Are gun shows worth attending?

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Sometimes you can find something you need, powder, primers, and no shipping or hazmat fees, but generally you wont find any great deals on guns but you never know they are all a little different.

yep the guns will be way over priced at least the last 3 or 4 shows I went to were and the guy i was getting primers and powder from had none for pistol and never see any swaged bullets either, I due like to go watch the crowd see old friends but have not bought any thing lately

Hey Beeser:

This is what your are going to find at the gun show:

1)  a guy in camo's selling outdated leftover MRE's for $11.99 each.  5% surcharge for credit card orders.

2) Three dudes in lab coats offering "Blueprint" services for SKS and AK rifles.  When you ask them about hitting a basketball at 50 yards they redirect you to the quality of their easily installed pistol grip which has minimal effect on accuracy. 

3) Four consecutive tables offering 325 packs or Federal Ultra Match 22 LR ammo for somewhere north of $65.00.  Amazing how they have coordinated their prices although I am not sure I like the way they look at each other. 

4)  A grossly overweight guy cruising the aisles in special forces, screaming eagle, seal team six, green beret, or other intense combat premier fighting force pretending to be an actual member.  You get bonus points if you can spot one of these wannabe's in British SAS regalia!

5)  The sham-wow dude.

6)  The Sham-wow dudes brother, his cousin, his other cousin, his nephew, his sisters brother, his mothers grandson's father (not blood related), and his mother in law's sisters husband's nephew not blood related that would do really good on television because "he has such a nice smile". 

7) Two Nazi gestapo recruits that scare the pants offa ya. 

The nervous ammo dude with fifty "no smoking" signs.

9) a couple imported rug sellers. 

10)  The canned pressurized air machine gun BB gun dudes. 

11)  The fifty beef jerky sellers. 

12) the 100 candied almond sellers. 

13)  The guy that is trying to sell the burnt kielbasa and soggy pizza. (you will be better off with the outdated MRE's, taste better and cost less).

14)  And lastly, they guy that has that primo Winchester 52D all original in original pristine condition with the "not for sale-do not touch" sign on it. 

Regards,
Cranky

^^^^^HAHAHAHAHAHA.....Every gun show I've been to in the last 10 years is just like that^^^^^

One of my buddies says "you know the quality of a gun show by how close to the back the Nazi memorabilia is".

You forgot the meth lab paraphernalia guy back by the swastikas....

in my neck of the woods it seems like almost every table has Glock magazines for sale…

There  are deals but they are not easy to find.  The bulk of the good deals take place between traders before the doors open to the public.  Our Alabama Gun Collectors Association (AGCA) shows 4 times a year in Birmingham aren't bad but the prices are high.  The AGCA limits the content of our trade tables to really nothing but guns.  Doesn't keep the freaks out but they are fine social environments.   Put up a trade table, become regulars, and they become like family reunions.

No deals for anything bullseye or accuracy-wise.  Rare to see any higher end target rifles.  Seems like a lot of WWII stuff.  My favorite is the guys wearing long jackets that have four or six handguns attached that are trying to sell them.  If you are looking for something specific old, or are just bored they are fine.  No good deals though. 

 I met and older gentleman once that was funding his retirement by buying ammo when he thought it was low, and sell it when it is high.  He had a notebook going back to 1963 where he tracked prices.  He said he sells at over 100 gun shows a year.  He said he goes south and west in the winter and north in the summer.  He was showing me how ammo cycles in pricing every six or seven years.  He was interesting to talk to.

Chip

I worked all over before retiring, mostly east of the Mississippi. I went lots of gun shows for something to do.

You can't really say what a gun show is, they differ greatly. Some are like big flea markets, with more Chinese tools, and jerky, and very little gun related stuff.

Some are limited to gun related stuff only, which are the better ones. Some don't allow powder and primers to be sold, don't know why, but that's what they said when I asked where they were, and that was before the shortage.

I still go now and then, went to one last weekend. But, not a whole lot I'm interested in, we are pretty specialized in match stuff, which isn't what most people attending would be interested in. I bought some gun cleaning supplies, that's about it.

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beeser wrote:Cranky was spot on with the description of the gun show sans the imported rug sellers.  I was naive and foolish enough to buy a 2 day pass.  Anyone interested in a blue hand band to get you into the show?  Good for today only.

Ah Jees, you missed out on the high quality Persian floor coverings made in china rugs for $39.95?   Three for $112.95? (5% surcharge for CC purchases).  Better hang onto that blue band you might wanna head back this afternoon!

On second thought, the rug dealers might be avoiding your area due to the high volume of sales a year ago that are unraveling on their customers floors today. 

Also, you probably won't get any takers on the free blue hand band cause all the good dealers recognize that nobody goes to the gunshows on a Sunday and they all pack up and leave Saturday night.  No sense paying for another night at the holiday inn!

Regards,
Crankster

I go about once every other year.  Last one I went to it took me 30 minutes to go through but I did buy an old Winchester wood ammo box for $5.  I have a buddy that LOVES gun shows, it takes him 3 hours to go through even the smallest one because he talks to EVERY vendor.  To be fair he has found some cool stuff, like very old match pins, badges, belt buckles and memorabilia from ranges long gone.  He has also found some great deals on hard to find stuff like a couple of brand new Model 52 mags for $10 ea. but no guns though! LOL  Oh yea he is always the first one in the door too!

- Dave

Crnnk nailed it. You will also find .22 lr ammo that the LGS employees bought at employee discount and their brother in law now sells for three times the price.

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My ball gun came from a a gunshow. Many of my reloading components do as well. While there is some stuff, at the local shows they don't resemble the mid-east bazaars or flea markets described in the above posts. 

On the other hand, back in the days when you could find guns at flea markets there were bargains to be had.

I go just to meet people and learn as much as I can.  You can learn a lot from people who have way more experience than you do.  Embrace the shows!