Gun show blues

Oh merciful Crom, whatever happened to the good gun shows that this region used to produce? I went to the Hamilton gun show and it seemed smaller than ever and there was virtually nothing of note. I did see a cute little Ruger Compact in 7-08 (which is a nice little gun in a nice caliber), an FR-8 (the pinnacle of bolt-action truck guns), and that was about it. Even the usual mishmash of survival-related stuff was absent. Very much not worth the drive, or the six bucks to get in the door.

However, as long as I was in the neighborhood, I hit the local gun shops. Wound up getting a trigger for the project AR. Got it installed, seems to work, but I’ll need a trip to the range this week to confirm it with live ammo. All thats really left is to replace the standard A2 stock with a Magpul PRS, attach a sling of some kind, and thats about it.

As I was heading down the valley I could see that, surprise, the snow has started to fall in the mountains. We’ve had a major weather change in the last couple days. Finally had two days of drizzle, cold, and high-altitude snow….an excellent recipe for getting the fire situation straightened out. The air, while still just a touch hazy, is much better than it has been and I welcome it.

All in all, not a bad day since I got to visit some gun shops, but I still think the quality of local gun shows has gone downhill. I clearly need to start expanding my range and hit the out-of-valley shows and see what theyre like.

12 thoughts on “Gun show blues

  1. When the gun show(s) started charging $12 to get in and $3 to park in a dirt lot outside the fairgrounds, they lost my business. All the dealers snatch up any bargains prior to opening and then mark them up and put them on their tables. I do miss picking up bulk ammo without paying tax or shipping though.

    • $14 at the Cow Palace (San Fran), plus parking, which I’m guessing will be $10 minimum. (Been a few years since I’ve been there)

  2. I love your optimism. Seems every time you post about hitting a gun show your hopes are high, and I respect that about you.

    Gun shows are dying for the same reason retail brick and mortar stores are dying: the internet.

    About the only reason one would go to a gun show is to perhaps buy something without having to complete a 4473, but with multiple internet sites connecting private buyers & sellers for free, there’s not much reason to go to a gun show anymore unless you’re looking for that unicorn deal that might be out there (someone who has something unique but they don’t know what it’s worth, for example).

  3. The dominance of the cheap AR, plus the Internet driving collectors guns into the stratosphere has really killed the gun shows here, too. They used to be full of eclectic, used guns of every type, plus odd book dealers selling “How to survive in a cash only economy” and other boarderline-fringe an otherwise interesting books.

    In the past, even ten years ago, the guns there were 80% used, and there was always the possibility of coming across something odd, interesting, or underpriced. Nowadays, anything interesting is posted in gunbroker and selling for increasingly stratospheric prices. Sellers generally know what they got. The chances of coming across a rare P210 or an oddball S&W wheel gun are slim to none. Today, the gun shows are 80% dealers selling the same new glocks and ARs as the next table over. Yawn.

  4. The biggest show in the west is at the Phoenix fairgrounds the first week of December. 2500 tables. $20 to get in and $10 to park.

    Set up there last year with about 60 guns that were a mix of a big estate sale score and some personal stuff. Nobody was buying and once everyone knows you are a private seller they want everything at 50% of retail.

    One guy (dealer) must of looked at a pretty good condition Winchester 94 3-4 times, dropped the price to $350 and he still wouldn’t buy it. The dealer next to me snatched it up and put a $450 price tag on it.

    Waste of three days except for some occasional eye candy.

    • The Phoenix Crossroads of the West show is worth it for the once-a-year SAR (Small Arms Review) collaboration. It’s Dec. 1-3 this year.

  5. I’m relatively young, and I got into guns later in my own life than most people. I’ve never been impressed by anything I’ve seen at a gun show. I’ve never lived in a city where there isn’t at least one gun store with a better inventory than the local gun show, free admission, and ample parking.

    I’m not sure what it would take for me to ever go back to a gun show, but it would take a lot.

  6. Nowadays, most of my gun show take homes are cool knives. I already have the firearms I need. Ammunition is always still on the list (shipping really kills you), but schlepping it a long distance isn’t for the faint hearted. Every now and again, you see some cool old gun though, usually overpriced. You get to B.S. with the various sellers and other buyers so that is always fun.

    How much was that FR-8 going for ? Last one I saw was just north of $300. I bought mine back during the late 80’s surplus weapons tsunami, when they were going for a song. NIce little truck gun like you said.

  7. Yup, your reality price sounds about right. The rear sights make it difficult (if not impossible without cutting it off) to scope, so you end up with a heavyish (but short) iron sighted .308. Stripper clip feed does make it interesting though.

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