Gun show scare, I am not prepared.

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JD Powell

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So this fall I took myself down to the Louisville Gun Show. Had an old original M95 long rifle that I was hoping to trade for a H&R model 999 or a Savage model 24. Must have gone on the wrong day, cause the dealer were all a-holes to me. Only pleasant conversation I had was with a couple graybeards who recognized the "ol Austrian straight pull. So the day regressed to people watching for entertainment.

A group of three males seemed suspicious to me so I decided to observe for a few moments. Now I'm not here to start some racial BS so we'll leave that out, but these fellas were innercity gangbangers no doubt. The three were very obviously standing out from the crowd of mostly redneck Kentuckians. All wore thugged out clothing and spoke in virtually unintelligible slang. The fella in charge carried a paper bag of cash. I say fella in charge because the other two treated him as a C/O whatever their relationship actually was. Any how, they spent a good deal of time looking over the sprayguns before making their decisions.

Gangster #1 got a Tec-9 pistol. #2 a Saiga 12 with drum mag. And the big guy got some AR variant with beta mags. All three guns were paid for with cash from the paper sack. Now I will always be a proponent of everyone being armed, but these guys scared the poop outta me. Not that they were doing anything wrong at the time, but it's painfully obvious what type of work those guns will be put to. These days the bad guys are very well armed.
If they came to my door my mossy 500 just aint gonna cut it.

I don't really know what to say about this experience. Other than it really opened my eyes to those intent on doing harm. And I no longer consider anything we have as adequate for home defense.
 
This sounds like a 50-50 crap shoot. You could either be right, or you could be (incorrectly) judging a book by its cover.

In my area, it's the "outlaw biker" types that I see at the gun shows that make me nervous. Are they really outlaw bikers, or just decent human beings who live on the fringes of society? I really don't know.
 
Well, you don't hear about anyone wanting beta mags too often unless they're on that show Sons of Guns! Sounds like a couple of guys interested in tinkering around with auto sears. Drum mags are ridiculous unless you need some sort of belt-fed fire from hell!

From your vague description, it sounds like they were up to no good. But, honestly, who are we to judge? I'm glad you agree everyone should be armed, I concur, but I also agree that we live in a scary world and they let the strangest people purchase firearms. If it's lawful, then I can't really say much. It does remind me of the numbskulls in the next lane every time I go to the range. Some people with a gun in their hand absolutely terrify me!
 
Other than carrying money in a paper bag what about them told you they were gangbangers intending to do harm?
 
It is what it is and you can make whatever out of it.

I don't really know what to say about this experience.
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Not sure what your point is but if promoters stopped folks at the door based on looks, I might be one of them. You must not go to many gun shows as even in the Midwest, we have our share. I especially like the biker, ladies. One show I went to, had a lot of of skin-heads. There are always strange looking folks at gun shows and I don't take anyone for granted.

This sounds like a 50-50 crap shoot. You could either be right, or you could be (incorrectly) judging a book by its cover.
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Absolutely and perhaps even 60/40 to the good. .... :)

I try to walk the spiritual path, with practical feet.. ..... ;)


Be Safe !!!
 
Sounds like y'all shoulda run 'em out of town.

I guess I should check the dress code and be properly dressed when in Kentucky. Seriously, you need to revisit the concept of "innocent until proven guilty".
 
If ya'll ever see me, friends in our colors(biker attire for those not familiar), don't be leery. We're just in there doing the same as you are. We may even go to the same restaurants, banks, doctors,etc. as you...hell, we might even be related :eek:...so just come up and give us a BIG HUG! ;)
 
I was at the car dealership lately. Looking at a compact car, guy walked in with me wearing a NASCAR jacket and sunglasses. Guy was looking at a vette. There's nowhere around here where the speed limit is over 70, mostly 45 in the area of the dealership. Really scared me thinking what I speculated he would do with that car.

