Cool gun show finds?

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pricelessppp

pricelessppp

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Has anyone ever found anything cool at gun shows? Other then holsters/trinkets etc? Like has anyone found any AR15 bayonets or Soviet AK bayonets even if they where good replicas or any cool rifle accessories?
 
The only decent thing I've found at gun shows was a retailer of remanufactured ammo. No shipping added to the price helps quite a bit.

That and having a bunch of people interested in "horse" trading all at the same place at the same time. Makes it convenient if that's what you are doing.

Otherwise the shows I've been to have been pretty bland.
 
I haven't been to a gun show in 5 years or so. Between parking and tickets I am normally out $100 before I even get in the door. Maybe I will go to one this year to pickup some projects to work on.
 
I occasionally go to a large franchised gun show held at a convention center. I never go looking for guns as what I’m interested in (lever and single actions) usually are at current retail or above and anything used resembling 90-95% condition have just plain buffoonery prices on them. I go to pick up odds and ends for reloading and the reloading room. Sometimes a mil surplus can or two full of 5.56 ammo. Soft items like gun sleeves etc.
 
I've found tons of cool stuff at my regional gun shows. Membership is only $40/year -- gets you into every show for the year and a very informative monthly magazine sent to one's house. Parking is free, the lots are huge. Typically held in at least one gigantic building on the fairgrounds, sometimes two buildings.

Picked up an 1860 cavalry saber (not a reproduction) in great shape for $60. Got a brand-new Ontario USN-marked MK3 dive knife for $40. Every bayonet (from every era of US military use) I've ever picked up came from a gun show, and never felt like I was overpaying. Always good prices on ammo. Found obscure gun parts, pistol and rifle magazines, grips/stocks, used holsters, a fabulous used rifle scope once, in awesome condition, many, many used S&W and Ruger revolvers are what I considered fair prices.

But, I'm sure it won't be long before the usual gun-show bashing and complaining starts ...
 
I have found lots of cool stuff at gun shows. I have also learned a lot from talking to folks at shows. I am really looking forward to when the shows open again.

The best deals I have ever made at shows are usually from vendors. I did buy a Winchester 94 30-30 Carbine in pristine condition about 20 years ago for $200. The guy bought it. Shot one box of ammo and hated it so he brought to the show to get rid of it. What a great shooter it is. I still have it.

Old Dog said:
But, I'm sure it won't be long before the usual gun-show bashing and complaining starts ...
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I get a kick out of people that go to shows and then badmouth them, yet they keep going. I guess it’s a form of masochism or something. If you don’t like ‘em, don’t go...and quit whining about them. It’s quite silly, actually.
 
I go to gun shows for the people, and to look for the tables that aren’t particularly organized, and have a bunch of random stuff piled on them. Or old books! The tables that are casually staffed by a couple of retired guys are usually the best.

I’ve found a few neat things, but usually just beef jerky and hot sauce
 
We have two shows here locally. One is the big, flashy one which is owned and operated by the main vendor within. You will see miles and miles of generic, black, plastic pistols at full retail price being hawked to the unknowing and little else.

The other one is a somewhat smaller affair within which are many private sellers, lots of milsurps, handcrafted leather goods, and, yes, beef jerky.

I avoid the big one, but try to hit the little guys when I can. Ive found all sorts of strange and wonderful stuff there, including bayonets, obsolete pistol magazines, rare ammo, and whole guns.

The coolest thing Ive probably seen was a guy just casually strolling around with a Reising SMG over his shoulder looking for a cash sale with no paperwork. He may very well have been an ATF agent, but who cares, I never thought Id ever see one let alone get to play with it. Didnt try to buy it, thats for sure!

At the last show they had a semi-auto, belt fed FN SAW, a couple of Barretts, lots of old Lugers and Nambus, and a table full of Pythons and M27s at fire sale prices- they had literally been in a house fire. Sold as is, lol!

I actually saw a Rogak too! The seller wanted $700. I didnt know if I was going to laugh, cry, or puke.......;)
 
pricelessppp said:
Has anyone ever found anything cool at gun shows? Other then holsters/trinkets etc?
Click to expand...
It kinda depends on how you define "cool." I've found plenty of things, especially guns, that I thought were "cool," even though I've seldom bought one of them. A Ruger 77 "African" 375 H&H with "express" style sights comes to mind. Another was an old Luger (I think they said it was a "Tanker" model) in an original holster. I've also seen a good many old Colt SAAs at guns shows that I though were "cool."
But one of the most "cool" guns I've seen at a gunshow was a Model 55 Winchester 22. It was almost identical to the Model 55 my folks gave me for my 10th birthday in 1958, and I still have it. It's a semi-auto, single shot, and the dealer at the gun show had a sign on it that said, "Winchester's Edsel." I though that was pretty "cool.";)
My wife bought a small, pewter statue called "The Gunfighter" at a gunshow last winter. It was marked $25.00, but the dealer gave my wife a "pretty lady" discount, and sold it to her for $20.00 instead. When we got home, my wife did some research on the internet, and found out the darned things are going for $75.00 and up. I thought that was pretty "cool" too.:D
 
