

I've been going to gun shows for about 40 years. The first ones I attended were in Oklahoma where the giant show at the fairgrounds takes place. That was filled with guys like you and me who just wanted to shoot the bull, haggle and trade. That continued when I got to Texas in 1992. The shows were great and I always looked forward to seeing my haggling buddies. Death, ATF and the tax people gradually shut those private sellers down so mainly the licensed dealers show up now. For a while the tax folks visited the tables and even private sales had to show a tax stamp for sales tax. How's that for total BS? You can still snag a bargain from a person walking around the show, now but not often.

So, what makes a good/bad show? When the dealers have prices that are higher than Academy, Carters, Walmart it's a "hit the door in disgust" show. During the panic after Obamas' election, the prices were outrageous on firearms and many of the dealers resorted to cheating their customers. Offering $100 in trade on a $500 pistol or rifle means they're just looking for a sucker who doesn't know their gun prices. They also developed a "take it or leave it" attitude and said so in those words. That's another "hit the door" sign.

Things have settled down now and prices have leveled off at a fair point. Sometimes you can find a good deal and the seller attitudes have definitely mellowed in the last year or so.

Flash

 

[Ranger60]

I go to gun shows to meet friends, socialize, look at stuff, see what is out there. Rarely buy unless it is a dealer I know or it's just some small stuff.

 

[zfields]

hills of West Virginia level....

Hey now, I lived in WV for a while, Ive seen just as bad in TX. Or CA, or NV, or just about any other state in about the same ratio.

 

[shooterfpga]

We've always encountered a few odd-balls and militia recruiters, but most people are nice.

What gets me is the people who keep pointing at my kids and saying things like, "We need more cute white kids like yours around here!!" Top that off with the fact that only one guy in 10,000sq/ft has anything blackpowder, and he thinks it as valuable as an original owned by a Civil War general when it's $300 new.

Just pisses me off anymore. I love to go, but I usually walk away frustrated.

i pretty much stopped going to gun shows. i went to one earlier this year and its the same way it was before. its always the same junk, same people. sometimes you find a good deal and sure ammo is probably the only reason to go. besides that its just like any town rodeo, same people same stuff same town drama.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[Texas Solo]

All the shows seem the same to me, some larger than others, but the same. I still like just cruising the isles and looking, but the days of getting a deal are gone. Today it's about just finding what you need/want. Sadly, that's all I expect from a show anymore. But there are a couple of things that really tick me off:

1) when I see a Mary Kay cosmetics table at a gun show. Saxet did this. It's a GUN show folks! Tables full of junk jewelry and cosmetics tell me that the promoter is willing to rent a table to anyone, and I don't appreciate that.

2) when I see things that I know were purchased at Academy and just marked way up by the vendor. That's just taking advantage of naive folks who don't know better. This happens a lot with ammo. Whenever you see "Monarch" ammo, it's from Academy. Monarch is their trade name and it's actually from Privi Partisen or Barnall. When I see this ammo, which I know was purchased at Academy for 1/2 of what the vendor is selling it for, it pisses me off. That's just ripping people off. Yeah, I know all about capitalism, but it still stinks.