Gun show shopping

Status
Not open for further replies.
I find that gun shows are useful for buying rare or discontinued firearms and accessories. Sellers often price their merchandise at or above retail pricing, possibly to play upon people who feel that “I already spent $10 on my ticket so I better leave here with something.”
 
Just left one. Decided it was my last.

Only thing good at a gun show is lingering at a table and listening to the BS conversations.
 
I remember the "good ol days" of going to gun shows. What they have now is nothing like it was, so I don't go. Besides, I can't stand the tasers going off ever five seconds, annoys the hell out of me.
 
Went to one gun show several years back,,,they had,, I think it was a Remington 22Lr rifle, with a plastic stock..semi-auto.. It was a jamomatic and Rem dropped it pretty quick...they had a price on it, used, of three times the MSRP.. I asked them about it,, they tried to tell me it was a really rare gun cause they weren’t making them any more.... I tried to tell them it was pretty much junk and that’s why there weren’t making them anymore....However, they stuck with their story,
 
I stopped going to gun shows 15 years ago, after they raised the parking and entrance
fees too high, and I found I could get everything (and more) I need on online forums,
local shops, online stores and from private party local deals...
 
OneFreeTexan

Went to one gun show several years back,,,they had,, I think it was a Remington 22Lr rifle, with a plastic stock..semi-auto.. It was a jamomatic and Rem dropped it pretty quick...they had a price on it, used, of three times the MSRP.. I asked them about it,, they tried to tell me it was a really rare gun cause they weren’t making them any more.... I tried to tell them it was pretty much junk and that’s why there weren’t making them anymore....
Click to expand...

Sounds like the Remington Viper. A buddy of mine had one and you're right...it was a jamomatic with any and all .22 ammo!
 
BSA1 said:
Yes.

My main reason for going to gun shows is trying to find those odd ball little parts and items where the shipping for them is ten times the cost of it.
Click to expand...

We went to a Gunshow this weekend and scored well. I brought;

2 30 caliber military surplus ammo cans in excellent condition (rubber seals very tight) for $8.00 each.

A multi-piece military surplus cleaning rod that screws together and .223 brass brush. I am putting together a field maintenance kit for my AR and can not find my spare cleaning rod. Of course now that I brought another one I will find it.

A Korea War vet black baseball hat for my 86 yoa Dad. He is going to Washington, D.C. next month on a Honor Flight and we want him to wear a new hat instead of his current worn, dirty one.

A large brass belt buckle with Texas on it for my Son-in-Law that lives in Texas. While at the show my wife suddenly remembered his birthday is this Wednesday and we had not got a card out. He will not probably get the buckle until Thursday but we think he will forgive us for being a day late when he gets it.

I spent a total of $54.14 for merchandise.

So from Kansas to Washington, D.C. to Texas I think I scored well. :D
 
I went to one gun show a few years back. The vendors were standoffish. I could hear them complaining about bad sales. It seemed strange to me they didn't want to talk. I've manned a booth at slow trade shows and I wanted anybody to stop by and talk about anything just to pass the time.

One booth had these shiny wooden rifles for $400 and I asked the woman what they were. "Moisin Nagants". (Ok, so I don't know mil-surp rifles on sight). That seemed pricy, and I wanted to ask why but couldn't think of a tactful way to say it. She walked away and that was the end of the conversation. No attempt to explain or sell or engage at all.

I did see a pretty Marlin 60, an old Sears bolt action (but wasn't sure if it was the kind made by FN), and a very nice refurb 30-06 bolt - some sort of generic Mauser import. Lots of SKSes too. If I knew more about buying used, gun shows might be worth it.
 
OneFreeTexan said:
They are fun to visit....so if you look at them as just entertainment.....way cheaper than a movie, considering the cost of popcorn.
Click to expand...

Which is basically how I view them. I like the bigger shows because one never knows what one will see. Been plenty of shows I've bought nothing at all, but sometimes I come how with a seat full of stuff.
 
Well I am a touchy feeley type of guy. I like to handle a firearm example before I buy one. I do not mind the $10 entry fee and can spend the day rummaging around the different tables handling the toys. When I go I have a list of parts and stuff I am looking for. I also look for bargains that I can use. But in many cases there is nothing I want to spend my hard earned money on. I have purchased firearms at a gun show but not in a long time now. Just stuff, I will spend some money at about half of them if I see a good price or deal. I though I wanted a Warthog and got the chance to handle one at a gun show recently. They should call them fireplugs cause that is what it felt like I was holding. So glad I did not buy one on line. YMMV
 
Used to be a gun shop owner,,,, froma rural area, that would bring lots of used guns,,, some 22’s, mostly others. I bought at least one gun from him every time.....Visited his shop once, probably 100 miles away ,,cement block building,,no windows, more like a bunker.....had good inventory.
Sadly he had a heart attack at a show and is gone now.
 
Saxet gun shows down here on the border are $5.00 for the full weekend, free parking.
97% of the sellers are the same folks, selling the same over-priced stuff year after year.
It's the odd 3% that interest me, them and the folks wandering in with stuff that they want to sell without renting a table.
That's why I still go to the gun shows.
 
Great thread, brings many fond memories to mind.

Purchased my 1st new shotgun at an Indy 1500 about 25 or so years ago. It was a Remington 870 with the rifled slug barrel and the regular shot barrel. I paid a reasonable price after looking at multiple vendors present.
Its different today though, still fun to attend once or twice a year, but more as an entertainment function than anything.

My last gs purchase was a couple of p-mags for the ar's.
 
I live behind the iron curtain in the People’s Republik of Massachusetts, (PROM) to us natives. The Massachusetts gun show prices are similar to posts above for everything but “banned assault weapons”. Those prices are through the roof! “Pre Ban” magazine prices would also astonish you folks from free states, but the prices are usually in line with local gun shops, if and when the have them. So I shop for mags because there is usually great availability, if not prices.

There is a major show a few miles from my son’s house. We go to that show annually and I make a day and weekend visit of it, including eating the dangerous looking hot dogs. I don’t care if we don’t come home with anything. It is just a good day with my son.

Last year on the way home we stopped at a LGS and bought a brace of Beretta Storms in 9mm. Good times that day.
 
25 years ago I went to a lot of gun shows and got a lot of great deals on a lot of great firearms... the great mil surplus days! Then I my c&r license and the deals were not great anymore. Shotgun news is where I would purchase firearms from and save a good amount over anything I could find in gun shows.

I will now go to a gun show every year or two just to remember how irelivant gun shows and local gun dealers are.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

sig228
  • Locked
Miami Gun Show Anyone?
Replies
2
Views
736
favorite .22
F
4
  • Locked
Montana Gun Shows
Replies
4
Views
1K
thisisdenny
T
R
  • Locked
Gun shops, north side of Indy (and show this weekend)
Replies
18
Views
2K
FiveStarTactical
F
D
  • Locked
gun show lexington(ky)
Replies
0
Views
419
digdeep74
D
T
  • Locked
Gun show "what the??"
Replies
4
Views
675
mortablunt
M
Back
Top