My Experience At Texas Gun Shows, Austin, Oct 17th.

[TXPTuff]

This may be removed at the prerogative of the moderators, but I'm going to post it anyway. I don't want people to get cheated. I love gun shows, but this one left me more than disappointed.

I just got back from the Texas Gun Shows event in Austin, TX. What a huge rip off. I should have known something was up when the parking lot is less than half full. Went in and asked the cashier if there were any vendors in there that dealt in grips. She said there were some, but she couldn't say for sure which were there. All I had to do was pay $7.00 and I could run in there and take a look. $7.00 and 5 minutes later I was back out asking for a refund or free admission to next month's show. The place is more than half empty and only 2 or 3 dedicated gun vendors. A few independent weekender and trinket vendors thrown in for good measure. After talking with the cashier, promoter's right hand man and the promoter, I was told no to the refund and that I was the only unhappy customer they've had. Three times I got the excuses that it was Texas-Oklahoma weekend, they didn't have time to put together a show, the vendors went to the Waco show, Saxet lost their lease and we good guys are stepping in to host the monthly show. To quote the promoter, "I have to pay the lease." The promoter is in for the quick buck and doesn't mind cheating their customers. Take my story at face value as it is just my experience. Do NOT go to Texas Gun Show's event in Austin this week or any other week in my opinion. Maybe the promoter will offer me a refund or free admission once he comes to his senses.

 

[Texas Bulldog]

No offense but its 7bux.

I went to the last show looking for 10mm ammo... so if they didn't have 10mm ammo I should of got my money back?

and yeah, its a huge football rivalry weekend. People are going to have attention focused elsewhere.

 

[TXPTuff]

Well, I was lead to believe it was a real gun show and that more than likely they had vendors for the item I was looking for. I was in there for 5 minutes. It's not like I browsed the tables for an hour and then asked for my money back. The whole show would have taken me 15 minutes with a bathroom break. Small show. Guess that is why they took your money at the outer doors before you could see what was inside. Heck, if the guy would have given me 1/2 back rather than giving me a list of excuses and then the 'tough $heet' attitude, I'd only be angry at myself for not exercising a little caution.

If the vendors were taking the weekend off, I'd understand, but they are attending other shows. I can guess why.

BTW. Go OU!!!

 

[charlie-6]

Left the austin gun show, nothing to see-buy saxton lost their leese, wish i had my 7.00 back, they should pay me 7.00 just to come in.

 

[CALI]

Totally agree...I was disappointed as well especially no one looked familiar to bullshit with. It looks like I am going to Waco or SA from now on. Even though they tell you that the $7.00 fee includes Sunday's. I don't think I'm coming back, lesson learned.

 

[TxEMTP69]

Well that sux that there wasn't much there or you didn't get your money back.

 

[jdh]

It is Texas/OU weekend. Saxet lost their lease and Texas had less than two weeks to put together and unscheduled event. Vendors had other plans for the weekend or other shows already scheduled. Many vendors have their shows planned a year in advance.

Cut them a little slack. They did the best they could with the time they had.

 

[biglucky]

It is Texas/OU weekend. Saxet lost their lease and Texas had less than two weeks to put together and unscheduled event. Vendors had other plans for the weekend or other shows already scheduled. Many vendors have their shows planned a year in advance.

Cut them a little slack. They did the best they could with the time they had.

Yeah but that slack needs to go both ways.. if they know they put together a crap show on short notice then there isn't much reason to charge people 7 bucks...

 

[Gator5713]

Hmm, well, I guess I'm glad I was busy and couldn't make it over there! I didn't know that Saxet had lost the lease and its a 100 mile drive for me... Maybe they will get the show back up to snuff soon...

 

[TexasR.N.]

I went to the Ft. Worth gun show last week and have probably been to my last. The ammo was more expensive than it is at the retail shops, used gun prices higher than new. An example of this was a Ruger 10/22. Bought one this past Friday at academy for 189.00 plus tax. The cheapest one I found at the Ft. Worth gun show 240.00. Bought a Mosin Nagant for 100.00 at a pawn shop, one of equal quality at the gun show...200.00

And then there were the vendors....A few were nice to talk to and quickly answered questions. The others couldn't have been bothered. Arrogant seems about the best adjective I can come up with.

