Gun Shows...what's the point anymore?

Why I Go.

Well there is a gunshow down across the Skyway bridge I like to attend, because then I'm half way to Yoder's so I go and get a pie. Seeing as I'm almost there already.
:p
 
I stopped going a decade ago

I live in a very anti area and the local restrictions really made it difficult for vendors. There's probably fewer guns and more jerky/old Playboy's/coin collections.
Sad.
 
If you are a Marylander an go to an out of state gun show...I would bring cash instead of using your credit card --- because some gun show dealers will not sell certain items to a Marylander --- due to a number of Maryland anti-gun restrictions.
I can't verify the veracity of reports that have BATFE agents prowling the gun show parking lots for any vehicles bearing Maryland license plates, in such states as Virginia.
 
Any time I go to a gun show now I usually just find myself looking at milsurps. I gave up on finding a good deal on new guns long ago.
 
P5 Guy, before I left Bradenton, the Palmetto shows were getting hit and miss. Some would be good and others crap. Since Kahled bought Suncoast Gunshows, I wonder if it is going to be getting better or worse.

For pies, instead of Yoders try out Carribbean Pie Company. Their Key Lime pie is famous but a little too sweet for my tastes.

http://www.caribbeanpieco.com/
 
As BrotherBadger said, it is entertainment! What is the alternative, ballroom dancing with the missus? Taking her shopping and commenting on the endless shoes she tries on, that all look alike?

Even if I don't buy anything everytime, I like to look! Almost the same as gun (and the many other magazines I get), I look at the ads almost as much as read the ads-good way to see what is new before the writers get their free samples and compose 1,001 reasons why you need to buy the latest toy.
 
The last Premier Gun Show in Lewisville TX had a couple of custom rifle builders with lots of their rifles displayed that made the trip worthwhile. One table had about 30 Spyderco knives priced well below prices I have seen on the internet. They were all gone when I walked past about an hour later. I am not familiar enough with the Spyderco knives to know if they were fake.
 
There's probably fewer guns and more jerky/old Playboy's/coin collections.
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That pretty much describes the gun shows around here, they are more like a flea market then gun shows.
Very few guns or gun related items but tons of garage sale crap.

Speaking of flea markets, there's a big one in Kansas the first part of May that my wife and I go to.
I'll see more guns being displayed/sold over there then any of the big gun shows in KC and there's no admission fee.
 
The gunshows where I am at are getting pretty bad. I don't even know why they are still happing. Its the same guns for the most part every year. I don't know why I still go. I guess to look at some over priced guns. There is some decent deals on new stuff but the used are absolutely over priced. Why would I buy a beat up 10/22 for more than I can buy a new one more? 10 years ago there was deals. Not anymore.

I don't see why some of the "dealers" keep coming they have the same overpriced stuff at every show. I would think they would want to sell some stuff to actually make a profit.
The worst is the guys trying to sell there collections they have the most overpriced stuff. Milsurps are the worst overpriced and usually with sewer pipe barrels.

I know some of the venders and they also say no ones buys anything anymore. Its just getting worse. I believe they will eventually go the way of the dinosaur. Probably the internet and facebook gun groups are causing this. I have gotten much better deals on the local facebook groups anyway.

The last one I went to a few months ago I saw hardly anyone buying anything. I then went to a lgs to see what they had. They was selling guns like crazy. Even the owner said everyone than came in today had been to the show. I walked out with a impulse buy Witness elite match 10mm. My dad who went to the show with me and the lgs said they had to be selling more guns at this small lgs than at the show.

I keep saying I will not go anymore to them but dad usually calls me up and asks if I want to go so I probably will;)
 
Used to be small local gunshows were a way for "basement" FFLs to sell some guns and make a little cash. Because they had little overhead they could sell for less than the brick and mortar stores, one reason "good deals" were more common. They spent every weekend in another small town sitting behind their table. Now, those same FFLs can just be an approved FFL for several online sellers, and make just as much staying at home as they did tromping all over the country years ago. Instead of giving up their weekend, the customer makes an appointment when it's convenient for the FFL, to come and get the firearm they ordered. Also used to be there were not the big-box stores every 40 miles down the road with mass amounts of firearms on display. Small town folks had little chance to compare models or even see something out of the ordinary. While every small town Hardware store stocked Remington 870s, Remington 742s and Winchester 94s, anything other than that had to be "special" ordered and not seen until it came in. Gun shows, even if you weren't buying, were a great way to see what was out there other than in the gun rag ads. Now most folks can travel less than 30 minutes to a GM, Cabelas or BP and see more guns than they could at the local traveling gun show.

