No good stuff in gun shows?

[Cactus Farmer]

Well, I found a Parker Hale commercial 98 Mauser for $75.00. Yep, nothing at shows that isn't over priced.
Well,I find stuff all the time,it just takes a lot of looking and asking questions.Most of the folks have stuff under the table you'll never see if you don't inquire about what you want.
Can anyone tell me why some folks are disenchanted with shows? The best stuff can be in plain sight but it may be sleeping under the table or at the fellows house and he brings it the next day. Either way you get something that it rare or hard to find/old fashion/or just weird.
So, what am I doing that is so much different?

[Frank46]

Here in louisiana at all the local gun shows just about every time you see the same over priced stuff from the majority of the dealers. However just once in awhile you'll find something you just cannot live without. I got into 44 special S&W's. Much to my wife's dismay. Then it was 38 special S&W's. Now it will probably be a junker mauser for one of the rhineland 45acp kits. Don't hold much luck of finding one cheap. Maybe that's why I'll be going to a show in feburary. I did get a great deal last year from a lady dealer, nice persian rifle 8mm for $500. Cherry bore and a beautiful stock. Frank

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

RE Gunshows: you must understand that dealers come in on Friday about 4pm, set up, and spend the rest of the evening looking the other tables over to make sure no bargains remain for the people who attend on Sat & Sun.

My buddy gets two tables every time in Boise, sets his stuff up and covers everything with blankets. Every time he has to threaten half a dozen store employees and professional show table holders/non-ffl holders who touch the blankets.

Sunday afternoon about 3pm the bargains begin to show, if you want to make six or seven laps to search them out.

Rich


Frank46,

you mean the ones in SGN for $250?

[Frank46]

Not sure what you mean. The persian I bought was all matching numbers, no rust anywhere or missing blue. still had cosmoline inside the barrel channel. And did I forget to mention a cherry bore. Don't get sgn so can't comment what they are selling for $250.Maybe a bbld action with no wood or hardware. Frank

[nanuk]

I quit going to shows up here, cause dealers developed a "No Dicker Sticker" price.

usually same as what was on the rack at the store.

and none will take trades anymore.

a few private tables have deals. but not many

I'm not alone here in my thinking. Last year was a bust I heard, with less than 1/3 of the regular dealers showing up. and about that many of the buyers showing up also

[bowfin]

The dealers do gets first crack at everything the night before at the local gun show here. They have also been known to black ball guys who work on razor thin markups.

That being said, I still go.I have and shoot enough oddball stuff that my treasures might be the white elephants the dealers would be tickled to have someone cart home.

With the advent of GunsAmerica, Auction Arms, and Gunbroker, dealers now have competition that they can't push out of the market.

[newcastter]

Gunshows just aren't what they used to be and anyone that says otherwise well....you know
I just can't find the great deals I had always heard about or have seen, everything is overpriced and I can get it much cheaper online at any of my normal retailers.
At least here in PA

[Moondawg]

A couple weeks ago, I was out looking for a good shooter grade 30-06 and picked up a NIB Remington 700 in 30-06 for $400. The rifle was born in 1992, so it is better fit and finish that what is coming out of Remington today. I don't know why it was setting in its box, unsold, for 20 years, but it was. The dealer wanted $500, but took $400 cash. Certainly less money than I could buy a new Rem 700 today. The GS was a smaller local show that they put on about 3 times a year. Harder to find good deals at the bigger shows in the big citys.

[John Taylor]

I don't go to the local show, can't buy anything unless you are a member of their club. I tried to buy an antique once and the guy would not sell it to me because I did not belong to the club. I asked him what the deal was and he said all the club members were checked out and could legally own a gun. I responded that I was an FFL holder and the government already checked me out plus the fact that I was not trying to buy a firearm. Still no sale, so why bother going.

[gzig5]

I don't go to the local show, can't buy anything unless you are a member of their club. I tried to buy an antique once and the guy would not sell it to me because I did not belong to the club. I asked him what the deal was and he said all the club members were checked out and could legally own a gun. I responded that I was an FFL holder and the government already checked me out plus the fact that I was not trying to buy a firearm. Still no sale, so why bother going.

As the great orator Ron White once said, "You can't fix stupid".