I'm sure the guys buying "scary looking" guns were treated the same as all other customers by the FFL dealer at the show, background check and all. Only point of this thread is to inflame opinions about those evil gunshows.
 
So how come nobody seems to be bothered when guys in Bocephus t-shirts buy AKs with drum mags and pay with cash? What percentage of rural KY pot fields (or moonshine stills) do you think are guarded by the same kind of guns?

Urban criminals with guns dont scare me any more that the rural ones. And we don't actually know these guys were anything other than fashionable college kids. Back when I was teaching middle school some of my smartest and best students looked exactly like some of the worst and most disruptive ones. Besides, to the casual observer watching me wearing casual clothes and paying cash at a gun show I would look just like one of those dreaded "militia types", just without the camo.
 
Sounds like my nephew before he joined the marine corp and went off to wear, he killed a bunck of bad guys over there and now dresses like a normal kinda guy.

I am a biker, wear biker stuff. But Iam also a cow boy albeit no hat just cows :) dont step in that...... :)

I took my BIL to a gun show, now he comes from a country they dont allow guns to the local populace. He was like a kid in a candy store. Someday he tells me he is going to buy one :) and learn how to shoot it. Dont go up against him with a bow tho, he is real good. He is also from Africa :)

Working here at the college I see a lot of young folks, many dress like a gansta, it is the fashion. They are here to get an education not do anyone harm...

Cant tell a book by its cover LOL open it up and get to know it before you pass judgement :)

I got kin live in shepardsville.......I dont judge them by their vocabulary, if I did why they would be labeled idiots, or morons....
 
Funny how in this thread everyone goes to bat for them, probably just fashionable kids and such.

Black person black hoodie thread, a black hoodie is immediately the uniform of a ruthless gangbanger...
 
I didn't see them so hard to evaluate the guys.

However, re the biker types, let me just say this. I'm sure not a biker, don't have a bike, and don't dress like a biker. However a few weeks ago we were eating dinner at a bar & grill in New Mexico, and in walked several guys with lots of hair and H-D jackets and all the leather. They sat down next to our table and said hi to us, and then we got to talking with them. They were three attorneys who went to school together and once a month they all meet and take a weekend trip somewhere just to get out and enjoy nature. Turns out that they even knew a friend of ours who is also an attorney in Texas.

Don't jump to judge too fast.

As far as the bag of cash, I usually take a zippered bank bag to gun shows with me. They don't take very many checks there.
 
Can't escape culture

We cannot escape culture completely, not even subsets of gun culture.

We cannot know what those young men were up to but it looks to me that they were brought to believe a certain type of firearm was more desirable - specifically semi auto with high capacity magazine capability. But then again that seems to include a lot of people these days. Can we say XDM, Pierce grip extenders, X-grips, 30 round Glock mags, the new 100 round AR mags by Surefire? And the latest shotgun models and tube extensions?

If they are immersed in urban/hip hop culture they will be pressured to prefer certain modes of dress, music, food/drink, speech, even choice of firearms. Youth who play certain video games pine for the same models they used in the game. Folks who have fond memories of western movies / frontier culture are a little more likely to get into Single Action guns. What young man fresh out of high school wants to be John Wayne these days? Does he say "give me a gun that tamed the West" as soon as he is of age? Put different groups together that don't value the same things and of course everyone is saying something is wrong with "those guys" over there.

It wasn't mentioned in the OP but some things about dress/conduct come to mind. If the men were being rude and rowdy that is one thing. But it may be that their way of dress fits right in back home and they just blend in without attracting much attention to themselves. I'd imagine they kept to themselves and were not so socially outgoing with the strangers there perhaps being aware they were the minority. Others certainly were.

I've seen people of all ranges of appearance and personal hygiene at gun shows. you know what I mean? I remember a determined looking green and yellow plaid jacketed man with wild light brown hair that smelled of something terrible - a variation of burnt rubber and tooth decay. I think he did it to part the sea of people.

