Gun Show-Things that make you go Hummmmm........

Guns shows use to be good and have deals 10 plus years ago. But the internet and 8 years of Obama have killed most of the great finds and deals.

That being said, there are rare deals to be found on occasion and there are the smalls ( magazines, gun parts, ammo) that you can find deals on.

They are good to go to if your looking (not buy) for a handgun. Lots of selections to look at, at one place without drive all over creation looking at individual gun shops.

A lot of people complain about the "small" NH shows....250-350 tables as compared to other states. Well think about this.... Concord and Manchester are our largest shows. Most people will only drive a max of 1 - 1 1/2 hours to a show. That cuts out most of the potential gun show people from VT and Maine. The biggest gun buying population is from Mass and they cant buy 98% of the guns for sale. That cuts down on the gun buying to basically the NH people. They go the same shows over and over again and see the same stuff. So we are never going to see hugh shows like some other states have on a regular basis.

That being said, I heard at the Concord Gun show (from a number of vendors) that some guys are trying to put together a "Biggest Gun Show in New England " next year in Milford NH. Its suppose to be 1000 tables and being held in the Milford Sports dome. Interesting if they can get vendors from all over NE to sell there!
 
Gun shows started out like car shows, cat shows etc. They were places where "gun cranks" (an endearing term back in the day) could show off their collections. I always find these collector exhibits interesting. There is one guy who has a fantastic collection of German martial arms, another who displays guns used by the Boston PD over the decades.

The Winchester Collectors Assn display their guns at the West a Springfield Show. It gives enthusiasts an opportunity to network, follow up on new leads on collectibles and perhaps sell or trade to fellow collectors.

That's the "show" part in gun show.

Ya know, I thought that was a group comedy act. Sorta like The Groundlings or Second City TV.

"OK, (guffaw), I'm going to list this beat-on Winchester 92 for (giggle) $4,000!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
 
Guns shows use to be good and have deals 10 plus years ago. But the internet and 8 years of Obama have killed most of the great finds and deals.

The changing complexion of gun owners in america have also changed things. 10+ years ago, there were three types of people who went to gun shows. You basically had skinflints, enthusiasts, and a handful of newbs. (and a lot of times, the newbs were mentored by enthusiasts). Most of these groups pretty much demanded low prices. After obama, a bunch of tinfoil knitting circle retards, and generic republican voter guy type retards, showed up on the scene with big wads of disposible income, and the vendors, like sharks, smelled the blood in the water and the shows have never been the same since, the prevailing mantra seems to be "I'd rather make 30% off one guy than 10% off three guys" type of thing. I mean we've had a recent period of market softening, but that's like saying a bar of chocolate you got out of the fridge is soft. In 2004-2008, the market was mostly play-doh. [laugh] Vendors practically engaged in price wars to move product, etc.

-Mike
 
Tell us how you really feel dr. LOL

I dunno. I think that the average age of a gun show attendee has definitely dropped in the last several years. That's a good thing. It sucked being well below average age for a long time.

And some of the "good old days" pricing I heard 20 years ago from guys. "Oh this sucks. I remember when gun shows had DEALS. These all suck!" I think we remember the good and forget the bad and that makes us believe that the deals were better. The prices were SUBSTANTIALLY lower, but that had nothing to do with it being a deal or not. (I recall killing myself to save $5 on a case of AK ammo. At $80/case, $5 was a big % change.)

The reality is the interwebs changed collecting dramatically in the last 15 or so years. Some items (gun and non-gun) went from exceptionally rare to "oh, you can get that anywhere" and prices dropped accordingly.

Conversely, there were some items where people would sell fairly below market just to be rid of them. (Read: Deals!) Now they can ship nation-wide and hold for their price. So you won't find a "deal" often anymore. Again, this isn't just for gun and gun stuff.

I also don't see much economic genius in most gun shops that go to gun shows. There ARE those guys who sell well above market. . . . and I'm pretty sure they don't do the business they think they do versus pricing competitively. Market research and price testing just isn't something they are planning on doing. (OTOH, pricing yourself $20 over the low-guy or average-guy probably ins't going to harm your sales. Most folks will just go "Oh hell, I'll just get it here." $20 on a $600 purchase in a crowded room isn't usually a big deal.)

Gun shows just are. They aren't good. They aren't bad. I'm actually pretty happy that they exist if only b/c I can see a wider array of products I'd not be able to see up-close via Four Seasons and/or the Brownell's online catalog.

In the next year or two - it's going to be a buyers market at gun shows for sure.


Oh, and tinfoil knitting circle retards - [rofl] They were around in 97 and 98 and 99 too.
 
mike, i agree with you. it seems every couple of years the atmosphere of the show changes. and not for the better.
 
Never been to a Show and don't plan on going to one

Only once did 4 of us make a plan to attend a show. One of the guys just had to have those custom made ear plugs. The rest of it was more of a go poke around thing then have a few beers and some food after. Once in a while I'd go just to burn some time because the wife was at work and I never bothered to make it inside because the line was stupid long waiting to get in.

Truthfully you're not missing anything.
 
Please tell me you aren't going to a gun show to buy A NEW gun. Local shop is almost always going to be lower.

I go to gun shows to scrounge through parts I need or obscure old guns that you have a better chance of finding with a bunch of sellers all in one place.
Also to buy stuff where the seller has no idea what he has and get it cheap.
In a nutshell, I go there to skinflint.
 
The thing that makes me go HMMM most at gun shows is the guy who asks you if you have a carry gun and then makes you unload it if you admit to having it.

The first show I ever went to in the 90s, I didn't know enough to ignore him. I proceeded to unload my gun pointing into the bucket of sand and then proceeded to DROP IT. It gets worse. I knew enough to just let it fall. The idiot working the door reached out and tried to snatch it from the air. I called him an effing idiot, I really lost it. Then I asked him if he knew how stupid what he had just done actually was. He was clueless. From that point forward, I ignored the guy at the door. Even still, I haven't been to a gun show in 10+ years. With the internet, I don't' need to go to gun shows to get good jerky anymore.
 
Muzzle control .... or lack of .

The guy with 1911 parts etc in fishing boxes etc also has new parts . Or at least one time when I went to a show .
I basically bought every part minus the frame slide and barrel from him for less then 50$ .
All new name brand parts like ed brown etc .


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