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Its become a waste of time for the most part. The admisson prices keep creeping up. The prices especially on new stuff are no bargain at all and anything older or really unique is out of reach moneywise. There prevails a pawnshop-cardealer mentality and everyone seems to be "in sync". There is also a lot of non related to gunshow type stuff. Unless you happen to find something that really is meaningful to you and you are willing to pony up the cash then it all can only be written off as diversion or entertainment. Only the really big/traditional shows seem to still be still worthwhile if you are willing to travel and have the time. LLS

[phaessler]

I sort of given up myself , last bargain I found was almost 3 years ago, lately they are filled with marshamallow shooters, jerky kits and handcrafted jewelry.
The admission can't be that exciting as the show producers constantly put out $1 off coupons, and admission is good for two days.
I do agree that some deal are all in the asking "what else ya got ?", and after 3pm on sunday.
Pete

[fishnbob]

I usually go on Sunday but it looks like I need to stay 'til after 3:00 pm 'cause I haven't found a good bargain in years. I usually stock on powder and J-word bullets and that is about it. I did find a remington model 700 bdl deluxe sporter in 22-250 last spring, April, I think and I was looking at a table full of Remingtons and the guy ask me what I was looking for. When I replied, he said, "look in that gun case on the end of the table". When I uncased it I musta muttered "oh $#1T", 'cause he let out a chuckle. I talked him down $50 and plunked down my cash. I took it home and adjusted the trigger and cleaned off the packing grease still on the bbl and action when it was originally shipped and shot a 1/2" group the next day. I never was so relieved to be able to stop toting that heavy bbl varminteer around.

[Tom-ADC]

Here in my area, its Crossroads of the West gun show's, not many bargains mostly new stuff for either AK's or AR's, plus if you buy a C&R from a dealer its a 10 day wait. Unless I need rimfire ammo or powder I don't bother going.

[mtnman31]

Tom-ADC,
I don't miss the SoCal gun shows at all. I agree, mostly tables with the same AR-15 stuff and very few deals or people willing to make a bargain. The Del Mar show charged for parking and entry so by the time you walked through the door you were already out 20 bucks. The Orange County show (OC Fair) was a bit better in that you didn't have to pay parking if you parked on the fair side. I do remember when the Pomona gun show was still in its heyday (before the city foolishly ran it out of town) and full of decent deals and sometimes even had people dressed in costumes.

Now that I am in Colorado, the shows are a little better and I have a better chance of finding good deals. There isn't much in the way of casting but, a few months back I got a bunch of molds for 5$ a pop, including a nice 311041 HP. I should have bought all she had but left a couple that I didn't "need". My other find was an FN Mauser barreled action with a tapered octagon barrel in .30 Newton. That being said, I do think that the golden days of gun shows are either gone for good or on a temporary hiatus. My biggest beef with gun shows in general nowadays is all the non-gun junk that gets sold there, i.e. coins, jewelry, toys, etc. It's a free country and people can sell whatever they want wherever, it just gets under my skin.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

I feel the local shows here are the same drab stuff you saw last time, just on someone elses' table. Sometimes there is a deal to be had, but it is always when I am short on cash. Havent been to a show in 3-4 years.
Used to be brass dealers came in and had good buys, they dont even come anymore

[Doughty]

I used to like to go to gunshows. Take my "junk." Sell it. Buy somebody else's junk. Talk to old friends. Tell my true to life hunting/shooting stories. Listen to their lies. Eat gunshow food. Go home with heartburn and new projects. Motel rooms where cheap. In good weather RV camp spots were free. You didn't have to sell much to "break even" and could afford to sell at "good" prices.

Now gas prices are high. I didn't use to think about driving several hundred miles to go to a show. Now I do. Motel prices are high. Some places now charge to RV camp, some even charge for parking. The rates on buildings that can handle a gun show have gone up including the utilities for them, which raises the cost of table rent. If the show is put on by a "professional" he wants to earn some money so it's even higher. Round and round it goes and pretty soon all that's left is mostly full time dealers trying to earn a living and only a few locals who don't have to pay out of town expenses.

The internet has also knocked the hell out of gun shows. With places like our own Swappin and Selling section you can go to a virtual gunshow anytime you like.

The Y2K, Gore, and Obama scares helped (put more guns on the street) but now that's slowed down. I don't expect to see a return to "the good old days" in my lifetime. Time to quit whining and move on I guess.