BruceB
12-02-2007, 09:30 PM
As usual, it was fascinating.
At long last, I realized a dream of some years' standing, and managed to free up enough time to actually stay overnight in the same hotel/casino in which the Show is held. This made life FAR more pleasant, as I have some serious problems with my feet and their tolerance for long periods without resting is very limited.
What was even better was the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my good friend NVCurmudgeon, and I'm sure we discombobulated more than a few dealers as we made our way around the Show. I find myself seized with a sort of ....what, arrogance?....as we discussed moulds and cast bullets with a few dealers who know just about nothing on the subject. I tried to conceal my attitude, and hope I succeeded. There wasn't much in the casting line, although a few moulds were there for inspection. A Lyman 450 was going for $50 in very nice shape, but I already have three so both Bill and I passed.
A pleasant gunsmith took hold of my S&W Model 19 and fixed the non-adjusting elevation feature of the rear sight for $15. THAT was a very fine deal indeed. I found a Redfield 3-12X scope which had never been mounted on a rifle, and bought it for $135. Also found a couple of pairs of Herrett's discontinued "Shooting Star" grips for some of my S&W revolvers. Totally smitten by the sales appeal, I HAD to buy a black T-shirt with BIG white letters spelling "INFIDEL" in English and Arabic. I love it, as it's a simple statement which does NOT say "Bring it on!"...but could easily be interpreted that way!
An un-used Dillon 550B conversion unit for .223 leaped into my satchel too, as it was cheaper than Dillon's catalog price AND required no shipping charges.
Curmudgeon and I (both left-handers, if truth be known) were tickled to find a dealer who had six or seven left-handed rifles (out of maybe a dozen) on his rack. I had VERY SERIOUS trouble in turning-down a M96 Swede 6.5x55, high-polish blue in a VERY NICE left-handed custom stock and with a fine Bausch & Lomb scope, for a measly $375...rifle alone for $275, and an absolute steal at that price. I just could not bring myself to adopting yet another caliber, even though I do have the dies on hand. I sold-off my 6.5 moulds etc at the last Nevada Shoot.
There are still good deals to be had. We visited with another very pleasant dealer who was selling some superb-condition older S&W revolvers at very fair prices...like a 4" Highway Patrolman AS NEW for about $425. I saw quite a few Colt Woodsmen at prices I'd pay, as well as a fair number of decent Krags at "shooter" prices (under $1000) . Then there was the beat-up Mosin-Nagant 91/30 for $295!!!! There were many Trapdoor Springfields present, running from about $700 for doggy ones to a museum-quality gorgeous beauty at $3500...blazing case-hardening and not a nick or scratch anywhere! Anyone like 1941 Johnsons? Bring money, because the least-expensive I saw was over two grand, and a real creampuff, about the best I've ever seen, was tagged at over $4000.
The truly interesting thing about the Show lies in the chance to see guns that you will NEVER be able to see, let alone handle, anywhere else. The Winchester collectibles are enough to make a man salivate, if that's his 'bag', and the Lugers and Mauser pistols are much the same. Add in the Drillings, the Barrett .50s, the Berkley Police Department Thompsons and 1897 shotguns, and untold numbers of other stuff...it's EASY to spend two full days without seeing everything. I woulda LOVED to buy the 3"-bore Napoleon field piece, an exquisite brass gun with stainless liner and executed like a work of art, all 1500 pounds of it, but I seemed a bit shy of the $6500 asking price.
It's a highly-recommended event. One thing we remarked on was seeing folks carrying all sorts of firearms right through the casino/hotel lobby. I even saw a gent with a beer in one hand and an M1A in the other, and NOBODY turned a hair. I do wonder about the internal reaction of Bay Area visitors or those just off the bird from Boston, etc.
I ended the visit with a lunch in company with NVC, Urny and LINDA, and Ammohead. Our paths also crossed with that of Brazos, so one never knows just who might appear.
On Thursday, before the Show opened, I visited the new Cabela's store and found the visit worthwhile. They have nowhere near the amount of stuff in the store that appears in the catalog, but I reckon that's to be expected.