BTW the Waco gun show is the same as the Ft. Worth gun show. I heard several vendors talking about how they would be in Waco next weekend (this weekend now).

I'll chock up the $8.00 I paid to get in as a lesson learned and look around locally and try out some of the internet ammo sale sites.

Again, this is just one man's opnion......

Craig

 

[jdh]

Yeah but that slack needs to go both ways.. if they know they put together a crap show on short notice then there isn't much reason to charge people 7 bucks...

The bills still have to be paid.

 

[TXchoctaw]

Don't forget the lost shirt..................

 

[ROGER4314]

Guys,

I have been attending guns shows for about 40 years and have seen many changes in that time. In the early years, folks would bring their own guns, put them on a table and haggle away. Gramps brought his granson and fathers showed their sons all about their favorite hobby. Heck, I bought guns sometimes just because the guy put up a great fight! It was a place when folks who thought alike and had similar interests could get together.

Now, the ATF has picked off the personal sales folks one-by-one and eliminating them from the shows. The personal sales guys get threatening letters from ATF and if they don't quit setting up, the ATF will haul them to the iron bar hotel. I know a number of folks who had that happen. Most quit selling after the threatening letters. The stubborn ones actually got arrested.

So, here's what you have............ gun show dealers have a captive audience and since folks want the merchandise, prices soar. The wait for a background check is sometimes 3-4 hours!

They snatch your ID and hold it with the gun behind the tables until your turn comes up. I have a CHL so no background check is required but I wait in line like the rest. You can't leave. They have you hooked because they have your ID! Once, I griped because I didn't want to leave my personal ID laying around the area unsupervised so the dealer refused to sell to me. He can shove that gun....OOPS.....(clean that up).

The bottom line is this: you can buy the same gun, ammo or accessories MUCH cheaper at a local business without the problems. Since the Internet became a reality, I can find parts and supplies and virtually everything that I need online and much cheaper, too.

Your $7 fee bought you the right to pay more, suffer from being forced into cattle chute lines with gruff, unreasonable vendors. Now we have the ATF in our back pocket and Texas sales tax enforcement folks to discourage participation of guys like you and me.

For me, the buddies I used to look forward to seeing are fewer and many have passed on to the shooting range in the sky.

What is left of the gun shows is a shame and a ripoff. I'll save my $7 and mow the yard instead.

Flash

 

[SteveSpread]

sorry to hear that this show sucked. on the dealers side, SAXET informed all of their vendors of the show being cancelled via email on Tuesday evening, 10/7/09 so alot of them jumped to Waco and Denton.

the other gun show promoter did not even put out word that he was going to do Crockett Center this weekend until Saturday, 10/10/09. so in that 3 day gap, alot of other dealers made plans to go elsewhere or just do other stuff.

i set up at Waco today and the show was pretty good. all 500 tables were occupied by dealers. there are two halls, the main hall and a smaller one off to the side. pretty good selection of guns, etc, with your obligatory t-shirt, beef jerky, junk jewelry etc vendors. one guy is set up next to me trying to sell a ghillie suit and "odorless" cigarettes or something whacked. but overall it looked to be a good turnout for both vendors and attendees.

if you want to go to a show this weekend you can try Waco, it is a drive admittedly but i guess it's better than going back to a gun show you can walk in 15 minutes too:

Waco Convention Center
100 Washington Ave
Waco, TX 76701-1434
(254) 750-5810

[url]http://www.originalfortworthgunshow.com/[/URL]

Sunday hours are 10-5, admission is $7.

 

[kizmazz]

Has anyone ever attended the gun show in Tulsa? It is advertised as the largest with approximately 4,000 tables. I am in Houston and hate to drive that far to find out it was a bust! Thanks.

 

[Ranger60]

Couple comments

The outfit running the show in Austin is the same outfit running shows at Live Oak in San Antonio, and yes, basically not worth the admission fee, I do not attend these shows.

I just moved to Austin a bit over a year ago and often attend the San Antonio SAXET show to meet friends.

Tulsa is an amazing show and very much lives up to it's hype. I have not been in several years, but have heard it has not changed. I would advise getting a hotel rooom in advance. When I went, ended up far away, everything was full, I did not reserve in advance, just showed up.