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"East" German Makarov, Bulgy Mak, very nice M59 Yugo SKS (this first series had No grenade launchers), some imported AKMs (high quality steel and quality control), Enfield #5 Jungle Carbine, decent Enfield #4, Yugo Mauser. Polish P64.
This was in the Memphis area's small shows, and I bought most of these.
All of these gun types gradually disappeared from our shows by about 2016. It was puzzling. Maybe most local sellers (those too uneasy to try Armslist) now use Gunbroker for such types??o_O

I never even Owned a handgun until about 2014 :oops: (still own this Sauer 38H). With only Makarovs as handgun interest while in Tulsa, Hate to imagine how many German, Czech, Belgian etc handguns went totally unnoticed at the huge Wanenmacher Show in Tulsa three years ago.

My single objective--only goal-- was to spot a true Czech VZ-58 (rifle) while enjoying overall variety and quantity, while attending this show for the first/last time. Two full sweeps, over both days by every table and never saw a Czech version (just Century VZ 2008). = drove back to Memphis area with nothing.
 
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I've made a few spectacular finds at gun shows. Once, I was looking through a box of military manuals, and I spotted an original user manual for the prototype M2 submachine gun. The asking price was like a dollar or two. Not having the gun, or any hope of ever getting one, I decided to pass on the manual. But I told an MG dealer friend of mine at the show, and watched as he made a beeline for the manual vendor's table. My friend reprinted thousands of copies of that manual, and made a bundle on them. At least he gave me a few copies for free.

This is called "arbitrage." The same item may have vastly different values in different markets. If you have in-depth knowledge of the different markets, you can buy an item low in one market and sell it high in another market. For example, gun-related things are often dirt cheap at military vehicle shows. If you know what you are looking at, you can buy those things there and then turn around and sell them for their true value at proper gun shows.
 
too many to count. Since I was about 10, I was my dad's runner at flea markets and gun shows. I knew what he was into and what it was worth. Best ones I can remember was the 1916 vintage winchester model 92 for $50, and the double barrel pinfire pistol for $5.
 
The coolest things I have found at shows are usually handmade items. Holsters, knives, grips, leather doodads... I occasionally find a gun I’m interested in as well but seems these days I only get worked up about antique revolvers. Next show I go to I hope to find the guy with the box-o-junk and buy a handful of revolver frames to tinker with.
 
Probably for me, the first repro Colt 1871 Opentop, the early model, in .45 Schofield, with 5 1/2" barrel.
Or ....my Winchester 1892 Deluxe Takedown rifle in .32-20 by Miroku.
Or, original Colt 1877 Lightning in .38 Colt. A nifty double-action that resembles a 4/5th scale Single Action Army with a birds head grip.

You can choose from those.

I've also bought some others but nothing you couldn't get at Academy or Cabela's.
 
I usually don’t find much at gun shows but have lucked up twice in the last 4 years.
I was behind a guy in line and he pulled out a nice Colt Detective Special for the LEO to cable tie.
I asked him if he was selling it and he said “Yes, $400.” So it went home with me.
Then about 2 years ago I bought a mint 1949 Win 94 in 32 Win Special for $500.
 
Russian contract 1895 musket (didn't look to see if it had acceptance marks or not, doubt it), 1903 with rod bayonet and still chambered for 30-03, 1941 Johnson rifle, and an M1A1 carbine that looked factory fresh, all on the same table, and at prices requisite to their rarity.

Granted that was at the HGCA show back in 2001 or so.
 
best thing I ever found was an original 1911 magazine. I was looking for one to hammer some of the common inferior ones to match, and needed the specs. Nothing else, gunshows are kindof a joke in western WA. As far as AKM/AR baynets, those are not hard to find. I bought an Eikhorn M7 bayonet brand new for around $35 in around 2007, and a OKC-3S from Midway USA for around $100. A friend bought me a Soviet AKM bayonet for around $25, though I don't know where.

Edit, I just looked at that M7, and its now about $300, wow, I would buy a knockoff from Amazon at this point. Midway currently has the 3S for $120.
 
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The last gun show I went to, quite a few years ago actually, I did really well at picking up a Beretta Stampede in .45 Colt and a Rossi M92 carbine, also in .45 Colt! The Beretta was NIB and the Rossi was used but LNIB as well. Did a little better on getting the price down on the Stampede but paid the asking price on the M92 as this was the only one I had seen in a very long time and I didn't want to take a chance on losing it to some other buyer!
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Picked up this "Lew Horton" Classic Gold Cup at a gun show for $800. Work was done by the Colt Custom Shop, only 300 produced in 1993. Royal Blued upper, polished stainless steel frame, jeweled barrel shroud and trigger. Undercut trigger guard and much much more. At the time they sold for about $1300. Today they are somewhere around $2000-$2500.

Classic Gold Cup..jpg

Gold Cup Nat Match.jpg
 
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