Goin' to the Gun Show...

[tinyejp]

I'm headed off to a big Gun Show in Pittsburgh later today and/or tomorrow. Having not been to one before, what casting-related (or not) deals should I keep an eye out for? Any great deals to be had here and no where else?

[Elkins45]

It varies so greatly that you can't know what to expect. I can go to National Gun Day (2000 tables) and see nothing but a few Lee molds, then turn around a month later and go to a very small local show and hit the jackpot. I went to a show in a National Guard armory a couple of weeks ago that was so tiny I almost didn't give them the $5 to get in. Turns out I'm glad I did because there was a guy there selling all sorts of casting and reloading stuff he had gotten from an estate. I got three sets of Lyman handles and two single cavity Ideal molds (44 pistol and 45 rifle) for $40.

[HeavyMetal]

Keep an eye open fo a Star Lube sizer! 175 good price, 150 excellent price, 120 or less run like .... and don't look back!

Any good steel mold, any lube sizer in the 50 buck range I think you get the drift.

Have fun!

[thegreatdane]

It's all up to your bargaining skills. I'be found some great deals on lead. Check the market price and see what you can come up with.

[Rocky Raab]

"Cheap stuff" is pretty much a myth for gun shows over the past decade or two, for a variety of reasons -- all of which have been argued to death. But it's true.

What gun shows represent is the chance to see dozens or hundreds of different inventories in one spot. If you wanted to physically shop 100 different gun stores except at a gun show, you'd spend days or weeks and a lot of driving. At the show, it's all under one roof and you can visit them all in half a day.

Whether you find what you want or find it at a decent price is pretty much chance, as you can tell from some posts above. But at least it's POSSIBLE to do so. And no matter what, it's better than yard work!

[Olevern]

I'm headed off to a big Gun Show in Pittsburgh later today and/or tomorrow. Having not been to one before, what casting-related (or not) deals should I keep an eye out for? Any great deals to be had here and no where else?

Let us know what you find

[tinyejp]

Just returned. There were some deals, most notably on some decent shotguns. Pistols, especially modern and very old ones, were outrageous. Most rifles were more than I would consider, but some weren't too bad. There was one table that had pretty much every small reloading part you could ask for, and a good bit of bigger items as well. Everything I got, besides a bit of Jerky and a couple bullet boxes, came from them.

The Haul:

Lee 356-120-TC dual cavity - $22
Lee .356 sizing kit - $17.50
1000 WLP primers - $31
1 lb. Unique - $17.50
100 new Starline .45lc cases - don't recall...$25?
3 50-shell boxes for .45lc - $5 for all

All-in-all, not great deals, but not terrible either. We did get to see some really neat guns that we'd never have seen anywhere else, and quite a few curiosities. Glad we went, well worth the admission fee!

[Jal5]

Was that one in Monroeville? I attended it the year before last. Nice number of tables, but nothing I considered in the "deal" category. All the shows I have been to over the past few years have been about the same. Hardly a deal in sight.

[tinyejp]

Jal5-
Yep, at the convention center in Monroeville. Took about two hours to make a cursory round of the tables, and it wasn't real crowded, which was nice. We didn't have to wait to see anything for more than a few seconds. We spent another hour going back to the tables that interested us and chatting to the couple guys we knew. There was a fella there selling Mastercast "Hard Cast" boolits - D&Z Gun Supply, Latrobe - for reasonable rates. Not much else for the caster aside from the one table in the corner that had it all!

"Hardly a deal in sight" is a good way to put it. Hardly being the operative word. I saw an 870 12 ga. in good shape for $175, a couple Mossburg 500's for $150, and numerous single-shots for $50-$100. Being in good shape, I consider those pretty decent deals. You did have to look to find them, though.