 

[ROGER4314]

Has anyone ever attended the gun show in Tulsa? It is advertised as the largest with approximately 4,000 tables. I am in Houston and hate to drive that far to find out it was a bust! Thanks.

I lived in Tulsa for many years and went to those giant shows at the fairgrounds. The show is so large that it can't really be seen in one day! The guys there navigate by using column and row designations because you'd NEVER find your way back to a table.

I brought a notebook and kept a record of things I was interested in, noted the location by column and row then made a final "cut" for purchases at the end of the day.

Bring some food as I remember the chow there sucks. The show is nothing like I've ever seen before in attending shows in 6 states for 40 years.

Surrounding towns like Broken Arrow have motels and they are only 14 miles away from the fairgrounds on 21st street.

While you are in the area, please look into the JM Davis Gun Museum in Claremore. Davis owned a hotel in Claremore and decorated the whole place.......every square inch..........with guns. When he died, the guns were moved to a museum nearby. It is the largest privately owned gun collection in the world. Here's link to their website:

http://www.thegunmuseum.com/menu1.htm

Davis didn't just collect guns. There is something there to interest everyone. You will see things that you never dreamed of at the museum and it''s only a tiny fraction of the firearms and weapons Davis had. DO NOT MISS IT! The place will knock your sox off and admission is free!

You might try calling a gunshop or sporting goods place for a current gun show status. I searched Tulsa businesses a couple of days ago so I know there are resources online.

Have fun!

Flash

 

[TXPTuff]

Don't know why I never went to the Tulsa gun show even though I lived in OK half my life. Guess I didn't know about how good the show was. Kicking myself now.

I second ROGER4314 on the JM Davis Gum Museum. It's been probably 15 years since I visited it and I can say it was worth the drive half way across the state. From the antique black powder weapons all the way to the WWII anti-tank cannon. The best collection I've ever seen. The Texas Ranger Museum in Waco is second. Never been to the NRA museum in NM, but some say it is good.

I response to jdh.....You are correct that the bills have to be paid, but if that is the way the promoter runs his business, he may get by. I might also think that he won't ever be as successful as he could. Putting on a half-arsed show and then having the attitude that his customers should suck it up and pay for it even though they get little or nothing from it reeks of irresponsibility and arrogance. What he did is not a crime, but that doesn't mean he isn't totally in the right.

As I said in a previous post, I would have taken half a refund and let him keep the rest as penance for being too unassuming. I would have gone home and not said a thing about it to anyone. His whining and his tough $heet attitude was insult to injury.

 

[si vis pacem para b]

Come to houston

We have some pretty good shows here in houston Some good deals some not so good deals but you will defintely get your 8 dollars worth. Come with a few buddies and share the cost of fuel.
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

 

[TexZaa]

Austin to San Antonio

I made the two hour drive from Austin to San Antonio last weekend to attend the gun show being held in the Freeman Coliseum. This show was almost a duplicate of the one held in Austin on N. Lamar. Many of the same vendors were there. There was almost everything I that cared to see except for a Beowulf .50cal that I've been longing for. I carried my Remington 700 PSS with me to sell or trade. If you have ever carried a heavy-barreled rifle for two and a half hours on concrete, I'm sure you can identify when I say it's not a fun activity. I was feeling pretty weighed down after the first hour, and even began formulating a plan to feel sorry for myself until I came across another fellow walking around with two ARs and a pistol looking like he just crossed the Sahara. My thought was: Next time...buy a table."

The attitude that one must adopt when going to a gun show to sell a firearm is: You will NOT get your price from any dealer. It's a fact of life as sure as the rising of the sun. I'm sure every one of you have heard them reply: "I can buy those all day long for $______ dollars." My response has always been: "wow...you should buy them!". It doesn't matter that the gun you are referring to hasn't been made for 10 years, their story is still "I can buy those all day long for half of what you're asking". Obviously their days are longer than mine.

In light of this, I learned that my attention should be paid to those walking the isles. These are the people anxious to buy and sell for reasonable prices. For instance, I met a guy walking around carrying a very nice Colt AR. There was one like it on a table nearby selling for $2000+. He told me that the dealers offered him $400. What an insult.

I pursuaded myself that it was worth the drive just to see their assault-jewelry and assault-art.