Cool gun show finds?
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Speedo66
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Many years ago, in the golden age of milsurp imports, I got great buys on SKS's, Swedish Mausers, etc. Since then, not so much, the exception being a very nice, and very inexpensive, Uberti Cattleman.
To be honest, I can't imagine myself attending a gun show again until there is a reliable vaccine for Covid-19. The shows here are tightly packed, and I don't see the usual attendees practicing social distancing or general mask wearing.
To be honest, I can't imagine myself attending a gun show again until there is a reliable vaccine for Covid-19. The shows here are tightly packed, and I don't see the usual attendees practicing social distancing or general mask wearing.
bannockburn
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Rembrandt
That is one beautiful Colt and a once in a lifetime find!
That is one beautiful Colt and a once in a lifetime find!
AMraider
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I love gun shows and mostly look for milsurps. With instant internet access it has become harder to find great deals but if you do your homework and have patience there are still bargains to be found. I picked up this SA marked 1923 Mosin Nagant Dragoon for less than $150. At another show I came home with this Winchester 55 for $125. Modern guns are usually priced at MSRP it seems but several gun show dealers carry Brands/Models that LGS don't.
I go hunting a lot. Don't kill a deer every year let alone every time out. I've never killed a true trophy deer. But I'm sure not going to kill one if I don't go hunting. Gun shows are much the same. Most of the time I just go look. Even if it is something I want and it is overpriced at the show I get a chance to see and handle it in person. I can always order it at a better price later.
Several of my favorite guns were found at gun shows. My matched set of 30-30's. A Marlin and Winchester both made in 1958, the year of my birth. At the time I bought these I probably overpaid, but the price was worth it to me due to the year of manufacture. Today both are worth about double what I paid. Sometimes paying too much is relative.
Another gun show find. IMO the 1990's made Winchester Classics, especially the ones in SS are as good a rifle as has ever been made. I found this one at a VERY good price from an individual at a gun show. It is in 30-06 and has proven to be a good shooter. I added the McMillan Edge stock and it weighs 7 1/2 lbs as shown in the photo. I tend to hunt with a 308 more often, but this is the last rifle I'd ever sell.
Several of my favorite guns were found at gun shows. My matched set of 30-30's. A Marlin and Winchester both made in 1958, the year of my birth. At the time I bought these I probably overpaid, but the price was worth it to me due to the year of manufacture. Today both are worth about double what I paid. Sometimes paying too much is relative.
Another gun show find. IMO the 1990's made Winchester Classics, especially the ones in SS are as good a rifle as has ever been made. I found this one at a VERY good price from an individual at a gun show. It is in 30-06 and has proven to be a good shooter. I added the McMillan Edge stock and it weighs 7 1/2 lbs as shown in the photo. I tend to hunt with a 308 more often, but this is the last rifle I'd ever sell.
CapnMac
Member
Cool finds? Many. All of these were under then-current retail prices.
A 1943 SC 03A3 I traded an AMT Hardballer for.
APH M1 bayonet and scabbard.
Early SAI M1A1
Mossberg M-590
Mint in (old) box Colt LE6920
AO M-1911A1
All sorts of accessories and ephemera.
Spent $45 buying three back packs off a guy in the back of the AstroHall show to get the one I actually wanted. Flogged the other two on eBay and got $65 after fees for the two of them combined.
Picked up a packboard at a show for like $20 (it was pristine) let the old guy twist my arm into taking the other one he had for $5 more--that one was complete, even had the paper manual stapled to it, too.
Scored a quarter-case of M72 Lake City Match for a song the one time, too.
Mind, Ive been going to gun shows since the 80s, from well before you could just pull up a web page and expect a delivery in a few days, too, so Ive seen a deal or two. And a bust or two, too.
A 1943 SC 03A3 I traded an AMT Hardballer for.
APH M1 bayonet and scabbard.
Early SAI M1A1
Mossberg M-590
Mint in (old) box Colt LE6920
AO M-1911A1
All sorts of accessories and ephemera.
Spent $45 buying three back packs off a guy in the back of the AstroHall show to get the one I actually wanted. Flogged the other two on eBay and got $65 after fees for the two of them combined.
Picked up a packboard at a show for like $20 (it was pristine) let the old guy twist my arm into taking the other one he had for $5 more--that one was complete, even had the paper manual stapled to it, too.
Scored a quarter-case of M72 Lake City Match for a song the one time, too.
Mind, Ive been going to gun shows since the 80s, from well before you could just pull up a web page and expect a delivery in a few days, too, so Ive seen a deal or two. And a bust or two, too.
Zaydok Allen
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Found these cool custom built 38 special revolvers and carbine. Wish I’d have zoomed out to get the carbine in frame.
Guy was asking 5K per. Wish I’d had the money for one of them, especially the one on the left.
Guy was asking 5K per. Wish I’d had the money for one of them, especially the one on the left.
Archie
Member
I like gun shows.
No, no bargains if one hopes to find a brand new, just released, popular with the cool guys thingie for 20% below dealer cost. Or factory ammunition for below wholesale.
What one finds are technically used, perhaps worn, perhaps not items, ranging from antique firearms to surplus military hardware. At the same show I found a Model 07/15 Berthier rifle AND some battle bandages for wounds. (Different vendors.) One fits my collection (left my check book at home, of course) and the other is something for my automobile first aid kit.
Also found are some old guys who can probably tell you about the wonderful idea you have. Or just provide feedback and possibly instruction on hunting, reloading, stock building or marriage.
Gun shows depend on the attitude and expectations you take with you.
No, no bargains if one hopes to find a brand new, just released, popular with the cool guys thingie for 20% below dealer cost. Or factory ammunition for below wholesale.