At long last, I realized a dream of some years' standing, and managed to free up enough time to actually stay overnight in the same hotel/casino in which the Show is held. This made life FAR more pleasant, as I have some serious problems with my feet and their tolerance for long periods without resting is very limited.
What was even better was the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my good friend NVCurmudgeon, and I'm sure we discombobulated more than a few dealers as we made our way around the Show. I find myself seized with a sort of ....what, arrogance?....as we discussed moulds and cast bullets with a few dealers who know just about nothing on the subject. I tried to conceal my attitude, and hope I succeeded. There wasn't much in the casting line, although a few moulds were there for inspection. A Lyman 450 was going for $50 in very nice shape, but I already have three so both Bill and I passed.
A pleasant gunsmith took hold of my S&W Model 19 and fixed the non-adjusting elevation feature of the rear sight for $15. THAT was a very fine deal indeed. I found a Redfield 3-12X scope which had never been mounted on a rifle, and bought it for $135. Also found a couple of pairs of Herrett's discontinued "Shooting Star" grips for some of my S&W revolvers. Totally smitten by the sales appeal, I HAD to buy a black T-shirt with BIG white letters spelling "INFIDEL" in English and Arabic. I love it, as it's a simple statement which does NOT say "Bring it on!"...but could easily be interpreted that way!
An un-used Dillon 550B conversion unit for .223 leaped into my satchel too, as it was cheaper than Dillon's catalog price AND required no shipping charges.
Curmudgeon and I (both left-handers, if truth be known) were tickled to find a dealer who had six or seven left-handed rifles (out of maybe a dozen) on his rack. I had VERY SERIOUS trouble in turning-down a M96 Swede 6.5x55, high-polish blue in a VERY NICE left-handed custom stock and with a fine Bausch & Lomb scope, for a measly $375...rifle alone for $275, and an absolute steal at that price. I just could not bring myself to adopting yet another caliber, even though I do have the dies on hand. I sold-off my 6.5 moulds etc at the last Nevada Shoot.
There are still good deals to be had. We visited with another very pleasant dealer who was selling some superb-condition older S&W revolvers at very fair prices...like a 4" Highway Patrolman AS NEW for about $425. I saw quite a few Colt Woodsmen at prices I'd pay, as well as a fair number of decent Krags at "shooter" prices (under $1000) . Then there was the beat-up Mosin-Nagant 91/30 for $295!!!! There were many Trapdoor Springfields present, running from about $700 for doggy ones to a museum-quality gorgeous beauty at $3500...blazing case-hardening and not a nick or scratch anywhere! Anyone like 1941 Johnsons? Bring money, because the least-expensive I saw was over two grand, and a real creampuff, about the best I've ever seen, was tagged at over $4000.
The truly interesting thing about the Show lies in the chance to see guns that you will NEVER be able to see, let alone handle, anywhere else. The Winchester collectibles are enough to make a man salivate, if that's his 'bag', and the Lugers and Mauser pistols are much the same. Add in the Drillings, the Barrett .50s, the Berkley Police Department Thompsons and 1897 shotguns, and untold numbers of other stuff...it's EASY to spend two full days without seeing everything. I woulda LOVED to buy the 3"-bore Napoleon field piece, an exquisite brass gun with stainless liner and executed like a work of art, all 1500 pounds of it, but I seemed a bit shy of the $6500 asking price.
It's a highly-recommended event. One thing we remarked on was seeing folks carrying all sorts of firearms right through the casino/hotel lobby. I even saw a gent with a beer in one hand and an M1A in the other, and NOBODY turned a hair. I do wonder about the internal reaction of Bay Area visitors or those just off the bird from Boston, etc.
I ended the visit with a lunch in company with NVC, Urny and LINDA, and Ammohead. Our paths also crossed with that of Brazos, so one never knows just who might appear.
On Thursday, before the Show opened, I visited the new Cabela's store and found the visit worthwhile. They have nowhere near the amount of stuff in the store that appears in the catalog, but I reckon that's to be expected.