Archie
Member
After about forty years of Gun Shows - all over - and over seventy years of life, I realize that many things are relative. Not just time, either.
New plastic rifles are not my thing. (I mean AR types, if I found what I think to be an inexpensive Nylon 66 I'd likely buy it.) I collect older items, so I have to look a lot. I collect older .32 automatic pistols, they were cheap when I started. Now they've been 'discovered'.
One must also realize that inflation has raised the prices along with the wage scale. So if your hourly pay is twice what it was in 1980, expect the prices to be twice 1980 prices.
One should know that 'old' guns are not made anymore and the probability of finding a cache of anything made in 1966 or 1926 is small. The firearm that great-grampaw brought back from one of the big wars (pick one) has had any number of years to decay since then. So all the collectables and semi-collectables are slowly fading away.
On the other hand, I went to a reasonably local (about fifty-five miles) last December. Looked all over, found ONE pistol I wanted and bought it. A 1903 Colt Pocket pistol in .32 ACP, variation 1. The long slide and barrel version. Was it a bargain? Less than what I expected and less than many places on line asked. And prior to that, I did not have one in my collection.
Another aspect. Having attended a lot of gun shows and operated a 'table' in several, I've notice that nearly all the vendors expect and almost welcome 'dickering'. Nearly all have an 'asking' price and a 'bottom' price. So haggle a bit, but do not be insulting.
So. When you attend, have an idea what you want. Even if you just attend to see 'what's there' have an idea what you will prefer. Don't buy just anything because it's inexpensive. Talk to people, vendors are people as well. One can learn a lot about guns and about values.
And if a vendor or an attender offers a bumper chrome cheap anything for twice retail (not going to name one), be polite. Turn it down, but be polite about it.
New plastic rifles are not my thing. (I mean AR types, if I found what I think to be an inexpensive Nylon 66 I'd likely buy it.) I collect older items, so I have to look a lot. I collect older .32 automatic pistols, they were cheap when I started. Now they've been 'discovered'.
One must also realize that inflation has raised the prices along with the wage scale. So if your hourly pay is twice what it was in 1980, expect the prices to be twice 1980 prices.
One should know that 'old' guns are not made anymore and the probability of finding a cache of anything made in 1966 or 1926 is small. The firearm that great-grampaw brought back from one of the big wars (pick one) has had any number of years to decay since then. So all the collectables and semi-collectables are slowly fading away.
On the other hand, I went to a reasonably local (about fifty-five miles) last December. Looked all over, found ONE pistol I wanted and bought it. A 1903 Colt Pocket pistol in .32 ACP, variation 1. The long slide and barrel version. Was it a bargain? Less than what I expected and less than many places on line asked. And prior to that, I did not have one in my collection.
Another aspect. Having attended a lot of gun shows and operated a 'table' in several, I've notice that nearly all the vendors expect and almost welcome 'dickering'. Nearly all have an 'asking' price and a 'bottom' price. So haggle a bit, but do not be insulting.
So. When you attend, have an idea what you want. Even if you just attend to see 'what's there' have an idea what you will prefer. Don't buy just anything because it's inexpensive. Talk to people, vendors are people as well. One can learn a lot about guns and about values.
And if a vendor or an attender offers a bumper chrome cheap anything for twice retail (not going to name one), be polite. Turn it down, but be polite about it.
