Gun Shows: When is the last time you got a bonafied deal at one

Got a used Mossberg 500 recently from a private seller for $200.
Got an NOS 1858 Remmie BP gun for $150 a few years back.
Best I 've done so far. I usualy go to the shows for supplies.
 
There deals and real good deals.
The last real good deal I got was in 1987 when I bought a basically new Ruger 44 mag with a 10 inch bull barrel for $120.00
The cylinder lock had not even started to wear through the bluing at the locking lug in the cyl.
The last deal I got was 6 years ago when I bought 1000 rds of 9mm for $25.00 because the box split open when it fell on the floor.
I helped the dealer pick them up and he offered them to me.
 
Back in March (when .223 was $1+ per round if you could find any), walked by a table with tons of misc ammo boxes in stacks... saw 2 boxes of Aguila .223 50ct with $9 stickers on them.

Didn't feel too bad when I grabbed the ammo and a couple candy bars and handed him a $20.

That was the same show where I saw a guy with a stack of Winchester .22lr 555ct bulk packs with a big sign "$200ea, might be the last you see for 4yrs".

Anyways, I just invested $1000 in reloading equipment and have 10k rds of .22lr thanks to some recent expertly timed trips to Walmart... will never be caught without again.
 
I remember getting a "good deal" of grief from a dealer whose insider tip of using a .45 Colt shell holder for handloading .44-40 turned out to be in error. When I tried to exchange the shell holder for the correct one, he gave me this look, and a, "Now, you're SURE this is the one you want?", as if I'd insisted on buying the wrong one initially.
 
If you are lucky enough to enter a show, and find a gun that you 'need', being sold by the friend of an aging owner, there can be a decent deal.

Three years ago, it was a chocolate brown "Malaysian" Enfield "Jungle", sold by the friend of a guy with serious medical problems.
I was a bit fortunate as only later did I learn that one must look under the stock, in case there is serious, hidden rust from storage in the jungle climate.
 
In my experience the best deals are made just at closing time. When faced with the task of packing all the stuff from their table back to their vehicle, prices drop.
 
Where are the guys that bought guys from me? They got smoking deals, I know it.
:(
I did get a S&W681 (no dash no 'M') for $400 a couple of shows ago, middle of last year.
:cool:
 
"Just read the previous posts and you'll see why. If your focus is narrow, you miss out and leave frustrated("only 2 models of shoulder holsters!" Really? How many do you require to consider it a good show?)"

Err...how about many gun stores have more than two models of shoulder holster? How many models of pistol do you require to consider it to be a good show?
 
My point was that, when I used to go to gun shows at the GRB in Houston, damn near everything from everyone was there. You never truly know how something is when you order online. At a gun show, you can try holsters on. I went to check out a shoulder holster. EVERYONE'S shoulder holsters. I was expecting the good ol days when it was like walking into a shopping mall of firearms and accessories. This time the show wasn't even a quarter the size it used to be and it had crappier selection than many gun stores. I think it had lots of AR-15 parts, but I'm not an M-16 guy.
This was my first trip to a gun show in many years, at least 10. My first thought afterwards was that I wondered if the internet had put a major dent in gun shows, at least in terms of accessories.
 
Every time I visit the guy with the huge pile of used books.
Otherwise:
Guns- same dealers charging the same prices as at their shops.
Ammo-hit or miss. Typically nothing particularly special. Pay shipping or pay sales tax...it's a wash at best.
Reloading supplies & components- MSRP for those rusty old dies in the ziplock bag? Powder/brass-sorry I can but the same stuff at Cabela's for the same or less.
Odd & ends or accessories-I think the pistol cleaning/maintenance pads make excellent mouse pads, YMMV.
 
I was offered a helluva deal on a Pulsar Digisight night vision scope, $800. It was the last hour of the last day. Unfortunately I didn't have the money or I would've scooped it up.
 
Found a 6" S&W M17 no dash in great mechanical shape and still a lot of blue a few gun shows ago for $500.00. Bought it. Maybe normal or even a little high on GB but I'm in California and that's a pretty decent deal around here.
 
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At the last gunshow I found my holy grail gun the Beretta BM62 with three mags and the original box for drum roll please 1800.00 a lot less than the 3000.00 I see on gunbroker all the time.:D:D See guys you just have to keep looking;)
 
At a gunshow back in May (St. Louis suburban area) I found a new Ruger SR1911 commander for $700 when they were asking $750 and up on the internet and in LGS.

I also found a local commercial reloader selling .38 spl and .45 acp for very good prices when none of the LGS or Walmart had any ammo at any price.

From the other side of the coin, in the last year I have also had good success selling guns at the shows.:D
 
I found a Ruger No. 1 in 45-70 a few years ago for $600. The gun, if memory serves was made in the 1990s but appeared to never had been shot. It also came with a box and all the original paperwork.

That is pretty much my only gun related deal.
 
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