What one finds are technically used, perhaps worn, perhaps not items, ranging from antique firearms to surplus military hardware. At the same show I found a Model 07/15 Berthier rifle AND some battle bandages for wounds. (Different vendors.) One fits my collection (left my check book at home, of course) and the other is something for my automobile first aid kit.
Also found are some old guys who can probably tell you about the wonderful idea you have. Or just provide feedback and possibly instruction on hunting, reloading, stock building or marriage.
Gun shows depend on the attitude and expectations you take with you.
Pat Riot
Contributing Member
I have been hitting shows since the 80’s as well. I have missed quite a few deals for one reason or another and walked away from deals that were just weird.
In ‘83 I went to a gun show in San Diego. The show was being held in old Quonset huts. After a while I came to a table that had some intersection militaria. One gun stood out to me. It had a magazine sticking out the side of it and it had a wire stock and a heat shield around the barrel. The guy behind the table looked like a lowlife. Scruffy but clean. Kind of odd. He had a partner. Very clean cut with a crew cut and standoffish.
The guy tells me that the gun is a “Sterling 9mm assault rifle”. He explained the history of it and was very into every detail while crewcut stood nodding. He offered to sell it to me for $325. Then he leaned forward and whispered “I have the full auto kit. Easy to install. I’ll throw that in with a case and 4 more magazines for $360. What do ya say Sport?”
Both of them acted weird. It p’d me off he called me “sport”. Something told me to walk and I did. I found out months later that the California DOJ was trying to pull Stings at gun shows. I am pretty sure that was one of them.
The one deal that I still kick myself over in 1999 was the Shiloh Sharps 45-70 for $425 I walked away from...literally 20 feet. I turned back to tell the guy I would take it and another guy had it in his hand shaking the seller’s hand. A deal had been made that quick.
The seller took the Sharps in on trade on a cheap AR-15. The guy that traded it got it as a gift. The seller had no idea what it was worth. He just wanted his money for the AR.
Two idiots made a deal and this idiot (me) walked away because he didn’t want to argue with his wife over money spent that we didn’t have. I still kick myself over that one.
In ‘83 I went to a gun show in San Diego. The show was being held in old Quonset huts. After a while I came to a table that had some intersection militaria. One gun stood out to me. It had a magazine sticking out the side of it and it had a wire stock and a heat shield around the barrel. The guy behind the table looked like a lowlife. Scruffy but clean. Kind of odd. He had a partner. Very clean cut with a crew cut and standoffish.
The guy tells me that the gun is a “Sterling 9mm assault rifle”. He explained the history of it and was very into every detail while crewcut stood nodding. He offered to sell it to me for $325. Then he leaned forward and whispered “I have the full auto kit. Easy to install. I’ll throw that in with a case and 4 more magazines for $360. What do ya say Sport?”
Both of them acted weird. It p’d me off he called me “sport”. Something told me to walk and I did. I found out months later that the California DOJ was trying to pull Stings at gun shows. I am pretty sure that was one of them.
The one deal that I still kick myself over in 1999 was the Shiloh Sharps 45-70 for $425 I walked away from...literally 20 feet. I turned back to tell the guy I would take it and another guy had it in his hand shaking the seller’s hand. A deal had been made that quick.
The seller took the Sharps in on trade on a cheap AR-15. The guy that traded it got it as a gift. The seller had no idea what it was worth. He just wanted his money for the AR.
Two idiots made a deal and this idiot (me) walked away because he didn’t want to argue with his wife over money spent that we didn’t have. I still kick myself over that one.
silicosys4
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Back when I was young and dumb I "helped" a guy find a really nice .22 hornet/.410 M6 scout for $150. He got a great deal for what at the time was a $500 gun...and I made $25 over what I paid, lol. That one still smarts a bit.
Cool finds I myself have made in recent memory are a S&W 625-3 LNIB for $625 a few years ago, a 90% Colt Trooper MKIII 6" for $550, and I still kick myself for turning down a well used s&w 19-2 2 1/2" for $300..was loose at lockup though.
Probably the neatest thing bar none that I'll always remember were the first few gun shows I went to at age 12, right before the AW ban....I remember crates of SKS's for $350, crates of MAK-90's for $550, and 1k cases of 7.62x39 for $90
Cool finds I myself have made in recent memory are a S&W 625-3 LNIB for $625 a few years ago, a 90% Colt Trooper MKIII 6" for $550, and I still kick myself for turning down a well used s&w 19-2 2 1/2" for $300..was loose at lockup though.
Probably the neatest thing bar none that I'll always remember were the first few gun shows I went to at age 12, right before the AW ban....I remember crates of SKS's for $350, crates of MAK-90's for $550, and 1k cases of 7.62x39 for $90
bannockburn
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- Apr 24, 2007
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Pat Riot
I remember coming across a supposedly semi-auto Sten that had only a pistol grip stock on it. The table holder seemed straight forward enough and it was a decent price but it just seemed a little suspicious so I passed on it. Never saw the gun or the seller again at any other shows.
I remember coming across a supposedly semi-auto Sten that had only a pistol grip stock on it. The table holder seemed straight forward enough and it was a decent price but it just seemed a little suspicious so I passed on it. Never saw the gun or the seller again at any other shows.
Asking do you like gun shows is like asking do you like people. I like some, don't like others, and love a few. But seriously, I really like gun shows. Every one is unique, the vendors change, the crowd changes and all of us evolve. Our needs and wants change eternally. I never know what will get my attention. Have bought lots of different things; guns, ammo, scopes, knives, flashlight, gun cases, ammo boxes, reloading components, grips, scope rings, etc. etc. This list could be much longer. Mostly the Tulsa Gun Show. Will it be open in November??? Who knows?
indy1919a4
Member
Oh please God, let the Tulsa gun show be open in November... I have the withdraw shakes bad..
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