Their purchase seems like the kind folks new to firearms would make - without the privilege of having been guided by folks here chiding them for the desire for all things tacti-cool. Give a young man from the suburbs a thousand dollars and he might walk out of there with the same stuff! who knows maybe that IS them and they're trying to go for a certain image. Our actions tell if we are living right or not.
 
I'm black and a biker. What does that classify me as? (I'm sorry but I couldn't resist...lol)
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Not enough info yet to classify you! Briefs or boxers?

One other question... Sorry, off topic, so don't let me steal the thread. I too ride a motorcycle. Does that make me a biker, or is it something else in addition to riding?
 
I'm black and a biker. What does that classify me as?
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In the Army if I had to guess.

So this fall I took myself down to the Louisville Gun Show. Had an old original M95 long rifle that I was hoping to trade for a H&R model 999 or a Savage model 24. Must have gone on the wrong day, cause the dealer were all a-holes to me.
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See whenever anyone starts a story saying that "Everyone else is an A-hole" normally that speaks volumes about the person telling the story.

A group of three males seemed suspicious to me so I decided to observe for a few moments. Now I'm not here to start some racial BS so we'll leave that out, but these fellas were innercity gangbangers no doubt.
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You knew this how?

The three were very obviously standing out from the crowd of mostly redneck Kentuckians.
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You are aware that over 150,000 black people live in the Louisville area? Why would it be strange to see them at a gun show?

All wore thugged out clothing and spoke in virtually unintelligible slang. The fella in charge carried a paper bag of cash. I say fella in charge because the other two treated him as a C/O whatever their relationship actually was. Any how, they spent a good deal of time looking over the sprayguns before making their decisions.
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Spray guns are pretty harmless. I am not sure why this was such a big issue for you. If you are from the deep country KY I wonder how intelligible your accent is to say someone from NJ? Who is to say these people were not family members with the older brother being "in charge"? You draw a lot of conclusions based on nothing. Are we to assume that if you wore your "redneck" clothing to Philadelphia you would be there for a cross burning? You really need to not be so prejudiced.

Gangster #1 got a Tec-9 pistol. #2 a Saiga 12 with drum mag. And the big guy got some AR variant with beta mags. All three guns were paid for with cash from the paper sack.
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If true (and I don't think it is) this is a huge red flag for a dealer as that could mean straw purchases. If one person bought the guns for other people I would be amazed if the ATF did not swarm the table. I don't know of any dealer who would sell to a suspected straw purchaser.

Now I will always be a proponent of everyone being armed, but these guys scared the poop outta me. Not that they were doing anything wrong at the time, but it's painfully obvious what type of work those guns will be put to.
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Which is what? You are starting to sound like the Bradys. ARs are so rarely used in crimes (less than 1%) in the US it silly to think that they would be used in a crime if that is what you are thinking.

The vast majority of criminals do not buy guns at gun shows. They also do not spend big dollars on guns either. Your ideas are starting to sound silly.
These days the bad guys are very well armed.
If they came to my door my mossy 500 just aint gonna cut it.
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Now you really are starting to sound like the Bradys. A TEC-9 is well armed? In what universe is that possible? The obsolete, no longer produced TEC-9 was one of the worst made guns of the last century. The idea that your Mossberg 500 is not superior to the TEC-9 is completely ludicrous.

I don't really know what to say about this experience. Other than it really opened my eyes to those intent on doing harm. And I no longer consider anything we have as adequate for home defense.
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I would say all it really did was draw out anti myths from your subconscious.
 
Always remember the really really dangerous ones look completely normal. If they are advertising how bad they are, they usually are in fact not.
 
Did they also preface their purchases by saying "Just to let you know, in case you were wondering or even if you weren't, I can't pass a background check."

Sounds like they were working for Bloomberg.
 
Saiga 12 with drum mag
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Only seen one of those in action. Sucker smoked my butt (and just about everyone else's) in the shotgun part of a three gun match.

Let me tell you, no way I could keep up with him trying to load my 872 riot gun.
 
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