Additionally, in Wisconsin, the 48 hour waiting period for handgun transfers has almost killed handgun sales at gunshows, unless the seller is local anyway.
 
If you are a Marylander an go to an out of state gun show...I would bring cash instead of using your credit card --- because some gun show dealers will not sell certain items to a Marylander --- due to a number of Maryland anti-gun restrictions.
I can't verify the veracity of reports that have BATFE agents prowling the gun show parking lots for any vehicles bearing Maryland license plates, in such states as Virginia.
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I assume that you know that FFL dealers are not allowed to sell to a person where owning a particular gun is not legal. You also know that handguns have to be transferred through a FFL if you are not a resident of the state where the show is being held. I believe ARs have to go through the Maryland State Police before you can take ownership assuming it is legal in the first place.

BATF agents regularly visit gun shows. If I were an agent, the out of state people are precisely the ones I would pay the most attention to.

The worst is the guys trying to sell there collections they have the most overpriced stuff.
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Maybe it has something to do with the type of guns they are selling and they know the values. I have found that these are precisely the people that you can get the best prices from personally. But I haven't been to a show in a year.
 
What's better than a gun show is waiting at the police turn-ins. Usually the police will give something crappy like a $100 gift certificate. If you offer twice as much for the gun, and pay in cash, you can find real deals as people were going to throw away the guns anyway. Unfortunately, this tactic has caught on with quite a few collectors/flippers.
 
Doyle, I'm a fan of 'Tangy' Key Lime Pies, but thanks for the info. I've not been to their shows since the change in management. One comes up next month and I have a coupon the show. None of the gun shows around here are nothing more than an entertaining day out. At least this one ends with a chance for a tasty dessert when I get home.
 
Gun shows are great! I buy as many guns at gun shows as I do online. It's been years since I have purchased a gun from a brick-and-mortar store.

Some recent gun show finds:

Ruger Stainless Single-Six 10-shot revolver (ANIB): $400

Kahr K9 nickel $400 (LNIB)

44th Colt Mustang ever made (1986 Like New - real ivory grips included) $1,100 Yeah, not cheap, but then again, how often do you get to buy one of the 1st 50 of an iconic Colt? Yes, wish it was Python #0044, but I ain't that rich.:eek:
 
Last two shows I went to all I bought a 500 rd brick of .45 and a large framed display of the history of Texas flags.

I usually go to handle firearms that for whatever reason the local shops won't or don't have. Most of the time there are guns that look like they've been dragged down a dirt road for new prices. And new guns that are $100 over what I can get elsewhere.

If I buy used, it's usually from a pawn shop where I have better luck haggling the price.
 
What turned me off with Florida gun shows is while supposedly its a gun rights friendly state, I found it ironic gun show operators hire the rudest off duty uniformed cops they can find to work the door making sure no one is concealed carrying loaded. A complete turnoff. I stopped doing gun shows about 3 years ago, and have no plan of returning.
 
I have no issue with guards making sure all entrants are carrying unloaded. 2 reasons. First, it is a very safe atmosphere. You carry a firearm against the likelihood of threat. I don't see the inside of a gun show as being a place where there is a likelihood of threat. Secondly, in addition to good, safe concealed carriers there are a HUGE number of total idiots that attend gun shows. I really don't want to be elbow-to-elbow around some of those idiots as they want to bring out their loaded carry piece to show it off.
 
Doyle, thats an argument anti-gunners have been making for decades. Now we gunners say carry should be allowed everywhere except gunner events. But ok, everyone has a right to their opinion, and where to spend their money.
 
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