Disappointing Gunshow Yesterday

[bisleyfan41]

Gunshows are on the way out. Online sales are a factor. Quality of current guns is a factor. The elephant in the room is that shooters are aging and dying. Most older shooters have all the guns they want and fewer younger shooters are coming in. Hunter numbers are declining all across the U.S. we are fading out guys.

Well that's depressing. Can't say you're wrong though.

[elmacgyver0]

Last gunshow I went to I had over 2 grand in cash in my pocket.
When I left, I had over 2 grand in cash in my pocket.
I really wanted to buy a 45-70 with a threaded barrel, whether it be a Henry or Marlin.
I saw a couple Henrys in 22LR but that was it.

[Hickok]

Not worth the effort for me anymore.

Tables full of nick-nacks, trinket junk, and Chinese mystery-metal pocket and Rambo knives.

[jsizemore]

All the shows are like this......vintage bike swaps,car swaps,gun shows.........same traders ,same Chinese bric a brac,bit of car junk at high prices ,nothing of any value.......parking charges ,entry charges , forget it........One bike swap was advertized as "definitely nothing but bikes this year".......same traders with import junk.....I fronted the organizers....and its "they cut a separate deal with the venue owners"

The shows held on our state fairgrounds are part of the State Agriculture Department and they set the price of entry fees. They mandate security which has to be from law enforcement (state, county, city) and their overtime payment goes into a common fund that is doled out according to the department heads discretion. This is for all the "special events".

The flea market part is up for annual bid by private individuals and whoever wins sets the price per vendor and the state roams around and collects payment. They just gotta hope enough vendors show up to make the bid amount or pay out of pocket. The security force is near retirement highway patrol. If their golf cart can't keep up with the bad guys it's bye bye stuff. They're there to settle disputes not haul anybody to jail. Most times there's enough good folks around to back them up.

[pmer]

I went to a local one last night and found one 8 oz can of SR7625 for 10 bucks and snatched it up.

I have trouble parting with money for firearms unless the right 16 or 20 gauge side by side comes along. There was a Spanish 20 ga sxs that was full / full that almost got me but I didn't buy it.

[Reg]

I like the little small town gunshows but the last one I was at two weeks ago several of the bigger dealers didn’t show up for whatever reason so at the last minute to get someone to even show up they made the entry fee a free will offering. I hope this does not become a trend.
Oh yes. The Chinese junk dealers did manage to make it!

[.45Cole]

I went to the Tanner in Denver a week or so ago and it was pretty sad. Used to go to it and it was over an acre of tables with mainly guys getting a table to clean out stuff and people wondering around trying to sell/trade stuff. I would stock up on bullets, powder and stuff and trade stuff I had extra of.
Now it's young people milling about over tables of new guns and ammo from Walmart marked up %. Primers at $12-$18/100 and powder at $60/can. All the tags have "rare" on them and all the old guns are pretty messed up but they tell me how rare they are and collector desirable they are (like a run of the mill .348 from the 50's that was "long tang"). If I ask them on low dollar on some powder they tell me their cost is only $10 less, but then they get snippy if I offer to sell them powder for $15 under their asking price.

I overheard a guy at a table telling another table he hasn't sold one thing! You should price so that everything except one has sold at the end of the show. Some economics classes are needed at the shows. Knives, jewelry, junk, candy at half the tables. At $15 admission fee and $250/table IIRC the ones getting rich are the sponsors.

[john.k]

Its all about "flipping " if youre under 35.........guys buy stuff they have no need or interest in to 'flip" it ,either on ebay ,or at a flea market or swapmeet..........IMHO ,mobile phones and the net .....every millenial is an expert on the current price of anything and everything........I think someone once said "They know the price of everything ,and the value of nothing"

[uscra112]

When prices go down, flippers will get their comeuppance!

[Bent Ramrod]

For me, gun shows are an opportunity to add to the database of how unusual, how interesting, and how the price of my own findings has appreciated. I like to look at guns and gun stuff the way others like to look at minerals, or cars, or plays or operas. Or sit and gamble at some table or slot machine.

The kind of stuff I used to buy just to “justify” going to an otherwise sterile show (a brick of .22s, a bag of shells, a can of powder, a box of primers) has now mostly priced itself out of my interest range, and the tables full of tactical-schmactical stuff and AR “uppers” and “lowers” and other accessories don’t interest me. Still, you just never know what will show itself.

I have a mental list of parts, tools and books that I’m looking for, plus an open category of “anything cool.” In that respect, the shows are like a placer gold claim that’s been worked for 50 years. I might not get more than a nice day of panning exercise out of it, in an agreeable location, but every now and then, there’s a nugget or even an occasional hot streak. This year, for instance, has been noteworthy for incomplete barreled single-shot actions, and at old-time low prices, too. I enjoy playing around in the shop, getting such wrecks back into shooting condition. Buying something like that On Line; bidding against everyone else (and some bots), and going through the ordeal of sending it back when the sellers’ written description and fuzzy photographs have been deceptive, would sour me for all subsequent deals. And has, come to think of it. Whereas, being the only one at the show that knows the true value of whatever I’m looking at, is all kinds of fun.

So I guess I’ll keep attending. People won’t go with me, because, as they say, “I looked all through one and couldn’t find a left-handed safety for my Les Baer 1911. What a waste of time and money; I’ll never go again.” Such people are better served by gun stores and the Internet.